Buzzz!!
The instant Uya clenched his fist, a terrifying halo of white light rose around it, and he punched it forward with a boom, right in front of Setsuna Hyuga.
Crack!
In an instant, the air burst apart with a hum, fine cracks spreading in every direction like a shattered mirror.
A terrifying power of tremors enveloped Setsuna Hyuga's entire body!
Setsuna Hyuga, who had looked so composed just a moment ago, immediately paled, horror and disbelief appearing in his eyes.
How could it be this strong?!
That power of tremors practically pinned him in place. Never mind raising his arms to unleash the Gentle Fist-he could not even move!
Horrified, Setsuna Hyuga hurriedly drove the chakra within his body with all his might, sending it gushing from his arms, palms, and elsewhere in an attempt to resist the power of tremors unleashed by Uya's punch.
Buzzz!!
When Setsuna Hyuga's chakra surged out, it did hold back the power of tremors a little.
But in the very next instant, it was utterly crushed!
The power of tremors swept through almost unstoppably. Even when Setsuna Hyuga desperately used all the chakra in his body, he could not resist it!
In fact, had he not belonged to the Hyuga Clan and known how to release chakra from his palms and arms to offer some slight resistance, Uya's punch would probably have shattered his bones outright!
Against the likes of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist taijutsu, Uya, who possessed the Quake Release kekkei genkai, was practically their absolute nemesis!
If they could not even get close, how could they use the Gentle Fist?
What Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms? Before they could even unleash it, a single punch would kill them outright.
Even if they used Rotation, whether they could block a punch imbued with the power of tremors was uncertain. It might be blasted apart just the same!
Bang!!
The next moment, Setsuna Hyuga could no longer hold on. At last, the tremors sent him flying backward. He spat out a mouthful of blood in midair and fell to the ground some distance away.
The entire venue fell silent in an instant.
In the silence, a trace of disbelief appeared on everyone's face. They even found it as incredible as a dream.
This... how was this possible!
From start to finish, Uya had actually used only one punch to overwhelm a member of the renowned Hyuga Clan, supposedly the strongest in taijutsu!
A clash of titans? A bloody battle? None of it happened.
If an ordinary student had been defeated in a single punch, that would have been one thing, but this was a member of the renowned Hyuga Clan, the strongest in taijutsu!
For him to be defeated in a single punch-how shocking and unbelievable was that!
Meanwhile, Uya, who had sent Setsuna Hyuga flying and defeated him with one punch, calmly withdrew his fist and stood quietly in the arena.
It was as though the result had not surprised him at all.
The next moment.
The entire venue finally erupted.
All sorts of incredulous voices overlapped.
The noise shook the heavens and earth.
Never mind the students-even some chunin and jonin could not help looking shocked.
With that single punch, Uya had forcibly brought the battles in the main arena to their absolute climax!
Even the head examiner announced Uya's victory with a trace of shock.
"He's actually this strong!"
"Unbelievable!"
"A child of the Hyuga Clan couldn't even withstand one punch!"
Only then did the more composed jonin and even the elite jonin come back to their senses, exchanging astonished glances.
And at the highest point, even the most composed of them, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, had a slight flicker in their eyes.
"The Quake Release kekkei genkai. A very interesting thing. It seems to be a strong counter to the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist," Danzo commented, his eyes flickering.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also nodded seriously and said, "It seems to counter not just the Gentle Fist, but all taijutsu. A kekkei genkai that doesn't require hand seals... very good."
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to truly pay attention to Uya. The talent Uya had displayed at this moment had moved even him!
Elsewhere, Jiraiya was still crouching on the railing.
But his expression was somewhat stiff and awkward.
Uya's one-punch defeat of Setsuna Hyuga, who came from a renowned clan, left him at a loss for words.
In the end, Jiraiya could only grumble under his breath, "Minato could've won just as easily."
Behind him, Orochimaru continued leaning against the wall. Only his eyelids shifted slightly, and the corners of his mouth curved up a little.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, who was leaning elegantly against the railing, had a slight flicker in her beautiful eyes, an unusual look appearing in them.
Uya's punch, which had stunned the entire venue, had deeply shaken her.
Because... it was so much like her own style!
Her signature move was Monstrous Strength: using simple, brutal punches to smash through every attack her enemies threw at her!
"Uya... was it?!"
Unable to help murmuring softly, Tsunade revealed a trace of appreciation in her beautiful eyes and said, "That sort of approach really is to my taste."
In the arena.
The clamor did not die down for a long while. All sorts of disbelieving and shocked gazes remained fixed on Uya.
Faced with those gazes, Uya walked out of the arena with the same calm expression he had worn all along.
Outside the arena, the other winners, including Minato Namikaze, also looked over with shock in their eyes.
They were all wondering what the outcome would have been if they had been the ones facing Uya's punch just now.
Without a doubt, if they failed to respond properly, they would fare little better than Setsuna Hyuga!
This was a very dangerous fellow!
Everyone's gaze involuntarily took on a trace of wariness.
Even Minato Namikaze felt shocked. He could not help walking over to Uya and speaking to him.
"Uya, you're really strong now. You're putting a lot of pressure on me."
There was a note of gravity in those words. Minato Namikaze had already classified Uya as a true opponent he needed to take seriously.
Yet upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Uya suddenly smiled faintly.
Just pressure?
What expression would Minato Namikaze make if he knew that punch had used less than half my strength?
Even without opening the first gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation, he could send the chunin Uchiha Kan flying with one punch.
After he opened the first gate, even if a member of the Hyuga Clan could release chakra from their body to resist the power of tremors a little, they could not possibly withstand Uya's punch!
Had Uya gone all out just now, he might even have killed Setsuna Hyuga outright with that single punch!
Of course, that was completely unnecessary, so Uya held back some of his strength and simply sent Setsuna Hyuga flying.
Likewise, during his several one-punch victories in the preliminary arena, Uya had used less than even a third of his strength.
Having to reduce his strength for fear that his opponents could not withstand the power of tremors was something that left Uya feeling a little helpless.