Seeing Senju Gen grimacing in pain, Hatake Harukaze broke into a wide grin.
He knew exactly what was happening to Senju Gen, because he often suffered similar attacks when sparring with Uchiha Yuan.
Through constant beatings, Hatake Harukaze had discovered that Uchiha Yuan possessed an incomparably thorough understanding of the human body and an almost miraculous command of force.
The shifting applications of Collapsing Force, Drilling Force, Shocking Force, and other forms of force had given him every possible flavor of aching, numbness, and tingling, leaving him half-dead with blissful agony.
It had also made him realize that Taijutsu contained so many ingenious techniques.
"Senju Gen, you've been sneaking around after us and even attacked Yuan. What do you mean by this?"
His smile vanished as Hatake Harukaze sternly demanded an answer.
Senju Gen said, "I merely wanted to have a proper match with Uchiha Yuan."
Then he turned his gaze toward Uchiha Yuan, his face brimming with fighting spirit. "Uchiha Yuan, the facts have proven that you really are strong."
As the only Uchiha in their class, Senju Gen had actually been watching Uchiha Yuan in secret from the very beginning.
However, during their years as classmates, Uchiha Yuan's performance had disappointed him greatly. His grades were average, and he was utterly unremarkable.
Especially during one-on-one sparring classes, Uchiha Yuan would always exchange dozens of moves with his opponents, his strength consistently ranking around tenth place in the class.
Thus, Senju Gen stopped paying attention to Uchiha Yuan and instead focused more on Hyuga Kagami, who also came from a great clan, as well as the top students of the other seven classes.
What had recently made him notice Uchiha Yuan again was his match against Uehara Isami.
The Taijutsu Uchiha Yuan displayed had amazed him. In particular, when Uchiha Yuan used his hand like a blade to leave a shallow bloody mark on Uehara Isami's throat, it had deeply shocked him.
To achieve such precision required extraordinarily delicate control over one's own strength.
When Hyuga Kagami challenged Uchiha Yuan, Senju Gen had secretly looked forward to it immensely.
Senju Gen acknowledged Hyuga Kagami's strength. He had always observed Hyuga Kagami's performance in fights and estimated that it would take him around forty exchanges to defeat him.
But Uchiha Yuan had defeated Hyuga Kagami in fewer than ten exchanges. That made him even more interested in Uchiha Yuan, and the fighting spirit in his heart could no longer be restrained.
Uchiha Yuan was no longer as reserved as before. His eyes shone with a sharp, intimidating light as he stared directly at Senju Gen. "I have always been the strongest."
Meeting Uchiha Yuan's gaze, Senju Gen actually felt a sting in his eyes and could not help looking away.
Then, he was secretly astonished. He could not understand why Uchiha Yuan, who had been so ordinary at the Ninja Academy, was now displaying such breathtaking sharpness and imposing presence.
Senju Gen grinned, leaping down from the tree and landing before the two of them. "Uchiha Yuan, whether you're the strongest or not, we'll only know after you fight me."
Uchiha Yuan said, "Then let's have a match right here."
"Fine."
Senju Gen quickly agreed.
Although he was somewhat puzzled as to why Uchiha Yuan had suddenly changed his mind and agreed to fight him, the surging battle intent in his heart quickly suppressed those doubts. He fixed Uchiha Yuan with a focused stare.
Just then, Hatake Harukaze suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Uchiha Yuan. "Wait. Senju Gen, I'm your opponent. If you want to fight Yuan, you'll have to defeat me first."
After speaking, Hatake Harukaze turned to look at Uchiha Yuan.
Their gazes met for a moment. Then Uchiha Yuan looked at Senju Gen and said, "What Harukaze said is what I mean."
Senju Gen looked at Hatake Harukaze, then smiled. "The Hatake Clan once had the Konoha White Fang, and now it has Kakashi-senpai. Then let me first experience your strength, Harukaze."
The two of them then widened the distance between them and formed the Seal of Confrontation face-to-face.
Uchiha Yuan stood to the side and formed a seal with one hand. Four Shadow Clones silently leaped out behind him, taking positions around them and setting up an isolation barrier.
Shadow Clones? No, it should be the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. I never expected Uchiha Yuan's Chakra control to be so precise that the Shadow Clones appeared without making a sound.
Noticing this, Senju Gen could not help feeling startled.
As one of the few members of the Senju Clan's younger generation, he had always received the clan's elite education. His strength might not yet compare to some of the village's Chunin, but his ability to observe and analyze far surpassed that of others.
Now, he was even more interested in Uchiha Yuan. Uchiha Yuan always casually revealed exceptional techniques, making Senju Gen impatient to fight him as soon as possible.
Whenever Naruto used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu in the anime, it was always tremendously flashy, but that was actually because Naruto's Chakra control was extremely crude.
Of course, Naruto did not need especially precise Chakra control. He could rely entirely on the enormous amount of Chakra within his body to become an army by himself and simply charge at his enemies in a single overwhelming wave.
In the final battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama's Wood Style Clone had deceived Uchiha Madara, allowing Senju Hashirama to land the winning backstab.
If Senju Hashirama's Chakra control had been as rough as Naruto's, how could his Wood Style Clone possibly have deceived Uchiha Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?
After forming the Seal of Confrontation, Hatake Harukaze said, "Gen, before the match begins, I hope you can agree to one thing."
"What is it?"
"You can't tell anyone about your fight with us today."
"Fine."
"I want you to promise this on the Senju Clan's Honor."
Senju Gen looked at Hatake Harukaze in astonishment, then shifted his gaze to Uchiha Yuan.
He was a little confused. These two were truly strange. It was merely a spar between classmates, yet they wanted him to make a promise on the Senju Clan's honor.
"Fine. I swear on the Senju Clan's Honor that I will not tell anyone about my fight with you two."
After a brief hesitation, Senju Gen spoke.
The two immediately assumed their stances. The instant Uchiha Yuan called, "Begin!" Senju Gen's figure flashed, shooting backward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.
A massive sphere of water shot rapidly toward Hatake Harukaze.
Hatake Harukaze leaped into the air and evaded the Water Dragon Bullet. At that moment, Senju Gen's voice rang out.
Water Style: Water Barrage Jutsu.
More than a dozen water spheres blasted toward Hatake Harukaze like cannonballs.
With a flick of his wrist, a Shuriken appeared in Hatake Harukaze's palm.
Then cold flashes flickered as he slashed apart three water bullets in a single strike. His figure twisted and shifted like a snake, changing direction repeatedly as he rushed through the barrage in the blink of an eye.
Senju Gen had just landed when he felt a fierce wind rush at his face. Hatake Harukaze had already sprinted toward him, a Shuriken stabbing his way.
Senju Gen swung out his palm, striking Hatake Harukaze's arm and blocking it so that the Shuriken could not continue forward.
Immediately afterward, he twisted sideways and moved away from the Shuriken's path. Then he stepped forward and threw a punch at Hatake Harukaze.
From nearby, Uchiha Yuan watched Senju Gen's movements and nodded slightly. From those instantaneous actions alone, it was clear that Senju Gen's Taijutsu was formidable.
Facing Senju Gen's incoming fist, Hatake Harukaze did not dodge and instead threw out a punch of his own.
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