Vs. Kakashi Hatake

The two of them headed toward the academy together.

Hyuga Iwa took the lead, walking ahead and glancing around from time to time, looking completely at ease.

Suddenly, Kakashi Hatake said, "Let's fight somewhere else."

"What? Are you afraid you'll embarrass yourself if you lose to me?" Hyuga Iwa did not care where they fought and casually cracked a joke.

"What do you think?"

Kakashi's expression suddenly turned serious. Hyuga Iwa froze for a moment, then nodded after thinking it over.

"Fine. Where are we going? Lead the way."

"Mm, keep up, then." Kakashi smiled and suddenly shot forward. Before long, he had already run far ahead.

"Oh? Running that fast? A warm-up sounds good too."

Hyuga Iwa muttered flippantly to himself before sprinting after him.

Before long, the two arrived at the woods where Kakashi usually trained.

"So this is the place you picked." Hyuga Iwa pushed aside the branches and stepped into the clearing, looking at Kakashi, who was already standing there. He smiled. "Hey, Kakashi, why did you run so fast? Oh~ Don't tell me you came ahead to prepare the battlefield? Mm-hmm, that really suits your personality. By the way, you're not a Shadow Clone, are you?"

"Why are you so slow? I've been waiting for you for quite a while." Kakashi raised his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and formed the Sign of Reconciliation. "Come on. Let's begin."

"The Sign of Reconciliation? Heh, I'm getting more and more excited, Kakashi."

As he spoke, Hyuga Iwa extended his own Sign of Reconciliation.

His expression turned solemn. Like every member of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Iwa assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.

"Gentle Fist?" Kakashi's thoughts shifted as his hands rapidly formed seals, so quickly that only afterimages could be seen.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."

Scorching flames burst from his mouth and swelled in the wind, instantly filling all the space before Hyuga Iwa.

"Good."

As he spoke, blue chakra gathered in Hyuga Iwa's hands. He swung both arms, pierced straight through the Fireball Jutsu just as it reached him, and continued charging directly at Kakashi.

Kakashi's expression changed slightly. He had never expected Hyuga Iwa to break through his Fireball Jutsu in such a way! Yet his extensive combat experience kept this surprise from disrupting his rhythm, and he continued forming seals at a speed that left only afterimages.

"Earth Release: Mud Wall."

Kakashi slapped a hand onto the ground. A wall of earth rose from the ground, directly blocking Hyuga Iwa's path. Without stopping, Kakashi rapidly retreated. As he backed away, his hands moved slightly, several shuriken appearing in them. Seizing the right moment, he flung them out. The thrown shuriken completely sealed off all the space beyond the mud wall.

Yet this chain of attacks did not halt Hyuga Iwa's advance at all.

The instant the mud wall rose, Hyuga Iwa unreasonably stepped onto it and swiftly ran along its surface, clearing the wall in the blink of an eye.

Then, as if he could see the future, he pushed off with his feet. His body bent like a soft noodle as he slipped between several shuriken. After landing, he charged Kakashi again and reached him in the blink of an eye.

"You can't run this time, can you?"

Hyuga Iwa grinned. His chakra-coated hands did not pause as palm strike after palm strike slammed viciously forward.

As a genius, Kakashi's taijutsu was not weak. Moreover, because of Might Guy and Hyuga Iwa, his taijutsu had become even stronger than it had originally been.

Kakashi held a short blade in his hand, swinging it while rapidly forming seals.

"Hell Viewing Technique."

Black leaves danced in the wind and drifted toward Hyuga Iwa, quickly sinking into his body.

Yet to Kakashi's surprise, Hyuga Iwa was completely unaffected by his genjutsu and continued attacking without pause, throwing Kakashi's rhythm into temporary disorder.

"Heh, didn't I tell you ordinary genjutsu doesn't work on me?" Hyuga Iwa chuckled. "Got you!"

In the instant Kakashi was startled, Hyuga Iwa grabbed his arm.

Not wasting this rare opportunity, the chakra in Hyuga Iwa's hand surged. He spun 360 degrees with the momentum and violently slammed Kakashi into the ground.

There was no sound of a body heavily striking the ground. Instead, there was only a bang, followed by the sound of shattering.

That Kakashi had merely been a clone.

"I knew it. How could your strength and speed possibly be that weak? So it was only a clone."

As he spoke, Hyuga Iwa turned toward the other side, but there was nothing there at all.

"Oh? Not planning to come out?"

After the clone shattered, Hyuga Iwa had already entered a sensing state to guard against Kakashi's sneak attack. At the same time, he had sensed Kakashi's location.

A gust of wind passed through, and the rustling friction of leaves could occasionally be heard in the woods. The dust kicked up by their battle was scattered away as well.

Hyuga Iwa stood motionless where he was. He was waiting, waiting for Kakashi to attack on his own.

After all, Kakashi could not hide forever.

"He's coming!"

"Double Suicide Decapitation Technique."

Hyuga Iwa suddenly made a light leap to the side, leaving his original position.

A hand followed right after, reaching out from the earth and grabbing for Hyuga Iwa's feet.

But Kakashi was a step too late. Hyuga Iwa had already left that spot.

"You finally decided to come out? Then it's my turn to attack!"

Hyuga Iwa shouted softly. His right hand instantly clenched into a fist as a large amount of chakra gathered around it. Taking a step forward, he smashed his fist fiercely at Kakashi.

The moment Kakashi realized he had failed to catch Hyuga Iwa, he immediately emerged from the ground, only to see Hyuga Iwa's fist drawing ever closer.

Kakashi formed seals even faster. In less than a blink, he had completed them.

"Earth Release: Mud Wall."

This time, a mud wall erupted beneath Hyuga Iwa's feet, launching him into the air.

Kakashi narrowly brushed past Hyuga Iwa's attack as well.

Hyuga Iwa flipped through the air and landed gracefully. Before he could turn around, his body swayed left and right as several shuriken flashed past him.

He took a step back and thrust his right palm behind him, blocking Kakashi's arm and stopping Kakashi's slash.

Hyuga Iwa's palm rotated with his body. In that hair's-breadth instant, he grabbed Kakashi's wrist again.

"Not good!"

Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted, but he was not affected by Hyuga Iwa's hold. His hands formed seals once more.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."

Hyuga Iwa was slightly surprised. Even with one hand caught by him, Kakashi could still complete hand seals, and his sealing speed had barely been affected!

But at this distance, you can't hit me!

Just as Kakashi was about to spit out the fireball, Hyuga Iwa suddenly yanked hard with his hand and used the force to leap in the opposite direction.

The two passed by one another, and Kakashi's Fire Release blasted into empty air.

Kakashi was astonished by Hyuga Iwa's reaction. He had dodged even such a close-range attack!

But this was still a match, and there was no room for the slightest lapse in focus.

Taking advantage of Hyuga Iwa's evasive movement, Kakashi gathered chakra beneath his feet and used the Body Flicker Technique, escaping Hyuga Iwa's close-range entanglement.

The two stood facing each other once more. Unlike the relaxed Hyuga Iwa, Kakashi's face was grave.

Kakashi continuously considered his tactics. No. Ordinary tactics are completely useless against Hyuga Iwa. He'll only use them against me and counterattack, and...

Kakashi looked at Hyuga Iwa's Byakugan, puzzled. Up until now, Hyuga Iwa hasn't even activated his Byakugan. How has he avoided so many of my attacks? And judging from our earlier exchange, he's far stronger than me too. If I don't use my true strength, I'm afraid I'll lose!

With that thought, Kakashi decided to stop holding back. He had never imagined that Hyuga Iwa, who was not even a ninja yet, already possessed strength comparable to a Chunin!

And he was even a medical ninja!

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Be careful, Iwa. This time, I'm using all my strength."

"Just what I wanted!"

Hyuga Iwa stopped holding back as well.

"Eight Gates, Open Gate, open!"

A current of air abruptly erupted from Hyuga Iwa's body and spread in every direction. An enormous amount of chakra surged forth from the Open Gate, instantly flowing throughout his entire body without the slightest bit of loss.

Watching Hyuga Iwa's overwhelming aura, Kakashi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

No sooner had he thought that than Hyuga Iwa took a sprinting stance. Then Hyuga Iwa vanished from where he stood!

"Not good! What terrifying speed! My eyes didn't even see how he disappeared!"

Kakashi's heart clenched as his brain raced at high speed. He knew Hyuga Iwa would never attack him from the front, so Kakashi prepared to turn around first!

"Wah!"

Before he could turn, Kakashi felt as though a train had slammed into his side. A tremendous force struck him, sending him flying.

Then Kakashi experienced what it felt like to ride a roller coaster!

Once, twice, three times...

Hyuga Iwa's attacks came without pause, one after another. Kakashi's body flew through the air the entire time, and he could not summon even a trace of strength to counterattack!

Even more terrifyingly, even now, Kakashi could not see where Hyuga Iwa was attacking from. It was as though Hyuga Iwa teleported behind him every single time!

What Kakashi did not know was that this was also Hyuga Iwa's first time moving at such speed. He had only just learned the bare basics of the Eight Gates, and there was still much to improve. At this moment, he was already beginning to run out of stamina.

But I'll defeat you in one go!

Hyuga Iwa thought as he moved at high speed.

"The final strike!"

He gathered all the chakra in his body into his right fist, controlling it and making it vibrate continuously.

"Taijutsu Secret Art: Wave Motion Fist!"

A massive amount of chakra violently vibrated around his fist, and a piercing buzzing sound abruptly rang in the air.

With a bang, Hyuga Iwa changed his fist into a palm strike at the last moment and struck Kakashi, blasting him into pieces with one palm.

"Shadow Clone?"

Hyuga Iwa instantly realized something, but how could it be a Shadow Clone?

When had Kakashi used the Shadow Clone Technique?

That shouldn't be possible. Ever since arriving here, I'd been guarding against that move of his. Wait, could it be...

Before Hyuga Iwa could finish thinking, Kakashi slowly walked out of the woods.

Sure enough, that really was just like Kakashi's cautious personality!

"Kakashi, you really only sent one Shadow Clone to fight me?"

"Iwa, if I hadn't, I might already have lost. I never expected you to have such a powerful move in reserve!" Kakashi said with deep emotion.

"Even so, you shouldn't have held something back before the fight even started, right? Hey, you're not a Shadow Clone too, are you?" Hyuga Iwa gave a wry smile and asked curiously.

"What do you think?"

"Tch. I'm not fighting anymore. You win."

After saying that, Hyuga Iwa plopped down onto the ground. It seemed that sitting down pulled at his injuries, making him hurt so badly he nearly died.

"Hiss~ That hurts like hell."

Although no wounds could be seen on the outside, Hyuga Iwa was indeed seriously injured. Moving at such high speed had strained the muscles throughout his body. Now he felt pain everywhere, and enduring it already showed remarkable willpower. Before his reincarnation, an injury like this would have left him unable to move at all.

"Huh?" Kakashi looked at Hyuga Iwa in surprise. He had not expected him to admit defeat so directly. Kakashi had thought the two would still have a fierce battle.

Still, Hyuga Iwa's move truly was the fastest technique Kakashi had ever seen. Even Shisui Uchiha might not be faster than him, right?

"Ah, what a loss. An injury like this will take ages to recover from." Hyuga Iwa sensed his body and could not help feeling heartache.

Hey, Kakashi, I can't even stand up now, and you won't come help me? Ah, what rotten luck in friends. How did I end up with a friend like you?

"Huh? Oh~"

Kakashi was briefly stunned by Hyuga Iwa's jumping train of thought, then immediately ran over and helped him up from the ground.

"Um, Iwa, what do we do now?"

"What do we do? Go home. Carry me home first. I can't walk."

"And then?"

"Then go wherever you feel like going. What, do you want to eat at my house?"

"..."

Kakashi finally understood. Hyuga Iwa was simply unwilling to accept his loss and was taking it out on him.

But this feeling was really nice!

Because they were friends. Wasn't it perfectly normal for friends to bicker and fool around?!

Kakashi carried Hyuga Iwa on his back and walked step by step toward Leaf Village.

"Hey, Kakashi, my strength is pretty good, right?"

Hearing Hyuga Iwa's words, Kakashi detected a hint of bragging in them.

"Mm, it's quite good. Just a little worse than mine."

Suddenly, Kakashi also felt an inexplicable urge and replied flippantly.

Hyuga Iwa: "Can we still be friends..."

Kakashi: "..."