Clan Tournament (2)

This was the first clan tournament since Hyuga Hiashi became clan head, so he took it seriously. Before the matches began, he gave quite a lengthy speech.

"I will make the Hyuga Clan the strongest clan in the Leaf Village!"

Listening to Hyuga Hiashi's speech, Hyuga Iwa secretly curled his lip.

Although Hyuga Iwa also believed the Hyuga Clan would become the strongest clan in the Leaf Village, it definitely would not be because of Hyuga Hiashi.

At long last, under Hyuga Iwa's eager anticipation, the clan tournament began.

The first matches were between the Hyuga Genin.

After Hyuga Hiashi announced the start of the clan tournament, a member of the Hyuga Branch Family stepped into the arena.

Hyuga Iwa did not know him, but from the people around him, he learned the man's name—Hyuga Koichi.

The moment Hyuga Koichi entered the arena, he fixed a provocative stare on someone among the Hyuga Main Family and said, "Hyuga Yo, please enlighten me!"

The main family member whose name had been called snorted coldly. "Hmph, a defeated opponent. Since you're so eager to embarrass yourself in the clan tournament, I'll grant your wish."

With a flick of his sleeve, Hyuga Yo used a Body Flicker and appeared in the arena.

So fast!

Hyuga Koichi was secretly startled. He had not expected Hyuga Yo to be even faster than he had imagined.

Their grudge dated back more than a year. During the previous clan tournament, Hyuga Yo had viciously humiliated Hyuga Koichi. After that, he targeted Hyuga Koichi at every turn, and on one occasion, he had even tried to persuade the elders to punish him with the Cursed Seal. Because of this, Hyuga Koichi had come to hate Hyuga Yo completely.

That was why Hyuga Koichi had prepared early this time. He had trained bitterly for a year and felt that his strength had advanced greatly, ready to return the humiliation.

Yet Hyuga Yo's strength seemed to have improved considerably as well.

Hyuga Koichi's expression immediately turned grave.

Hyuga Yo noticed the change in Hyuga Koichi's expression and sneered as he came to a stop in front of him.

"Begin."

Hyuga Hiashi's voice held not a trace of emotion, as though he were turning a blind eye to the conflict between the main family and the branch family.

The instant his words fell, Hyuga Koichi charged forward first, giving Hyuga Yo no chance to think. Hyuga Koichi unleashed one Gentle Fist strike after another, catching Hyuga Yo off guard. For a time, Hyuga Yo was thrown into a flustered scramble, narrowly escaping danger after danger.

However, they were both Hyuga Clan members and were extremely familiar with the clan's Gentle Fist. As a member of the main family, Hyuga Yo's mastery of Gentle Fist was even more refined.

As the match continued, Hyuga Yo turned the situation around. While defending, he gradually began to counterattack.

Hmph, I'll use you to test the Eight Trigrams Palm Technique I just learned.

Hyuga Yo was somewhat annoyed. He had carelessly allowed someone else to seize the initiative, and worse still, he had been driven into such a miserable state!

Unforgivable. This damned branch family brat truly did not know his place. Did he really think a branch family member like him could defeat Hyuga Yo?

Seizing an opportunity, Hyuga Yo suddenly pulled away from Hyuga Koichi and assumed the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm.

Hyuga Koichi was actually more anxious than Hyuga Yo. He had already taken the offensive, yet he still had not won. Though he was reluctant to admit it, he knew that he could not defeat Hyuga Yo with this alone.

After all, Hyuga Yo was from the main family. He definitely knew other techniques. At the very least, he knew things like the Eight Trigrams Palm, which Hyuga Koichi did not.

Hyuga Koichi had initially been annoyed at himself for losing focus and letting Hyuga Yo escape his attack range, but then he saw him assume an Eight Trigrams Palm stance on the spot.

"Not good! It's the Eight Trigrams Palm. Hyuga Koichi is going to lose," a Hyuga Branch Family member watching from the side cried out, his face changing.

Although Hyuga Koichi could not use the Eight Trigrams Palm himself, he had seen it before. The moment he saw Hyuga Yo's opening stance, he guessed what palm technique he was about to use.

But knowing was one thing; defending against it was another. Both fighters were Hyuga Clan members, and their familiarity with Gentle Fist was about equal. Once Hyuga Yo used the Eight Trigrams Palm, Hyuga Koichi knew he would be absolutely unable to block it.

Hyuga Koichi gritted his teeth. Veins bulged across his pale eyes as he pushed his Byakugan to its limits.

Gentle Fist: Air Strike Palm.

A large amount of chakra gathered in Hyuga Koichi's palm, and he silently struck out with a chakra needle.

"Not good!"

Sensing the abnormal movement of chakra within Hyuga Koichi's body, Hyuga Yo's expression changed sharply. In his haste, he channeled chakra into his feet and exerted force, rolling across the ground and narrowly avoiding the chakra needle.

The evaded chakra needle pierced into the ground with a hiss, leaving behind a tiny round hole of unknown depth.

Hyuga Yo had not expected Hyuga Koichi to possess such a long-range attack, and its power seemed fairly good as well. Caught off guard, he had nearly been struck.

Moreover, this move was somewhat similar to the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm. However, it required chakra to be gathered in advance. For Hyuga Clan members with Byakugan capable of seeing chakra flow within the body, although it had caught Hyuga Yo by surprise, he had still managed to evade it.

"Oh? That move is rather interesting. Unfortunately, his opponent is also a Hyuga. Otherwise, it could have achieved a surprising effect," Hyuga Hiashi, who was watching from the edge of the arena, rarely offered a comment.

Although this move, like Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm, gathered chakra needles to attack an opponent from afar, Hyuga Koichi's technique produced a physical projectile, while Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm did not.

Hyuga Koichi took a deep breath and inconspicuously tightened his arm. After all, attacks like that put a heavy burden on his arm, and he could only throw a few such chakra needles.

When Hyuga Koichi saw that his first attempt had failed and Hyuga Yo had closed in again, intending to fight at close range, he was delighted rather than alarmed. Two chakra needles formed in his palms, and he hurled them out one after the other.

At this distance, you can't dodge them both, can you?!

"Hmph, the same move won't work on me."

Hyuga Yo sneered, pushing the insight of his Byakugan to the limit. Hyuga Koichi's arm movements were plainly visible to him.

Stepping lightly, Hyuga Yo easily dodged the chakra needles and launched a counterattack in the same motion.

Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!

Hyuga Yo shouted. The chakra points throughout his body abruptly opened, and with the flowing movements of Gentle Fist, he struck Hyuga Koichi with palm after palm. Chakra needles entered Hyuga Koichi's body, disrupting the flow of chakra within him.

"Ah..." Hyuga Koichi cried out after being knocked to the ground. His interrupted chakra instantly ran wild, and a sharp pain shot through his arm.

The situation had reversed in an instant, so quickly that people barely had time to react!

But that was what ninjas were. That was ninja combat—walking along the edge of life and death, dancing with the Death God.

Hyuga Iwa watched in rapt fascination. This was the first time in both his lives that he had watched people fight. It was far more direct and far more thrilling than merely imagining it before!

He knew his own limitations. Hyuga Iwa was an ordinary person reborn from an era of peace; where could he have gained combat awareness or combat experience?

Forget killing people—Hyuga Iwa had never even killed a chicken!

The Shinobi World was far from peaceful now. The main battlefield had only ended not long ago, but local conflicts continued without cease. Although Hyuga Iwa was still too young to go to war, that might not be the case in a few years.

And with the Second Shinobi War over, could the Third Shinobi War really be far away?!

If history did not change, Hyuga Iwa would be in his youth during the Third Shinobi War and would definitely be sent to the battlefield!

"The match is over. Hyuga Yo wins." Hyuga Hiashi announced expressionlessly, "Next match."

After bowing smugly toward Hyuga Hiashi, Hyuga Yo strolled back to the main family crowd, his disdain written plainly across his face.

The branch family members expressionlessly carried Hyuga Koichi away and treated his injuries nearby.

After hearing Hyuga Hiashi's words, one person from the main family and one from the branch family stepped forward with perfect tacit understanding. They stood facing one another, bowed, and began the second match.

The sun slowly climbed overhead. Fortunately, it was already late autumn, and the sunlight falling on everyone was warm and comfortable, making people feel lazy.

At last, it was time for Hyuga Iwa and the other children around his age to have their first matches.

There were five branch family children in total. Under the adults' direction, they stood in a line in the middle. Across from them were the main family children. There were not many of them, only three.

There was not much to watch in children's matches, especially when they had only recently begun learning and were still unskilled in taijutsu and chakra. What was there to see?

Hyuga Iwa and the others had been added to the clan tournament only because it happened to coincide with the Hyuga Clan changing clan heads. Under normal circumstances, they would not participate until they had trained for a year.

Hyuga Hiashi glanced at their numbers. Eight people meant they could be paired off neatly. Winners would continue, while losers would be eliminated. With a casual point, he arranged the order.

Hyuga Iwa vs. Hyuga Yuji

Hyuga Iwa's opponent was a main family member. Hyuga Iwa did not know him, and had only learned his name moments ago.

He had jet-black hair and a round little face, truly an adorable little boy.

Hyuga Iwa and Hyuga Yuji bowed to each other, then both assumed the opening stance of Gentle Fist without prior agreement.

Then something comical happened. Hyuga Iwa looked at his opponent's stance, then at his own, and felt that his own looked awful. Right in front of everyone, he adjusted and imitated the stance several times, even forcibly calling a halt to Hyuga Yuji's attacks twice!

The Hyuga Clan members watching nearby had twitching eyes and pursed lips, unable to conceal their amusement.

Finally, perhaps feeling that he was being toyed with, Hyuga Yuji stopped holding back and launched an attack against Hyuga Iwa.

Every move was rigid and deliberate, yet he performed them with impressive force.

After taking two of Hyuga Yuji's punches head-on, Hyuga Iwa realized that his opponent was much stronger than him. He began deliberately dodging instead of clashing with him directly.

It took less effort and was safer, too.

Although Hyuga Yuji was a year older than Hyuga Iwa, Hyuga Iwa had consciously exercised more since birth and possessed fairly good physical fitness. One chased while the other fled, and the two unexpectedly reached a stalemate.

At first, Hyuga Yuji had been quite pleased. He had completely gained the upper hand and felt that he was chasing Hyuga Iwa around like a rat.

But after a long while, he still had not dealt with his opponent. Instead, he was beginning to pant, and his punches had completely lost their rhythm. Realizing that he had fallen into a trap, he immediately grew anxious.

"If you have the guts, stop running!"

"If you have the guts, stop chasing!"

"Damn it, you still dare to toy with me!"

Hyuga Yuji knew that if this continued, he definitely would not win. Even if he did win, his stamina would be exhausted. How could he deal with the opponents afterward?

After Hyuga Iwa dodged him once more, Hyuga Yuji stopped. He formed hand seals, drew out chakra, and attached it to his hands and feet.

"Let's see how you dodge this time!"

Hyuga Yuji stomped the ground fiercely, and his body shot forward. His speed was more than half again as fast as before!

Hyuga Yuji's attack closed in. Seeing that Hyuga Iwa showed no reaction at all, he assumed Hyuga Iwa had been frightened by his speed.

Hyuga Yuji finally revealed a smug smile, as though Hyuga Iwa would be knocked to the ground by him in the next moment.

This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for!

Hyuga Iwa narrowed his eyes. In that split second, he barely brushed past Hyuga Yuji.

With a smack, Hyuga Iwa stuck out a foot and stepped directly on one of Hyuga Yuji's feet. At the same time, his right hand silently landed on Hyuga Yuji's arm. He pulled it sideways and backward, then pressed down. Carried by his momentum, Hyuga Yuji had no time to react at all and fell face-first onto the ground.

Hyuga Iwa did not let the opportunity pass. The hand gripping Hyuga Yuji slid, grabbed, pulled, and twisted, pinning one of Hyuga Yuji's arms behind his back as Hyuga Iwa straddled him.

"I win," Hyuga Iwa said calmly.

Hyuga Hiashi, acting as the referee, nodded and blandly announced, "Hyuga Iwa versus Hyuga Yuji. Hyuga Iwa wins."

Upon hearing Hyuga Hiashi's words, Hyuga Yuji, who had been struggling, suddenly stopped moving.

Hyuga Iwa quietly let out a breath, quickly climbed off Hyuga Yuji, then awkwardly scratched his head as he looked at him still lying facedown on the ground. He held out a hand, wanting to pull him up.

"Are you okay? Let me help you up."

Seeing that Hyuga Yuji ignored him, Hyuga Iwa withdrew his hand and subconsciously touched his nose.

Hyuga Iwa thought about it and decided it was better not to disturb him. It would be best to let him calm down.

Standing among the winners, Hyuga Iwa looked over the remaining opponents. One match had already finished, while two more groups were still fighting.

But both matches were all style and no substance, completely incomparable to the earlier ninja matches.

They really were too young. There was absolutely nothing to learn from them.

Time passed quickly. After resting for less than ten minutes, the other two matches ended one after another.

Since Hyuga Iwa and Hyuga K had won relatively quickly, they were directly assigned to face one another in the second round.

Hyuga K was also a branch family member. He was over a year older than Hyuga Iwa, nearly two years older, and had been learning taijutsu and chakra for more than a year. Their strengths were on entirely different levels.

In no time at all, Hyuga Iwa was defeated.

Hyuga Iwa was completely at a disadvantage in combat awareness, fighting technique, strength, and stamina. Moreover, Hyuga K had seen Hyuga Iwa's strategy in the first match and refused to fall for it. After dragging things out for nearly half an hour, Hyuga Iwa directly surrendered.

Although Hyuga Iwa had conceded, Hyuga Hiashi and several other adults had seen both children's performances and nodded in satisfaction.

Hyuga Yuji, who had lost the previous match, watched the two with an unwilling expression and secretly swore that he would definitely win next time.