Exposed

While she thought it over, Asuka Hyuga swung both palms forward.

The Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was an incomplete version of the Hyuga Clan's secret technique, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

But the principle was the same. Once the first palm struck, a relentless barrage followed until all thirty-two strikes were complete.

The target's Chakra flow would be blocked, leaving them unable to move or resist.

"Hah!" Kazan showed no fear, even though he was only a Shadow Clone.

The Garp Template had given him more than physical potential and talent. It had also given him the battle instincts and skill of one of the Pirate world's strongest fighters.

"I've seen this move before, little bird!"

As Asuka Hyuga's palms came at him, Kazan clenched his other fist and beat him to the strike with one overwhelming punch.

"Fist Bone!"

"Impact!"

Kazan met him head-on. Even against a Hyuga Clan secret technique, he chose a direct clash.

Boom!

His punch kicked up a fierce wind and sent dust flying from the ground.

"Whoa! What was that?"

"Was that really Taijutsu?"

"Kazan's a monster! No wonder he beat Kakashi!"

The punch stunned Asuma and the others where they stood, forcing them to raise their arms against the wind.

It was nothing like the Taijutsu they knew.

With destructive power like that, they would have believed it was C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu.

Asuka Hyuga was knocked several meters back. His strongest attack, the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, had been broken before it even touched Kazan.

"You've improved too, Kazan!" Asuka Hyuga's expression turned grave, but he was not surprised.

Only an opponent like this was worthy of his full strength.

During his hospital stay after his defeat, Asuka Hyuga had spent a long time thinking and reviewing their fight, all for his revenge today.

And Kazan...

Like him, Kazan had not grown complacent after winning. He had pushed himself further. That meant he recognized Asuka Hyuga as an opponent.

Last time, he fought me without even using Chakra. Today, he spent a huge chunk of it on one punch to break my Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two...

Wait!

Asuka Hyuga's gaze sharpened.

"Why do you have so little Chakra?"

Disbelief gave way to a dark expression as a possibility occurred to him.

Kazan's punch had been just as powerful as the one he had used against Asuka Hyuga before.

But back then, Kazan had used pure physical strength for Fist Bone Impact, without drawing on Chakra. Today...

His Byakugan widened, its Dōjutsu Power piercing Kazan's skin and fixing on every bit of Chakra inside him.

He has several times less Chakra than before. It's as if it's been split into a whole bunch of parts!

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

Asuka Hyuga came from a great clan. He knew what he was looking at.

His clan had that technique too.

"So that means... That means..."

"Kazan, you dared to fight me with nothing but a Shadow Clone!"

He roared in fury, his face flushed red as though he had suffered a terrible injustice.

"A Shadow Clone?"

"Did Asuka just say that's Kazan's Shadow Clone? Did I hear him right?"

"Yeah, you heard him right."

"How is that possible?"

"Of course it's possible. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is no ordinary pair of eyes!"

The sidelines erupted.

Who could have imagined that this was only Kazan's Shadow Clone?

He looked every bit as strong as Asuka Hyuga, perhaps even stronger, and yet this was just one of Kazan's Shadow Clones?

Everyone stared at Kazan, waiting to hear him admit it himself.

"You Cataracts and red-eye cases are such a pain."

Kazan stood in the middle of the field and lowered his fist.

The perceptive abilities of those two clans were remarkable. They could see through any deception, even without eyes that had evolved all the way into the Rinnegan or Tenseigan.

"He actually admitted it..." Jing Uchiha clenched his fists.

He wanted revenge even more than Asuka Hyuga did. No one was prouder than the Uchiha Clan.

Tobirama Senju had once called the Uchiha the true Clan of Love. Their power came from emotion, and they cared about one another more deeply than anyone else.

Jing had planned to study this clash between two fierce rivals so he could surpass Asuka Hyuga and gather information for his revenge against Kazan.

The fight had not disappointed him. Even their brief exchange showed strength far beyond the rest of the class.

But... But...

This was only one of Kazan's Shadow Clones!

Obito Uchiha, who had regained consciousness, stared blankly.

"That's just his Shadow Clone..."

The Kazan before him was already so strong that Obito felt powerless.

Like Kakashi back then, he was an opponent Obito could not beat even if he gave it everything he had.

Yet this was only one of Kazan's clones.

Was the world of geniuses really so far beyond my reach?

"Kazan's so strong!" Rin Nohara exclaimed.

None of them had actually seen Kazan fight before. That went for Kakashi, Jing Uchiha and Asuka Hyuga too.

Rin Nohara and the others had only heard from other people that Kazan had beaten all three of them badly.

They had thought they would finally see him fight today. In the end, they had seen only a clone.

Kazan was known to everyone as a Taijutsu Ninja.

A mere clone had only a portion of his Chakra and none of his peerless physique. How much of his full strength could it possibly use?

Kazan's silent admission shut everyone up as surely as Garen's giant sword.

A moment later, the Chunin teacher came to his senses, his face growing hot.

"Kazan!!!"

He shouted, furious.

Sending a Shadow Clone to class? It was disrespectful to him and the Ninja Academy. It was a desecration of the school itself, and he was going to teach that brat a lesson.

"Tch. Knew this would happen."

Kazan's Shadow Clone scratched his head as the teacher stormed toward him.

Then, in full view of everyone, he formed Hand Seals and released the Shadow Clone Technique himself, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"I'll leave this headache to the real me."

Poof~

The teacher froze for a moment, then grew even angrier.

"You can't run from this, Kazan! Just you wait!"

He had no intention of continuing the practical exam.

After letting the students do as they pleased, he headed for the Hokage Building to report Kazan.