"Play dumb, huh? Fine by me!"
Raizen's grin was sharp, teeth flashing. Hyuga Tennin responded with a cold cry and surged forward, palms thrusting in a flawless strike. The sharp crack of impact rang through the clearing.
Raizen didn't flinch. His right fist shot out violently, chakra flaring as he activated the Eight Inner Gates, amplifying both his speed and strength. The collision of fist and palm sent Tennin staggering back three steps while Raizen only took two.
What the hell? His strength just spiked mid-fight? Tennin's tiger mouth tingled, and his eyes flickered with surprise. Yet the prodigy reset instantly, rushing back at Raizen with renewed intensity.
Boom!
The two clashed in a blur of raw physicality. Each strike and counter pulsed with lethal precision. Raizen realized the kid was enjoying this—every exchange pushing the Hyuga to faster, sharper strikes. Eventually, Raizen found himself forced into a defensive rhythm.
"Good kid… Hyuga Tennin, as expected of you."
He withdrew slightly, chakra flooding through his veins. The Third Gate opened fully, and Raizen felt his entire body surge with energy. Hair stood on end, veins visible beneath strained skin, a black aura of raw power radiating from him.
"Hyuga Tennin!" Raizen roared, stamping his feet to shake the ground beneath him. In an instant, his form blurred into shadow, lunging at Tennin. The boy's eyes widened, momentarily shocked, before he braced himself—but Raizen's impact hit first, slamming Tennin through the air with bone-shattering force.
"It's not over yet!" Raizen growled, following up relentlessly. He struck from behind, fists driving into Tennin's armpits, flipping the boy through the air, slamming him toward the ground.
Pain flared across Tennin's body, but reflex took over. His palms spread flat, channeling violent chakra into precise points, blasting a cushion of force against the ground. The recoil flipped him safely to his feet.
"Amamiya Raizen… you're infuriating!" Tennin growled, glaring at him, and charged once more.
Raizen met him head-on, their bodies clashing with thunderous force. Both were born for combat, both hardened by survival—but even as Raizen felt Tennin's prowess, he noted the boy's irritation. The Hyuga, bred for physical perfection, was struggling to keep pace with the Third Gate. Guess my "trash-to-legend" underdog status isn't just for show.
"Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms!"
Tennin's stance shifted, the ground beneath them imprinted with the massive Eight Trigrams. The chakra field closed around Raizen instantly, restricting his movement. Tennin's afterimage hands struck relentlessly. Raizen realized that brute strength alone wouldn't win here—he was trapped in the Eight Trigrams domain.
Damn it… now I have to think.
Before he could fully react, a sharp tingling shot up his neck. Tennin's eyes widened, sensing danger. Raizen had already activated the next layer of his strategy. With a precise twist of chakra and the aid of Flying Thunder God Kunai, he inserted the teleportation markers into Tennin's Revolving Heaven formation.
The high-speed spinning chakra ball enveloped Tennin, warping the field as Raizen was drawn into the whirlwind himself. The duel had escalated into something beyond raw strength—tactics, space-time manipulation, and sheer nerve now defined the battlefield.