Hayato Hyuga vs Tetsuya Raikō

"All right, all contestants, please head up to the second floor and wait. Come down when it's your turn to fight. If you've drawn someone from your own team, raise your hand to let us know. We'll randomly choose another team and pair you up again."

As it happened, no one drew a member of their own team in the first round, so there was no need for a second draw. Madara Uchiha went upstairs with Hayato Hyuga and the others.

Madara Uchiha unfolded his draw slip. He was number twenty-six. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to wait here until the final match. Hayato Hyuga, meanwhile, happened to draw number one.

"Hehe, pretty impressive, huh?"

Whether they drew number one or number twenty-six, they still had to fight. Hayato would simply be going first. Madara Uchiha could not understand why drawing number one made him so smug.

"First match: Hayato Hyuga of Konoha against Tetsuya Raikō of Kumogakure."

By coincidence, Hayato Hyuga's opponent was Tetsuya Raikō, Sandō Raikō's teammate from Kumogakure. Judging by their names, the two were probably from the same clan as well.

Tetsuya Raikō reached the arena in the blink of an eye, while Hayato Hyuga ran down the stairs to enter it.

Like Sandō Raikō, Tetsuya Raikō had very dark skin. His build was somewhat less imposing than Sandō's, but even so, his arms were as thick as Hayato Hyuga's calves. Standing opposite Tetsuya Raikō, Hayato Hyuga really did look like a little chick.

"Tetsuya, smash that brat's mouth! Make sure he can never talk again!"

Sandō Raikō, who had just mocked Hayato Hyuga, immediately began cheering for his friend when he saw that Tetsuya's opponent was Hayato. Tetsuya responded with a hearty grin.

"So you're a brat from Konoha. You're from the Hyuga Clan, but you must belong to the Hyuga Branch Family, right? Otherwise, why would the Hyuga Clan let you come out here for the Chunin Ninja Exams without assigning you any guards? Come to think of it, members of the Hyuga Branch Family are basically second-class people in the Hyuga Clan. If you're already second-class, what's the point of becoming a chunin? Even if you became a jōnin, a genin from the Hyuga Main Family could still make you kneel and kowtow whenever they pleased, couldn't they?"

Hearing Tetsuya's taunts, Hayato Hyuga clenched his teeth so hard his Kiba nearly cracked. Yet he had no way to refute him. Because of the Caged Bird Seal, even if Hayato truly became a jōnin, his life and death would still depend on a mere whim of the Main Family.

"Shut up! All I need to do is smash your mouth!"

Unable to dispute the facts, Hayato Hyuga could only focus on the fight. He just had to defeat his opponent with actual combat strength.

"Begin!"

As Arakawa Kiba swept his right hand down, the chakra inside Hayato Hyuga surged toward his eyes, revealing a pair of pure-white pupils to everyone watching. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan activated, and Tetsuya Raikō's body became transparent in Hayato Hyuga's sight. Even Tetsuya's acupoints were laid bare before Hayato's Byakugan, which was exceptional even within the Hyuga Clan.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"

The instant Hayato Hyuga activated his Byakugan, Tetsuya Raikō's hands rapidly formed hand seals. A flash of light burst from his body. Hayato Hyuga, who had just activated his Byakugan and was staring straight at Tetsuya, was caught by the sudden flash, leaving his eyes stinging painfully. Against a jutsu specifically designed to counter it, his newly activated Byakugan had no chance to show its strengths.

"We in Kumogakure have done plenty of research on Konoha's Byakugan and Sharingan. Lightning Flash was designed specifically to deal with you. Well, Hayato Hyuga? Without your Byakugan, how are you going to fight me?"

Lightning Flash forced Hayato Hyuga to shut his eyes. The next instant, Tetsuya Raikō was beside him. As Tetsuya swung his fist, Hayato could only guard his face on instinct. A tremendous impact struck him from the front as Tetsuya's fist slammed squarely into the arms he had raised to block. The blow sent Hayato Hyuga flying.

In terms of physical strength alone, Tetsuya Raikō clearly outclassed Hayato Hyuga by an overwhelming margin.

When Hayato Hyuga's back slammed into the ground, both his arms were tingling and numb. Only then could he barely open his eyes and make out a little of his opponent's movements. The moment he did, he saw Tetsuya Raikō's massive feet bearing down on him.

With Tetsuya Raikō's weight and strength, a stomp would leave Hayato Hyuga dead or severely crippled. Hayato could no longer worry about how pathetic he looked. He rolled across the ground, narrowly escaping the attack in an extremely risky dodge. Tetsuya's strike smashed a huge crater into the spot where Hayato had been lying.

"Little brat, you're pretty quick at running away!"

After the attack, Tetsuya Raikō glanced at Hayato Hyuga and saw that his eyes were still closed. Reassured, he continued closing in. As Hayato rolled over and scrambled to his feet, Tetsuya's next attack followed, his fist landing squarely over Hayato's heart. Had Hayato's body been even slightly less resilient, that blow might have killed him outright. As Hayato flew backward from the impact, Tetsuya smiled in triumph, hearing Sandō cheer his victory.

"This is just a sparring match. Why are you trying to kill me?"

Just as Tetsuya was gloating over his victory, Hayato Hyuga's voice suddenly sounded behind him. The next instant, Hayato unleashed a furious barrage of strikes into Tetsuya Raikō's back.

Against an ordinary enemy attacking from behind, Tetsuya Raikō was confident that his powerful body and the lightning release chakra circulating within it could neutralize most of the attacks. Unfortunately, his attacker was Hayato Hyuga, whose Byakugan could see his acupoints.

Hayato's two fingers struck Tetsuya's back. In the blink of an eye, Tetsuya lost all feeling in his right arm, followed by his left arm, his right leg, and his left leg. Before he even had a chance to react, Hayato's attacks had reduced him to a vegetative state with all four limbs paralyzed.

Once he was certain his opponent could no longer move, Hayato Hyuga turned his gaze toward Tetsuya's heart. If I strike the acupoint at his heart, this enemy who tried to kill me should die on the spot, shouldn't he?