The Clown Was Actually Me?

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

"Kojun Miko versus Kamikawa Yuto. Begin!"

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

Fujino Daikichi nodded slightly. At a time when most students hadn't yet learned ninjutsu, battles at this stage mainly relied on taijutsu and shuriken throwing. These two students had fairly solid foundations among the commoners.

Before long, Kamikawa Yuto pressed a kunai against Kojun Miko's neck.

"Kamikawa Yuto wins."

Fujino Daikichi nodded and announced the assessment result.

Hyuga Satoru watched quietly from the side. He didn't know exactly how strong he was, but thinking back to his battle with Uchiha Rin last night—

Fujino Daikichi announced the next match.

"Hyuga Iroha versus Yamashiro Aoki."

At those words, a wave of commotion swept through the crowd.

"It's Iroha! Yamashiro Aoki is probably done for."

"Yeah. She's a genuine Hyuga Ninja, not some knockoff who can be compared to her."

Yamashiro Aoki froze when he heard his name, then could only force himself to step forward.

He had no hope of defeating Hyuga Iroha. After all, in their class, Iroha was a second-tier genius behind Kakashi and Uchiha Rin.

Sure enough, the moment the battle began, Yamashiro Aoki was completely overwhelmed. Hyuga Iroha activated her Byakugan and struck with tricky, vicious attacks. One palm hit his chest and sent him flying backward heavily.

"Is that the Gentle Fist? So amazing!"

"Yeah! You couldn't even see it clearly—she defeated him in an instant!"

Struggling to climb back to his feet, Yamashiro Aoki felt a stabbing pain in his chest. His Chakra flow had become stiff and sluggish.

"Is this the power of the Gentle Fist?"

Clutching his chest, he panted as he stared at Iroha in shock. He knew he would lose, but this had been far too fast.

"Of course." Iroha clearly enjoyed the praise. She raised her chin slightly. "The Gentle Fist's strength is beyond question. Even within the Hyuga Clan, not just anyone can master it."

Sensing the implication in Iroha's words, Hyuga Satoru raised a disdainful brow. At their current stage, Iroha's Byakugan and Gentle Fist did indeed give her a considerable advantage against ordinary ninja.

But later on, the flaws of the Gentle Fist and Byakugan would be obvious. Their ceiling was too low. The Sharingan had Gundam, and many other Kekkei Genkai possessed the power to contend with Kage.

Only the Gentle Fist was neither outstanding nor mediocre.

Was it strong?

It was.

But that was all.

More importantly, the Hyuga Clan was set in its ways, rigidly clinging to tradition and never innovating or developing new abilities. In the entire enormous Hyuga Clan, there wasn't even one expert at the Kage level!

That was also why Hyuga Satoru disliked interacting too much with clan ninja. The path he wanted to take was destined to differ from the Hyuga Clan's.

Fujino Daikichi called out several more names in succession. Hyuga Satoru watched Kakashi's match. His movements flowed smoothly as he defeated his opponent cleanly and decisively with taijutsu alone, even surpassing Iroha.

As expected of this year's number-one genius.

Hyuga Satoru quietly praised him. Under Hatake Sakumo's guidance, Kakashi had already left his peers more than a level behind.

"Using Kakashi's current Chakra reserves as one unit, mine are probably around 1.2 Kakashi. My vigorous biological magnetic field gives me quite an advantage in Chakra reserves."

As Hyuga Satoru was thinking, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hyuga Satoru versus Hyuga Iroha!"

Hyuga Satoru looked up to see Iroha staring coldly at him.

"Wow! It's a battle between two Hyuga! This should be interesting."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Obviously Iroha! Hyuga Satoru spends all day slacking 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 force yourself just to save face. If you can't win, surrender. That's not embarrassing. Getting hurt is what's embarrassing."

Hyuga Satoru rolled his eyes at her.

"You really have that little faith in me?"

Within the crowd, a sharp gleam flashed through Uchiha Rin's eyes as she fixed her gaze firmly on Hyuga Satoru.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author's name. It may have simply been renamed!

Unlike the others' jeers, she knew that Hyuga Satoru had been hiding his true abilities all along!

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

Hyuga Iroha's expression was unpleasant. "Hyuga Satoru, if I remember correctly, you've never gone to the clan's training grounds to practice the Gentle Fist. I'll show you what the Hyuga—"

"You'll know once we fight." Hyuga Satoru cut her off directly.

Iroha's face darkened. Forming hand seals, she shouted, "Byakugan, activate!"

Vein-like bulges protruded fiercely around her eyelids, and her pale white eyes locked tightly onto Hyuga Satoru.

"You aren't planning to activate your Byakugan?"

"No need."

Hyuga Satoru shrugged.

"Arrogant!"

Iroha struck out with a palm carrying a fierce gust of wind, her expression grim.

Hyuga Satoru merely shifted sideways and avoided her attack.

"Luck?" Iroha frowned.

She launched another palm strike, even sharper than the last. Yet to Iroha's surprise, it hit nothing but air again.

"Why are you so fast?"

Iroha asked in shock.

No matter how slow she was, she had realized that Hyuga Satoru had dodged her attacks solely through his physical reaction speed.

"I'm not too bad," Hyuga Satoru said.

His daily slacking, mining, and training had already pushed his physical abilities far beyond those of children his age. On top of that, while dodging, he used electric currents to stimulate his muscles into contracting rapidly.

To him, Iroha's attacks looked like they were playing in slow motion.

The contempt vanished from Iroha's eyes, replaced by gravity. Hyuga Iroha said in a low voice, "Hyuga Satoru, I admit you've surprised me quite a bit. But can you still dodge this next move?"

"Oh?" Hyuga Satoru raised a brow.

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

Taking up a peculiar stance, Iroha's momentum surged as her hands attacked wildly like flowing water.

Quickly twisting aside to evade Iroha's attacks, Hyuga Satoru showed a trace of surprise. Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was generally a technique only Genin could master. From that perspective, Iroha, who had been a minor character in the original story, was something of a genius after all.

After all, he had already been a Jonin when he met the prince in the original story. There were no incompetents among Konoha's Jonin. Having figured that out, Hyuga Satoru offered a word of praise.

"Not bad."

That faint praise seemed to explode in Iroha's ears. His face flushed red as he continued attacking, and he clenched his teeth slightly.

"Damn it... You actually dare humiliate me!"

Though furious, he was powerless to do anything about it. Barely maintaining the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was already his limit. Once this Gentle Fist sequence ended, his stamina would likely be completely exhausted.

But if he stopped attacking now, he would inevitably expose an opening and give Hyuga Satoru a chance to seize it.

He had thought this move would let him crush Hyuga Satoru cleanly and decisively, yet instead, it had left him trapped in an impossible situation.

After evading another incoming Gentle Fist strike, Hyuga Satoru shifted slightly. Lightning flickered across his right palm as he slammed it into Iroha's chest with lightning-fast speed.

Blue electrical arcs burst outward from the point of contact. Accompanied by a dull boom, Iroha's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

Dead silence.

Anko was stunned.

A sharp gleam flashed in Uchiha Rin's eyes. Was that move...?

It felt as though she had returned to that night, when Hyuga Satoru had pressed a palm against her chest and sent her plunging into the freezing waters of the Naka River.

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

Iroha struggled to prop himself up. His chest stung as though struck by lightning, and his muscles spasmed and trembled uncontrollably from paralysis.

He wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, glared fiercely at Hyuga Satoru, and gritted out,

"Damn it! So you've been pretending all this time???"

He had never imagined that the clansman he had always looked down on would be far stronger than him!

He had only just boasted during the previous battle, and now it was like a loud slap viciously striking him across the face.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author's name. It may have simply been renamed!