Defeating Uchiha Tekka

Konoha Senpu!

Hyuga Sho suddenly ducked low as he clashed kunai with his opponent.

Then he unleashed a sweeping leg strike.

The fierce Taijutsu sweep tore toward Uchiha Tekka.

The latter leaped up, both feet leaving the ground.

"..."

Hyuga Sho's eyes widened slightly.

Because...

Uchiha Tekka was the first person to evade that move.

But at that moment...

Uchiha Tekka was even more shocked.

He was practically roaring inside, How does Hyuga Sho know Konoha Senpu?! Isn't he from the Hyuga Clan? What happened to the Gentle Fist?! This isn't Hyuga at all~~!

From the alley earlier to this spot, after so many exchanges, Uchiha Tekka had not seen a trace of the Gentle Fist.

Instead...

Hyuga Sho's Rigid Fist Taijutsu was fierce and forceful.

It flowed with incredible smoothness.

The only person who had ever given him that feeling was Hatake Kakashi.

Bang!!

They clashed again.

They had put too much force into it.

Their kunai were knocked away.

The two began fighting barehanded.

At this point...

It was Hyuga Sho's home ground.

From nearly half a year of real combat and observing others fight...

Hyuga Sho had reached a conclusion: "In unarmed combat, the Hyuga Clan usually holds the advantage."

Gentle Fist!

Hyuga Sho extended his index and middle fingers.

He curled his other fingers together.

His right hand viciously jabbed toward Uchiha Tekka.

Uchiha Tekka raised his arm and blocked the first strike.

An overwhelming force traveled from Hyuga Sho's fingertips into his arm.

In an instant, more than half his arm went numb.

Theoretically, this should have been impossible.

The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist...

Was not known for "brute muscular strength."

It mainly relied on sending Chakra into the human body to cause internal injuries.

Strictly speaking, it was an "enchanted attack."

But this Hyuga Sho...

One jab of his finger made Uchiha Tekka's arm feel as though it had been run over by a cartwheel!

"Urgh!"

Uchiha Tekka could not help groaning in pain.

He did not know...

That Hyuga Sho had both softness and hardness in his style.

And after obtaining Earth Style, he had trained the Hardening Jutsu to mastery.

His entire body was as hard as steel.

Even a bare-fingered jab...

Was no less devastating than stabbing someone with an iron rod.

Eight Trigrams Two Palms!!

Hyuga Sho struck with both hands.

His two fingers shot out at blinding speed.

Bang! Bang!

Uchiha Tekka barely defended himself.

His left arm went numb as well.

Eight Trigrams Four Palms!!

Hyuga Sho struck out with four fingers.

They pierced through his opponent's defense.

And hit his chest and abdomen.

Eight Trigrams Eight Palms!!

The consecutive finger strikes left afterimages.

It was as though Hyuga Sho had suddenly grown eight arms.

Bang bang bang bang...!

Eight explosive impacts rang out in succession.

"Uwaaah~~!!"

Uchiha Tekka's body trembled as he screamed, then he toppled backward like a ragged sack.

"Our Hyuga Clan is Konoha's greatest clan!"

After beating him, Hyuga Sho immediately struck a Gentle Fist pose on the spot.

He performed one of the Hyuga Clan's traditional routines.

The sight...

Left Might Guy utterly dumbfounded.

His eyes were wide as he stared at Hyuga Sho in disbelief.

As though he had seen an alien.

"Hyuga Sho... He, he defeated that genius, Uchiha Tekka?"

Elsewhere...

Standing on a rooftop with her Byakugan activated, Hyuga Mami saw everything even more clearly.

The Hyuga's Gentle Fist was a form of Taijutsu that sent Chakra into an opponent's body, destroying them from within.

Just now, Hyuga Sho...

Had used Gentle Fist techniques but defeated Uchiha Tekka without infusing them with Chakra.

The difficulty of that was as perilous as snatching chestnuts from a fire or walking a steel wire.

"Hyuga Sho defeated him without using the Gentle Fist's true attacks..."

Because of the distance, Hyuga Mami's astonishment did not reach Hyuga Sho's ears.

[Doka Degree: 14.6%]

Seeing his Doka Degree jump by 0.5% at once, Hyuga Sho was extremely satisfied.

That meant...

Uchiha Tekka alone...

Was worth more experience than a whole dozen people like Ebisu, Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Mitaraishi Anko, Asuma, and the rest!

"As expected of a genius from the Uchiha Clan."

Hyuga Sho sincerely praised the experience he had gained from his opponent.

"Hyuga Sho!"

Uchiha Tekka lay on the ground, baring his teeth as pain wracked his entire body.

"So you won, big deal! Why are you still mocking me like this..."

"Oh, sorry."

Hyuga Sho withdrew his Gentle Fist stance and spoke with an honest and simple expression.

"No~~~!"

Uchiha Tekka cried out in anguish.

"I don't need your pity~~!"

He pushed himself up, turned, and left.

This time, he truly looked like a beast licking its wounds.

"Please wait."

Hyuga Sho raised a hand to call after him.

There was still something important he had not asked.

"I want to ask: between me, who defeated you, and Kakashi, who is stronger?"

"!"

Uchiha Tekka halted.

Then he abruptly turned around.

His vicious gaze looked as if it wanted to swallow Hyuga Sho whole.

"Actually... you and I have the same goal. We both want to defeat Kakashi."

Hyuga Sho's expression turned serious as he immediately said.

"Uchiha Obito is my good friend. Kakashi looks down on Obito terribly. To stand up for Obito, and to gain enough confidence that I can defeat Kakashi, I came to find you. I wanted to spar with you and see what I was really capable of."

Hyuga Sho wore a guilty expression.

He seemed remorseful for not being honest from the start.

Seeing Hyuga Sho clench his fists...

The anger on Uchiha Tekka's face... eased slightly...

Children in this world really seem especially easy to fool...

Hyuga Sho maintained his ashamed expression.

That was what he muttered inwardly.

"..."

Uchiha Tekka walked over and looked Hyuga Sho up and down.

"Obito... The Dead Last of our clan..."

Of course Uchiha Tekka knew Uchiha Obito.

After all...

They were close in age.

And belonged to the same clan.

They saw each other every day.

He had indeed heard about how Hyuga Sho had furiously beaten up Shiranui Genma for his friend.

It seemed...

The kid had been telling the truth...

With that thought...

Uchiha Tekka's expression softened considerably.

"Your Taijutsu is probably on par with Kakashi's, but you're stronger than him. That's your advantage."

"But if Kakashi chooses to use kunai or other ninja tools, you might not be his opponent. Besides, Hatake Kakashi can use Ninjutsu."

"Overall, unless Kakashi gives up every other method and fights you barehanded, don't even think about beating him..."

After saying that, Uchiha Tekka turned and walked away.

This also gave Hyuga Sho a rough understanding of Kakashi's strength from someone else's perspective.

I could actually pretend to be caught in Genjutsu and seize that chance to defeat Kakashi.

Hyuga Sho gave Uchiha Tekka a deep look, then turned around as well and went to find Hyuga Mami.

Inside the small alley...

Might Guy stared at Hyuga Sho's departing back, still shaken by the sight of him defeating Uchiha Tekka.

"Hard work... Can hard work really defeat genius?"