Crushing

This woman really is unreasonable; she takes his good intentions for granted and actually wants to vent her frustrations on him.

It is a pity that he is completely different from how he used to be, and she has chosen the wrong target by treating him as a rival.

However, this is for the best. Bestowing a defeat upon her might help her sober up, preventing her from making the impulsive decisions she made in the original timeline, such as blindly seeking revenge against Orochimaru and landing herself in danger.

Thus, facing Anko's challenge to a duel, Hyuga Lan accepted.

In the afternoon, at the Konoha dueling arena.

When Hyuga Lan arrived, he discovered that not only was Anko there to duel him, but several other figures had appeared as well.

Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi, and others had actually come here.

Does this girl think she has me in the bag?

She even called a bunch of spectators. I hope she won't be too devastated when she loses in such an ugly fashion.

Hyuga Lan was actually misunderstanding Anko, as only Kurenai Yuhi had been dragged along by her to watch the fight.

However, because Kurenai Yuhi had come, Asuma Sarutobi, being her suitor, had followed along.

Naturally, to avoid looking awkward, Asuma Sarutobi had then dragged Might Guy along.

As for Kakashi, he had been forcibly brought by Might Guy.

Ever since the Fourth Hokage and his wife were killed, Hatake Kakashi had been completely dispirited.

Guy, who had always considered Kakashi his lifelong rival, could not bear to see him so depressed, so he had been trying everything to wake him up during this time, dragging him along to whatever event he attended.

Seeing that Hyuga Lan had finally arrived, Anko stopped chatting with Kurenai Yuhi and walked toward the center of the arena to confront him.

"With so many old classmates watching, do you need me to go easy on you? I wouldn't want you to lose so badly that you can't show your face anymore," Anko whispered to Hyuga Lan.

Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Guy were all his former classmates from the Ninja Academy; naturally, Anko, standing before him, was as well.

"That won't be necessary. The battle between us will be over very quickly."

Seeing Hyuga Lan say this, Anko knew that more talk was useless; everything would have to be proven with action.

"Hyuga Lan, I hope your strength matches your words. Let me see how different you are now compared to before. Let's go!"

With that, Anko drew a Kunai and charged rapidly toward Hyuga Lan.

Charging straight in without even using a probing ninjutsu; this woman is as arrogant as ever.

After inwardly scorning her once more, Hyuga Lan faced Anko's incoming attack, sidestepping to dodge the Kunai she thrust at him.

He then swayed left and right on the spot; while it appeared to be a close call on the surface, he dodged every attack without suffering even the slightest scratch.

Facing Hyuga Lan, who only defended and never attacked, Anko initially thought he was being arrogant and looking down on her.

But as she continued her assault without touching a single thread of his clothing, she belatedly realized that the person in front of her was not as simple as she had anticipated.

This detestable guy actually saw through all my moves and dodged them easily. Is this the terror of a ninja with a Dojutsu bloodline?

However, when she noticed that Hyuga Lan still hadn't activated his Byakugan, she was stunned.

He has this level of perception without even using the Byakugan? Is this guy really that strong?

Realizing something was wrong, Anko quickly retreated to put some distance between herself and Hyuga Lan.

She then quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

As Anko's mouth opened slightly, a mass of flame flew out, rapidly transforming into a massive fireball that flew toward Hyuga Lan.

Facing this Fire Style ninjutsu, which was intended to obscure his vision, Hyuga Lan did not choose to block it; instead, he activated the Body Flicker Technique to bypass it entirely.

As the fireball attack missed and Anko searched for Hyuga Lan's whereabouts, she heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind her.

Anko hurriedly turned around, only to see Hyuga Lan extending a finger toward her.

When did he get behind me?

How could he have such speed?

It wasn't just Anko who noticed that something was off with Hyuga Lan; Asuma, Kakashi, and the others watching from the sidelines had also realized it.

"That was the Body Flicker Technique Lan just used, right? To use it with such proficiency... Anko is in trouble."

As soon as Asuma finished speaking, he saw Kakashi nod as well.

At this moment, Kakashi had completely shed his listless demeanor; Hyuga Lan's performance had shocked even him, a man known by others as a genius.

He realized then that his peer had grown to such a powerful level without him noticing, and his speed was not at all inferior to his own.

Of course, what surprised Kakashi even more was that Hyuga Lan still hadn't activated his Byakugan. Possessing a Sharingan himself, he knew very well the boost a Dojutsu bloodline gave a ninja; it was like being a completely different person.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed Anko didn't even qualify to make Hyuga Lan take her seriously enough to activate his Byakugan. In that case, this battle likely had no suspense left.

Kurenai Yuhi, who was close to Anko, also began to worry for her friend at this moment; her dear friend was likely going to be thoroughly embarrassed today.

Pop!

As Hyuga Lan's finger tapped Anko's pressure point, her figure transformed into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

So, it was only a shadow clone.

Crack.

The ground not far behind Hyuga Lan arched upward, and Anko's figure emerged from beneath the earth.

Watching Hyuga Lan's back, Anko quickly spread her arms.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Two gray figures lunged toward Hyuga Lan; upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be two venomous snakes.

Seeing Anko unleash this snake-style ninjutsu, Hyuga Lan couldn't help but lament that she was truly Orochimaru's direct disciple, as Orochimaru had never taught him such techniques.

It was a pity, though; if Orochimaru had performed this move, it might have warranted a second glance, but coming from Anko, there was simply no comparison.

Thus, as the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands struck, Hyuga Lan swung his left hand in a swift grab, tightly pinching the snakes by their vital spots.

He then yanked his body backward with force, pulling the snakes' bodies and dragging Anko toward him.

Following this, he took a quick step forward, and the moment Anko was pulled within reach, he extended his right hand to seize her by the throat, forcefully pinning her to the ground.

Bang!

The impact was so great that cracks appeared in the floor beneath Anko's head.

Pinned to the ground by Hyuga Lan, Anko struggled violently. Her face turned a deep shade of red—whether from the lack of oxygen, the shame of losing so easily, or perhaps a mix of both, it was hard to tell.

Then, Anko heard Hyuga Lan lean down and whisper into her ear, "When you can knock me down just like this, then you can consider the matter of taking revenge on Orochimaru."

With that, Hyuga Lan released his right hand.

"Cough, cough..."

Freed from his grip, Anko coughed violently before gasping for air.

By the time she finally caught her breath, she realized that Hyuga Lan had already walked away unnoticed, and now only his retreating figure remained in the distance.

Watching Hyuga Lan's nonchalant departure, Anko couldn't help but feel dazed...