Space-Time Ninjutsu? It Was the Substitution Technique!

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

"Urgh!"

Kaimon Hyuga cried out as his body lurched uncontrollably forward. He staggered and nearly flew off the platform, barely managing to steady himself at its edge as a searing pain flared across his back.

The Hyuga Clan had an absolute defensive technique called "Rotation," as well as a method of coating the entire body in chakra as a shield. However, the former was a secret technique only the main family could master, while the latter required extremely precise chakra control—neither was something a Ninja Academy student like him could learn.

If Kaimon Hyuga had not seen Mikami Yu with his Byakugan and instinctively tensed his muscles, that kick might have knocked the breath right out of him.

"Yu, that was amazing!"

Nohara Rin covered her mouth, her face full of surprise.

"Nicely done!"

Obito pumped his fist hard as well.

Strictly speaking, Obito and Mikami Yu were only on ordinary terms. He even often felt an inexplicable sense of crisis because Mikami Yu spent so much time around Nohara Rin.

But he disliked the Hyuga Clan even more, since they never got along with the Uchiha. The enemy of his enemy was his friend, and seeing them suffer now filled him with glee.

The other students erupted in an uproar as well, stunned by the lightning-fast reversal.

At the edge of the platform.

Teacher Oki and Teacher Himura, who had been overseeing the Three Techniques test while keeping an eye on the platform, turned around at the same time, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.

"Th-this is... Space–Time Ninjutsu?!"

Teacher Oki's voice trembled as he stared fixedly at Mikami Yu on the platform, unconsciously recalling the image of a certain blond-haired man.

As an old teacher who had retired from a Chunin squad to teach at the Ninja Academy, Oki had personally witnessed Namikaze Minato's brilliance. That stunning Flying Thunder God was impossible to forget once seen.

But Oki also knew that a genius like Namikaze Minato, who had become an Elite Jonin in his teens, was exceedingly rare. Even Kakashi, who had graduated at the age of five two years ago, seemed utterly unremarkable compared to that man.

And now...

Had another genius of that caliber appeared?!

"No, that's not right!"

Teacher Himura had looked more closely. He shook his head and spoke rapidly. "A Ninja Academy student couldn't possibly master Ninjutsu of that level... It must be the Substitution Technique! Just an extraordinarily fast Substitution Technique!

"He used those Shuriken as substitutes, then activated the technique the instant the Gentle Fist struck him. That created an effect resembling Space–Time Ninjutsu!"

The logic made sense.

But...

How could it be so fast?!

On the platform.

The battle continued.

Kaimon Hyuga was, after all, a Ninja Clan child who had trained since childhood. Though he had taken a vicious hit, he did not lose his composure.

Just as he was about to fall from the platform, he slammed both palms downward, halting his forward momentum. Then, using his powerful core, he performed a somewhat awkward backward flip and landed back on the platform. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as he raised his head.

"Damn Mikami Yu, attacking me by surprise..."

Across the platform.

Mikami Yu split into four figures. He had clearly used the Clone Technique again, and this time he had created an especially large number of clones. Four identical white-haired boys instantly occupied more than half the platform, surrounding Kaimon Hyuga, who had only just regained his footing and was still short of breath.

Originally, Kaimon Hyuga had intended to use his Byakugan to locate Mikami Yu's real body directly.

But...

"Huh?"

Kaimon Hyuga froze.

In his field of vision, the chakra flow within all four "Mikami Yus" was faint—and exactly identical. It was as though... all of them were clones?!

How was that possible?

Then where was the real body? Had he hidden beneath the platform?

The Byakugan, said to see through all falsehoods, had failed him.

Kaimon Hyuga stood stiffly in place, unsure what to do. He could only scan his surroundings in alarm, every nerve in his body taut as cold sweat slid down his cheeks.

"Hey, Hyuga, what are you standing there for? Did that kick turn you stupid? Hahaha! If you're going to surrender, hurry up and say it! Don't waste everyone's time!"

Obito, never one to mind stirring up trouble, was the first to shout at the top of his lungs.

The other students, unable to make sense of it, also whispered among themselves, wondering why Kaimon Hyuga had suddenly stopped moving.

"Shut up, dead last!"

Obito's taunt left Kaimon Hyuga both ashamed and enraged.

He roared, "Forget it! Since I can't tell them apart, I'll disperse them all! I'll force your real body to show itself!"

If every clone disappeared and Mikami Yu's real body still did not appear, then he would win this match!

"Haah!"

Kaimon Hyuga let out a low shout and moved again. Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he pounced toward the nearest "Mikami Yu," the palm wind from his Gentle Fist fierce and sharp.

Bang!

The first clone was dispersed with a single palm strike.

Then the second, the third...

As clone after clone burst into white smoke, the anxiety in Kaimon Hyuga's heart only intensified. He still could not tell where that damned real body was! His chakra rapidly drained away in this blind assault.

When only the final clone remained on the platform, Kaimon Hyuga pushed off the ground and charged forward once more. Yet his gaze had already shifted to either side, trying to see where Mikami Yu intended to appear.

Just then...

A sudden change occurred!

One of the Shuriken on the ground abruptly burst into smoke without warning. A hand coated in a thin layer of chakra shot out like lightning, its fingers pressed together as it sliced toward Kaimon Hyuga's ribs!

"Wha...?!"

Kaimon Hyuga had never expected this. Before he could change his move, a vicious blow struck his kidney, instantly draining the strength from his body. Then someone seized his wrist and, using his forward momentum, violently threw him over their back!

Thud!

Dust billowed up.

Kaimon Hyuga crashed beneath the platform in an utterly humiliating position, head down and feet up, letting out a cry of pain.

Mikami Yu appeared where Kaimon Hyuga had just stood. He lightly exhaled, his gaze so calm it was nearly indifferent. "The outcome has been decided. You lost."

"Now, can you apologize to the Three Techniques?"

As Mikami Yu's words fell.

The entire training ground went silent.

Sunlight fell upon the white-haired boy's hair, and upon the dispirited Hyuga genius at his feet. The latter struggled to raise his head, unwillingly opening his mouth as if to say something, yet no sound came out at first.

The outcome had been decided.

An elite child of the Hyuga Clan, with his Byakugan activated, had lost to a civilian ninja who only knew the Three Techniques... Had it happened to someone else, Kaimon Hyuga might have laughed at it as a joke. But now, he himself was the one at the center of it.

For a moment.

Kaimon Hyuga felt his pride and superiority as a child of a powerful clan being ground to dust. The countless gazes around him made him feel as though thorns were pressing into his back.