Author Note:
Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!
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As Hanabi and Neji stepped onto the arena floor, the rest of the Genin filed up onto the viewing platform.
Leaning over the railing with his usual deadpan expression, Kakashi muttered
"So this is the final prodigy from last year… against the rising star who graduated early this year. And of course, a duel between the Hyuga clan's Main House and Branch House. What a setup."
Naruto, half-dangling over the railing like a kid at a zoo exhibit, squinted.
"Main House? Branch House? What's that an?"
Beside him, Kakashi was about to explain when suddenly...
Might Guy burst toward Guts, striking a dramatic pose with his thumb up and teeth sparkling.
"GUTS! This battle… is the FLA OF YOUTH passed down from teacher to student! No matter who wins… WE SHOULD NEVER HOLD GRUDGES!!"
Guts backed away slightly. He smirked and said,
"I'll bet you a month's salary the fight ends in ten moves."
Might Guy's perfect teeth stopped sparkling.
"Te–Ten moves?! Against Neji?! By… that child?!"
Tenten and Rock Lee, standing nearby, froze.
"Ten moves to beat Neji?" Tenten echoed, looking at Hanabi's small fra. "But she's only seven!"
Lee gulped. "Youth… truly works in mysterious ways…"
On the battlefield, Neji took a deep breath. Calm and respectful, he bowed slightly.
"Please enlighten , Miss Hanabi."
Though his tone was polite, in his heart he was already rehearsing how to go easy without making it obvious.
After all, she was still the clan heir, and just a child.
Better let her land a few blows, then finish it gracefully...
Hanabi could read it all in his face.
Her lips twitched slightly in mild annoyance, but she replied evenly:
"Please go easy on , Neji-brother."
They both dropped into Gentle Fist stance.
Seeing their positions, Gekkō Hayate took a half-step back and raised his hand.
"First Match: Hyuga Hanabi vs. Hyuga Neji—Begin!"
WHOOSH!
Before the last syllable of "Begin" even left Hayate's mouth, a blinding orange blur shot across the arena.
Neji's eyes widened. That speed...!
Hanabi's face was already up in his grill.
But what was flying at him even faster… was her palm.
"NANI?!"
Neji barely had ti to cross his arms in front of his face in defense.
But Hanabi wasn't done.
She stepped forward, twisted at the waist and unleashed a violent spinning sweep, her whole body rotating like a buzzsaw.
"What in the na of youthful eyebrows!?"
Might Guy shouted, pointing dramatically.
"Tenten! That's your move, right?! That's your spinning hurricane move thing!"
Tenten sighed helplessly and said. "That's not mine. That's Neji's. Only...she just combined it with Revolving Heaven!"
Indeed! Hanabi's fingertips lit with crackling blue chakra, and in mid-spin, her form ignited with Hyuga chakra flow, forming a shimring semi-circular do.
With a sharp grunt, she slamd it forward...
BAM!!
Neji flew backwards like a cannonball, slamming into the back wall with a thud that echoed through the hall.
Dust and silence followed.
Hanabi casually ended her spin, dropped to a crouch, then smoothly rose back into her original stance. Her breathing wasn't even labored.
Kakashi said, eyes narrowing. "That spin, that angle...she used a hybrid of rotation and Gentle Fist. That level of chakra control is unreal… at seven years old?"
Guy's jaw hit the floor.
"G-G-Guts!! What are you feeding these kids?! This reminds of Shisui! Didn't he awaken the Sharingan at age six?! What do you do with your students?! Hypnosis?! Military-grade caffeine pills?!"
Guts casually sipped tea soone had handed him.
"I just let em fight bears and throw them off a cliff."
"BEARS?!" Guy nearly passed out.
Guts held up a single finger and smiled.
"That was the first move."
"Brother Neji, are you going to give up?"
Hanabi asked softly, her tone innocent, almost teasing, yet with the sharp edge of confidence behind it.
Neji pushed himself up from the ground, gritting his teeth through the pain.
"I admit… I underestimated you, Miss Hanabi," he said, his voice strained but composed. "But now… I'm getting serious."
The mont the words left his lips, the veins around Neji's eyes bulged...Byakugan activated.
He shifted into a familiar stance: body lowered, feet apart, one hand extended forward, the other drawn back.
—The Eight Trigrams Palm Style.
"Neji's serious now," Rock Lee warned from the viewing platform, his tone suddenly solemn.
Hanabi blinked once, then mirrored the stance without hesitation.
Eight Trigrams Palm. Her smaller form held perfect poise.
A hush fell over the crowd.
Then...
They moved.
"Gentle Fist Style – Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Both voices echoed across the arena, colliding just as fiercely as their strikes.
The sa style. The sa technique. But the execution...vastly different.
By the fourth strike, Hanabi's fingertip grazed Neji's ribs...his expression shifted imdiately.
He tried to counter, thrusting his arm to block her chakra point.But she slipped under it, spinning low.
By the seventh move, Hanabi jabbed beneath Neji's elbow joint, disrupting the natural chakra flow in his arm.
A fraction of a second, barely noticeable.
But in a ninja duel, that delay was lethal.
BANG!!
A powerful palm strike landed clean on the collarbone beneath Neji's neck, and he was launched backwards, smashing into the arena wall once more.
Puff!
The second impact knocked the breath out of him, and this ti...he didn't bounce back.
Hanabi stepped back, lowering her hands. She didn't reset into a Gentle Fist stance.
"After your tenketsu were sealed, you won't be able to stand, Brother Neji," she said calmly.
True to her words, Neji trembled, attempting to get up but his limbs shook violently, like a puppet with cut strings. Every ti he tried to rise, he collapsed again.
"Plus the Revolving Heaven at the start… That's nine moves total." Guts turned toward Guy with a smirk, holding out his hand.
"Alright, hand it over."
Might Guy froze. "Wha… Wait, that was only...?!"
"One, the Revolving Heaven. Two to nine, all counted. You owe ."
With a tragic groan, Might Guy slowly reached for his wallet like a man parting with his child.
"This pain… is not of the body… but the soul…"
Guts chuckled and took the money.
On the other side of the viewing platform
"Konoha really is the cradle of genius," murmured Baki, arms crossed.
"Are we… sure that's a seven-year-old?" Temari whispered in disbelief, eyes wide.
Then she glanced at Guts.
Her face paled.
"Both teacher and student… are monsters."
anwhile, Sasuke clenched his jaw, hand gripping his collarbone tightly.
"Damn it… just now… I…"
He had kept his Two Tomoe Sharingan active the entire match, watching Hanabi's movents with maximum focus.
And yet...her attacks had been too fast.He couldn't see them clearly.
"She outsped my eyes…"
On the field, Gekkō Hayate glanced at Neji, who still hadn't risen after ten seconds.
He raised his hand and declared:
"Winner: Hyuga Hanabi."
Neji wasn't critically injured, so Might Guy picked him up and helped him off without calling for the dical team.
Hanabi ran back up toward Guts and Hinata.
"Nice work," Guts said, offering a small nod.
Hanabi gave a quiet hum and crossed her arms.
"Hmph, of course. You think I'd lose?"
Despite her tsundere pout, she was clearly proud.
At that mont, the screen buzzed and the next match appeared:
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Fuutarou
Fuutarou—Suigetsu's teammate, a Genin from Kirigakure. A quiet but sharp-eyed boy, lean with silver-blue hair and two short swords strapped to his back.
He raised an eyebrow when he saw his opponent.
"An Uchiha… this should be fun."
The battle began quickly and Fuutarou proved to be far from average.
Agile, cunning, and precise his style was water-based, fast, and relentless.
Due to the Curse Mark, Sasuke was struggling. His chakra was unstable, and he couldn't fully access the Sharingan for most of the match.
Forced onto the defensive, Sasuke was nearly overwheld.
But his pride, his rage wouldn't let him fall.
And at the very last mont, under pressure...
His Sharingan fully awakened.
With a burst of chakra and fury, Sasuke turned the tide and landed a decisive blow, knocking Fuutarou down.
But imdiately after, Sasuke's body convulsed, the Curse Mark flared out of control.
"Enough!"
Kakashi flashed in, placing a sealing tag on Sasuke's neck to suppress the mark.
Sasuke collapsed to one knee, panting.
Fuutarou, still conscious, grinned as he stood up. "Tch. Close one."
On the board, the next match appeared
Hyuga Hinata vs. Temari
The crowd murmured. It was a matchup no one expected.
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