I Predicted That You Predicted My Prediction

As soon as Uchiha Rin finished speaking, she sharply flicked her wrist.

Several projectiles sliced through the air as a handful of kunai shot rapidly toward Hyuga Satoru, all aimed at his vital points.

"Wooden Weapons?"

After seeing what the kunai were made of, Hyuga Satoru's pupils contracted slightly.

She knew my ability could control metal, so she replaced all her ninja tools with Wooden Weapons in advance?

Having figured that out, Hyuga Satoru's expression turned grave. He flipped backward, narrowly evading every kunai.

Uchiha Rin reached for the Ninja Tool Pouch at her waist and threw out another cluster of wooden kunai. They collided with one another in midair, changing their trajectories and forming an impenetrable net that swept toward him.

Hyuga Satoru was startled. She was actually using Uchiha Shurikenjutsu on wooden kunai. The rebound coefficients of metal and wood were completely different.

With the same throwing technique, using wood was far more difficult!

She hadn't gained anything from this move last time, so she switched to wood and tried it again?

Hyuga Satoru gave a bitter smile.

She really was a training maniac!

One could only imagine how much effort Uchiha Rin had secretly put into training to recreate this technique with wooden kunai.

Holding a metal kunai, Hyuga Satoru retreated while blocking every incoming kunai. Fortunately, the electric current had greatly enhanced his reaction speed, leaving him more than capable of dealing with this kind of attack.

A glance from the corner of his eye showed that Uchiha Rin had already vanished from where she had been standing. A sharp whistle cut through the air beside him as a slender leg swept toward him, her toes aimed straight at his chest.

Hyuga Satoru twisted aside. Her toes brushed past his chest, and the wind from her kick howled.

Was she getting serious?

Feeling the pressure, Hyuga Satoru no longer dared to underestimate her. He activated his Byakugan and entered a combat stance.

The sharp smacks of flesh colliding echoed through the forest, shaking leaves loose from the trees until they fluttered to the ground.

"Why aren't you using Gentle Fist?" Uchiha Rin asked curiously.

"I don't really like it. Gentle Fist is too rigid and has too many limitations."

Hyuga Satoru raised his palm to block Uchiha Rin's sweeping leg, then drove his right fist toward the root of her thigh, forcing her to retreat.

"But if I break the techniques apart and attack weak points, it fits my rhythm much better."

Uchiha Rin nodded. If he had used conventional Gentle Fist, its straightforward attack patterns might not have pressured her so much. But Hyuga Satoru's attacks had no discernible pattern. Every strike targeted her weak points, leaving her somewhat flustered.

Seeing that she could gain no advantage in close combat, Uchiha Rin leaped back, opening the distance between them as her hands formed seals.

After seeing the sequence of seals, Hyuga Satoru raised an eyebrow and said dismissively, "You still dare to use Great Fireball? Wasn't last time's lesson enough?"

Yet Uchiha Rin seemed not to hear him. She drew in a deep breath, and an orange-red fireball burst from her mouth.

Hyuga Satoru was startled. The Great Fireball wasn't aimed at him, but at the open ground between him and Uchiha Rin!

With the attack distance drastically shortened, the Great Fireball crashed into the ground in an instant. Orange-red flames swept up fallen leaves and scattered them in every direction, while black-gray smoke mixed with sparks erupted and suddenly swallowed Hyuga Satoru.

Hyuga Satoru had no choice but to leap backward immediately.

The instant he had just escaped the range of the exploding flames, a chill wind suddenly rushed at him from behind.

Before he could react, slender arms locked around his upper body, restraining both his arms and body. A wooden kunai was pointed directly at his throat.

Uchiha Rin held the wooden kunai against Hyuga Satoru's throat. A trace of pride appeared on her pretty face as her lips parted.

"I won!"

Heh... She used my contempt for Great Fireball to attack the ground and blow up the flames, forcing me to dodge in a hurry. Then she predicted where I would land in advance and circled behind me for a sneak attack?

Although the main reason was that he had been careless and failed to dodge.

Still, Hyuga Satoru could not help praising Uchiha Rin. Her combat instincts were probably no weaker than those of an ordinary Genin.

However...

"You think you can beat me with just that? You're being far too naive."

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Did you forget about my other Kekkei Genkai?"

Uchiha Rin's pupils contracted as if she had remembered something. Her gaze shifted downward slightly, and a chill immediately crawled up her spine.

A metal Shuriken was floating before her throat, slowly spinning.

"When did you..."

Her voice trembled, and none of her earlier pride remained.

"The instant your Great Fireball exploded, I used Magnet Release to control four Shuriken and keep them floating around us. The moment you appeared, these Shuriken could have taken your life. Simply put..."

"I predicted that you predicted my prediction!"

Hearing that, Uchiha Rin searched around and indeed discovered the other three slowly spinning Shuriken floating around her body.

"Magnet Release... what a terrifying ability."

"I lost..."

The kunai weakly moved away from Hyuga Satoru's throat. The light had vanished from Uchiha Rin's eyes, leaving only disappointment and frustration.

"Hey, don't give up on yourself. Your Sharingan hasn't awakened yet, after all. If you had the Sharingan, the result really would be hard to say."

Worried that she might lose heart, Hyuga Satoru could not help comforting her.

"You don't need to comfort me. I'm not that fragile."

Uchiha Rin shot Hyuga Satoru a cold glance, and the light in her eyes returned.

"Go on. What's your condition?"

Uchiha Rin put the wooden kunai back into the Ninja Tool Pouch at her waist and stared coldly at Hyuga Satoru.

Before the fight, she had agreed to Hyuga Satoru's condition. Since she had lost, she naturally had to fulfill the agreement.

She believed she had at least that much integrity.

"But let me make this clear first. If you dare make any excessive demands..." Uchiha Rin bit her lip. "Even if it costs me my life, I'll kill you!"

"No need for that, no need for that!"

Sensing the chill in Uchiha Rin's voice, Hyuga Satoru scratched his head and laughed.

Then, he took out a blueprint from his clothes and handed it to Uchiha Rin.

"The Uchiha Clan is close with the Cat Ninja Clan, right? Granny Cat of the Cat Ninja Clan is one of the largest ninja tool merchants in the Ninja World. I'd like to ask you to help me commission this item. I'll pay the price."

Uchiha Rin froze.

She accepted the blueprint. It showed a weapon similar to a crossbow, but unlike anything she had seen before.

"That's it?"

Uchiha Rin looked up at Hyuga Satoru in astonishment.

"What did you think it was?"

Hyuga Satoru rolled his eyes at her.

He had asked around at nearly every Ninja Tool Shop in Konoha. Custom-making such a precise Electromagnetic Cannon was extremely difficult, while the Uchiha Clan was on good terms with Granny Cat, one of the Ninja World's largest ninja tool merchants. They were the clan in Konoha least likely to lack ninja tools.

Put simply, he was merely borrowing Uchiha Rin's connections.

"Leave it to me. Forget about the money—it's a small matter."

Uchiha Rin said this generously.

"Really...? Then thank you, Rin."

Hyuga Satoru paused. Uchiha Rin's words made him feel embarrassed.

He had asked about the price beforehand. Custom-making this entire set of weapons would cost at least several tens of thousands of Ryo. He had originally planned to ask Uchiha Rin for a slight discount based on their relationship as classmates.

He had not expected Uchiha Rin to refuse payment outright!

This girl... Could she actually be rich?

Hyuga Satoru's eyes lit up.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Uchiha Rin looked at him in confusion.

"Nothing!"

Hyuga Satoru swallowed. Uchiha Rin was a slightly aloof little girl with long black hair, and meeting her gaze made his heartbeat suddenly speed up.

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

You can't become a Title Douluo!!!

"Still, I have a question."

Uchiha Rin hesitated before speaking.

"Why is your Magnet Release so powerful? I remember ordinary Magnet Release can't control Shuriken and kunai so freely, right? Otherwise, the Sand Village wouldn't be the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages."