"You'll regret this," he hissed through clenched teeth. His voice was quiet, but each word cut through the air like a blade.
No one had ever dared to humiliate the heir of the main branch of the great Hyuga clan so openly, especially in front of his father. But Kuro only smiled calmly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Come on, Hiashi. No need to get so angry. I think we've both warmed up already, let's start the real fight."
The Hyuga dashed forward. But this time he was far more cautious, ready to use Revolving Heaven at any moment. Using his maximum speed, he launched into a true barrage of Gentle Fist strikes, a series of precise thrusts aimed at Kuro's tenketsu, each capable of paralyzing a limb or disrupting chakra flow.
Kuro met the attack calmly. His hands moved at exactly the same speed as his opponent's, each of Hiashi's strikes colliding with solid blocks. After several exchanges like that, the Hyuga decided it was time to use the advantage of his Byakugan. He leapt back a few meters and pulled out a smoke bomb from his pouch, throwing it at the Nara.
As soon as it detonated and smoke filled the arena, the white-eyed youth rushed forward, sensing that this was his best chance at victory. Kuro, in turn, began to think.
Not bad, though I didn't expect the proud Hyuga heir to stoop to tricks like this. On one hand, I could summon Nue to disperse the smoke and end this quickly, but where's the fun in that? And I might not get a better chance to hone my skills.
Using the five enhanced senses of the divine dogs along with his sensory ability, Kuro reacted at the last moment to his opponent's strike, catching his palm and throwing him over his shoulder. But the Hyuga twisted in midair and resumed the attack.
Thrust, roll, block, jump, strike. Every movement felt sharper to Kuro now. In the midst of battle, a slightly mad smile spread across his face. He increased his speed, ducked under Hiashi's arm, and drove a punch into his chest, sending the young man flying out of the smoke screen. Soon, Kuro himself stepped out slowly, watching his opponent struggle to get up.
"To be honest, that was actually fun. You did well."
"Shut up! I'm not finished yet! It's time for you to test my new technique!"
In the next moment, the Hyuga took a strange stance and then rushed at the Nara at maximum speed.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The first two strikes Kuro easily deflected. The next ones posed no problem either. The following four were handled as well. By the eighth strike, he began to feel some difficulty. Out of the next sixteen, he managed to block fifteen. But the final thirty-two landed significant damage.
Sensing victory approaching, an inspired Hiashi delivered the decisive strike straight at his opponent's chest—but Kuro instantly vanished, dissolving into a cloud of smoke. As it settled, the entire arena saw him standing behind Hiashi, having caught him in the Shadow Possession Technique.
Noticing the shocked expressions of the Hyuga and the audience, Kuro almost laughed, but restrained himself. In truth, at the moment Hiashi flew out of the smoke, Kuro created a clone and hid in its shadow. Then, during the Sixty-Four Palms attack, he simply transferred into Hiashi's shadow.
"Even though you lost, that was a decent fight—for your level."
"How did you do that?!" Hiashi hissed angrily in response to the strange praise, but Kuro merely pressed a kunai to his neck, forcing the examiner to announce the result.
"The winner is Kuro Nara!"
The stands erupted into discussion. The Nara released the technique and stepped back. Hiashi, breathing heavily, managed to compose himself and walked back toward his team.
Watching what had happened, Jiraiya shook his head in confusion.
"How did he pull that off?"
Orochimaru said nothing, but the gleam in his eyes spoke for itself. Not far from them, Hizashi said with a faint smile:
"I've never seen my brother this angry. That Nara is just as strong as he was in the academy."
"Yeah, you never know what to expect from him," Kushina replied, then hesitantly turned to Minato. "Do you think you can beat him?"
"Hard to say. Kuro was always the strongest in our class, but we've all grown a lot since then. In a fight with him, I'll do everything I can," Minato said with his usual smile, though his posture was unusually tense.
"Next match: Uchiha Mikoto versus Aburame Shibi!"
Mikoto began descending into the arena, a red gleam already flickering in her eyes. As she passed Kuro, who was heading back up, she received a nod of approval and a few supportive words. Shibi had already taken his position opposite her. Though his hands were in his pockets, it was not disrespect—it was simply a habit. After confirming both fighters were ready, the examiner gave the command.
"Begin!"
Mikoto acted first. Dozens of shuriken whistled through the air, thrown at different angles—some from above, some in arcs, others ricocheting off each other.
Shibi didn't move. A dense swarm of kikaichu burst from his sleeves. The black mass blocked every trajectory of the metal. The shuriken got stuck in the living wall and fell to the ground.
As expected. Time to burn this out. The Uchiha thought calmly.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive sphere of flame burst from her mouth and surged forward, engulfing the swarm. The entire arena lit up with fire, and even the spectators felt the temperature rise.
Many insects burned instantly, but not all. Some of the kikaichu flew around the flames and rushed toward the Uchiha. Without wasting a second, the kunoichi began forming seals for another technique.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
A series of rapid fire projectiles spread out like a fan. Small but precise fireballs struck clusters of insects one after another, heating the air around them.
The smell of burning filled the arena. Even so, the swarm did not disappear completely.
"He's sacrificing part of the colony to close the distance. Then I need to reach him first," flashed through her mind.
Mikoto suddenly accelerated, her speed far surpassing Shibi's. In an instant, she was right in front of him, drawing her katana.
Steel flashed, and a single precise horizontal strike cut toward the Aburame—but to her surprise, his body immediately scattered into a cloud of insects that began to swarm over her.
From behind her, a quiet voice sounded:
"You rely too much on the Sharingan. I created a clone the moment I blocked your vision with insects."
The real Shibi appeared behind her. But after countless sparring sessions with far stronger opponents, Mikoto had learned never to lower her guard.
She had already expected a trick. The body covered in insects instantly dissolved, and behind Shibi, crimson eyes flared. At the moment the shocked Aburame turned and met her gaze, he fell into the trap.
The world around him trembled. The swarm froze in midair. The sounds of the arena distorted, and his body refused to move. The spectators already understood what had happened.
Shibi stood motionless as the Uchiha slowly brought her katana to his throat, forcing the examiner to announce the result.
"Aburame Shibi can no longer continue the match. The winner—Uchiha Mikoto!"
Mikoto immediately dispelled the genjutsu. Shibi swayed slightly but managed to remain standing. His face had paled a little as he spoke quietly.
"Good fight."
"You did well too," Mikoto replied, sheathing her katana.
At that moment, standing on the balcony, Kuro glanced at Mikoto's father. Though his expression remained stoic as always, the corners of his lips had lifted slightly.
Orochimaru, standing nearby, also noted his student's performance, closing his eyes in satisfaction.
"Her Sharingan is developing even faster than I expected."
Jiraiya chuckled and immediately said,
"Looks like the final will be between our students after all. You didn't forget about the bet, did you?"
"Don't even hope. I'll enjoy humiliating you once again."
"Oh, get lost! Now we'll finally see who humiliates whom."
As soon as those words left Jiraiya's mouth, he felt Tsunade's furious glare. After all, only one match remained in the second round.
"Fourth match: Namikaze Minato versus Senju Nawaki!"