The Konoha Whirlwind Ruri used was a move he had secretly learned from Might Guy. With his photographic memory and knack for mastering anything after seeing it once, he had quickly picked up Might Guy's technique.
After speaking, Ruri swiftly planted his upper body against the ground, his legs spinning like a windmill. His whirling feet kicked Ruowu straight out of Uchiha Itachi's hand, then drove upward with another powerful kick that struck Itachi squarely in the jaw.
After the kick, Ruri quickly righted himself and landed on his feet.
With a bang, the Uchiha Itachi whom Ruri had kicked into the air turned into a log. Looking with his Byakugan, Ruri discovered that Itachi had been a substitute.
"So it was the Substitution Technique. No wonder they call him the god Itachi! His way of attacking really is different. Even my Byakugan didn't catch when he used the Clone Technique. Looks like he does have some skill!" Ruri said with a smile.
The Substitution Technique was a move Ruri had yet to learn. After all, he did not have the same family connections as Uchiha Itachi. He was only a member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family, not the clan head's son like Itachi, who could learn all sorts of Ninjutsu. Ruri had come to the Ninja Academy precisely to learn these most basic techniques.
"Sorry, but for the honor of my clan, I have no choice. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Above and behind Ruri, Uchiha Itachi had already finished his hand seals. Holding his fingers before his mouth, he drew a deep breath and spat an enormous fireball downward, sending it blazing toward Ruri in an instant.
Ruri did not turn to look at Itachi. Instead, he watched all of Itachi's movements through the Byakugan's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision.
Although the spectators were already standing far enough away, they could still feel the scorching heat contained in the fireball.
"Linghua, do you think Ruri will be all right? That Ninjutsu Uchiha Itachi is using looks awfully powerful to me!" Momokusa Harukawa asked anxiously from beside her.
"Don't worry. Ruri will definitely be fine. I believe in him!" Although the Ninjutsu Uchiha Itachi had displayed was already astonishing, Linghua still believed Ruri would be all right.
"This is bad. I never thought he could actually use Fire Release Ninjutsu of this level. It looks like there's no way to stop it now!"
The Chunin teachers among the spectators had never expected a fight between children from the Ninja Academy to involve Fire Release Ninjutsu of this caliber. The battle between Uchiha Itachi and Ruri Hyuga had gone far beyond an ordinary children's fight. Now, it seemed they could no longer stop it.
"All we can do now is pray that the Uchiha Clan's boy doesn't get hurt. If anything happens to him, we'll all be in serious trouble! What a shame about that Hyuga Clan boy."
Anyone nearby who saw this would surely have looked down on these teachers. It was not that they were snobs, but one boy was the son of the Uchiha Clan's head, while the other was merely a well-known boy from the Hyuga Clan. The two simply could not compare.
Just as Uchiha Itachi was about to spit out his Great Fireball, Ruri spoke. "You really are much stronger than I imagined, but this ends here. There's no point in fighting any longer. It would only waste my time!"
With that, Ruri took his stance and said softly, "Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin."
At that moment, the spectators were all discussing whether this child from the Hyuga Clan would die a horrible death.
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