Mikoto Is Cast Out of the Clan

"Why?!" Nawaki asked dumbly.

Hyuga Shin gave Nawaki a look of concern usually reserved for the intellectually challenged and said earnestly, "Because by then, you'd already be an idiot."

With that, Shin strode into the school, leaving Nawaki standing there in a daze.

"Come on, let's go inside, idiot." Inoichi patted Nawaki on the shoulder and burst out laughing.

"You damn Hyuga Shin! Stop right there!" Nawaki hurried after him.

"There's a good show over there. Let's go take a look." Before Nawaki could say anything else, Shin pointed toward a spot nearby.

"Hm?" Seeing the students gathering in a circle, Nawaki grew interested too. He was always eager to see a commotion, so he didn't pay Shin any mind and ran over to watch.

"What's going on?" Shikaku Nara looked into the distance and asked Shin.

At that, Shin rolled his eyes. "Isn't that a stupid question? I only just got here myself. What good would asking me do?"

Shikaku gave an awkward smile, realizing his question had indeed been a bit foolish.

"But from the looks of it, someone's gotten into a fight. Want to go see?"

"I don't like getting caught up in this sort of trouble. You guys go ahead," Shikaku said, his eyes dull as a dead fish.

It didn't help. Inoichi and Choza Akimichi dragged Shikaku over anyway.

Shin didn't go with them. It wasn't that he didn't like a good spectacle; he'd spotted Mikoto Uchiha at the school gates.

"Mikoto! Over here!" Shin waved to her.

Mikoto spotted him and hurried over, smiling as she asked, "Shin, why did you get here so early?"

There it was again. Shin really wanted to complain.

He'd only arrived late the day before, yet he'd already been labeled as someone who liked to show up late.

"Let's go check out the commotion over there!" Without answering, Shin took Mikoto's smooth, delicate hand and led her over.

Mikoto blushed and gave a slight, halfhearted tug, then let Shin lead her along. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest.

When they arrived, Shin saw Hyuga Hiashi facing off against members of the Hyuga Clan, with the Uchiha Clan opposite them.

"What's going on? Is Uchiha Ken trying to get revenge?" Shin tapped Minato Namikaze on the shoulder. Minato had been there for a while, so he should know what was going on.

Before Minato could answer, Mikoto tugged at Shin and whispered, "The one leading them is Fugaku Uchiha, the clan leader's son."

"Oh?" Shin raised an eyebrow.

"Earlier, Fugaku Uchiha beat up someone from the Hyuga Clan and even said he'd crush them beneath his feet. Hiashi happened to hear him, and that's how this confrontation started," Minato explained.

Shin peered into the crowd and recognized the Hyuga Clan member who'd been beaten.

"Isn't that Hyuga Gangban, Hyuga Teppan's older brother? How'd he get beaten up by Fugaku Uchiha?"

"Fugaku Uchiha, I challenge you!" Hyuga Hiashi glared at Fugaku Uchiha, his pale eyes filled with murderous intent.

Hizashi Hyuga stood beside Hiashi, wanting to stop him but unsure how.

Fugaku Uchiha was older than Hiashi and was already close to graduating. Hiashi had virtually no chance of winning.

"Hiashi, you'd better calm down. You can tell he's stronger than you. If he beats you to a pulp again, the Hyuga Clan will lose face," Shin advised him, with feigned concern.

"What? Are you saying I'm weaker than him?" Hiashi roared in fury.

"Hiashi, I think Shin's right. You're being a little irrational," Shikaku said. He didn't think Hiashi could win either.

"Big brother, we can settle things with him later. Let it go for now!"

"Hmph! I'll prove to you all that the Uchiha Clan is nothing to be afraid of." Hiashi ignored everyone's attempts to talk him out of it.

"There's a limit to how foolish you can be. I'll teach you a proper lesson today. I accept your challenge." Fugaku Uchiha lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Hiashi.

Fugaku's contemptuous expression made Hiashi see red. Even his pale eyes grew bloodshot, as if they were about to mutate into the Sharingan.

"Die! Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!"

Hiashi activated his Byakugan. Veins bulged around his eyes, making his face look especially fierce. A trigram formation appeared, enveloping Fugaku Uchiha, as Hiashi's hands flew out, striking at the vital points all over his body.

If Fugaku Uchiha took those blows, he might really be finished.

But Fugaku Uchiha was no easy target. Comma-shaped tomoe appeared in his eyes and slowly spun.

Though it was only a One-Tomoe Sharingan, that was enough to see through Hiashi's attacks.

Hiashi's fists had been moving incredibly fast, but now they seemed as slow as a tortoise's to Fugaku. He twisted his body at will, easily dodging every strike.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The spectators watched, thrilled and envious.

"So this is the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan? They're incredible!"

"Yeah! I wish I had those too!"

Some of the students didn't know much about the Sharingan, so they asked those around them who did. The discussion grew lively.

"Once Hiashi loses, we'll jump in. He's in our class, after all. We can't let other people bully him," Nawaki said, clenching his fists, excitement written all over his face.

Seeing Nawaki so fired up, Shin teased, "I think you just want to get into a fight yourself."

After Hiashi finished his Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms, his body paused, and he gasped for breath.

The Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms was only a precursor to the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, but it still took a lot out of him. At his current level, Hiashi could barely use it twice.

But once he'd used it up, there'd be no point fighting at all—he'd lose the ability to fight.

So Hiashi didn't dare use it again. He pulled a Kunai from his ninja pouch and faced off against Fugaku Uchiha.

"Hmph!"

Fugaku Uchiha snorted. He focused chakra beneath his feet and released it in a burst, closing the distance to Hiashi in the blink of an eye. He slashed at Hiashi with the Kunai in his hand.

Hiashi's eyes widened. He hurriedly raised his Kunai to block Fugaku Uchiha's strike, but the impact sent him staggering backward.

He crashed into several spectators before finally coming to a stop. His arm trembled slightly, and his face flushed red.

Though the Hyuga Clan specialized in Taijutsu, Hiashi was still too young. The Uchiha Clan wasn't weak in Taijutsu either, so it was only natural that he'd been knocked back.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"