Shimura Ken landed lightly, staggered back two steps, then stared at Uchiha Yuan with an uncertain, startled expression.
His hands were tingling numb. Just moments ago, he had thrown four punches in rapid succession with both hands.
But Uchiha Yuan had caught all four punches, the two sides colliding head-on with their fists.
Seeing Shimura Ken retreat, Hatake Harukaze immediately looked surprised.
He had not expected Uchiha Yuan to catch Shimura Ken's attacks, let alone appear to have gained a slight advantage.
After all, Uchiha Yuan was standing firmly in place without moving an inch.
Shimura Ken was a sixth-year student at the Ninja Academy. Whether in terms of the amount of Chakra in his body or his physical training, he should have been stronger than them, who were a year below him.
Seeing the disdainful look Uchiha Yuan was giving him, Shimura Ken immediately shouted angrily, "Everyone, attack together! Give this Uchiha brat a good beating!"
With that, he charged forward once more, rushing toward Uchiha Yuan with ferocious momentum.
After hesitating briefly, the other boys nearby began shouting and swarmed Uchiha Yuan together.
For a time, the fierce clash of fists and feet rang out as multiple figures shifted, spun, leaped, and flipped through the air.
Several minutes later, amid pained groans, Shimura Ken and the others lay scattered on the ground.
Uchiha Yuan stood in the middle of the crowd, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily.
Of course, this was only an act.
In reality, he was still full of energy and not tired at all.
"Hey! What did you do, brat? Why does my whole body feel numb?"
Sarutobi Akagi, who had fallen near Shimura Ken, shouted in alarm. He tried several times to get back up, but each attempt ended with him collapsing again.
Uchiha Yuan looked at Sarutobi Akagi mockingly and said, "Idiot. You clearly never paid attention in class. I merely struck the numbing points on your body."
Hearing Uchiha Yuan's words, a puzzled expression appeared on Sarutobi Akagi's face. Had their teacher ever covered anything like that in class?
But when he thought about how he had spent most of class talking and playing with Shimura Ken instead of listening properly, Sarutobi Akagi couldn't help wondering whether he had missed that part of the lesson.
Shimura Ken lay on the ground, gasping heavily. His attacks had been the fiercest, so he had also taken the most counterattacks.
Uchiha Yuan had struck him in the chest with a heavy punch. At the time, it had felt as though he had been hit by a raging bull, sending his entire body flying uncontrollably.
At the same time, he had felt a powerful force ripple through his entire body, dispersing all the Chakra gathered inside him.
Then, after crashing to the ground, Shimura Ken had tried to get up, only to find his whole body weak and limp. The joints in all four limbs had been jolted out of alignment.
He glared viciously at Uchiha Yuan. "Hmph. Other people may be afraid of you Uchiha, but I'm not!"
Then he turned toward Hatake Harukaze. "Hatake brat, consider yourself lucky today."
In the end, several people carried Shimura Ken away from the riverbank.
Before leaving, Shimura Ken stared at Uchiha Yuan and shouted, "You Uchiha brat, I'll remember you!"
Watching Shimura Ken and the others disappear into the distance, Hatake Harukaze walked to Uchiha Yuan with a complicated expression and said, "Uchiha, thank you. But now Shimura Ken has his eye on you too. He'll probably come looking for trouble with you later."
The Taijutsu Uchiha Yuan had displayed when he defeated Shimura Ken and the others had been even sharper and more ferocious than when he had fought Uehara Isami last time.
This made Hatake Harukaze suddenly realize that Uchiha Yuan was even stronger than he had imagined.
Uchiha Yuan said indifferently, "Don't worry. I'm an Uchiha, after all. The mere Shimura Family is nothing in front of the Uchiha."
Then Uchiha Yuan smiled and added, "Hatake, you really don't have to thank me."
"Just now, I ran into Kakashi-senpai and ate a bowl of ramen he treated me to. Helping you was only right."
Hearing this, Hatake Harukaze's eyes widened, and he said incredulously, "Uchiha, what did you say?"
"You know Kakashi-bro?"
"And Kakashi-bro even treated you to ramen? You're not lying to me, are you? That's impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Uchiha Yuan laughed heartily and said, "Why would I lie to you? You only need to ask Kakashi-senpai whether it's true."
How could that be?
Could what Uchiha Yuan said actually be true?
A jealous look appeared in Hatake Harukaze's eyes as he gazed at Uchiha Yuan.
Damn it, I want to eat ramen with Kakashi-bro too.
Kakashi's reputation as a genius drew many jealous looks, but even more were filled with admiration.
And if one asked who admired Kakashi the most, it would be the young members of the Hatake Family, such as Hatake Harukaze.
Kakashi was the current pride of the Hatake Family. The glory of the Hatake Clan rested on his shoulders.
Yet Kakashi always presented a cold, distant front. Even when he returned home, he often shut himself away and trained alone. He rarely interacted with the clan members, and Hatake Harukaze and the others simply didn't dare approach him.
Uchiha Yuan was about to leave when Hatake Harukaze suddenly called out to him.
"Uchiha, could I ask you to instruct me in practicing Taijutsu?"
Uchiha Yuan asked in surprise, "You want me to instruct you in Taijutsu? Why?"
Hatake Harukaze said earnestly, "Because you're very strong, Uchiha, and I want to become stronger too. I don't want to be bullied by Shimura Ken and the others anymore. Please."
With that, Hatake Harukaze bowed deeply to Uchiha Yuan.
A smile still hung on Uchiha Yuan's face, but his gaze at Hatake Harukaze had grown profound.
After a moment of silence, he said, "All right."
Afterward, the two of them went to the territory of the Hatake Clan.
The Hatake Clan was a small clan with only a few dozen people, so its territory was relatively spacious.
They came to an open area near a large residence. Hatake Harukaze then assumed a stance, preparing to attack.
"Uchiha, please guide me."
Uchiha Yuan raised one hand and said, "Begin."
Hatake Harukaze charged forward, leaped high into the air, and descended toward Uchiha Yuan with a flying kick.
Uchiha Yuan casually swung one hand and easily caught Hatake Harukaze by the ankle, then threw him outward.
Hatake Harukaze twisted and turned in midair, landed steadily with a somersault, then shouted and charged at Uchiha Yuan with his fists swinging.
"Too slow. Too slow. That kick was far too slow."
"Faster, faster! Pick up the pace!"
"Put more power into it. Is that all the strength you have in your punches and kicks?"
"Tsk, that punch left such a huge opening."
"Not bad. The timing of that Body Flicker Technique was acceptable."
Uchiha Yuan stood in place without moving, effortlessly parrying every one of Hatake Harukaze's attacks with nothing more than repeated swings of his right hand.
At the same time, he kept pointing out the weaknesses in Hatake Harukaze's attacks.
Before you continue