The Clown Was Actually Me?

Fujino Daikichi took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and called out the names of two students.

"Kojun Miko versus Uekawa Yuto. Begin!"

After forming the Seal of Confrontation, the two launched into an intense Taijutsu battle. The sharp smacks of their bodies colliding echoed across the training ground.

Fujino Daikichi nodded slightly. Most students hadn't learned ninjutsu yet, so at this stage, combat relied mainly on Taijutsu and Shuriken. These two had a decent foundation for civilians.

Before long, Uekawa Yuto held a Kunai to Kojun Miko's throat.

"Uekawa Yuto wins."

Fujino Daikichi nodded and announced the result.

Hyuga Satoru watched quietly from the side. He didn't know exactly how strong he was, but when he thought of his fight with Uchiha Rin last night,

Fujino Daikichi announced the next match.

"Hyuga Iroha versus Yamashiro Aoki."

At once, a murmur swept through the crowd.

"It's Iroha! Yamashiro Aoki's in for a rough time."

"Yeah. He's a real Hyuga ninja, after all-not like some pretender who can't measure up."

Yamashiro Aoki froze when he heard his name, then forced himself to step forward.

He had no hope of beating Hyuga Iroha. In their class, Iroha was a genius in the second tier, just behind Kakashi and Uchiha Rin.

Just as expected, Yamashiro Aoki was already at a complete disadvantage as soon as the fight began. With his Byakugan activated, Hyuga Iroha struck with ruthless precision, landing a palm strike on his chest and sending him flying backward.

"Is that the Gentle Fist? It's amazing!"

"Yeah! You can barely see what's happening. He beat his opponent in an instant!"

Struggling to his feet, Yamashiro Aoki felt a sharp pain in his chest. His chakra flowed stiffly, as if clogged.

"So this is the power of the Gentle Fist?"

Clutching his chest and panting, he stared at Iroha in shock. He'd known he would lose, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"Of course." Iroha was clearly pleased with himself and lifted his chin slightly. "The Gentle Fist's strength is beyond question. Even in the Hyuga Clan, not everyone can master it."

Noticing the implication in Iroha's words, Hyuga Satoru raised an eyebrow in disdain. At this stage, Iroha's Byakugan and Gentle Fist gave him a significant advantage over ordinary ninja.

But later on, the flaws of the Gentle Fist and the Byakugan would become glaringly obvious. Their potential was too limited. The Sharingan could evolve to a higher level, and plenty of other Kekkei Genkai could rival a Kage.

The Gentle Fist alone was neither here nor there.

Was it strong?

Yes.

But that was about it.

The real problem was that the Hyuga Clan refused to move with the times, rigidly following tradition and never innovating or developing new abilities. For all its size, the Hyuga Clan couldn't produce a single fighter at the Kage level!

That was also why Hyuga Satoru disliked spending too much time with the clan's ninja. The path he intended to take was bound to be different from theirs.

Fujino Daikichi called out several more names in succession. Hyuga Satoru watched Kakashi's match: he moved with effortless fluidity and defeated his opponent cleanly with Taijutsu alone. He was every bit as good as Iroha, if not better.

No wonder he was the top genius of their year.

Hyuga Satoru silently praised him. Under Hatake Sakumo's tutelage, Kakashi had already left his classmates far behind.

Using Kakashi's current chakra as a unit, I have about 1.2 Kakashis' worth. My vigorous Biological Magnetic Field gives me a significant advantage in chakra reserves.

As Hyuga Satoru was thinking, a voice interrupted him.

"Hyuga Satoru versus Hyuga Iroha!"

Hyuga Satoru looked up and saw Iroha staring at him coldly.

"Wow! It's a fight between two Hyuga. This should be good."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Obviously Iroha! Hyuga Satoru does nothing but slack off. I've never seen him take anything seriously. How could he possibly beat Iroha?"

Beside him, Anko anxiously tugged at Hyuga Satoru's sleeve.

"Hey, Satoru, don't let your pride make you stubborn. If you can't win, just give up. There's no shame in that. Getting hurt is what's embarrassing."

Hyuga Satoru rolled his eyes at her.

"You have that little confidence in me?"

In the crowd, a glint flashed in Uchiha Rin's eyes as she fixed her gaze on Hyuga Satoru.

Unlike the others, who jeered at him, she knew he'd been hiding his strength all along!

The two stepped onto the training ground and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

Hyuga Iroha wore a sour expression. "Hyuga Satoru, I don't think I've ever seen you train in the Gentle Fist at the clan's training ground. I'll show you, Hyuga-"

"We'll see once we fight." Hyuga Satoru cut him off.

Iroha's face darkened. He formed the Hand Seals and called out, "Byakugan, activate!"

Veins bulged grotesquely around his eyelids, and his pale eyes fixed on Hyuga Satoru.

"Aren't you going to activate your Byakugan?"

"No need."

Hyuga Satoru shrugged.

"Arrogant!"

Iroha's expression darkened as he struck with a palm, a gust of wind trailing behind it.

Hyuga Satoru simply leaned aside and dodged the attack.

"Was that luck?" Iroha frowned.

He struck again, his palm sharper and faster than before. To Iroha's astonishment, he hit nothing but air once more.

"How are you so fast?" Iroha exclaimed.

Even someone as slow to catch on as he was could see that Hyuga Satoru had dodged his attacks using nothing but his physical reflexes.

"Pretty fast, I guess," Hyuga Satoru said.

His daily training, disguised as slacking off and mining, had already made him far stronger than his peers. On top of that, as he dodged, he used electric currents to stimulate his muscles into contracting faster.

In Hyuga Satoru's eyes, Iroha's attacks looked like they were happening in slow motion.

The contempt in Iroha's eyes gave way to caution. "Hyuga Satoru, I admit you've surprised me. But can you dodge this next move?"

"Oh?" Hyuga Satoru raised an eyebrow.

"Gentle Fist... Eight Trigrams... Thirty-Two Palms!"

Iroha took up an unusual stance, his aura surging. His hands attacked in a relentless, flowing stream.

As he quickly dodged Iroha's attacks, a hint of surprise crossed Hyuga Satoru's face. The Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was usually something only Genin could master. From that perspective, Iroha-little more than a background character in the original story-was a genius in his own right.

After all, by the time he met the blond kid in the original story, he'd already become a Jonin. There were no ordinary ninja among Leaf Village's Jonin. Realizing this, Hyuga Satoru gave him a word of praise.

"Not bad."

The faint praise seemed to explode in Iroha's ears. His face flushed as he attacked, teeth clenched.

"Bastard... how dare you humiliate me!"

He was furious, but there was little he could do. Maintaining the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was already the limit of his ability. Once he finished the set, he would be completely exhausted.

But if he stopped attacking now, he would leave an opening for Hyuga Satoru to exploit.

He'd thought he could use this move to defeat Hyuga Satoru decisively, but instead he'd put himself in an impossible position.

After dodging another Gentle Fist strike, Hyuga Satoru leaned slightly to the side. A faint flash of lightning flickered across his right palm, and he slammed it into Iroha's chest with blinding speed.

Blue arcs of electricity burst from the point of impact. With a muffled boom, Iroha flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

Dead silence fell.

Anko was stunned.

A glint flashed in Uchiha Rin's eyes. Was it that move?

She seemed to be back in that night, when Hyuga Satoru had slammed his palm into her chest and sent her plunging into the icy waters of the Naka River.

Fujino Daikichi's mouth gaped wide enough to swallow an orange.

Iroha struggled to push himself up. His chest throbbed as if he'd been struck by lightning, and his muscles convulsed in numb, uncontrollable spasms.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at Hyuga Satoru, gritting his teeth.

"Damn it! You've been playing me this whole time?!"

He'd never imagined that the strength of the clanmate he'd always looked down on would far surpass his own!

Just one match ago, he'd been boasting. Now Hyuga Satoru's victory was like a resounding slap across his face.

So I was the clown all along?