Hyuga Hane VS Uchiha Yakumaru (Part 1)

"I understand, Lord Hokage." Hyuga Hane nodded in response.

Judging by their familiarity, was Yakumaru's presence a sign that the Uchiha clan supported Namikaze Minato?

Shisui was still young and had yet to reveal his talent, and the less said about Itachi, the better.

This Uchiha Special Jonin, who was about his own age, was likely the most capable ninja the Uchiha had left behind in Konoha.

Except for the fact that his name was a bit ominous.

The surrounding ninjas also noticed the arrival of Namikaze Minato, watching him with either excitement or nervousness.

Seeing this, Namikaze Minato stopped chatting with the two and smiled as he announced the rules.

Just as Uchiha Yakumaru had said, this assessment was a live combat test. After drawing lots, everyone would have three chances to fight different opponents to demonstrate their strengths and abilities.

Once Minato finished outlining the rules, a Jonin in charge of the assessment appeared on the field.

"The first match of the assessment begins now: Nakayama Ryohisa versus Shiranui Genma."

As soon as the words fell, two figures remained on the field while the others quickly retreated to the edges to watch.

Uchiha Yakumaru watched their boring duel for a while, then approached Hyuga Hane with a cold face. "Let's suggest to Lord Hokage that the two of us fight each other."

Hyuga Hane looked at Uchiha Yakumaru, who was also looking at him, a flash of fighting spirit in his eyes.

"There are only four Special Jonin in this assessment. Compared to the other two, I think you are more worth fighting."

And it would let me vent my frustration!

Hyuga Hane raised an eyebrow and looked toward the Fourth Hokage, only to see the Hokage smiling back at them, a sudden realization dawning on him.

"No need, we will face each other eventually."

With that, he ignored Uchiha Yakumaru, perfectly embodying the image of a taciturn member of the Hyuga Branch Family.

Uchiha Yakumaru followed his gaze to the Fourth Hokage, his expression instantly turning serious and composed.

His goal today was not just to pass the Jonin assessment, but to catch the Fourth's eye and join his Shadow Guard.

It was rare to have a Hokage who was close to the Uchiha; they had to seize every opportunity!

Soon, the two were called by name and each fought two matches.

Since their opponents were only Chunin, they naturally posed little threat, and both won with ease.

At this moment, after the other Special Jonin had been called to the field to compete, Uchiha Yakumaru finally understood what Hane had meant by saying they would face each other.

Sure enough, as soon as that match ended, the examiner shouted, "Next match, Uchiha Yakumaru versus Hyuga Hane."

Uchiha Yakumaru and Hyuga Hane appeared in the center of the field simultaneously via Body Flicker.

Whether they were ninjas who had performed poorly in the assessment or those confident they would pass, everyone's curiosity was piqued.

Hyuga and Uchiha.

What would happen when these two ocular techniques clashed? Even ninjas from the same village were curious.

Following the rules, Hyuga Hane and Uchiha Yakumaru performed the Seal of Confrontation toward each other.

Seeing this, the examiner shouted "Begin!" and flickered out of the arena.

Three tomoe swirled in Uchiha Yakumaru's eyes. Feeling the power of the Uchiha clan, he looked at Hyuga Hane with indifference.

"You've already seen the power of the Uchiha clan on the Mist Village Battlefield. Now, experience it for yourself..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

Opposite him, Hyuga Hane had already closed his eyes, with only the bulging veins around them indicating that he had activated his Byakugan.

Uchiha Yakumaru was stunned, and the surrounding Konoha ninjas were stunned as well.

Even Minato wore a look of amused disbelief.

I never expected one could do that...

Though his opponent was stunned, Hyuga Hane would not stand still. His figure flickered as he closed the distance at high speed, his sharp, authentic Gentle Fist striking Uchiha Yakumaru's chest like lightning.

But with a "poof," Uchiha Yakumaru transformed into white smoke and vanished.

It was a Shadow Clone!

Clang, clang, clang...

Several shuriken collided in mid-air, altering their trajectories to form a net that descended upon Hyuga Hane from all directions.

From behind, a massive Great Fireball came hurtling toward him.

Hyuga Hane, having sensed it early, turned and struck in one direction with an Air Palm, shattering the net and escaping the range of the shuriken and the Great Fireball.

Then, he closed in on Uchiha Yakumaru's true body at high speed!

Uchiha Yakumaru, who had wanted to create distance, clicked his tongue when he saw the Uchiha Shurikenjutsu had little effect, and was forced to engage Hyuga Hane in taijutsu.

Although he had indeed been startled by Hyuga Hane's actions, his own caliber was not such that he would be dazed during a fight.

Still, he had been affected, and he hadn't managed to create distance in time.

Now, he had to be careful.

Glancing at the steel wire between his fingers, Uchiha Yakumaru calmed his mind, focusing on dodging Hyuga Hane's pressure-point strikes.

"I didn't know the Byakugan could be used like that; I've never seen it before."

At the edge of the training ground, Shiranui Genma remarked with a sigh.

"Isn't that a given? The Hyuga Clan has always been low-key, never fighting or scrambling for power. Even though they are known alongside the Uchiha Clan as the two great noble clans of Konoha, the two rarely have any conflict. Since they don't clash, it seems there has never been a time when a member of the Hyuga Clan needed to fight with their eyes closed the entire time."

His teammate, Namiashi Raidō, who was also there to participate in the assessment, leaned against the wall and sighed.

"Besides, we should be worrying about whether we can pass the Special Jonin assessment ourselves. Given their reaction speeds just now, if it were us on that field, we would be defeated in no time."

"Why worry? Isn't it just as good to become a Special Jonin and improve yourself slowly?"

Shiranui Genma smiled lazily, "But looking at it this way, the Sharingan has absolutely no advantage against the Byakugan."

The Byakugan's abilities are mostly focused on reconnaissance, and its ability to see through an enemy's chakra flow is primarily to assist the Gentle Fist.

It doesn't provide much of a boost to raw combat power, but right now, it truly seems like a hard counter to the Uchiha.

The greatest strength of the Sharingan is its genjutsu; once an enemy makes eye contact, they fall into a powerful illusion.

But this becomes useless when Hyuga Hane closes his eyes and fights using the perspective of the Byakugan.

As for the Sharingan's ability to copy ninjutsu and taijutsu...

Do the Hyuga use ninjutsu?

In any case, he hadn't seen much of it; it was all Gentle Fist.

Copying the Gentle Fist is impossible, so the only benefits the Sharingan provides to Uchiha Yakumaru are the boosts to his neural reflexes and his perception.

"There is one more advantage... an intelligence advantage!"

Their third teammate, Yamashiro Aoba, who wore glasses and excelled at reading others' memories, spoke up, drawing the gazes of the other two.

"Intelligence?"

"Don't underestimate me! Just because the Sharingan is useless doesn't mean I am!"

In front of Hyuga Hane, Uchiha Yakumaru struggled to dodge a palm strike, his body tilting to the side as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

His fingers twitched slightly, and several shuriken that had unknowingly appeared in Hyuga Hane's blind spot were pulled by the steel wire in his hand, flying toward the back of Hane's head.

The Branch Family Byakugan has a blind spot.

Although Uchiha Yakumaru was arrogant, he would never abandon an intelligence advantage or ignore an enemy's weakness during a fight.

Just as Hyuga Hane had neutralized the Sharingan's genjutsu through such an unexpected method.

Making good use of intelligence to effectively kill the enemy—that is what a ninja is!

At this distance, you cannot dodge!