Clash of Geniuses (2)

In the spectator stands, Hyuga Tianren and Inaba Uchiha sat together, chatting while watching the matches.

"My youngest son told me recently that seeking an alliance with you Uchiha isn't exactly stable."

Hyuga Tianren said with a hint of playfulness.

Inaba Uchiha looked somewhat surprised.

"Oh? Your youngest son—that would be little Hoshishaku, right? Why does he think we Uchiha are unstable?"

Hyuga Tianren's expression grew more serious:

"He said that the awakening of the Uchiha Clan's eyes is built upon the foundation of gaining and losing love. After a normal person goes through such an ordeal, their psyche is bound to suffer some degree of trauma. So, he suggested I give you a piece of advice: you should train some mental health ninjas."

Inaba Uchiha fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

The two clans were currently in a honeymoon period, and as the Uchiha Clan Head, he certainly had to value the opinions of his allies.

If these words had come from anyone else, he would have dismissed them entirely, or perhaps even retorted.

Your own clan is the one with the mental trauma!

But since these words came from the Hyuga Clan Head—and specifically from Hyuga Hoshishaku, the one who developed the Mystical Palm Technique—he had to take them seriously.

One had to realize that, on a higher level, the influence of Hyuga Hoshishaku of the Hyuga Clan was not to be underestimated.

The medical ninjutsu he developed was, in every sense, a benefit to everyone.

Thus, Inaba Uchiha's expression became a bit more sincere:

"That is an interesting point. How does the Hoshishaku lad think we should go about training these mental health ninjas?"

Hyuga Tianren laughed heartily:

"Haha, I didn't quite catch the details on that. How about I have Hoshishaku pay a visit later?"

Inaba Uchiha revealed a look of genuine delight:

"Good, good, good! Then it's settled. I will bring the elders to welcome him personally. Oh, the next match is the Hoshishaku lad—wait, how did he end up matched against that fellow Setsuna?"

Hyuga Tianren looked at the electronic screen in the arena, and information regarding Uchiha Setsuna flashed rapidly through his mind.

Combining this with the intelligence he already possessed, his heart suddenly tightened, and he said to the Uchiha Clan Head beside him:

"That lad Hoshishaku is Senju Tobirama's apprentice. I'm going to the sidelines to watch."

The statement was vague.

But Inaba Uchiha, who was equally privy to the inside story, quickly connected the dots. He hurriedly stood up and followed after Hyuga Tianren.

"Let's go together, let's go!"

When Hyuga Hoshishaku and Uchiha Setsuna stood on the arena floor, one's gaze was filled with ferocity, while the other's was filled with excitement.

"Begin!"

As soon as the referee shouted the start, a sudden boom erupted across the field!

Both men moved simultaneously.

Uchiha Setsuna immediately unleashed a large-scale Fire Style ninjutsu: Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

Hoshishaku, meanwhile, used the Summoning Technique to bring forth the Rashomon to block the flames: Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!

When the flames, capable of sweeping across the entire arena, slammed into the Triple Rashomon, the first gate quickly turned black and began to shed debris.

The remaining flames were blocked by the purple barrier at the edge of the field.

Standing behind the Rashomon, Hoshishaku tore open a piece of sealing paper.

Immediately, a pile of sealing papers emerged, stacked half a person's height!

Hoshishaku then pulled out his brush, and small birds bit onto the sealing papers and soared into the sky.

Just as the second Rashomon began to teeter, more and more white birds filled the air above.

Everyone was unaware of the purpose of these white birds.

Only Yuto, watching from the stands, jumped up in excitement.

The next moment, the arena became like a small pond connected to a water pump.

The sealing papers held in the beaks of all the birds were activated, and countless intertwined suction vortices appeared, absorbing almost all the flames on the field in an instant!

Even the floor tiles and the traces left by various previous ninjutsu battles were all sucked in.

Only the two men, who had covered the soles of their feet with chakra, remained unmoved.

Hoshishaku had been well-prepared and stood easily behind the third Rashomon.

Uchiha Setsuna, however, was forced to cling to the ground, but he had already been pulled by the powerful suction to the point where he had lost all dignity.

Just as his clothes were shredded and he was about to suffer further embarrassment, Hoshishaku—seeing the Rashomon being pulled into the air—hurriedly controlled the flock of ink birds to stop the sealing technique.

On the arena floor, Hoshishaku stood with his clothes intact, while Uchiha Setsuna was left in a "beggar's outfit."

Hoshishaku's combination of Super Beast Imitating Drawing and the sealing technique caused little physical damage, but the insult was immense.

Uchiha Setsuna was trembling with rage, charging forward without hesitation.

Xingzhuo manipulated the Flying Birds, distributing them evenly across every corner of the arena before vanishing from his spot.

He had used the Flying Thunder God Technique!

As it turned out, he had left a Flying Thunder God Mark on every single bird!

The moment Uchiha Setsuna saw his opponent disappear, the tomoe in his eyes began to spin.

Just as Xingzhuo abruptly appeared behind him.

He drew his blade and slashed backward.

Faced with this strike, Xingzhuo had no choice but to abandon the Rasengan he was about to condense, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the furthest possible distance.

Uchiha Setsuna charged straight toward him, not forgetting to unleash a ninjutsu mid-sprint: Fire Style: Wild Storm Dance!

A spiral pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, rapidly sweeping across the entire arena.

It was yet another large-scale area-of-effect ninjutsu!

On Xingzhuo's side, because the Sealing-In Technique had already absorbed a massive amount of flames from the Majestic Destroyer Flame, he could not use it to seal again.

Therefore, he immediately drew a Cloud Bird.

Super Beast Imitating Drawing: Cloud Bird!

As the spiral flames were about to scorch him, he flicked his wrist to release the bird from his sealing scroll, sitting atop it to soar high into the arena's sky.

On the other side, seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna immediately ceased his Fire Style: Wild Storm Dance, switching to the less chakra-intensive Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

In an instant, a massive fireball surged toward the sky, its range vast enough to cover nearly half of the arena's airspace.

With the sealing barrier present above the arena, it was extremely difficult for Xingzhuo to dodge.

Moreover, he was starting to feel cornered.

Large-scale fire AOE was a hard counter to his Flying Thunder God and aerial maneuvers, and his Super Beast Imitating Drawing creations could not withstand the incineration; after those two fire attacks, most of the birds on the field had been reduced to ash.

Furthermore, his advantage in taijutsu was negligible when facing an opponent of jonin caliber.

Ninjutsu like the Rasengan and Chidori also required him to close the distance to be effective.

The current situation was that his opponent, possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, completely overwhelmed him in reaction speed and perception.

And his own abilities were being perfectly countered by the other party.

Therefore, to defeat his opponent, he would have to rely on the underhanded tactics of his Sealing Technique, or expose the Yin Release Secret Technique he had been researching to strike pressure points from a distance.

Which one to choose?

He had no choice but to resort to the underhanded Sealing Technique!