"I understand, Lord Hokage." Hyuga Hane nodded.
Judging by how familiar the two seemed with each other, was Yakumaru showing that the Uchiha Clan supported Namikaze Minato?
Shisui was still young and hadn't shown any talent yet, and Itachi was even further from that point.
This Special Jonin, who was about the same age as him, was probably the most capable ninja among the Uchiha who had remained in Konoha.
Aside from his somewhat ill-omened name.
The surrounding ninjas had also noticed Namikaze Minato's arrival. Some watched him excitedly, others nervously.
Seeing this, Namikaze Minato stopped chatting with the two and smiled as he announced the rules.
Just as Uchiha Yakumaru had said, this assessment would be a series of real battles. After drawing lots, each person would have three chances to fight different opponents and show their strengths and abilities.
Once Minato had briefly explained the rules, a Jonin responsible for the assessment stepped forward.
"We'll now begin the first match of the assessment: Nakayama Ryohisa vs. Shiranui Genma."
As soon as he finished speaking, two figures remained in the field while everyone else quickly withdrew to watch from the edges.
Uchiha Yakumaru watched the dull match for a while, then approached Hyuga Hane with a cold expression. "Let's suggest to Lord Hokage that the two of us fight each other."
Hyuga Hane looked at Uchiha Yakumaru. The latter met his gaze, a flash of fighting spirit in his eyes.
"There are only four Special Jonin in this assessment. Of the other two, I think you're the more worthy opponent."
And I can blow off some steam, too!
Hyuga Hane raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the Fourth Hokage. The Hokage was smiling as he watched them, and understanding dawned on Hane.
"No need. We'll face each other."
Then he ignored Uchiha Yakumaru, perfectly embodying the taciturn image of a Hyuga Branch Family member.
Uchiha Yakumaru followed his gaze to the Fourth Hokage. His expression immediately turned serious, and he became composed.
His goal today wasn't to pass the Jonin assessment. It was to catch the Fourth Hokage's eye and join the 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 up and each fought two matches.
With Chunin as their opponents, they posed no threat, and both won with ease.
Then the other Special Jonin were called to the field to compete. Uchiha Yakumaru immediately understood what Hane had meant when he said they would face each other.
Sure enough, once that match ended, the examiner called, "Next match: Uchiha Yakumaru vs. Hyuga Hane."
Uchiha Yakumaru and Hyuga Hane appeared in the field at the same time with the Body Flicker Technique.
The ninjas who had performed poorly in the assessment and those confident of passing were equally intrigued.
The Hyuga and the Uchiha.
Even ninjas from the same village were curious to see what would happen when two kinds of dojutsu faced off.
Following the rules, Hyuga Hane and Uchiha Yakumaru formed the Seal of Confrontation.
The examiner shouted, "Begin!" and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the field.
Three Tomoe appeared in Uchiha Yakumaru's eyes. Feeling the power of the Uchiha Clan, he looked at Hyuga Hane with cool indifference.
"You've already seen the power of the Uchiha Clan on the Mist Village Battlefield, haven't you? Now, you can experience it for yourself—"
He stopped halfway through.
Across from him, Hyuga Hane had already closed his eyes. The veins bulging around them showed that he had activated his Byakugan.
Uchiha Yakumaru froze. The Konoha ninjas around them froze, too.
Even Minato wore a helpless, amused expression.
He hadn't expected someone could do that...
While his opponent was stunned, Hyuga Hane didn't stand around. He flashed forward and drove a swift, precise Gentle Fist into Uchiha Yakumaru's chest.
But with a bang, Uchiha Yakumaru turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.
A Shadow Clone!
Clang, clang, clang...
Several Shuriken clashed in midair, changing their trajectories and closing in on Hyuga Hane from all sides like a net.
A massive fireball came hurtling from behind as well.
Hyuga Hane sensed it in advance and turned, striking toward one direction with Air Palm. He broke apart the net and escaped the range of both the Shuriken and the Great Fireball.
Then he rushed straight toward Uchiha Yakumaru's real body!
Seeing that Uchiha Shurikenjutsu hadn't worked well and that Hyuga Hane was closing in, Uchiha Yakumaru clicked his tongue and had no choice but to engage him in Taijutsu.
Hane had certainly caught him off guard at first, but Yakumaru was too skilled to freeze up in the middle of a fight.
Still, the surprise had affected him enough to keep him from putting distance between them in time.
Now he had to be careful.
He glanced at the steel wire looped around his fingers and focused on dodging Hyuga Hane's Tenketsu Strike.
"So the Byakugan can 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 only natural? The Hyuga Clan has always kept a low profile and avoided conflict. Though they're called one of Konoha's two great noble clans alongside the Uchiha Clan, the two have hardly any issues with each other.
"They've never fought, so I guess there's never been a reason for the Hyuga to fight with their eyes closed the whole time."
His teammate, Namiashi Raidō, who was also taking the assessment, leaned against the wall and sighed.
"And we should be worrying about whether we can pass the Jonin assessment. With reflexes like theirs, we'd be defeated in no time if we fought them."
"What's there to worry about? Becoming a Special Jonin and gradually improving isn't so bad, either."
Shiranui Genma smiled lazily. "But seeing them fight, the Sharingan doesn't have any advantage against the Byakugan at all."
Most of the Byakugan's abilities were for reconnaissance. Its power to see an enemy's Chakra flow mainly supported the Gentle Fist.
On its own, it didn't add much to one's combat strength, but now it seemed to be a perfect counter to the Uchiha.
The Sharingan's greatest strength was Genjutsu. If an enemy met its gaze, they would fall into a powerful illusion.
But that was useless when Hyuga Hane fought with his eyes closed, using the Byakugan to see.
As for the Sharingan's ability to copy Ninjutsu and Taijutsu...
Did the Hyuga Clan even use Ninjutsu?
At any rate, he hadn't seen them use much. They relied entirely on the Gentle Fist.
Copying the Gentle Fist was even less possible. The Sharingan's boost to Uchiha Yakumaru's Taijutsu was limited to better reflexes and sharper observation.
"There's one more advantage... an information advantage!"
Their final teammate, Yamashiro Aoba, wore glasses and specialized in reading people's memories. His remark drew the other two's attention.
"Information?"
"Don't underestimate me! It's just that the Sharingan is useless against you!"
In front of Hyuga Hane, Uchiha Yakumaru barely dodged a palm strike. As he tilted to one side, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
His fingers twitched. Several Shuriken that had appeared unnoticed in Hyuga Hane's blind spot were tugged forward by the steel wire in his hand, striking toward the back of Hane's head.
The Byakugan of the Branch Family had a blind spot.
Uchiha Yakumaru might have been proud, but he wouldn't throw away his information advantage or ignore his opponent's weakness in a fight.
Just as Hyuga Hane had used an unexpected method to shut down the Sharingan's Genjutsu.
Using information effectively to kill the enemy—that was what being a ninja meant!
At this distance, you can't dodge!
Before you continue