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"Hyuga Hitomi?"
Hearing her name, Ken pressed his lips together and turned to look at the quiet, delicate girl.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. The color drained from her pretty face as fear crept in.
The way she looked at Hyuga Ko—
There was fear.
And resistance.
As if the person in front of her wasn't a fellow clan member…
But someone who bullied her regularly.
Not wanting to see that kind of fear on such a sweet girl, Ken stepped forward and gently patted her shoulder.
"It's just a friendly spar between classmates. You'll be fine."
Seeing the encouragement in his eyes, Hitomi nodded firmly and let out a soft, "Mm."
"Thank you."
After thanking him, she walked into the arena.
Across from her stood a boy.
He stood straight, his expression cold. A white cloth was wrapped around his forehead. When he saw Hitomi step up, he let out a mocking laugh.
"The great Hyuga clan, and you need someone to comfort you just to fight a classmate?"
"If this were the battlefield, you'd just be a burden. You might even get your teammates killed."
"If I were you, I'd drop out now and become a servant. The Hyuga would at least keep you fed for life."
"K-Ko… I'm sorry… I disappointed you…"
Faced with mockery from someone of her own clan, Hitomi didn't argue. She apologized instead.
"I'm ashamed to share a clan with you. Accept my challenge!" Hyuga Ko snapped coldly, dropping into a Gentle Fist stance.
Gentle Fist wasn't ninjutsu, but taijutsu—so it was allowed.
"P-please go easy on me…"
Hitomi took her stance too.
But anyone could see how nervous she was.
"Form the Seal of Opposition."
"She's not even worthy of being my opponent. I don't need to waste time on that."
Ko snorted and charged forward.
His Byakugan flared to life, cold and piercing, as he launched into the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.
The Hyuga clan had strict hierarchy.
Even though both of them were from the branch family and bore the humiliation of the Caged Bird seal, Ko, being stronger, looked down on Hitomi.
And now that he had the chance to face her, he intended to teach her a lesson.
His attack was fierce.
Hitomi was prepared.
But the gap in strength was too big.
She lost in a single exchange.
Classmate or not.
Clanmate or not.
Ko showed no mercy.
He went all out.
The result—
Hitomi was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Stop!"
Seeing Ko about to continue, Daikoku Funeno shouted angrily.
"You get zero for this match!"
Not only had Ko refused to form the seal, he had attacked with excessive force, blatantly disregarding school rules.
His result was voided.
"Whatever." Ko shrugged, completely unconcerned.
In the ninja world, strength was everything.
As long as he was strong enough, he could still graduate.
"She's your classmate—and your clanmate. Why go so far?" Daikoku Funeno demanded, furious as he looked at Hitomi's pale face.
Ko didn't flinch.
"She's too weak. She doesn't deserve to be part of my clan."
"You…" Daikoku Funeno was left speechless.
He might be their teacher, but both students were from the Hyuga clan. With its rigid and complex rules, even he couldn't interfere too much.
He quickly had someone carry the injured Hitomi to the infirmary.
Back in the arena, Ko swept his gaze across the class, arrogance written all over his face.
"If anyone here has a problem with me, step up."
"I'm not even warmed up yet."
Blatant. Overbearing.
"That brat's got some nerve," Sarutobi Kiba muttered in the crowd—but he didn't step forward.
Ko's strength just now wasn't something to take lightly.
Charging in blindly would just get him beaten.
Better to hold back.
"Boss, if you don't like him, why not challenge him? Make him a stepping stone on your path to becoming Hokage," one of his lackeys whispered with a grin.
"Ahem… that last fight took a lot out of me. I'm not fully recovered yet. Next time, for sure," Kiba coughed, trying to cover his embarrassment.
Truth was, he knew he wasn't Ko's match.
Seeing that no one stepped up, Ko looked disappointed.
He slowly walked up to Ken and sneered.
"Your friend gets hurt and you don't even move?"
"Looks like Konoha's already put a leash on you Uchiha."
"Turned proud lions into cowardly guard dogs."
Among the class, as fellow heirs of bloodline clans, Ko considered Ken a worthy opponent.
So he provoked him.
Ken rested his hands behind his head, speaking casually.
"Your trash talk is pretty weak. Didn't really piss me off."
"But I still don't like you."
"So go ahead—show me what you've really got."
"Teacher Daikoku Funeno, I want to challenge Hyuga Ko."
He stepped out from the crowd.
Daikoku Funeno looked at Ko.
"Do you accept Uchiha Ken's challenge?"
Honestly, he didn't like Ko's attitude either. He hoped Ken would teach him a lesson.
"I accept."
Ko answered without hesitation, his eyes burning with excitement.
"The Hyuga and Uchiha are both known as elite bloodline clans of Konoha."
"Let's see—what's stronger? My Byakugan, or your Sharingan?"
Inside, Ken thought to himself—
You're not even qualified to see the Sharingan.
"Begin!"
Ko pushed off the ground and rushed forward, unleashing a flurry of Gentle Fist strikes that filled the air with afterimages.
At that moment—
Ken fully activated his Sage Body.
His senses sharpened dramatically.
He could hear even the faintest breeze.
Even the nervous breathing of his classmates.
His figure flickered like a ghost, effortlessly dodging every strike.
Then—
He threw a single punch.
Heavy. Direct.
It slammed into Ko's abdomen.
Bang.
The impact made a sickening sound.
Ko was launched three meters into the air before crashing hard onto the ground.
"Ahhh!"
The pain twisted his face. The food he'd eaten at lunch came spilling out of his mouth.
One move.
Defeat.
In this clash between Uchiha and Hyuga—
Uchiha won.
Daikoku Funeno stood there, stunned.
He'd expected a close fight.
Maybe evenly matched at first, then decided by a slight edge.
But no one expected this.
Just one move.
Ken had crushed Ko.
Effortlessly.
He was strong. Very strong.
"That's it?"
Akimichi Choji had just opened a bag of chips and hadn't even taken a bite before the fight was over.
Everyone was shocked.
Too fast.
Ken was way too fast.
"He was hiding his strength…"
Thinking back to how he'd challenged Ken earlier, Sarutobi Kiba felt a chill run down his spine.
If Ken had gone all out then, he might've ended up worse than Ko.
"Boss… Uchiha Ken is seriously strong. That 'stepping stone' might trip you instead," the lackey said nervously.
"Shut up!" Kiba smacked him on the head, annoyed.
"Boss, that hurts—go easy!"
"If it hurts, deal with it!"
"....."