In the short span of two exchanges, Kakashi had already witnessed Hyūga Shinichi use several Hyūga secret techniques he had never encountered before. This capability forced Kakashi to raise his concentration to the maximum as he faced the rapidly approaching Shinichi.
He quickly pulled a kunai from his sleeve and held it, adopting a defensive posture to receive the enemy's attack.
Hyūga Shinichi's charge was swift. Just as Kakashi prepared himself, Shinichi was already upon him. Shinichi planted his feet firmly on the ground, his right hand forming a sword finger, and aimed it at the wrist of Kakashi's hand holding the kunai.
He deliberately avoided targeting Kakashi's torso. Since Kakashi had personally experienced the power of the point-strike, he would surely guard his main body closely, preventing Shinichi from easily succeeding. Given this predictable mindset, attacking Kakashi's limbs was a better option.
To perform Ninjutsu, a ninja needs to weave hand signs. While some hand-sign-less Ninjutsu exists, the vast majority of ninjas cannot omit the hand-seal process. The essence of hand seals is to guide and regulate chakra. By successfully sealing the chakra points in Kakashi's arm, Shinichi would effectively seal his Ninjutsu.
The brief skirmish had given Hyūga Shinichi a clear understanding of Kakashi's Taijutsu ability. Although Kakashi was called a genius, his Taijutsu could not achieve a crushing advantage over Shinichi. If he could seal Kakashi's Ninjutsu, Hyūga Shinichi would be invincible.
"Hmm?!"
Just as Hyūga Shinichi predicted, Kakashi murmured in surprise when he sensed the direction of the attack. Without attempting to dodge, Kakashi raised his arm to block while swiftly unleashing a whip-kick aimed at Hyūga Shinichi's waist and abdomen.
He had already experienced the Hyūga's Gentle Fist. While its effect was indeed formidable, its flaw was also clear: without lethal intent, sealing an opponent's chakra required sealing quite a few chakra points.
This provided the condition for Kakashi's counterattack. Given the difference in raw strength and durability between him and Shinichi, Kakashi was confident that his body could endure the opponent's point-strike.
However, if Shinichi took Kakashi's whip-kick head-on, he would surely lose his fighting capability.
Determining the victor between ninjas sometimes does not rely on whose Taijutsu is superior, nor whose Ninjutsu is more numerous or more powerful.
On-the-spot adaptation, along with a detailed analysis of both one's own and the enemy's advantages and disadvantages, often dictates the outcome. Intelligence is always the primary factor in the combat of ordinary ninjas.
And Kakashi was suffering from a lack of intelligence!
With a dull thud, Hyūga Shinichi's sword finger successfully struck Kakashi's arm. Chakra flowed into the chakra point, instantly sealing one of the points on Kakashi's arm.
However, Kakashi's return whip-kick aimed at Shinichi was blocked by an invisible barrier just before reaching its target. The feeling was... like kicking an air wall.
"What is happening?!"
Kakashi looked up toward Shinichi. In the vision of his Sharingan, the chakra points around Hyūga Shinichi's waist and abdomen were suddenly spouting vigorous chakra outwards. This chakra formed an invisible wall, securely protecting Hyūga Shinichi.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Heavenly Rotation (Kaiten)!
Before Kakashi could react, Hyūga Shinichi suddenly began to rotate rapidly, using his left foot as an axis. Simultaneously, Kakashi clearly saw intense chakra erupting from the chakra points all over Shinichi's body.
This chakra formed a hemispherical blue wall of spinning chakra. The instant this terrifying chakra wall expanded and made contact with Kakashi's body, Kakashi felt a massive force impact him, sending him flying into the air, his vision spinning violently.
"BOOM!!!"
Kakashi's body plummeted from the sky. The force of the Kaiten was incredibly powerful. Even he could not adjust his posture to a stable position while airborne after being affected by the technique.
During the fall, the force of the Kaiten continued to impact Kakashi's body. He was completely helpless, only able to watch as his body slammed into the ground.
A loud crash resounded. When Kakashi hit the ground, he left a man-shaped shallow crater.
Not far from Kakashi, the rapidly spinning Hyūga Shinichi slowly came to a halt. The chakra surrounding his body receded. He calmly scanned Kakashi, who was struggling to get out of the crater, adjusted his stance, and prepared for another offensive.
Hyūga Shinichi, being a member of the Hyūga Clan, naturally knew the weakness of the Gentle Fist: to completely seal an enemy's chakra, one needed to strike dozens of the enemy's chakra points. To compensate for this weakness, the Hyūga Clan had corresponding secret techniques. Coincidentally, Hyūga Shinichi had already mastered that secret technique!
Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!
In that moment, Kakashi was already within Hyūga Shinichi's domain. Kakashi, having just suffered a heavy blow from the Kaiten, had no strength left to fight back.
Just as Hyūga Shinichi started moving again, preparing to give Kakashi the complete, full sequence, a figure suddenly flashed in front of Shinichi, one hand pressing down on his shoulder, forcefully stopping Shinichi's impending action.
"That's enough!"
Namikaze Minato suddenly flashed into the battlefield, stopping Hyūga Shinichi's attack.
"Fourth Hokage?"
Shinichi, halted by the pressure on his shoulder, looked up at the person who had arrived and murmured.
"Sensei Minato!"
Kakashi saw Minato's back, staggered slightly, and then let out a heavy sigh of relief. The moment Hyūga Shinichi started charging toward him again, Kakashi felt a tremendous sense of pressure descending upon him.
The lack of intelligence had cost him dearly in this spar.
"This match is yours, Hyūga Shinichi."
"You have proven your talent and strength to us."
"Perform the Reconciliation Seal."
Minato smiled warmly at Hyūga Shinichi and spoke gently. As he spoke, Minato slightly turned and looked at Kakashi behind him, then reached out and gently patted Kakashi's head, saying:
"Kakashi, I hope this battle has made you aware of some of your own issues."
"In a ninja battle, you absolutely, absolutely cannot underestimate your opponent simply because they are young."
Minato's tone when admonishing Kakashi was not severe, but rather gentle. Yet, this very gentle "lecture" caused Kakashi to lower his head in shame.
He hadn't lost to Hyūga Shinichi because of a lack of skill; he had lost to his own pride and underestimation of his opponent. If Kakashi were to fight Hyūga Shinichi again, he would definitely not rely on his age or foolishly try to defeat his opponent with Taijutsu.
He could have used his Sharingan earlier, used a Shadow Clone to first probe the enemy's strength, then suppressed the opponent with Earth or Lightning Ninjutsu, waited for an opening, and struck with a killing blow. While this battle strategy wouldn't guarantee Kakashi a win, he certainly wouldn't have lost the match so embarrassingly.
"Thank you, Senior Kakashi, for going easy on me."
"I concede the victory!"
Hearing Minato's words, Hyūga Shinichi finally confirmed that he had won the match. Seeing Kakashi next to Minato from the Reconciliation Seal, Shinichi followed suit.
Even at this moment, an unreal feeling persisted in Hyūga Shinichi's mind. He himself hadn't truly expected to defeat Hatake Kakashi, who had carried the title of genius since an early age.
An indescribable surge of excitement welled up in his heart.
"Does winning against Kakashi mean I can protect myself during the many crises ahead?!"
As this thought emerged in Hyūga Shinichi's mind, the excitement in his chest receded like a tide in the very next instant.
Most likely... not yet!
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