Leaving aside Uchiha Kenichi, who had been incapacitated by a tenketsu strike, and the dehydrated Hyuga Ningbo, both of whom were out of the fight—
The other side had four people: Uchiha Kaoru, the strongest of the new generation; the woman in sunglasses; the male ninja; and Inuzuka Jin. Their side had four as well: himself, Yuhi Kurenai, Hyuga Ningxiang, and Hyuga Giichi. But no matter how he looked at it, only he and Hyuga Giichi were actually capable of fighting!
The other side completely outmatched them in physical condition, strength, and numbers. A closer look made it clear this was a fight they were bound to lose. Sato Hideaka gave a bitter smile and shook his head, then called up to Uchiha Kaoru in the tree. "How about this? I'll have Ningxiang help Uchiha Kenichi undo the tenketsu strike, and we'll call it even. What do you say?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Ningbo and Hyuga Giichi glared at Sato Hideaka, their faces full of anger, as though they'd been deeply insulted. Uchiha Kaoru, standing in the tree, shook her head too. With barely a parting of her lips, she replied coolly, "Hyuga Ningbo struck the tenketsu. He's the only one who knows best how to undo it. I don't agree with your suggestion!"
The real point of contention between the two clans wasn't whether Uchiha Kenichi had been struck at a tenketsu. It was their so-called clan pride!
Sato Hideaka gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Then he abruptly turned to Hyuga Ningxiang and asked, "Ningxiang, can you undo a tenketsu strike made with chakra?"
"I... I know a little."
Feeling Hyuga Ningbo's furious stare at her back, Hyuga Ningxiang shuddered. In the end, she still chose to side with Sato Hideaka, answering in a timid voice. At her age, she likely cared more about family than about some abstract pride she couldn't see or touch!
"All right. Go help Uchiha Kenichi undo the tenketsu strike!" Sato Hideaka nodded, then turned to Inuzuka Jin, who was supporting Uchiha Kenichi. "Inuzuka Jin, your teammate is Uchiha Kenichi, not Uchiha Kaoru up in the tree, right? I'd think your chances of advancing would be much better if Uchiha Kenichi got his strength back!"
Inuzuka Jin paused for a moment. He understood what Sato Hideaka meant. He wasn't Uchiha Kaoru's teammate, and she wouldn't take him along if she advanced. His teammate was Uchiha Kenichi, who'd been struck at a tenketsu. It was in Inuzuka Jin's best interests for Uchiha Kenichi to recover.
After saying this, Sato Hideaka leaned close to Hyuga Ningxiang's ear and whispered a couple of things. No one knew what he said. Only after Ningxiang frowned and nodded did he let her go help Uchiha Kenichi undo the tenketsu strike.
Inuzuka Jin very clearly stepped aside, making room for Ningxiang to help Uchiha Kenichi. Their interests were now aligned, so Inuzuka Jin was no longer a potential threat to Sato Hideaka.
Uchiha Kenichi said nothing and didn't object. Although he and Uchiha Kaoru were both members of the Uchiha Clan, their interests didn't align at this moment. He wanted to recover his strength as quickly as possible. After all, getting injured and then losing his chakra in the Forest of Death made it easy to be abandoned and eliminated.
"You, Hyuga—the one who can still stand and move freely. Yes, you! What are you looking at? If you want the prodigy of the Hyuga Clan to leave here safely, you'd better listen to me and help keep an eye on Uchiha Kaoru, in case she tries to ambush us!"
Before Hyuga Giichi could react, Sato Hideaka snatched the dehydrated Hyuga Ningbo from his hands and tossed him to Shimura Masao, who'd been watching from the sidelines. He called out, "Hey, you're Shimura Masao of the Shimura Clan, right? Your good friend and teammate, Hyuga Ningbo, is in your hands now. Protect him well! He's a prodigy of the Hyuga Clan..."
Shimura Masao caught Hyuga Ningbo by reflex. When he heard Sato Hideaka's words, he froze. What on earth did this guy mean? He'd been standing around watching the whole time! When had he become someone's bodyguard?
Although the Shimura Clan's influence in the village was certainly no less than the Hyuga Clan's, the Hyuga were still Konoha's second-greatest clan, and their overall strength far surpassed the Shimura Clan's. It would've been one thing if he'd stayed out of it earlier, when Hyuga Ningbo had been fighting Uchiha Kaoru in a duel—a feud between their two clans.
But now Hyuga Ningbo had completely lost the ability to fight, and the two of them were teammates. The clans crossed paths constantly; it wouldn't sit right to stand by and let him suffer. And Sato Hideaka had gone straight to calling them good friends and teammates, then burdened him with the responsibilities of both clans...
It seemed like he had no choice but to help!
Shimura Masao glared fiercely at Sato Hideaka. At twelve, he'd been outmaneuvered by a five-year-old brat. The feeling was more than anger—it was humiliation!
But Sato Hideaka didn't care what Shimura Masao thought. He'd been at odds with the Shimura Clan for a long time. His biggest concern now was how to avoid getting dragged into this mess, into the struggle between the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans.
The best approach was probably to play peacemaker and avoid completely alienating either side!
Of course, not completely alienating either side also meant that neither would appreciate it. The Hyuga Clan would think Sato Hideaka had insulted their dignity and honor, while the Uchiha would think he was siding with the Hyuga. Still, as long as he didn't cross the line with these major clans, things would be fine.
Uchiha Kaoru clapped her hands. A faint, hard-to-detect smile appeared on her icy face. "Interesting, interesting... First, you got Inuzuka Jin out of the way. Then you brought in Shimura Masao of the Shimura Clan to keep my two teammates in check. Finally, you and Hyuga Giichi will deal with me."
"A situation that looked completely one-sided has suddenly turned into something like a draw. You're the new kid with the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, aren't you? Not bad at all."
Sato Hideaka rubbed his nose and smiled bitterly. "I just don't want to cause trouble. We're all from the same village. Wouldn't it be nice to sit down together and chat over some sunflower seeds?"
"Sunflower seeds?" Uchiha Kaoru paused, then gave him a strange look. "You don't want to cause trouble? Yet you've managed to offend the Shimura, Hyuga, and Uchiha Clans. I haven't seen even the slightest sign that you're trying to avoid trouble."
"All right. Stop using that Hyuga girl as a shield. That's no excuse for provoking the Uchiha..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Uchiha Kaoru sprang from the tree. Her hands moved like butterflies flitting through a flower garden, and a flurry of shuriken shot out of her ninja pouch, clanging as they struck the air. It was the Uchiha Shuriken Jutsu.
The shuriken's trajectories twisted through the air, sealing off the space on one side. The battle had begun!
Looking at the bewildered Hyuga Giichi beside him, Sato Hideaka hadn't expected his opponent to be unable to use Rotation. Against a Shurikenjutsu that covered every angle, Hyuga Giichi, who couldn't use Rotation, was nothing but a liability.
Actually, Sato Hideaka should've known better. When thirteen-year-old Hyuga Neji had first used Rotation, his clan had hailed him as a prodigy. How could a technique like Rotation be so easy to master?
With a timely kick, he sent Hyuga Giichi out of the shuriken's range. Sato Hideaka pressed his palms together and snapped his eyes open. "Crystal Release Chakra Mode!"
As Crystal Release chakra emerged from his cells, it condensed the air around Sato Hideaka into bright red crystal. The crystal enveloped his entire body, making him look like a lifelike human sculpture. Sunlight glinted off him in dazzling rays.
With Crystal Release chakra covering more than ninety-six percent of his body, he'd finally formed a 360-degree, all-angle defense!