Paying the Price for Arrogance

"Whoosh."

With a faint whistle through the air, ten finger bones shot across the sky like bullets, speeding toward Hyuga Taiyuan.

However, Hyuga Taiyuan was a jonin. A few bullets formed from finger bones weren't enough to pose much of a threat to him.

With several consecutive backflips, Hyuga Taiyuan easily dodged Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets, using the opportunity to put a little more distance between himself and Jun Tianlin.

Once he had regained his footing, Hyuga Taiyuan stared at Jun Tianlin with a dark expression. A hoarse voice came from his throat.

"Kid, I never expected you to have such strange powers. Judging by the look of them, they must be your Kekkei Genkai, right? No wonder you became a bounty hunter at such a young age and are so arrogant and conceited. So you're a Kekkei Genkai user!

"But although Kekkei Genkai are rare in the Ninja World, you're not the only one who has one! If you thought you could pick on someone weak, you chose the wrong opponent, kid!"

"Byakugan, activate!"

As he spoke, Hyuga Taiyuan let out an angry shout. The skin around his eyes, above his cheeks, bulged with veins that crisscrossed like fangs, making him look terrifyingly fierce.

With his Byakugan activated, Hyuga Taiyuan seemed even more arrogant than before, as if he were the greatest man in the world and looked down on everyone. His face was full of swagger.

"Heh heh, surprised, kid? I'm a member of Konoha's Hyuga Clan, and I possess the most powerful Kekkei Genkai in the world—the Byakugan, one of the Ninja World's Three Great Dojutsu. You're just a little—"

Hearing Hyuga Taiyuan nearby prattle on like a nagging wife, Jun Tianlin furrowed his brow. Before the man could continue boasting, he launched another attack.

"Shikotsumyaku: Bone Spike!"

As Jun Tianlin charged toward Hyuga Taiyuan, he gave a low shout. Bone spikes suddenly burst from the joints throughout his body, turning him into a porcupine covered in spikes!

"Everyone says the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is peerless, and that they're unmatched in close combat. Let's see how you'll use that Gentle Fist against my Shikotsumyaku!"

A fierce light shone in Jun Tianlin's eyes. He easily flipped in midair, then came down on the still-boasting Hyuga Taiyuan with a powerful bone-spiked axe kick!

"Hmph! You took advantage of me talking to sneak attack me. Kid, didn't your parents ever teach you that you should listen carefully when an adult is speaking?"

Anyone who was proudly introducing their impressive background only to be interrupted at the most exciting part would probably be furious, right?

A sinister look crossed Hyuga Taiyuan's face, and his voice was thick with anger. He coated his palm in chakra and met Jun Tianlin's axe kick with a palm strike of his own.

It was obvious that Hyuga Taiyuan had been too busy boasting to pay attention to Jun Tianlin's attack. Having been interrupted mid-speech, he had to meet the attack in a rush, without time to properly assess it—and he paid the price.

"Ah!"

With a scream, Hyuga Taiyuan's chakra-covered right hand was pierced through by the bone spike at Jun Tianlin's knee before it could hit him. But that wasn't the end of it. The powerful axe kick followed immediately after his hand was pierced.

Once again, the bone spike at Jun Tianlin's knee plunged straight into Hyuga Taiyuan's chest. Blood gushed from the wound, and after being pierced through by bone spikes twice, Hyuga Taiyuan was sent flying by the force of Jun Tianlin's kick.

He flew several dozen meters before crashing heavily to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

"Plop."

After Hyuga Taiyuan hit the ground, another faint sound followed. On closer inspection, it was a severed arm, still gushing blood, lying alone on the ground.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Hyuga Taiyuan struggled to his feet, badly wounded and coughing up mouthfuls of blood. Blood also poured from the five or six holes in his chest where the bone spikes had pierced him. Worst of all, the force of Jun Tianlin's kick had torn off his pierced right arm, which had fallen miserably to the ground.

The fight had lasted less than a round, yet the jonin Hyuga Taiyuan had already paid a bloody price for his arrogance and conceit.

Not only had his chest been pierced with five or six gaping holes, but he had also lost his right arm in that exchange!

Although they had only fought once, the battle was essentially over. Badly wounded and missing his right arm, Hyuga Taiyuan stood no chance against Jun Tianlin, who was at the peak of his strength!