Chapter 208 – The Battle
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The instant she saw an opening, Hinata lunged forward, her palms glowing as she struck at Hatake Yusuke's blind spot.
The man didn't even flinch. "Little girl," Yusuke said with a calm, serious tone, "is your Byakugan just for decoration?"
"Eh…?" Hinata froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. The chakra radiating from Yusuke's body was overwhelming—so vast that she couldn't even see its limit.
Her pupils trembled. The sheer amount of chakra he possessed… it was easily a thousand times more than Naruto's—Naruto, the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
If Naruto's chakra was a flowing river, then Yusuke's was a boundless ocean.
"Even if I don't counter your strikes," Yusuke continued, his tone casual yet domineering, "the Tenketsu points you hit will simply reopen under the pressure of my chakra alone."
"Hinata, fall back!" Kiba shouted.
Snapping out of her shock, Hinata quickly leapt backward.
But Yusuke didn't intend to let her retreat unpunished—he threw a punch forward, his movement creating a shockwave that split the air.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"
Countless insects burst from Shino's body, forming a dense barrier that shielded Hinata from the blow.
A faint smile tugged at Yusuke's lips. "Fire Fist."
A massive sphere of flame erupted from his hand, roaring toward the three of them.
"W–What the—!? That power! He's trying to kill Hinata!" Kiba yelled, panicking as he dashed toward her.
"Fire Insects: Destruction Beetles!" Shino countered immediately, launching waves of fire-resistant beetles toward the incoming inferno.
"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
Hinata's hands moved in a blur, her strikes forming a glowing dome of chakra that met the blaze head-on.
"She blocked it…?" Kiba murmured, lowering his arms from his face, staring in awe.
"Impressive," Yusuke said, nodding approvingly. "You've grown."
"Why didn't my insects work…?" Shino muttered, his usually calm tone laced with confusion.
"Oh, that?" Yusuke replied, glancing at him lazily. "Your Fire Insects are trained with Fire-natured chakra, right? Not bad at all. But my flames… their heat is far beyond that. And more importantly, these flames of mine aren't ordinary Fire Release. They're pure fire—drawn from nature itself."
Shino nodded slowly, shock flickering across his expression. But he didn't argue.
"Well then," Yusuke said as he stretched his fingers, cracking his knuckles. "Enough talking. From here on out, I'll get a bit more serious. Try not to die, all right?"
"Don't underestimate us!" Kiba roared, fusing with Akamaru once more. Their chakra surged, transforming them back into the Two-Headed Wolf.
At the same time, Shino's insects swarmed into the air, filling the battlefield with a suffocating hum. Hinata assumed her stance again, her Byakugan shining with renewed focus.
"Alright then," Yusuke said, his grin widening. "Let's begin, kids."
He clapped his hands together. "Thirty Million Volt: Thunderbird!"
Three colossal birds made of pure lightning burst into existence, shrieking as they dived straight toward the three Genin.
"Bug Release!"
Shino spread his arms, sending his swarm to envelop Hinata, Kiba, and himself in a living armor. The Thunderbirds slammed into them—explosions of light and thunder roared across the field.
When the dust settled, they were still standing, though thousands of Shino's insects lay dead on the ground, their bodies charred black.
"He didn't even use a single hand seal…" Kiba muttered, stunned.
"We can't keep defending," Shino said, his voice steady despite his exhaustion. "My insects are nearly spent. I'll draw his attention. You two attack from behind."
"I'm in," Hinata said firmly.
Among the three, Kiba was the fastest. Hinata, meanwhile, had the precision and timing to strike true.
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
Twin lion heads made of chakra flared around her hands. She surged forward, the ground cracking beneath her feet.
"Six Thousand Volt: Thunder Dragon!" Yusuke raised one hand, unleashing a lightning dragon that roared toward her.
Hinata countered it with both palms, scattering sparks into the air before pressing forward with a dancer's grace.
"Beautiful," Yusuke murmured. "Every movement is elegant and efficient… but too slow. Have you ever witnessed the true speed of lightning?"
In the blink of an eye, his body dissolved into a streak of light.
He appeared behind her.
"Discharge."
A spark of electricity leapt from his fingertip to her back. To Hinata, it was as though Yusuke vanished and reappeared instantaneously. Her Byakugan caught him—but her body couldn't react in time.
Before the lightning could hit, a swarm of insects enveloped her, forming a thick shield that absorbed the blow.
Yusuke gave a small approving nod, then disappeared again, reappearing beside Shino.
"Lightning Spear."
He condensed lightning into a spear and thrust it forward, impaling Shino's chest clean through.
"Shino!" Kiba shouted.
But a heartbeat later, the body dissolved into a cloud of insects. It had been a bug clone.
Yusuke's face remained calm. He had known from the start—it was merely a test, after all.
"This is it! Fang Wolf Fang!" Kiba howled, spinning toward Yusuke in a wild cyclone of claws and fangs, his eyes locked on the daifuku still in Yusuke's hand.
'Just a little more! If I can touch it, I win!' he thought desperately.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow, amused. A sphere of electricity gathered in his palm.
He released it.
The bolt struck Kiba midair, paralyzing him instantly. His body twitched violently before crashing to the ground.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
Shino's voice echoed from afar as a torrent of insects surged forward, surrounding Yusuke from every direction.
"I'm not afraid of bugs," Yusuke said, his tone dry. "But this many… is rather unpleasant."
He exhaled softly. The air trembled.
An invisible wave of pressure spread outward, crushing everything within its range. Every single insect dropped lifelessly to the ground—stunned, but not killed.
He'd been careful not to harm them. He knew how much Shino valued his companions.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Hinata lunged once more, her chakra pulse cutting through the air like a cannon blast. Yusuke met it calmly, lightning flaring across his arm as he blocked it effortlessly.
Meanwhile, Shino used his remaining swarm to pull Kiba's unconscious body to safety.
"That's enough," Yusuke said quietly. "You've done well. But this is where it ends."
He glanced at them, his voice calm yet heavy with authority. "Remember this, kids… the world isn't as gentle as you think."
He snapped his fingers.
Thunder rolled across the heavens.
Dark clouds swirled overhead, and in the next instant—dozens of bolts of lightning rained down, obliterating the entire training field in a storm of light and noise.
When the flashes faded, his three students lay sprawled across the scorched ground, utterly defeated.
"…Crap," Yusuke muttered. His Observation Haki picked up a familiar presence rapidly approaching. "Tsunade's coming."
"Flames of Undying."
He waved his hand, conjuring warm golden fire that spread over the three students, healing their injuries and restoring their consciousness.
"All right, all of you—get up. Listen carefully," Yusuke said quickly. "When she gets here, just say someone else showed up. No matter what she asks, you know nothing. Got it?"
"Uh… why though, Yusuke-sensei?" Kiba scratched his head.
"Don't ask questions," Yusuke replied flatly. "Just do it. Unless you want me to train you every single day from now on."
Their faces went pale instantly. After witnessing his overwhelming power firsthand, none of them dared defy him.
"Time Rewind."
A soft shimmer enveloped the area. Time itself reversed, mending the shattered terrain and restoring their torn clothing as if nothing had happened.
He didn't use his flames for this one—too wasteful. Temporal restoration was simpler.
Still, he left the fatigue from battle intact. After all, pain was the best teacher.
"W–What kind of ability was that?" one of them gasped, eyes wide at the sight of the untouched field.
"Are we… under a Genjutsu?" Kiba asked weakly.
"No… it's all real," Hinata said, her Byakugan scanning their surroundings.
Right then, Tsunade stormed onto the scene.
"Hatake Yusuke! What the hell did you do this time!?" she shouted furiously.
"Nothing, Tsuna-chan. I didn't do anything. Ask them," Yusuke said innocently, flashing her a disarming smile.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, scanning the perfectly restored field, then looked at the three students.
"Well? What happened here?"
"Nothing at all, Hokage-sama. We didn't see anything," Kiba answered quickly, sweating bullets.
"Hmm… really? Then what about that lightning I saw just now?"
"We didn't see any lightning," Kiba said firmly, avoiding eye contact.
Yusuke covered his face with one hand, sighing deeply. "…Idiots," he muttered under his breath.
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