Uchiha Yuan was also very surprised; he hadn't expected Hyuga Asana to have already mastered the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu).
"You lost!" Hyuga Asana said calmly.
Uchiha Yuan turned his head at her words. Their eyes met, and in the next second, a memory of herself being branded with the Caged Bird Seal surfaced before Hyuga Asana's eyes.
Although the Magic Illusion: Narakumi no Jutsu was just a D-rank ninjutsu, it could bypass the target's will, projecting the fears and unwanted scenes from their heart into reality.
The greater the fear in the victim's heart, the stronger the impact of the jutsu. Simply put, it forces the opponent to witness the image they fear most, dealing psychological damage.
"Hyuga Asana, you win! I admit defeat." In a daze, Hyuga Asana heard Uchiha Yuan's voice, and the illusion she was under was dispelled.
At that moment, cold sweat had already broken out on Hyuga Asana's forehead, and her clothes were soaked through.
"Sorry, I didn't realize that genjutsu would affect you that badly," Uchiha Yuan said in a voice only the two of them could hear.
Hyuga Asana took a deep breath, trying to compose herself, then asked, "Why did you admit defeat? I was under an illusion too—shouldn't you be the winner?"
"If this were a real life-or-death battle, the moment your kunai was at my throat, I'd already be dead. The enemy wouldn't stop the blade there—they'd drive it right through."
"Besides, if you lost, Hyuga Chika would definitely give you trouble! I couldn't let you get bullied over a meaningless spar."
"You're not a masochist, and you don't have any useless pride either, do you?"
Hyuga Asana was silent for a moment before saying, "Thanks."
"We don't need to thank each other for such small things."
"Meet me by the river after school."
After saying that, the two of them performed the seal of reconciliation. This sparring match ended with Hyuga Asana as the victor.
Although Uchiha Yuan lost, the strength and combat ability he displayed was already equal to that of a regular Genin.
The teachers finally understood why Uchiha Yuan's strength had suddenly improved so drastically.
Because he had awakened the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai—the Sharingan.
It's well known that once a member of the Uchiha clan awakens the Sharingan, their strength experiences a major leap.
But Uchiha Yuan was apparently only ten years old. Awakening the Sharingan at age ten was rare, even among the Uchiha.
The teachers documented Uchiha Yuan's situation, preparing to report it to the higher-ups.
Meanwhile, the news of the sparring match between Uchiha Yuan and Hyuga Asana spread to other classes.
"Hey, Obito, did you hear? That clansman of yours, Uchiha Yuan, awakened the Sharingan," Ebisu said as he walked up to Uchiha Obito, wearing sunglasses.
"What's so great about that? He's only a year older than me. I'll definitely awaken the Sharingan when I'm ten too!" Uchiha Obito replied, sounding bitter.
"You? Don't kid yourself! You can't even pull off the Clone Technique properly. Your clansman almost beat Hyuga Asana," Sarutobi Asuma scoffed.
"Asuma, I heard Asana has already learned the Body Flicker Technique. Can you beat her?" Kurenai asked.
If anyone else had asked, Asuma would've honestly said he might not be able to beat Hyuga Asana.
But since it was Kurenai who asked, Asuma answered without hesitation: "Hyuga Asana is definitely no match for me!"
"Asuma, you're amazing!"
"As expected of the Hokage's son."
"Asuma is the strongest!"
...
Hearing all the praise around him, Obito muttered jealously, "Hmph! What's so special about that!"
"Obito, I believe in you. One day, you'll surpass all of them!" Rin consoled him as she always did.
With her words, Obito was instantly rejuvenated. "Rin, I'll definitely do my best!"
...
After school, Uchiha Yuan arrived at the riverside. About ten minutes later, Hyuga Asana showed up too.
"You came pretty fast today," Uchiha Yuan said.
"Probably because I beat you today, Hyuga Chika was in a good mood and didn't make things hard for me. I dropped her off at home and came right away."
"By the way, can Hyuga Chika activate the Caged Bird Curse Seal?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
"How could a kid like her do that? There are probably fewer than ten people in the whole Hyuga clan who can activate it," Hyuga Asana replied.
"So if all ten of them were killed, no one could control the branch family anymore?"
"I've thought about that too. But the main family probably has backup methods. Even if those ten died, the remaining members could still learn how to activate the seal."
"How many people are in the main family?"
"Four elders, the clan head, and the next generation main family members—forty-one people in total."
"What if we killed all of them?"
"Yuan, the Hyuga clan's problems can't be solved just by killing the main family," Hyuga Asana said after a pause.
"But it's the fastest and most effective solution."
"The village would never allow that to happen. The main family's long-term control over the branch family couldn't have lasted without the village's silent approval."
"The village again!"
"Enough already! Let's stop talking about this. We can't change anything by discussing it. So, Yuan—when did you awaken your Sharingan?" Hyuga Asana changed the subject.
"The day I learned my parents died."
"I knew it. You stayed home for nearly a month afterward to adapt to the Sharingan, didn't you?"
"Something like that."
"The Sharingan's illusions are really powerful! Just one look from you was enough to trap me in genjutsu."
"That wasn't a Sharingan illusion. A single-tomoe Sharingan doesn't boost genjutsu. That was a regular illusion I learned—any ninja can perform it."
"A regular illusion? Was it Magic Illusion: Narakumi no Jutsu?"
"That's the one. Narakumi and Tree Binding Kill have been around since Konoha was founded—they're very common. If you're interested, I can teach you."
"No need. The Hyuga clan isn't good at genjutsu. But do you want to learn the Body Flicker Technique? I can teach you."
"Sure!" Uchiha Yuan was planning to learn it anyway. Once his stats reached 30 points, he could teleport—and he needed the Body Flicker as a cover.
"The Body Flicker was taught to me by an adult—it was a kind of test. I'll teach you, but don't tell anyone."
"An adult? The same one who talked to you about how the word 'growth' has no radical?"
"Yeah."
For some reason, Uchiha Yuan had a bad feeling about the adult Hyuga Asana mentioned. In this world, aside from your parents, no one treats you kindly for no reason.
This adult, who talked to her about growth and taught her the Body Flicker Technique—something about them didn't sit right.
(To Be Continued...)