"Thud!"
Both of them crashed to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust!
"You...!" Huo Men instinctively tried to circulate his chakra and use a Gentle Fist escape technique, only to find himself caught in Inoichi's octopus-like grip. Inoichi's arms and body barely obeyed him anymore, yet they remained wrapped tightly around Huo Men! This was no grappling hold from any fighting school. It was more like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline-a death grip sustained by instinct and sheer, stubborn will!
"My chakra... is almost... gone..." Inoichi gasped into Huo Men's ear with the last of his strength. His voice came in broken fragments, but carried an unmistakable stubbornness. "But... your pressure-point strikes... have limited... effect on sheer... body weight and... locked joints..."
Huo Men's heart jolted as he immediately grasped the core of Inoichi's brutal tactic! By deliberately taking attacks to points that were not absolutely vital, he had preserved some basic mobility and the use of his body weight. Then he had abandoned the contest of ninjutsu and Taijutsu entirely, resorting to the most primitive, undignified form of close-quarters grappling. He had dragged the fight into the realm of raw physical strength and ground joint locks, leaving no room whatsoever for the exquisite Gentle Fist techniques that required space and precise force!
He tried to circulate his chakra at full strength and force his way free with his superior physique, only to find himself pinned by Inoichi's seemingly weak body, which had unleashed astonishing strength out of desperation. The blow to his chest a moment earlier was still hampering his breathing, too. They rolled and wrestled in the dust, arms and legs tangled together, stripped of all the grace and finesse expected of a ninja duel. They looked more like two wild children fighting with everything they had over the last mouthful of food.
The students in the stands watched with their mouths hanging open, utterly silent. No one had expected what should have been a clash between a secret mental technique and a supreme visual power, a peak contest of skill and perception, to end in such a... disgraceful yet strangely heroic display of primitive wrestling.
"That idiot Inoichi..." Watching the two fight like wild beasts, Shikaku Nara could not help pressing a hand to his forehead, though a complicated smile tugged at his lips. "He really will... do anything to win. This is seriously ugly to watch..."
The grappling continued for nearly another minute, every second seeming unbearably long. Finally, through an almost obsessive determination never to let go-and perhaps a little luck-Inoichi managed to twist one of Huo Men's arms behind his back with a simple joint lock that was far from textbook, but effective enough.
"Give up..." Inoichi lay across Huo Men's back, panting, his voice rasping like a worn-out bellows. Sweat mixed with dust dripped from his forehead onto the side of Huo Men's neck. "If you keep struggling... your arm joint... might get... injured..."
Huo Men fell silent for a moment. His Byakugan could clearly "see" that Inoichi beneath him had almost completely exhausted his chakra. The pressure points in both shoulders were severely blocked by Gentle Fist chakra. He was holding on solely by wringing the last scraps of potential from his body and relying on that deeply moving force of will.
Although Huo Men still had some chakra left and possessed a stronger physique, this chaotic, close-contact wrestling went against every principle of Gentle Fist. He could scarcely execute the refined techniques that required precise force and a specific distance to free himself effectively.
More importantly, through their close physical contact, he could clearly feel Inoichi's rock-solid refusal to give up, and his resolve to endure tremendous pain and humiliation for the sake of victory.
"...I surrender," Huo Men said calmly, ceasing his futile struggles.
The teacher refereeing the match seemed to have only just recovered from the shock of this reversal. He froze for an instant before finally announcing loudly, "The winner is Inoichi Yamanaka!"
At the verdict, Inoichi's will and body, stretched to their absolute limits, instantly relaxed. His hold on Huo Men's arm loosened helplessly.
As though all his bones had been removed, he collapsed onto his back on the still-warm ground. His chest heaved as he gulped greedily at the air, as if that last minute had drained a lifetime's worth of strength.
The searing pain in both shoulders, like burns from a branding iron, and the crushing weakness of chakra depletion swept through his entire body. Even moving a single finger felt difficult.
Yet on his face, covered in dust and sweat, the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted into a faint but unmistakable smile of satisfaction and relief.
Huo Men slowly sat up and flexed the arm that had been locked until it ached and tingled. He looked at Inoichi sprawled on the ground in a miserable state, his gaze holding no resentment over his defeat, only sincere respect.
"That was an excellent tactic," Huo Men said earnestly, reaching out to pull Inoichi up as well. "Though... the execution was hardly pretty. I really didn't expect you to counter Gentle Fist's close-range advantage that way."
With Huo Men supporting him, Inoichi barely managed to stand. At those words, he gave a wry smile, his voice still hoarse. "A last-minute... solution I came up with... when I was cornered. If... we did this again, I probably... couldn't count on the same... luck."
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the other's feelings about their hard-fought battle reflected in his eyes. Supporting each other, they straightened unsteadily, then solemnly formed the Seal of Confrontation to mark the end of their duel.
"If we get another chance to spar," Huo Men said, looking at Inoichi with a serious gleam in his pure white eyes, "I won't let you get close so easily and drag me into that kind of wrestling again."
"Then I'll just have to... think of something else... that takes more brainpower." Inoichi panted out his reply, his expression carrying the easy acceptance of someone who had met a worthy opponent.
As Inoichi dragged his nearly broken body off the field, Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi immediately squeezed through the crowd and supported him on either side.
"You really pulled it off, Inoichi!" Choza thrust a water flask into Inoichi's hand as he spoke in his booming voice, full of admiration and disbelief. "You actually won with that... that street-brawling style! You beat a Hyuga with brute strength-though you didn't have much of that-and wrestling! Who would believe it? I'm wondering whether my eyes were playing tricks on me or you suddenly got possessed by some weirdo!"
Shikaku lazily held up Inoichi's other arm to keep him from sliding to the ground. His tone retained its usual teasing edge, but his eyes were quite serious. "Your tactical thinking... barely gets a passing grade. But next time, try not to use a method that hurts you almost as much as your opponent and looks absolutely awful. Just watching it made me hurt for you..."
Inoichi took the flask, struggled to lift his heavy arm, and drank a small sip of cool water.
His gaze, however, unconsciously turned toward a relatively isolated section of the stands, carrying a trace of barely perceptible hope. His father, the current head of the Yamanaka Clan, sat there.
At that moment, the middle-aged man, long known for his sternness, was watching him quietly, his face expressionless. But when their gazes met, he gave an extremely slight, almost imperceptible nod.
What flashed through his eyes was not criticism of how the victory had been won, but a deeply concealed hint of... approval for his son's adaptability and tenacious will in a desperate situation.
For Inoichi, this wretched, even somewhat ugly victory had long since come to mean far more than passing a final exam.
He had proved to everyone, and to himself, that even without relying on his clan's most renowned technique-the Mind Body Switch Technique, which also required the most preparation time-he, Inoichi Yamanaka, could still find his own path to victory through calm observation, analytical ability, and the intelligence and will that refused to yield even in desperate circumstances!
A breeze swept across the training ground, stirring a few lonely fallen leaves and sending them spiraling past the three of them. Inoichi raised his head and gazed at the wisps of cloud still drifting serenely across the sky. Waves of sharp pain pulsed through his shoulders, and every muscle in his body felt sore and weak, yet inside, he felt a strange peace and clarity, like the calm after a storm.
This contest between the mind's eye and the white eyes had ultimately ended with cool analysis and an unwavering will to do whatever it took triumphing over the supposedly absolute vision that could see through everything. And for a true ninja, sometimes what revealed the path to victory was not merely a powerful visual technique or secret art, but a resolute heart that never gave up, even in desperation, and kept searching for a way through.