The True Genius

Eiji still had everything under control, his eyes tracking Hyuga Yamashiro's every move.

I see. A fighting style that concentrates its attacks on an opponent's vital points to increase the pressure until their body finally gives out.

Not that I'm interested. The Hyuga Clan can keep this child's play.

But to make a name for himself throughout Konoha, he decided to try something special and give his opponent a surprise.

He raised a hand to deflect a strike aimed at his chest, turned aside from the next attack, and kept retreating to open the distance. He was testing whether he could dodge Yamashiro's Gentle Fist without using Limitless.

◇

"Eiji's dodging!?"

"Does that mean he can't maintain that state anymore?"

In the Grandstand, Inoichi Yamanaka and Akimiichi Chōza stared down in astonishment. Shikaku pressed his lips together and watched Eiji's every move intently.

"No, that can't be it. If Eiji couldn't maintain that technique, he would've eliminated all of them before it ran out. But he didn't."

"Then what's he doing?"

"I don't know. But judging by how he acts, he's probably running some kind of experiment."

Shikaku sounded uncertain.

"An experiment?"

Inoichi Yamanaka found his quiet classmate harder and harder to understand. Ever since Eiji's eyes had become a Kekkei Genkai, he had suddenly turned into a Ninja prodigy.

"Thirty palms!"

Eiji tilted his head and dodged.

"Thirty-one palms!"

Eiji jumped back out of the way.

"Thirty-two palms!"

Yamashiro put everything he had into the final strike. Eiji timed his block and stopped the palm strike cold.

Yamashiro felt as though all the strength had been drained from his body. He panted heavily as sweat beaded on his forehead.

Damn it, why can't I hit him? I was so close...!

Looking at Eiji's calm expression, Yamashiro felt a crushing sense of helplessness.

"Impressive. Since you've worked so hard, I'll show you something good."

Eiji jumped back before continuing.

"For the sake of fairness, I'm going to turn off Limitless for a while. In plain terms, you can touch me now."

Before Yamashiro could react, Eiji lowered his center of gravity and raised his right arm at an angle.

What—!?

Horror crossed Yamashiro's face. At the same moment, cries of disbelief rose from the Hyuga Clan's seats.

The stance Eiji had taken was unmistakably the opening stance of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist!

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

A Taiji Bagua pattern appeared beneath Eiji's feet too!

Looking down over the Arena from the raised platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his expression steady, though shock surged through him.

You intend to counter with the same fighting style?

But to use Gentle Fist, you need...

"Quit bluffing! Gentle Fist is Ninjutsu that requires the Byakugan. Without it, you're just going through the motions—"

Yamashiro clenched his fists and shouted at Eiji. But Eiji had already become a blur rushing toward him, forcing him to spring backward—

"One palm!"

Eiji turned his hand into a blade and struck straight for Yamashiro's chest!

"Tch!"

Yamashiro had no choice but to cross his arms over his chest and block. The blow left his arms numb, and he gritted his teeth!

How? Was that a coincidence?

How did he pinpoint my pressure point so precisely?

"Two palms!"

Eiji stiffened two fingers and thrust them straight toward Yamashiro's lower abdomen!

Again! He saw it again!?

But it was too late to react. Pain tore through Yamashiro's abdomen, and he forced himself to use Gentle Fist to block despite his injury!

"Damn it! You fake, stop looking down on me!"

Three palms! Four palms! Five palms!

Their fingers clashed and slipped past one another, their arms colliding. Yamashiro struggled to fend Eiji off with Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, but exhaustion and the blow he had already taken left him at a disadvantage in every way!

"He hit a chakra pathway!? How is that possible?"

The Hyuga Clan members activated their Byakugan and watched the fight. Their faces had been grave ever since Eiji began using Gentle Fist.

Every strike hit a chakra pathway. There was no explaining that away!

In the Spectator Area, everyone who truly understood the purpose of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan looked startled.

"Hey, doesn't this look a lot like..."

"No. Even if he learned the movements, he couldn't make proper use of Gentle Fist without the Byakugan. This isn't just copying!"

The mood among the Uchiha was no better than it was among the Hyuga Clan. Copying Ninjutsu and Taijutsu was supposed to be the Uchiha's specialty!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was no longer calm. His brow furrowed. Eiji's untouchable, absolute defense had already stunned him, but seeing him copy Ninjutsu was even harder to believe!

He lowered his head and began to think.

Untouchable. Able to copy Ninjutsu. Able to see through chakra pathways.

He's combined the key abilities of the Sharingan and Byakugan, and gained a crucial defensive Ninjutsu on top of them.

And that's only what we can tell so far. Have the Six Eyes surpassed both great Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai in every respect?

◇

Damn it! At this rate, I'll lose!

Yamashiro desperately blocked Eiji's attacks on his pressure points. But the human body had far too many of them. He could barely keep up with Eiji's movements, let alone find a way to escape!

"Sixteen palms!"

Eiji drove a palm hard into Yamashiro's chest!

"Cough!"

It felt as though a sledgehammer had struck Yamashiro's chest. His breath caught, and he flew backward before slamming into something solid!

He turned his head slightly. Through his blurred vision, he realized he was pressed against the trunk of a thick tree.

But he had no time to react. Eiji was already right in front of him!

Seventeen palms! Eighteen palms! Twenty palms! Twenty-five palms!

Under the relentless strikes to his pressure points, Yamashiro could no longer fight back. All he could do was take the blows!

Cracks spread across the tree trunk behind him under the force of the impacts until it split open!

"Thirty-two palms!"

Eiji's final, heavy palm strike blasted a hole straight through the trunk and sent Yamashiro flying out through it, his body doubled over!

He hit the ground, covered in dust.

The rough scrape against the gravel twisted his face in pain, and his body trembled.

"Not bad Gentle Fist. There's a lot I can learn from it."

At the sound of the voice, Yamashiro slowly opened his eyes.

Eiji had appeared beside him at some point. Crouching down, he held up a hand glowing green.

Eiji pressed his palm against Yamashiro's chest. The tightness he had felt there quickly faded, and his injuries began to heal.

Yamashiro stared in astonishment. He knew Medical Ninjutsu when he saw it, but had this guy mastered even that?

"You... you're a true genius. You win."

After saying that, Yamashiro looked away and gazed up at the sky.

I lost. The sun really is blinding.

Gentle Fist was useless against him. And the elder said his technique wouldn't last long... What a joke!

"You're strong, but you used the Hyuga Clan's fighting style. You may have trouble ahead. The clan elders won't let this go."

Yamashiro looked at Ryuuzaki Eiji gravely. Sensing how serious he was, Eiji turned toward the Hyuga Clan members. They were watching him with furrowed brows too.

"Well, you don't need to worry about me using your clan's Gentle Fist. I don't think it's much use to me."

He preferred overwhelming force. An attack that couldn't send an enemy flying with a single palm strike was too gentle for his taste.