Uchiha Zuho (5)

Uchiha Zuho steadied himself and charged at Hyuga Shinichi again. This time, Shinichi dodged sideways, then threw another punch at Zuho's face.

Zuho hurriedly leaned his upper body back and dodged the punch, but Shinichi immediately swept out with a kick. Zuho couldn't avoid it and was struck on the heel.

His upper body, already leaning back, continued to topple. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Zuho gritted his teeth.

"Damn it!"

He performed a backflip, kicking at the advancing Shinichi midair. Shinichi dodged the kick, giving Zuho some distance from him.

"Damn it. I shouldn't have agreed to compete against a Hyuga in Taijutsu from the start. Once they get close, it's hard to break free."

After muttering under his breath, Zuho brushed the dust from his sleeves. His gaze sharpened as he decided to use his ultimate move. His hands formed Hand Seals in a blur, and the chakra within him began to surge.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

Zuho spewed a scorching Great Fireball from his mouth. The spectators were thrilled to see such a huge fireball, and even the teachers thought Zuho had exceptional talent.

Three people in the crowd watching the match were exceptions: Nawaki and his two companions. They were chatting among themselves.

When they saw the Great Fireball, Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro grew worried about Shinichi and turned to Nawaki.

"Hey, Nawaki, doesn't Shinichi only know Wind Style? Won't using it just make the Great Fireball even stronger?"

"Yeah, this is bad for Shinichi."

Only Nawaki remained confident, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke.

"Come on, Shinichi will be fine. He can probably break that Great Fireball with ease."

He thought back to how Shinichi had become his grandmother's student at the age of three. Over the past year, Nawaki had seen just how talented Shinichi was, and how far his strength surpassed that of other children his age.

On the field, when Zuho formed Hand Seals to prepare his Great Fireball, Shinichi didn't retreat in the slightest. He, too, began forming Hand Seals rapidly.

Then he gathered Wind Style chakra in his right hand, compressing it more and more.

As the Great Fireball rushed toward him, scorching hot, Shinichi made his move.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blast!"

Not long after becoming Uzumaki Mito's student, Shinichi had perfected and mastered this Wind Style technique.

The Wind Style chakra, compressed to its utmost limit, shot forward at astonishing speed. Like an invisible spear, it hurtled toward the enormous Great Fireball with an overwhelming, razor-sharp force.

The air seemed to tear apart in its wake, releasing a shrill, piercing whistle.

When the Vacuum Blast met the Great Fireball, there was no violent collision or explosion.

The Vacuum Blast pierced straight through the fireball. Through the hole it had punched, Shinichi could still see the bewildered expression on Zuho's face.

The Vacuum Blast didn't weaken after piercing the Great Fireball. It continued onward, finally striking the school wall behind Zuho before dissipating and leaving a small, spiderweb-like crack in the wall.

The power of this Wind Style: Vacuum Blast stunned the entire crowd, plunging the spectators into instant silence!

At first, everyone thought the move had ended as soon as it pierced the Great Fireball. They were just about to open their mouths and discuss what they'd seen when—

Unbelievably, the Vacuum Blast had only just begun to show its power.

The Great Fireball, now pierced with a large hole, should have dissipated. But the wind pressure from the Vacuum Blast swept up the remaining flames, forming a wave of heat that followed the blast toward Zuho.

Zuho, frozen in shock, felt a gust of hot air hit his face. He immediately came to his senses and crossed his arms in front of him to shield himself. His hair and clothes whipped noisily in the wind.

He could even feel the sharp airflow stinging his skin like a blade, along with the faint heat of his own Great Fireball.

After quite a while, the hot gust finally died down. Zuho dropped onto his bottom and panted.

The spectators came back to their senses as if waking from a dream. Their eyes stayed fixed on the two boys in the arena: Zuho, looking utterly battered, and Shinichi, wearing a relaxed smile.

Everyone understood that the match was over! The winner was—

"Want to keep going, you show-off Uchiha brat?"

Shinichi walked over to Zuho, who was sitting on the ground, and looked down at him.

"I... I lost."

After saying those words, Zuho seemed to have all the strength drained from his body. A dejected air hung over him.

He had never imagined he would lose so completely. He had always believed himself to be the undisputed strongest student at the school, but the cruel reality had struck him like a hammer, jolting him awake.

Zuho slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling to the ground.

"The winner is Hyuga Shinichi!"

When the teacher acting as referee announced the result in a loud, clear voice, the already lively crowd erupted. The spectators buzzed like a pot coming to a boil.

"Shinichi! Shinichi!"

Instead of waving to the audience, Shinichi bent down and held out his right hand to Zuho.

"What's wrong, you show-off Uchiha brat? Can't handle a little setback? You'll never be able to help anyone if you're like this."

Zuho had been staring down at the ground, but suddenly a small hand appeared in his field of vision. He could clearly see the thick calluses on its palm.

Zuho could tell it was a hand that had endured countless hours of hard training. His own hands were just as calloused.

He was just beginning to drift into memories when Shinichi's aggravating voice rang in his ear, bringing him back to his senses. Zuho immediately snapped back.

"Hmph! I lost this time, but that doesn't mean I'll always lose to you, you stupid Byakugan from the Hyuga!"

Though Zuho said that, he still reached out and took Shinichi's hand.

As Shinichi gripped Zuho's hand, he felt the calluses on his palm too. He smiled and pulled Zuho to his feet.

Seeing this, the spectators cheered even louder. Some of the girls, captivated by Shinichi's gentle and handsome appearance, shouted things like, "Hyuga Shinichi, I love you!" and even chanted, "Get together! Get together!" for some reason.

"Both of you! Perform the Seal of Reconciliation!"

At the referee's words, the two boys joined their hands together again in the Seal of Reconciliation, having just let go. Then they slowly released each other, as if their conflict and resentment had vanished along with the gesture.

Just then, Nawaki came running up to Shinichi with a grin and gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Shinichi, great job! That Wind Style: Vacuum Blast of yours was incredible."

Shinichi grinned.

"Of course. Do you even know who I am?"

Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro offered their congratulations too.

At last, Shinichi bowed slightly to the audience and prepared to leave the training ground amid the cheers.

Zuho had been planning to leave alone when a hand suddenly caught his. The hand belonged to Shinichi.

"Want to come with me? I'm in a good mood because I graduated from school today, so I'll treat you to some Akimichi Clan barbecue."