Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms

"So strong! He's ridiculously strong!"

"Yes! Exactly! That's it!"

Nawaki had sprung to his feet. He clenched his fists and shouted in excitement.

He had challenged Eiji several times over the past few days and taken a beating every time. Seeing someone else get thrashed felt especially satisfying.

The Six Eyes are incredible! Don't they blow the Sharingan and Byakugan away? I, Nawaki, hereby declare them the number-one inherited dojutsu in the Shinobi World!

Eiji charged through the crowd. Every so often, someone cried out as he sent them flying, only to crash into the ground and kick up a cloud of dust!

He didn't actually need to dodge. But Zephyr had once told Kizaru that he relied too much on his fruit powers, and Eiji thought he had a point.

Eiji couldn't always rely on Limitless, either. Satoru Gojo was a cautionary example: he had depended on that ability so much that, after defeating Mahoraga, he let his guard down against Sukuna and was cut in half. Eiji could never let that happen.

Just then, Uchiha Yo made his move!

While Eiji was dealing with the others, Yo used the Body Flicker Technique to slip behind him and form hand seals. He leaned back, then spat out a massive fire dragon that surged toward Eiji!

"Fire Release—Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

The dragon engulfed Eiji, swallowing him in a vast sea of flames. Sensing danger, everyone else leaped away!

"...Did I get him?"

Yo jumped back, his expression grave as he muttered under his breath.

"Eiji!"

Kushina frowned and clutched the front of her clothes with both hands.

Those people are shameless! There are so many of them against Eiji, and they still attack him from behind!

"Lord Eiji...!"

Sayuri's heart trembled as she watched. She didn't know much about fights between ninja, but how could anyone take a hit from a fireball like that and come away unharmed?

"Tsunade, are you just going to sit there and watch!?"

Jiraiya could no longer sit still. He started to rise. If they didn't save the kid now, he would be badly hurt!

Orochimaru frowned too. He looked at Tsunade in confusion. Was this woman really so cold toward her own student?

But faced with their questions, Tsunade remained perfectly calm. She waved a hand.

"Don't worry. Ninjutsu at that level can't hurt Eiji!"

"Not bad. But it's pointless. Against my Six Eyes, you don't stand a chance."

As if to prove Tsunade right, Eiji's voice came from within the flames.

A hand emerged from the fiery surge. Eiji swept the flames aside as easily as parting a curtain, then strolled out with one hand in his pocket.

"What...?!"

Yo gritted his teeth and took a step back, his expression turning grim.

The Grandstand had erupted into an uproar!

"What happened? The Fire Release hit him dead-on, so why is he fine? His clothes aren't even singed!"

Orochimaru looked grave. With his abilities, he could see clearly that Ryuuzaki Eiji had used no defensive Ninjutsu.

He had taken that Fire Release head-on. It made no sense. No matter how tough his body was, that couldn't protect his clothes as well.

And Orochimaru had noticed something even more interesting during the earlier fighting.

His opponents had tried to attack him more than once, but without exception, every attack had stopped abruptly a short distance from him.

Combined with Eiji's emergence from the flames without a scratch, it suggested that something around the boy blocked both physical and Chakra attacks.

But if that protection surrounded him, how could he still touch other people?

Orochimaru's lips curved upward. This was far more interesting than conducting experiments.

Eiji, you're making me more and more curious!

Damn it! How can his defense have no blind spots?!

Yo had heard the clan's report about Eiji stopping a flying chair in class. But at the time, the clan had concluded that the technique couldn't cover every direction.

Now, no matter how Yo looked at it, there wasn't a single opening!

If that was true, what good would the Majestic Destroyer Flame he had worked so hard to learn do?

Could this inherited technique really be invincible?!

"Don't be ridiculous! There's no such thing as an invincible technique! Your eyes can't possibly surpass the Byakugan. There has to be some limitation!"

Hyuga Yamashiro couldn't take it anymore. He refused to accept this!

"Byakugan—activate!"

Veins bulged around his eyes, and Eiji's Meridians and Acupoints came into clear view. The sheer strength and thickness of those meridians made his heart lurch, but he wasn't here to stand around trembling!

"Gentle Fist Palm: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

Yamashiro lowered his stance and raised his left arm slightly. The faint pattern of the Taiji Bagua appeared beneath his feet.

He used the Body Flicker Technique to close in, spread his fingers into a palm, and struck at Eiji's chest!

Yamashiro's pure-white Byakugan met Ryuuzaki Eiji's brilliant blue Six Eyes at close range—

"Let me show you the Hyuga Clan's true strength...!"

Eiji, who had been bored until now, finally felt a spark of interest. A faint grin spread across his face as he watched Yamashiro attack with deadly seriousness.

Not the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms? Well, whatever. This is finally getting interesting... isn't it?

"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms? He's mastered Taijutsu that complex at his age!?"

"As expected of a Hyuga Clan genius. The Shinobi World's been restless lately. A talent like him might give our village a better chance."

"Forget it. The Hyuga Clan would never send a Main Family genius like that into battle!"

Hearing the crowd discuss Yamashiro, Ryuuzaki Eiji could understand their reaction.

He had been a little surprised himself to see Yamashiro use one of the Hyuga Clan's signature moves from the original story. Yamashiro was one of the top-ranked students in their year, after all. It was only natural that he had some skill.

But against the Six Eyes, all of it was wasted effort!

Yamashiro drove his palm toward Eiji's chest, only for it to stop abruptly about a centimeter away.

Eiji noticed Yamashiro's brow tighten. Yamashiro didn't stop; he struck a second time, then a third!

It was pointless. His palms could no more reach Eiji than cross an impassable chasm.

Eiji found it sad. That was how unreasonable the Shinobi World was. Hard work might earn you the right to follow behind a genius, but surpassing one was another matter entirely.

Obito Uchiha was a perfect example. Before awakening Kamui, he had been at the bottom of the class. Afterward, he became one of the strongest fighters in the Shinobi World.

"Damn it! Why isn't this working? It has to have a time limit!"

"Twelve Palms! Thirteen Palms!"

Yamashiro clenched his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. It seemed that executing all thirty-two strikes was still too much for him.

Then it's time for me to move.

Yamashiro's attacks gradually slowed. Eiji stopped standing still and began turning aside to dodge.

The rush of a palm strike brushed past his white bangs, sending strands of hair fluttering.