Watanabe-kun, You Lost

"Believe it or not, I was holding back."

Watanabe said with a straight face. His hand seals changed, and hundreds of shadow clones reappeared on the stage.

Hyuga Rei bit her red lip tightly, scanning the dense field of shadow clones around her. She cursed Watanabe as despicable and shameless in her heart.

I believe you, my foot!

You're throwing all sorts of random ninjutsu at me, and you call that holding back?

Hyuga Rei had to admit that she had underestimated Watanabe before. This young man was far from as simple as she had imagined. Not only was his strength monstrous, but his schemes were also terrifyingly deep.

But even so, she still had a reason she had to win this battle.

"This kind of ninjutsu might work on others, but it won't work on me!" Hyuga Rei said coldly, having completely dropped her innocent and sweet facade to confront Watanabe.

"Then let's try."

Watanabe decided to let actions speak, controlling all his shadow clones to surround and attack Hyuga Rei.

"Gentle Fist Style, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hyuga Rei suddenly shouted, gathering chakra in her fists and unleashing the Hyuga clan's secret technique.

In an instant, an Eight Trigrams formation appeared beneath her feet. Within a five-meter radius, it became her domain. With superb taijutsu, she struck all the shadow clones that entered the formation.

"Bang bang bang bang..."

Hyuga Rei was like a battlefield rose in full bloom. Her every move was graceful, as if she were dancing. Not a single shadow clone could withstand her attack, and they shattered under her Gentle Fist.

[Damage Received: Blood Essence +11, Defense +7, Pain -3...]

[Damage Received: Blood Essence +9, Defense +6...]

The damage from the shattering shadow clones transferred back to Watanabe's main body, continuously boosting his Blood Essence and Defense.

"Such powerful taijutsu!"

Watanabe was secretly shocked as he watched Hyuga Rei decimating his shadow clones.

If it were any other time, Watanabe wouldn't mind sparring with Hyuga Rei for a while longer to let her help him improve his strength. But now, he just wanted to defeat her as quickly as possible.

"As expected of the daughter of the Tenfu Clan Leader, she's already cultivated the Gentle Fist to this level!"

From the judges' seats, the Nara Clan Leader clicked his tongue in admiration.

The Gentle Fist Style was a secret technique of the Hyuga clan, possessing immense power. Ordinary ninjas simply couldn't match Hyuga clan members in terms of taijutsu. Watanabe's shadow clones, despite their astonishing numbers, were merely toys in Hyuga Rei's eyes.

"The Byakugan can see through the true nature of shadow clones. If these are all Watanabe has, he's no match for Hyuga Rei," the Hatake Clan Leader offered his opinion.

Frankly speaking, both Watanabe and Hyuga Rei were remarkable geniuses. A battle between experts would come down to who was more skilled.

Hyuga Tenfu watched the battle on the stage intently, his heart constantly stirred by his daughter's performance.

"Something's not right!"

Uchiha Chiri's delicate brows furrowed as she suddenly sensed something unusual.

It wasn't just the Byakugan that could see through the shadow clones; her Sharingan could too. Chiri observed very carefully. She noticed that among the shadow clones defeated by Hyuga Rei, a few didn't shatter immediately. Instead, they endured several hits before dissolving into white mist.

It was as if Watanabe's shadow clones possessed a certain level of defense.

But how could shadow clones possibly have defense?

It defied common ninja knowledge, sounding absurd.

Meanwhile, on Stage Five.

Seeing that his swarm tactic was ineffective against Hyuga Rei, who was now relentlessly charging towards his main body, Watanabe decisively recalled ten shadow clones. He and his main body stood neatly in a row, simultaneously forming hand seals to cast ninjutsu.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique."

"Water Style, Water Severing Wave Technique."

"Earth Style, Earth Spikes Technique."

Various ninjutsu skills rained down on Hyuga Rei from all angles, as if they were free-flowing water, creating a spectacular scene.

"With such dense ninjutsu, she can't dodge!"

Exclamations erupted from the audience.

"It's rare to find an opponent who can contend with Watanabe, but she's still going to lose."

"There's no helping it. Watanabe has mastered too many ninjutsu. He can just overwhelm his opponent with sheer numbers of techniques."

Just as everyone lamented the impending end of this battle between geniuses, the next moment—

Hyuga Rei's cherry lips parted slightly, and she slowly uttered two words:

"Revolving Heaven."

"Boom!"

She activated her Chakra with all her might, causing it to erupt from every Chakra point within her body. Spinning like a top, she shattered every Ninjutsu that struck her.

"What!"

"All of those Ninjutsu were blocked!"

The audience gasped in unison. After their initial shock, a surge of excitement rushed through their minds, making them restless and fervent.

"This graduation exam is way more exciting than the Chunin Exam!"

"It's back and forth, a truly evenly matched battle!"

"I'm suddenly looking forward to seeing who wins between them."

"..."

Unlike the spectators who were merely enjoying the show, the Clan Leaders in the judges' seats saw the deeper implications.

"Clan Leader Tenfu, isn't your Revolving Heaven only taught to the main family?" Clan Leader Hatake asked, confused.

"Mhm."

Clan Leader Hyuga Tenfu nodded, his expression remaining calm throughout.

"I didn't teach her. Rei researched it herself."

Everyone was moved. To have mastered Revolving Heaven without any instruction showed how much hardship Hyuga Rei must have endured, and how exceptional her talent was.

"With Revolving Heaven out, Watanabe has no chance of winning," the Nara Clan Leader sighed.

Revolving Heaven was also known as the Hyuga clan's absolute defense, capable of deflecting all physical attacks. No matter how much Chakra Watanabe possessed or how many Ninjutsu he knew, he couldn't break through Hyuga Rei's defense.

Even if he used the Spirit Transformation Technique, it would still be reflected by Revolving Heaven, and his soul would be at risk of severe damage.

"At this point, it's not a shame for Watanabe to lose. After all, both he and Hyuga Rei are young and have a lot of room for growth in the future..."

Chiri, however, disagreed with the Nara Clan Leader.

She didn't believe Watanabe would lose, as this young man had brought her too many surprises today.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

On Arena Number Five, the fierce battle continued.

After unleashing Revolving Heaven, Hyuga Rei entered a full berserk mode. She charged forward as if no one could stop her, forcefully breaking through the army of Shadow Clones. Finally, with a Body Flicker, she appeared directly in front of Watanabe's true body.

"Watanabe-kun, you lost," Hyuga Rei said sweetly, resuming the disguise that had long been seen through.

For a ninja skilled in Ninjutsu to be caught close by a ninja skilled in Taijutsu was like a mage being cornered by an assassin; the outcome was easy to imagine. This was why Hyuga Rei believed victory was in her grasp.

Watanabe's heart tightened. Hyuga Rei's Taijutsu was far superior to his, and he couldn't react at all.

"Gentle Fist Style, Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!"

Despite her sweet tone, Hyuga Rei showed no mercy. The Eight Trigrams formation reappeared beneath her feet, enveloping her and Watanabe. Palm strike after palm strike landed fiercely on Watanabe.