"The second round of the Martial Arts Tournament is beginning. Young Master Fuyuki and Neji Hyuga, please gather in the center of the arena!"
The first round of the tournament was a screening. The second round was where the elders focused on the talents they truly cared about.
Everyone had limited energy. The clan elders were already swamped with affairs in their daily lives, so naturally, they couldn't look after everyone. Aside from the Main Branch successor, only those with enough talent could receive special training.
Fuyuki arrived at the arena and naturally greeted Neji Hyuga, who stood across from him. "Morning, cousin!"
As a man who had read the script, Fuyuki would never forget what had happened to the Hyuga Clan.
After all, two of the Twelve Bronze Saints came from the Hyuga Clan: Hinata and Neji. Their flashback scenes added up to dozens of episodes—enough to make anyone sick of them. After being subjected to such brainwashing flashbacks, it was hard for Fuyuki to forget the story completely.
So, thanks to Fuyuki's unorthodox actions, Neji's father in this timeline hadn't died a tragic death. But the Cloud ninja envoy still came to the Hyuga Clan, and that wasn't something Fuyuki could stop. Two years ago, he was only three years old and had been learning chakra for less than a week. How could he have stopped a Special Jonin skilled in stealth?
"Please take this seriously, Young Master Fuyuki. The Clan Head and Lord Hokage are both watching."
Neji's face tightened. Even at such a young age, he already had the deadpan, rigid demeanor of a stickler for propriety. Fuyuki's verbal teasing had no effect on him; he only ever spoke with caution and restraint.
If Hinata was like a rice cake, changing into all sorts of poses whenever Fuyuki teased her, then Neji was like white mutton-fat jade—so rigid he was practically hard as a rock. No matter how much Fuyuki teased him, he never wavered.
"Byakugan!"
Neji quickly formed Hand Seals, channeling chakra into the meridians around his eyes to activate his Byakugan. "Please!"
Fuyuki glanced toward Hiashi. Seeing no particular reaction from him, he began forming Hand Seals too. But he wasn't using the seal to refine chakra; he was using an unfamiliar Summoning Jutsu seal that no one present recognized.
The opening of the seal was exactly the same as the Summoning Jutsu's, but several extra seals followed it.
"Multiplication Summoning Technique!"
At Fuyuki's low shout, a pillar of flame and a column of water rose beside him. Two round, Low-ranking Elemental Spirits appeared, floating beside Fuyuki with adorably blank expressions as they waited for their master's orders.
The Elemental Summoning Technique was originally performed together with the Spirit Binding Technique. Fuyuki hadn't known how to do it before, but now that he had learned, he no longer needed to gather chakra separately to create a vessel for his summons. The Elemental Spirits already had the vessel for the binding technique when they were summoned.
Seeing Fuyuki use a Summoning Jutsu, Neji wasn't surprised. This wasn't his first time fighting Young Master Fuyuki, so he knew his moves. That was exactly why he was so wary and didn't dare take the initiative.
Those summons might look adorably blank, but in Young Master Fuyuki's hands, they were cruel weapons.
They exploded!
As the one who had personally detonated Summoned Beasts, Fuyuki had always suffered from a bad reputation in the Hyuga Clan.
"Oh? The Multiplication Summoning Technique? Interesting."
The Third Hokage raised the brim of his hat and looked curiously at Hyuga Fuyuki, who had just performed a Summoning Jutsu he had never seen before.
The Multiplication Summoning Technique was a signature move of the Animal Path. Anyone without the Rinnegan couldn't use it. No more than a handful of people knew of this exclusive technique.
Fuyuki wasn't an honest man, of course. He wasn't about to reveal that he was using summoning magic, so he had borrowed the name of Pain's signature move to hide every trace of it.
"Byakugan!"
After summoning the Elemental Spirits, Fuyuki crouched down and formed a sword-hand in front of himself with one hand, controlling the two spirits as they launched a surprise attack on Neji.
Neji might not have had much else going for him, but he was tough as nails. If Fuyuki fought him in Taijutsu, Neji would keep going until he was covered in injuries and had exhausted himself. Fuyuki had no desire to spend over half an hour wrestling with a little boy. It wasn't like he was g—
The Water Elemental Spirit melted into a puddle and rushed toward Neji Hyuga across the ground at tremendous speed.
The Fire Elemental Spirit didn't move. It stood blankly beside Fuyuki.
This was only a family tournament, so Fuyuki wouldn't use any overly powerful magic. A tournament wasn't a duel, so there was no need to be so vicious. He only had to defeat his opponent.
If he really wanted to kill an enemy, all Fuyuki had to do was use Gentle Fist chakra to strike the enemy's body, then summon a beast from inside them.
Faced with the approaching puddle, Neji hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to strike the ground with his palm. Using the special chakra of the Gentle Fist, he hit the Water Spirit. Then he immediately retreated, raising both hands to shield his chest and head.
"Summoning Sacrifice!"
Seeing Neji's move, Fuyuki immediately used the Sacrifice Technique from his summoning magic, making the Elemental Spirit formed from his chakra self-destruct.
"Zzzzt!"
The Water Elemental Spirit emerged from the ground. A corner of its body was missing where the Gentle Fist had struck it, but that was now beside the point. Its round body was rapidly swelling and twisting. In the next instant, it exploded into countless high-pressure water blades that shot in every direction at tremendous speed.
Neji was hit first. The moment the blades touched his training clothes, they shredded them. Fine cuts appeared across his smooth, pale skin, and tiny drops of blood stained his white outfit red.
He wasn't badly hurt because he knew Fuyuki's usual tricks and had prepared to defend himself!
After weathering the densest barrage of water blades, Neji steadied himself. Chakra lit up in his hands as he charged at Fuyuki, who was crouching on the ground. Along the way, he used the Gentle Fist to shatter the slower blades.
"Summoning Sacrifice."
Fuyuki grabbed the ball of flame beside him and tossed it at Neji, who still hadn't given up and wanted to beat him up.
"Boom!"
The ball of flame rapidly swelled, following in the Water Elemental Spirit's footsteps and exploding into a gigantic fireball.
Caught beneath the center of the explosion, Neji was instantly slammed facedown by the blast wave and knocked unconscious.
He was only a six-year-old child. Fuyuki's Summoning Sacrifice was clearly not a Genin-level technique. Judging by its power alone, it was at least as strong as a Great Fireball.
The Hyuga Clan members weren't surprised. They thought the scene perfectly natural.
Young Master Fuyuki had never liked the Gentle Fist. Now that he was facing Neji, who was older than him, everyone had expected him to use ninjutsu. Besides, they hadn't only seen the water and fire spirits self-destruct; they had also seen Summoned Beasts with Wind and Earth Attributes explode.
"What a cruel summoning technique," the Third Hokage murmured, his brow furrowing slightly.
He didn't know that Fuyuki's Summoned Beasts were actually formed from his own chakra, so, like the other Hyuga Clan members, he thought Fuyuki had summoned beasts from elsewhere to use as living bombs.
The technique was cruel, but still within the Third Hokage's bounds of acceptance. After all, the clans whose Summoned Beasts had been blown up didn't seem to mind, so what right did an old man like him have to lecture anyone?
Still, seeing the way Fuyuki used his Summoned Beasts reminded the Third Hokage of some unpleasant things.
He, too, had a student skilled in summoning, who often sent Summoned Beasts charging into battle and likewise didn't care whether they lived or died.
Fuyuki had reminded him of that student.
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