"Hyuga Anihiko?"
The white-eyed boy standing before him had announced that he wanted to challenge him. Uchiha Yue looked him over, and the boy's details came to mind.
Ever since his fight with Hatake Dansui, Yue had made a point of gathering information about the Ninja Academy's so-called prodigies through casual chats with his classmates. Hyuga Anihiko, who had just appeared before him, was one of the academy's few recognized talents. The academy's prodigies were ranked, though. First place naturally went to Hatake Kakashi, the person Yue had always wanted to challenge. Anihiko was only ranked third, behind Hatake Dansui.
Still, Yue wasn't about to underestimate Anihiko just because he'd been lucky enough to beat Dansui.
Like Dansui, Anihiko had earned his reputation as a prodigy at the Ninja Academy thanks to his skill with his clan's Taijutsu. Rumor had it that he had already mastered Gentle Fist to a decent degree, and could even hold his own against some Genin. He was certainly an opponent Yue had to take seriously.
But just as Anihiko declared that he wanted to challenge Yue, and before Yue could say a word, Uchiha Obito spoke up first. "Hmph, who do you think you are, Hyuga Anihiko? You don't deserve to challenge Yue!" Obito turned to Yue, rubbing his hands together as if ready for a fight. "Yue, let me take care of Anihiko! I want to see what makes someone from the Hyuga Clan think he can challenge one of us from the Uchiha Clan!"
"You?"
Anihiko gave Obito a scornful look. "Sorry, I have no interest in fighting trash!"
"You dare call me trash?"
Obito was easily riled up. Faced with Anihiko's provocation, he couldn't hold back the anger burning inside him.
Besides, Rin was right there beside him. Wanting to show off in front of the girl he loved, Obito wasn't about to swallow the insult.
But just as Obito started forward, Yue stepped in front of him and blocked his path. "Obito, you're no match for him. Let me handle it."
As he spoke, Yue gave Rin a look, signaling for her to stop Obito before he got hurt.
Rin caught his meaning and quickly grabbed Obito by the shoulder. At last, she managed to hold him back.
At this point, Rin was probably the only one who could get Obito to rein in his temper. If Yue insisted on keeping Obito from fighting, it might damage his confidence and even ruin the hard-won friendship between them. But if Rin stepped in to stop him, there was no need to worry about any of that. That was precisely why Yue had signaled to her.
Once Obito had finally calmed down, Yue walked up to Anihiko and said coldly, "I accept your challenge. Pick the place."
"Good!" Anihiko gave a cold smile. "Uchiha Yue, I like your decisiveness. Let's meet at the Ninja Academy Training Ground!"
"Fine."
Looking at Anihiko's confident expression, Yue agreed without hesitation.
Then he set off for the academy's training ground with Rin and Obito. Yue had no idea that as soon as he'd accepted Anihiko's challenge, the whole Ninja Academy had heard about their upcoming fight. By the time they arrived at the training ground, countless students had already gathered in the stands to watch.
Seeing so many people there, Yue's heart tightened. He immediately understood the real reason Anihiko had challenged him.
The Uchiha Clan was the most powerful clan in Konoha. The Hyuga Clan wanted to rise to the same status, but still lacked the means to truly suppress the Uchiha. Even though the Senju Clan of the Forest had withdrawn from the village and Konoha's leadership had begun supporting the Hyuga to prevent the Uchiha from dominating the village, the Uchiha's position in Konoha was deeply entrenched. The Hyuga could not compare.
So the Hyuga Clan would never pass up an opportunity to undermine the Uchiha.
And in Konoha, Yue was known as a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan. That made him the perfect target for the Hyuga to undermine.
Anihiko had most likely come to challenge him at his clan's behest, hoping to damage the Uchiha Clan's reputation in Konoha.
Even if Anihiko really did win, the Uchiha's reputation wouldn't suffer much. But the Hyuga's aim was to show everyone in Konoha that the next generation of the Hyuga Clan was stronger than the next generation of the Uchiha. If they could achieve that, the Hyuga would be satisfied—and Anihiko would earn his clan's full support by bringing Yue down.
"Hmph, Hyuga Anihiko. Are you really so sure you can beat me?"
"Fine! Today, I'll make you lose face in front of everyone!"
Having figured out the whole scheme, Yue sneered inwardly. A cold glint entered his eyes as he looked at Anihiko.
There was no doubt about it: Yue wasn't the sort to go looking for trouble, and he didn't care about his clan's honor at all. As long as he could protect the people around him, he was happy. But if anyone tried to use him, his pride would never let him accept it.
And there was no way he'd allow Anihiko to use him as a stepping stone!
Then...
As Yue and Anihiko walked onto the training ground and got ready to fight, Anihiko looked at Yue and said, "Uchiha Yue, you may be known as a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, but you've only just started at the Ninja Academy. I'll let you make the first move!"
"Heh. Should I thank you?"
Yue stared at Anihiko and shrugged with an air of helplessness. "I may not have been at the Ninja Academy long, but I don't need you to go easy on me. Besides, you're only the academy's third-ranked prodigy. Even the second-ranked Hatake Dansui lost to me. Why would I need you to hold back?"
As he spoke, Yue gave Anihiko a contemptuous look and casually raised three fingers.
Everyone present was puzzled. They had no idea what Yue was up to.
Who would have thought...
Just as everyone was wondering why Yue had raised three fingers, he said, as if it were no big deal:
"Hyuga Anihiko, poor you, stuck with the title of third place. There's no point in beating you."
"So..."
"I'll let you have the first three moves!"
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