Hyuga Kagami's Doubt

Ninja Academy, afternoon.

On the training grounds, several classes occupied separate areas.

In Class 9's area, the instructor Sarutobi Retsu was arranging one-on-one matches.

Just as he called out Hyuga Kagami's name, he was interrupted.

Hyuga Kagami stepped out of the lineup and said to him, "Teacher Retsu, for this match, I'd like to spar with Uchiha Yuan."

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Retsu's gaze shifted to Uchiha Yuan, who stood among the onlookers.

Uchiha Yuan took a step forward and said with a smile, "Teacher Retsu, I have no problem. I'm also very eager to witness the power of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist."

Sarutobi Retsu nodded and said, "Alright then, this match will be between Hyuga Kagami and Uchiha Yuan. Both of you, prepare."

"Form the opposing hand seals."

Uchiha Yuan and Hyuga Kagami stood facing each other, several meters apart. He formed the opposing hand seals and said, "Kagami, use your full strength."

Hyuga Kagami's expression turned serious. "Don't worry, I won't hold back."

Their match attracted everyone's attention. Even students from the other two classes in adjacent areas quietly turned their gazes over.

This was a showdown between the Uchiha and the Hyuga, something not to be missed.

Generally, instructors would not arrange one-on-one matches between students from prominent clans.

This was because it could potentially stir up conflict. The major clans were always in competition, openly and secretly, with neither side willing to yield.

Sometimes, a small matter could easily escalate into a major conflict due to family pride.

"Begin."

As Sarutobi Retsu's voice fell, Uchiha Yuan launched the first attack.

He leaped high into the air, flipped, and with a sound like air being kicked apart, a whip kick struck Hyuga Kagami with incredible ferocity.

"Eight Trigrams - Vacuum Palm!"

Hyuga Kagami nimbly sprang backward, evading the whip kick. With a counter-motion, he struck out with a palm.

BOOM!

The whip kick shattered the Eight Trigrams - Vacuum Palm, immediately stirring up a powerful gust of wind that swept outwards.

Uchiha Yuan's offensive did not cease, and he swept a barrage of kicks towards Hyuga Kagami.

"Eight Trigrams - Twin Palms!"

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

"Thirty-two Palms!"

Hyuga Kagami methodically unleashed palm strikes, blocking all the incoming leg shadows.

Uchiha Yuan pushed off the ground, his figure leaping up as lightly as a bird and drifting backward, widening the distance between himself and Hyuga Kagami.

"Such amazing Taijutsu, did you see how many times he kicked just now?"

"I think it was eighteen."

"No, it should be twenty-one."

"I only counted nineteen."

The Class 9 students watching were both surprised and shocked.

There was no probing in the spar between the two; it was intense from the start. Previous matches were simply not on the same level compared to these two.

Uehara Isami watched Uchiha Yuan with a dark gaze, a look of disdain on his face.

It's nothing special to have good Taijutsu. The most important thing for a ninja is Ninjutsu. Your Chakra reserves are far less than Hyuga Kagami's.

On the other side, Senju Gen watched Uchiha Yuan with burning eyes, a strong fighting spirit showing in his gaze.

He had seen it clearly; Uchiha Yuan had kicked a total of twenty-eight times just now.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Veins bulged around Hyuga Kagami's eyes, and then his figure flickered as he charged towards Uchiha Yuan.

He first unleashed an empty palm strike, sending a powerful gust of wind towards Uchiha Yuan.

Uchiha Yuan swung his palm like a blade, unleashing a vertical chop that split the palm wind.

At the same time, Hyuga Kagami appeared before him, pushing his palms forward with swift and powerful force.

"Eight Trigrams - Thirty-two Palms!"

In an instant, dozens of empty palm strikes rained down on Uchiha Yuan's body.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of dense collisions boomed from Uchiha Yuan's body.

Sarutobi Retsu, who was watching nearby, changed his expression. Uchiha Yuan might be seriously injured if he took the full power of the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.

But just as he was about to stop the match, Uchiha Yuan suddenly moved. His figure seemed to flicker and he appeared in front of Hyuga Kagami.

He extended his right hand, fingers together like a sword, and poked Hyuga Kagami's chest.

Immediately, Uchiha Yuan retracted his right hand, did a backflip, and landed several meters away.

Hyuga Kagami's body stiffened.

After about a few minutes, Hyuga Kagami coughed a few times, then deactivated his Byakugan, and said to Uchiha Yuan with a complex expression, "I lost."

After forming the hand seal for reconciliation, Uchiha Yuan said, "Kagami, thank you for going easy on me."

Hyuga Kagami looked deeply at Uchiha Yuan, and after a moment of silence, turned and retreated.

He knew very well that in the exchange just now, he couldn't even make Uchiha Yuan use his full strength.

Moreover, Uchiha Yuan's strength was likely far greater than he had expected.

When he used the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms just now, he saw the Chakra within Uchiha Yuan through his Byakugan.

The reason Hyuga's Gentle Fist was famous in the Ninja World was because, with the cooperation of the Byakugan, their Gentle Fist could disrupt and scatter the opponent's Chakra flow.

However, just now, in Hyuga Kagami's Byakugan, the Chakra within Uchiha Yuan was like a still flame, not circulating within his body at all.

In other words, Uchiha Yuan purely took the power of the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms with his body.

This indicated that his body was far stronger than he had imagined.

What surprised Hyuga Kagami even more was Uchiha Yuan's final finger strike.

When his sword-like finger poked his chest, Hyuga Kagami felt his entire body go numb, and his whole body instantly lost sensation.

He immediately realized that Uchiha Yuan's finger strike had a similar effect to the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, also targeting the acupoints and meridians of the human body.

Sarutobi Retsu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. 'Good, it seems Hyuga Kagami's current Chakra is not enough to use the powerful Gentle Fist.'

Just as Sarutobi Retsu was preparing to arrange the next match, Senju Gen walked out.

He said to Sarutobi Retsu, "Teacher Retsu, I also want to have a match with Uchiha Yuan."

A battle between Senju and Uchiha?

Looking at Senju Gen, Sarutobi Retsu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Gen, Yuan has already had one match. You should choose another opponent."

Senju Gen looked at Uchiha Yuan and said, "Yuan, are you willing to fight me?"

Uchiha Yuan shook his head with a look of regret and said, "Sorry, after fighting with Kagami, I no longer have the strength to have a second match."

Senju Gen was now the top student in Class 9, and also ranked among the top five strongest students in the entire grade.

He should have already fallen under the village's attention, so Uchiha Yuan normally had almost no interaction with Senju Gen. They were merely very ordinary classmates.

Once they fought, winning might attract the village's attention, and losing might incur reprimands from the clan.

These were all unfavorable outcomes for Uchiha Yuan, so he refused Senju Gen's challenge without hesitation.

Returning to the crowd, Hyuga Kagami looked at Uchiha Yuan with some confusion. In his eyes, Uchiha Yuan's physical condition and Chakra had not been affected at all by their fight.

He didn't understand why Uchiha Yuan would refuse Senju Gen's challenge.

In Hyuga Kagami's eyes, Uchiha Yuan's physical strength was no weaker than Senju Gen's.

After hearing Uchiha Yuan's reply, Senju Gen showed a clearly disappointed expression, but he quickly smiled and said, "Yuan, then let's have a match next time."