Dual Bloodline?

Iroha's face flushed red, and he only felt his cheeks burning with a fiery pain.

It was as if Hyuga Satoru's strike had not landed on his chest, but rather on his face.

"Is that even Gentle Fist?"

"This is the Gentle Fist!"

Hyuga Satoru rolled his eyes at him.

???

Iroha froze in place.

He said that wasn't Gentle Fist.

Hyuga Satoru said this was Gentle Fist!

What the fuck is this Gentle Fist???

Iroha clenched his fists, wanting to retort, but not knowing how to begin.

How could this possibly be Gentle Fist? My chest felt all tingly and numb like I got shocked by electricity, and one palm strike sent me flying this far?

You call this Gentle Fist?

Yet, upon remembering how he was easily defeated in a single blow, Iroha's gaze instantly dimmed.

"I lost..."

"He... he won?"

Anko stood there with her mouth gaping wide in a daze; if someone were to shove something weird into her mouth right now, she probably wouldn't even notice.

"U-Uchiha Rin wins."

After a long while, amidst the silence, Fujino Daikichi announced the match results.

Uchiha Rin's pupils constricted slightly. Although she already knew that Hyuga Satoru was very strong, defeating Iroha so effortlessly still took her slightly by surprise.

It looks like that guy still wasn't showing his limit that night, huh?

Then, the corners of her mouth suddenly curved upward.

Not bad! Only with this kind of strength does he qualify to be Uchiha Rin's opponent!

Obito stared blankly at Hyuga Satoru walking back amidst countless looks of shock and admiration. We agreed that we'd both be the family disgraces-you shame the Hyuga, and I shame the Uchiha.

How did you turn into a genius in the blink of an eye while I'm the only one still shaming the Uchiha?

This isn't fair!

When Hyuga Satoru walked back, Anko asked with a shocked expression, "Satoru, how did you pull that off?"

Hyuga Satoru raised an eyebrow and sighed, "There are no geniuses; I simply spend all the time others spend sleeping on studying."

Anko curled her lips, "I'll believe that when I see it. I've never once seen you stay awake during class."

Fujino Daikichi quickly recovered his composure and announced the contestants for the next match. After all, he was a veteran ninja who had taught for many years, possessing far richer life experience than ordinary ninja.

I actually misjudged him! That kid isn't a dropout at all; he's a genius! But how on earth did he beat Iroha? That move was way too fast, and it doesn't seem like the Gentle Fist either?

Fujino Daikichi racked his brains without finding an answer, his gaze shifting uncertainly.

No! I still need to test this kid's limits.

After a few student matches, he announced the combatants for the next round.

"Next match, Uchiha Rin versus Hyuga Satoru!"

The crowd broke into an uproar.

"Oh god, it's an Uchiha versus a Hyuga."

"Uchiha Rin has always been a genius competing with Kakashi. Can Hyuga Satoru pull this off?"

"Hard to say. Even though he beat Iroha, Uchiha Rin is on a whole other level."

Hyuga Satoru's scalp tingled. To put it mildly, out of everyone present, Uchiha Rin was the absolute last person he wanted to face.

For no other reason than the experience from that night.

Sure enough, as the two stood facing each other on the training ground, Uchiha Rin's very first words were...

"Hyuga Satoru, do you remember that night by the Naka River?"

???

The training ground fell instantly silent. Even Iroha, who had been sent flying by Hyuga Satoru's palm strike earlier, froze. Everyone dropped their jaws, staring in utter disbelief at Hyuga Satoru and Uchiha Rin.

No way! Absolutely no way!

Could it be that they...

One's a Hyuga, the other's an Uchiha...

How exciting!

Some female classmates had already started wildly daydreaming.

Anko looked back and forth between Hyuga Satoru and Uchiha Rin, breaking into a knowing, gossipy grin.

Could this be the story of my dropout desk mate and the Uchiha female genius?

The atmosphere suddenly turned scorching.

Hyuga Satoru awkwardly scraped out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

He truly hadn't expected Uchiha Rin to bring it up so shamelessly out in the open.

What does "that night by the Naka River" even mean?

???

Yet Uchiha Rin clearly didn't care what Hyuga Satoru was thinking. Her gaze narrowed as her hands suddenly flung out several shuriken.

In mid-air, the trajectories of the shuriken collided and intersected, forming an airtight black net that sealed off all of Hyuga Satoru's escape routes.

"Such advanced throwing technique!"

Fujino Daikichi couldn't help but praise. This throwing method of altering the shuriken's flight path through collisions was rarely mastered with such proficiency, even among Uchiha Genin.

Faced with the aggressive onslaught, Hyuga Satoru gripped a kunai to parry.

An astonishing scene unfolded. No matter from what angle the shuriken attacked, Hyuga Satoru always managed to easily block or dodge them, as if...

"Are the shuriken afraid of him?"

Someone in the crowd blurted out in a daze.

"What are you talking about! Shuriken don't have lives, how could they possibly fear him?"

"Didn't you notice?" That person turned back around. "He isn't dodging the shuriken at all; the shuriken are dodging him."

The skeptical person looked closer and instantly dropped his jaw. He saw that whenever a shuriken was about to hit Hyuga Satoru, it would inexplicably alter its trajectory just a fraction, skimming past his side.

This odd shift allowed Hyuga Satoru to effortlessly evade even when faced with a torrential barrage of shuriken attacks.

Could it be... Uchiha Rin's eyes narrowed slightly. A terrifying guess surfaced in her mind, immediately followed by a look of doubt.

That's impossible. He's from the Hyuga clan; he shouldn't be able to have that.

Realizing that the shuriken attacks were useless, Uchiha Rin stopped throwing them. Gripping a kunai, she shot toward Hyuga Satoru like a sharp arrow.

Hyuga Satoru similarly grasped a kunai to block, and the two plunged into close-quarters Taijutsu combat.

The longer they fought, the deeper the astonishment on Uchiha Rin's face grew.

As expected! That night really wasn't your limit!

On the night by the Naka River, she could still match Hyuga Satoru blow for blow in Taijutsu, but now she was completely suppressed.

Hyuga Satoru sighed, "Isn't that obvious?"

Solely in terms of combat experience, he and Uchiha Rin still had a gap between them, but his advantages in the Byakugan and physical speed allowed him to steadily suppress his opponent.

"Hmph! If I activate the Sharingan, you definitely won't have it this easy!"

Uttering those stubborn words through clenched teeth, Uchiha Rin leaped sharply backward, abandoning any thought of engaging Hyuga Satoru in Taijutsu.

The difficulty of unlocking the Sharingan was far greater than the Byakugan. At this stage, trying to contend with Hyuga Satoru in Taijutsu would yield her no advantage whatsoever.

While backflipping to create distance, Uchiha Rin rapidly formed hand seals, and a wave of scorching heat erupted from her mouth.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Ninjutsu???

Fujino Daikichi's pupils shrank. At this stage, students capable of using Ninjutsu were undoubtedly geniuses, let alone a C-rank Ninjutsu like the Great Fireball.

"Oh no."

The destructive power of the Great Fireball was simply too great. Fujino Daikichi instinctively wanted to jump into the arena to save Hyuga Satoru, but in the brief moment of his distraction, the fireball's attack had already arrived.

An orange-red fireball swallowed Hyuga Satoru's position, and the explosive flames scattered outward. The temperature of the entire training ground rose significantly, the air turning dry and scorching.

"Did I hit him?"

A trace of hopeful expectation flickered in Uchiha Rin's eyes.

Soon, the flames dissipated. Amidst the rising smoke, there was no trace of anyone, and a faint voice echoed from right behind her.

"Didn't anyone tell you that the Great Fireball can't actually kill anyone?"

Behind me!

When did he...???

Her pupils abruptly contracted. Uchiha Rin immediately adjusted her body to dodge, but it was already too late. Her back felt as though it had been struck by lightning, and blue arcs of electricity exploded across her shoulder blades, sending her flying forward from the intense impact.

Hyuga Satoru flicked his wrists and looked at Uchiha Rin, who had already collapsed onto the ground. This battle had been nothing short of perilous, and Uchiha Rin's formidable strength had put a lot of pressure on him.

Fortunately, the pre-attack wind-up for the Great Fireball was too long, allowing him to use the cover of the flames to slip behind her and secure the victory in one blow!

"Are you all right?"

Seeing that Uchiha Rin had been lying motionless on the playground the whole time, Hyuga Satoru walked over.

An unexpected change suddenly occurred!

Swish!

To his surprise, Uchiha Rin suddenly raised her hand, and a kunai instantly shot toward Hyuga Satoru!

Yet a second before it hit, the trajectory of the kunai suddenly changed, grazing past his cheek in an arc.

"Magnet Release! As expected, you've awakened a Dual Bloodline!"

On the ground, a sharp glint flashed in Uchiha Rin's eyes.

In an instant, the crowd erupted.

"A Dual Bloodline? Magnet Release?"

"What is that?"