Earth Release: Fissure Palm

"What condition?!"

Uchiha Temple frowned. He had never expected Uchiha Hui to make demands at a time like this, and he instinctively resisted the idea. But if he failed to wash away this "humiliation," he might even struggle to find a wife within the clan someday!

"We fight again! If you win, these fifty thousand ryo are still yours. But if you lose, you have to pay me one thousand! You know, I'm not doing this for the money. It's just a little wager to spice things up. What do you think?"

Uchiha Hui took the bills out of his pocket again to show that he could pay, then raised one finger and spoke slowly.

"Fifty thousand against one thousand. Pretty fair, right?"

With that said,

Uchiha Hui casually swept his gaze over the other clansmen around them.

As his gaze drifted,

he noticed a new eagerness among the spectators.

"Hui! You lose fifty thousand but only win one thousand? Have you lost your mind, or do you just have nowhere to spend your money?"

Someone stared at Uchiha Hui as he asked.

Many of them had not known that the earlier spar had involved a wager. They had assumed it was just an ordinary match. Who would have thought the stakes were so high?

No wonder Uchiha Temple had been willing to fight Uchiha Hui.

"It's not like I have anything better to do! What, do you want this money too?"

Uchiha Hui asked back with a puzzled expression.

Inside, however, he was quite pleased. His spar with Uchiha Temple had clearly drawn the "attention" of quite a few clansmen.

See? Many of them had already shifted from "disgust" toward him to mere "indifference."

Money!

What a wonderful thing!

"Hmph! Who doesn't like money? How about you fight me instead? If I lose, I'll give you ten thousand, and if you lose, you give me fifty thousand. What do you say? Ten thousand is ten times more than one thousand!"

Seeing Uchiha Hui respond to him, the Uchiha ninja who had spoken licked his lips, his expression expectant.

"Enough, Tianshui! He already agreed to fight me again!"

Beside them,

Uchiha Temple coldly eyed the man trying to "snatch his money," then fixed Uchiha Hui with a dark look. "I admit I underestimated you earlier, but this time, I won't give you a single opening!"

Now that Uchiha Temple had spoken, the others stopped "pitching" themselves. The ninja named Uchiha Tianshui, however, gave a few disgruntled snorts. He seemed irritated that he had failed to seize the opportunity, with some resentment toward Uchiha Temple mixed in.

"Are you ready?"

Uchiha Temple looked at Uchiha Hui and asked.

"Come on!"

Uchiha Hui could see how impatient his opponent was. He apparently did not even care about the Seal of Confrontation anymore.

He did not insist on it.

It was only a spar between clansmen. There was no need to get carried away; they would stop short of serious harm!

The moment the words left his mouth,

Uchiha Hui narrowed his eyes.

Uchiha Temple had already vanished from his position opposite him and was circling him at great speed, looking for an opening.

"Getting cautious now?"

Uchiha Hui suppressed a chuckle. After his first defeat, his opponent had clearly grown much more serious. At least he was no longer as overconfident as before and was truly treating him as an opponent.

That was exactly what he wanted.

Through constant fighting,

he hoped not only to earn rewards and grow stronger, but also to hone his combat skills and experience.

The shinobi world was anything but peaceful.

Later on, practically any rogue ninja you picked out could wipe out a village. If he did not want to become fodder, he had to work harder!

Uchiha Hui's gaze closely followed Uchiha Hui's movements.

The perception granted by his two-tomoe Sharingan was considerably stronger than it had been with one tomoe.

So,

he could see Uchiha Temple's movements clearly.

"Here it comes!"

As Uchiha Hui focused, he saw Uchiha Temple suddenly stop moving, his hands finishing their hand seals at the same time. Hui's lips moved slightly; he had clearly anticipated his opponent's attack.

"Earth Release: Fissure Palm!"

Uchiha Temple swiftly slammed both hands against the ground.

Surging Chakra took the form of Ninjutsu.

The next second,

the ground began to collapse and heave. Whole slabs of rock rapidly rose and fell, the upheaval spreading toward Uchiha Hui, who stood where he was.

"Got him!"

Uchiha Temple clearly sensed his Ninjutsu strike Uchiha Hui before he could react.

As a ninja of the Uchiha Clan,

his greatest strength was actually not Fire Release, but earth release.

And so,

that was what gave him the confidence to challenge Uchiha Hui a second time.

I only lost to you earlier because I used a Ninjutsu that wasn't my specialty. You didn't really think I had no way to deal with you, did you?

At that moment,

Uchiha Temple's heart brimmed with excitement.

I'm not some guy who can't even beat Uchiha Hui!

"Why isn't he moving? Don't tell me he's badly hurt?"

Uchiha Temple looked at the shattered rocks. There seemed to be no movement where Uchiha Hui had stood. Had his Ninjutsu really buried him underneath?

Judging by their earlier fight, Uchiha Hui should not have been this easy to handle, right?

Even if he could not counter his earth release,

surely he would not be completely helpless.

His blood-red eyes wide,

Uchiha Temple peered beneath the rocks. Soon, he spotted Uchiha Hui's familiar figure pinned underneath them, and his heart lurched.

Could that earlier fight have taken everything Uchiha Hui had? Did he force himself into another round because he refused to admit defeat, only to have no strength left to dodge?!

"Hey! You're not... huh?!"

Uchiha Temple called out.

Suddenly, he saw the figure beneath the rocks turn into white smoke.

The next second,

his eyes widened and his entire body tensed. He instinctively leaped backward.

Whoosh!

At the very moment he moved,

a rock nearby suddenly erupted in white smoke, and Uchiha Hui burst out.

Tap, tap, tap!

Uchiha Hui was fast. In an instant, he caught up with the retreating Uchiha Temple.

A smile spread across his face.

If he remembered correctly, Earth Release: Fissure Palm was the very Ninjutsu that had buried Uchiha Kenji. Its power was impressive indeed. It could reshape the terrain and was frighteningly destructive!

Luckily, he had been prepared!

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Uchiha Hui seized Uchiha Temple's arm, bringing a look of panic to his face.

Clearly,

after being punched "to sleep" earlier,

he had developed some fear and reluctance toward fighting Uchiha Hui at close range.

And his judgment was absolutely correct!

Unfortunately,

Uchiha Hui had already reached such an advantageous position, and he had no intention of throwing away this perfect opportunity!

"Go down!"

Uchiha Hui's fist was already primed to strike.

He could not reveal his Shikotsumyaku yet, but that did not stop him from covering his fist with a layer of bone beneath the skin to make his taijutsu more lethal!

Boom!

Uchiha Temple saw a fist hurtling toward him. It seemed as big as a sandbag, making his entire body instinctively shrink back.

Faster!

Even faster!

He shouted inwardly, but unfortunately, his body did not obey.

I'm toast!

Just as the fist was about to land on his face, those two words flashed through Uchiha Temple's mind.

Then,

he went flying backward once again.

"Temple!"

Uchiha Tiger's voice rang out right on cue.

But as Uchiha Temple sailed through the air, all he wanted was for the other man to stop shouting his name.

Did I really lose again?!

Why is his fist so hard?

His gaze growing hazy,

Uchiha Temple looked at the sun overhead. It seemed so dazzling that he could not help closing his eyes.