The True Genius

Eiji still looked entirely at ease, his eyes following Hyuga Yamashiro's every move.

I see. A fist technique that focuses its attacks on an opponent's vital points to increase the pressure, then ultimately breaks down their body.

Not that he was interested. He could leave such child's play to the Hyuga Clan.

But to make a name for himself throughout Konoha, he planned to try something unusual 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 up the distance. He was testing whether he could dodge Yamashiro's Gentle Fist without using Limitless.

"Eiji's dodging now!?"

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

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

"No, I don't think so. If Eiji couldn't maintain that technique, he would have eliminated all of them before it gave out. But he didn't."

"Then what's he doing?"

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

Shikaku sounded uncertain.

"An experiment?"

Inoichi Yamanaka found it harder than ever to understand this classmate of his, who usually spoke so little but had suddenly become a Ninja prodigy after his eyes developed a Kekkei Genkai.

"Thirty palms!"

Eiji tilted his head and dodged.

"Thirty-one palms!"

Eiji leaped back out of the way.

"Thirty-two palms!"

As Yamashiro poured everything he had into the final strike, Eiji seized the moment and raised a hand to block, stopping the palm strike cold.

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

Damn it. Why couldn'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."

With that, Eiji jumped back and said, "For the sake of fairness, I'll turn off Limitless from now on. Put simply, you'll be able to touch me."

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

What—!?

Horror flashed across Yamashiro's face. At the same moment, cries of disbelief rose from the Hyuga Clan Members' 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!"

The Taiji Bagua pattern appeared beneath Eiji's feet as well!

High above the Arena, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression did not change, but turmoil surged through his mind.

You intend to strike back with the same fist technique?

But you should know that using the Gentle Fist requires...

"Stop bluffing! Gentle Fist is a Ninjutsu that can only be used with the Byakugan. Without it, those moves are just for show—"

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

"One palm!"

Eiji drove a knife-hand straight toward Yamashiro's chest!

"Tch!"

Yamashiro had no choice but to cross his arms over his chest and block. The impact left his arms numb and his teeth clenched tight.

How? Was that a coincidence?

How did he pinpoint my acupoint so precisely?

"Two palms!"

Eiji stiffened two fingers and thrust them straight toward his lower abdomen!

Again! He spotted it again!?

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

"Damn it! You're just an impostor! Don't look down on me!"

Three palms! Four palms! Five palms!

Their fingers collided and slipped past one another, their arms crashing together. Yamashiro forced himself to keep using Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms to defend, but after his earlier exertion and the blow he had taken, he was losing on every front!

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

The Hyuga Clan Members activated their Byakugan one after another to watch the fight. Their expressions had turned grave the moment Eiji used the Gentle Fist.

Every strike targeted a chakra pathway. There was no way to dismiss that as coincidence!

In the Spectator Area, everyone who truly understood what the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could do looked astonished.

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

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

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer keep his expression calm. His brows drew together. Eiji's untouchable Absolute Defense had already been shocking enough, but seeing him copy a technique was even harder to believe!

He lowered his gaze and began to think.

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

He has more than the key abilities of the Sharingan and Byakugan combined. He also has a powerful defensive Ninjutsu.

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

Damn it. I'll lose if this keeps up!

Yamashiro desperately tried to fend off Eiji's attacks on his acupoints. But the human body had so many of them that just predicting Eiji's movements took everything he had, let alone trying to break away!

"Sixteen palms!"

Eiji thrust out a palm and slammed it into Yamashiro's chest!

"Cough!"

Yamashiro felt as though a hammer had struck his chest. His breath caught as he flew backward and crashed into something solid!

He turned his head slightly. Through his blurred vision, he realized his back was 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!

His acupoints came under attack one after another. Yamashiro could no longer fight back. All he could do was take the blows!

Cracks spread through the trunk behind him under the impacts until it split apart!

"Thirty-two palms!"

Eiji drove out one final, powerful palm strike. It blasted a huge hole through the trunk and sent Yamashiro flying backward through it, his body doubled over!

He hit the ground, dust coating his body.

The scrape of gravel against him twisted his face in pain, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Not bad. Your Gentle Fist is worth studying."

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

Eiji had appeared beside him at some point. He crouched down, green light glowing in his hand.

As Eiji pressed his palm to Yamashiro's chest, the tightness there quickly faded, and his injuries began to heal.

Yamashiro stared in disbelief. Of course he recognized Medical Ninjutsu—but had this guy mastered that too?

"You... are a true genius. You win."

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

I lost. The sun really is blinding.

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

"You're strong, but you used the Hyuga Clan's fist technique. That might cause trouble for you. The clan elders won't let it go."

Yamashiro looked at Ryuuzaki Eiji with a serious expression. Seeing that he meant it, Eiji turned toward the Hyuga Clan Members. They were watching him with furrowed brows as well.

"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. A style that could not put an opponent down with a single palm strike was too gentle for his taste.