On the vast stage of the second exam, Arashi, one of this year's elite chunin exam qualifiers, stood firmly at the center.
He stared intently at the golden-haired boy across from him—Minato Namikaze, whose face still carried the youthful innocence of a teenager.
Arashi did not underestimate him.
Among the twelve egg-holders who had advanced to the second round as students, not a single one was an ordinary Ninja School child.
He took a deep breath and formed hand signs.
Wind Release!
Like a roaring beast, it pressed toward Minato on the opposite side!
Just as everyone thought Minato would be forced to dodge, the golden-haired boy merely leaped lightly.
He landed mid-air.
It wasn't that he had jumped high.
Rather, beneath his feet, a transparent, reflective, mirror-like barrier of light had appeared out of nowhere!
Kushina exclaimed in surprise, "Huh!? Under his feet... a platform appeared!?"
Mikoto's gaze sharpened. "...Creating footholds in the air?"
The entire audience erupted in astonishment.
"Is that... a new ninjutsu?"
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
"He's standing in the sky?!"
Arashi was also stunned for a moment.
But he was a qualified ninja; his daze lasted only half a second before he immediately shifted his attack strategy.
Minato flicked his wrist.
Kunai appeared.
Six cold glints shot out simultaneously at tricky angles—not merely attacking, but sealing off all of Arashi's escape routes!
Arashi immediately rolled to evade while forming hand signs:
Fire Release: Flower Claw Crimson!
Projectiles swept across the sky like rain.
All six kunai pierced through the flames, but Minato's figure... had vanished!
Zap!
A lightning flash.
Minato suddenly appeared at Arashi's side, his feet once again on that eerie barrier of light!
"Body Flicker Technique!? No, that's not it!"
It wasn't the speed of Body Flicker—was he leaping continuously using those light barriers?
Minato didn't pause.
Kunai flew out again!
Arashi countered fiercely with a Fire Release explosion, but the moment the kunai pierced through the flames—
A golden flash, and Minato leaped onto another light mirror barrier.
It was as if he were treading a path only he could see in the air, step by step closing in. The audience watched, dumbfounded.
"Eh? What's that under that kid's feet?"
"I've never seen a technique like that before!"
"Is this a new technique under the Ninja Beast System? Comparable to the Space-Time Ninjutsu of the past."
Kushina gripped the railing, excited. "Minato is amazing!! He can both fly and change his landing points!"
But Mikoto Uchiha saw deeper. Staring at Minato's constantly flickering trajectory, a strange sense of familiarity stirred within her.
Glancing at Fugaku, Mikoto murmured softly, "...A technique that creates footholds in the air, pausing in space."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Fugaku nodded in agreement with her observation.
Arashi was forced to retreat step by step, compelled to use even more intense Fire Release.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!"
A massive fireball erupted violently,
casting a red glow over the entire arena.
Yet Minato, stepping on a shimmering blue mirror above the flames,
glided lightly over the fireball as if it were a water reflection.
The audience was astounded.
"He's actually... moving on top of the Fire Release!?"
Arashi was now drenched in sweat.
"How... how do I fight this!?"
He could barely track Minato's trajectory.
One after another, shimmering light mirrors appeared and vanished, forming an aerial staircase built for Minato.
And Minato was waiting at the top of the staircase.
The final light mirror flashed.
Minato's figure disappeared.
Arashi's pupils dilated: "Where is he!?"
Minato's soft voice sounded behind him:
"I'm sorry, I'm right behind you."
Arashi tried to counterattack, but it was too late.
The kunai in Minato's hand gently pressed against the back of Arashi's neck.
The referee raised the flag high:
"First match! Winner: Minato Namikaze!!!"
The arena erupted.
Kushina leaped to her feet: "Amazing!!!"
Mikoto slowly exhaled:
"…Minato Namikaze."
This battle had no Ninja Beasts, no Tailed Beasts.
In the stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzo applauded, though their minds were elsewhere.
Still, Hiruzen noted Minato's performance.
With Minato easily defeating Arashi in the first round,
the second round was quickly announced among the jōnin.
Hiashi Hyuga versus Hizashi Hyuga!
The moment this was declared, the entire venue buzzed with shock.
Many clan leaders frowned, glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzo, while the Hyuga clan stared at the Hokage with strange expressions.
"The Hyuga… branch and main family, truly fighting?"
Even so, neither hesitated in their steps.
Hiashi Hyuga, calm-faced and steady-breathing, the future heir of the main family.
Hizashi Hyuga, one of the most talented geniuses of the branch family.
As the two stepped onto the stage from opposite entrances,
the temperature in the arena seemed to drop.
Their innate Byakugan made their gazes clash like needles meeting sharp edges.
Audience murmurs arose:
"Where are their Ninja Beasts? Why haven't they brought any?"
"Not even an egg?"
"Could it be… they've given up on using Ninja Beasts in battle?"
On stage, the two brothers remained silent.
Until…
They simultaneously extended their right hands.
The air trembled.
As if something had been drawn from an unseen dimension.
Faint, shimmering shadows appeared in both brothers' hands…
Then, the shadows ignited with white light, condensing and taking shape!
As if reborn in their palms.
They formed into two longsword-like weapons.
They raised their heads, locking eyes.
Their Byakugan activated simultaneously.
Veins bulged like tree roots, and their presence exploded across the stage.
The audience held their breath.
The moment the brothers' figures crossed at the center of the ring—
BOOM!!!
Their weapons collided with a blinding white light,
shockwaves spreading from the point of impact, instantly cracking the ground beneath them.
Hiashi struck first!
He dropped his shoulder, twisted his waist, and swept his staff in a smooth arc, the sword in his hand tracing a glowing semicircle.
Hizashi's Byakugan perceived every detail—he tapped the ground lightly with his toes, sliding back half a step as if gliding on wind, his own sword rising in a reverse grip to block the strike with a sharp clang.
In the next instant, he retracted his blade, dropped low, and surged forward,
his left hand forming a palm strike imbued with the force of the Hyuga's Gentle Fist, aimed directly at Hiashi's ribs!
Hiashi reacted just as swiftly.
He raised his knee, precisely intercepting Hizashi's wrist movement,
then stepped sideways with his right foot, sweeping outward to strike Hizashi's knee, attempting to break his balance.
Hizashi shifted his footing three times in succession, evading the opening and pressing forward, his short blade grazing Hiashi's arm with a sharp hiss.
"So close!"
The audience gasped.
Fists and feet intertwined as the two closed in again!
Hiashi rotated his left arm outward, blocking Hizashi's blade.
His right elbow followed through, driving straight toward Hizashi's chest!
This strike was steady and powerful, enough to knock the breath out of anyone if it landed.
Yet Hizashi caught it with a reverse grip, flicked his toe, and with the Hyuga taijutsu's maximum speed, pivoted half a circle, pressing his shoulder against Hiashi's chest. His entire body cut in close like a sharp blade.
Fist met fist. Elbow struck elbow. Knee clashed with knee.
Each impact echoed with a dull thud, as if striking iron plates.
The two brothers exchanged no words, showed no mercy—
only a purely extreme close-quarters battle.
This was the Hyuga's most pure, most brutal, and most beautiful form of close combat.
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