AN1 : The name of the dojutsu of Isshiki / Kawaki, also owned by Byakuya in this fic has been revealed recently. From now on, I'll refer to it with its canon name : the Kokugan.
AN2 : Long time no see. Sorry for dropping it like that, my studies didn't allow me to continue writing at the time.
"Ōtsutsuki Matsunaga Hisae, winner !"
A round of applause sounded. The white haired lady, uncrowned queen of the Junior rankings and unquestionable victor of the match regained her place among her friends in the audience under the cheers of the crowd.
Akihiko, lying on the ground, was panting heavily in total dismay. He was not even injured, and it made things even worse for him psychologically.
It was not just a mere defeat. It was a one-sided disgrace, and he brought it upon himself.
Hisae's display opened the eyes of many in regards to how vulnerable close quarter specialists could be in front of ninshu true talents. Like all Aspirant Warriors of the Otsutsuki clan, she had been first and foremost taught in the art of the Gentle Fist in her early years at the academy.
But she did not use any taishu technique. Her mastery of Wind release was so ingenious that she did not even move a step. The winds stirred at her call, and every single trick that Akihiko tried failed miserably. It was so efficient that she did not even consume half a gan of chakra to defeat him.
They were simply not playing in the same league.
"You should be grateful."
Hisae snorted and walked away, leaving Akihiko in a daze to the snickers of the audience.
To say that Akihiko had been an outcast in the social circles of the main family would have been a stretch. But similarly to someone like Koyuki, his household did not belong to a noble lineage. As such, he was not a particularly popular individual either here.
A few matches followed swiftly, most of which did not involve personal grudges, drama and were purely for the sake of enjoyment. Haru was mildly impressed with the median level of the main family academy students who hovered around Elite Chunin to Special Jōnin according to his estimates.
Any one of them wouldn't have much trouble reaching the final stages of the Chunin exam that were displayed in the canon. Although he doubted many could have beaten the thirteen year old Gaara that would perform there five years later.
But those Aspirant Warriors were merely six to ten years old.
It's crazy to think that such an insane Ōtsutsuki clan was cleanly wiped out overnight in the Naruto lore. Thought Haru, still bewildered by the impending fate of his lineage.
Speaking of genocide… I think that the end of the Uchiha clan should be quite near right ? Maybe it has happened already ! Haru realised suddenly. "Hayao maybe knows something about it. I should probably inquire a bit." He muttered quietly to himself.
"I, Ōtsutsuki Masamune Fujisuke, challenge Ōtsutsuki Nabeshima Haru !" A voice sounded.
As he finally heard his name, Haru lifted his gaze to stare coldly in the white eyes of Fujisuke who was looking at him smugly with his friends.
The place quieted down quickly as the next challenge was announced, but a few whispers could be heard from the crowd. But as they both stepped forward to face each other, a furious and high pitched voice next to Aizen was heard.
"Do you think you're great bullying my friend, a freshman, Fujisuke ? I wasn't aware that our house of Masamune has started giving birth to scoundrels."
Both Haru and Fujisuke's eyes widened as their heads turned around to look at Eina, whose words were so poisonous that her speech felt off character.
Her brother in particular was so dumbfounded that he was at a loss for words. "Sister you…"
"I don't have a brother like you." She cut him off, her face somber. "Now that you've made your challenge, go on. Assume your evil intentions. I'm sure everyone here can't wait to see you trash my four year old friend for petty reasons. How great."
Shirogakure, home of the warriors, was a place where strength was worshipped. But it didn't mean that petty bullying was viewed favourably either.
Had Eina not said anything, few would have cared much about Fujusuke's behaviour and just treated the fight as anything but entertainment. But her speech directly put his moral status in jeopardy in front of an entire generation of family nobles.
Not only would he be frowned upon as a dishonourable person throughout the match, but his reputation would undoubtedly suffer in the future. Even if he himself didn't care much, which he does, his parents would.
His actions would directly affect the reputation of his household as well, and it was something that he could hardly afford to shoulder the responsibility.
But whilst his sister's reaction was harsh and unexpected, it was too late to go back now. He couldn't back down.
Eyeing the white haired kid he deemed responsible for his plight coldly, Fujisuke took his stance without saying a word.
At least, he would take out his frustration on him.
"Ready… Fight !"
Unphased, Haru stared silently at his opponent. Saying anything more was meaningless, and would actually be detrimental to his image.
Taking a deep breath, a breeze passed, and in a blink of an eye, Fujisuke fighter appeared before the still motionless newcomer. Knees bent, his palm stroke upward towards Haru's chin who quietly flinched backward to evade.
The loud whirr of the stirred wind grazed his ears, as their eyes met. Fujisuke's eyes widened as he saw Haru's eyes glowing dimmly, before the latter suddenly coughed up a breath of bloody mist.
Fujisuke's surprise laid in the fact that he knew his strike did not land, so why was Haru injured ?
With a fraction of a second to think, ideas such as previous injuries and poor health brushed in his mind at light speed, but no matter it was good for him, he didn't bother thinking about it further and armed his other arm, ready to follow up with a vicious strike on his chest.
A sneer made his way on his mouth, and as he felt that victory was in his grasp, time seemed to pause as his sight blurred, and out of nowhere he suddenly felt Haru's leg landing on his left cheek.
A loud, chilling sound of bone breaking was heard, and Fujisuke body was sent flying sideways tens of meters, rolling on the ground before standing still like a corpse.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, the referee hurried by his side, checking him before declaring Fujisuke knocked out, with a broken jaw and a concussion.
People gasped, many started whirspering their incomprehension but others such as Hisae, Ryonōsuke or Aizen frowned in silence. In their eyes, what happened was definitely bizarre.
Fujisuke's move was initially to his advantage. As the older one, his body's mass and strength gave him an edge with this attack, overwhelming Haru by with his momentum and forcing him backward.
But what happened after was simply weird. For a crucial split second, Fujisuke seemed out of his mind, and didn't even notice Haru's counterattack. Even weirder was that strike, that seemed almost impossibly heavy handed if Haru's age and body mass was taken into account.
Even somewhat enhanced by chakra, a four year-old leg strike with low momentum can not possibly send a seven year old kid flying and break bones in the process. It was unnatural.
If adult warriors were watching, maybe outsiders could have known, but for now only Haru himself knew clearly.
When he dodged the palm uppercut, for the first time, Haru made use of a very rudimentary genshu in order to confuse Fujisuke for a short while. Making him see a slightly altered instant where Haru was nonsensically injured, and covering his leg strike in the process.
In the Naruto World, most illusions operated in a very cumbersome way in Haru's opinion. They aimed at throwing the opponent in a completely different reality, where one would experience unsettling events in order to break the mind.
Worse was that, with a few notable exceptions such as the Sharingan's genjutsu, they also required the user continuous efforts in order maintain their hold. This not only made the user relient on others for protection, but also to take advantage of this illusionned state. That was why most genjutsu users where operating in support ninja roles.
A tremendous hassle in Haru's opinion. It was far from being the most efficient way to use Genjutsu.
In a ninja or warrior battle, a split second was all what was needed. It didn't matter if the illusion didn't hold for tens of seconds. Altering a blade trajectory, someone's position or a stupid confusion was all he needed to make a difference. Simply put, genshu was best used for feints.
Even if the Byakugan capabilities didn't specialise in genshu, it was indeed capable of such a low level but effective trick.
And his leg strike was simply the result of his mother's efforts over the past week. His Shikotsumyaku had not truly awakened yet, but he can now harden his bones at will.
All things considered, it could be said that Haru's victory was a fluke. A deserved fluke, but had his counter strike failed, he would have indeed been in big trouble. Fujisuke was still quite stronger than him in nearly all areas at the moment.
Sat next to Aizen, Eina's expression seemed frozen in shock. She was shocked by the outcome, as were all the others, but more than anything else, the sight of her brother so heavily stricken, laying on the ground as if dead, left her mind blank for a moment. A few second later, she hurried in worry to his side.
Unphazed, Haru watched on in silence. While there was a shred of guilt in his heart toward for Eina, he didn't believe that anything he has done was wrong. He brought this upon himself, and this was the prize of stupidity and overconfidence, Eina's brother or not. Whilst it may seem like Fujisuke had behaved this way in order to protect Eina as an older brother, Haru knew well enough these kinds of people to know that in reality, he provoked him because he felt that Haru was too lowly to be associated with the house of Masamune, and that he was just looking for a punching bag to satisfy his vicious tendencies.
If he wasn't Eina's brother and wouldn't bring a lot of trouble to him, he would have blasted his brain onto the floor.
"Serves him right" snickered Isshin, as Haru made his way back next to him. "Looks like I was worried for nothing. You truly did not keep your hand though."
"Why should I ?" he answered, unbothered. "To be benevolent with foes is being cruel to yourself. Anyway, I'm heading home. Let's catch up later, we need to discuss a few things. Wish some farewells and birthday blessings to your sister on my behalf."
"Alright."
Haru was not afraid of any troubles this might bring him. Here, for as long as social status was even, strength was everything. Not to mention everyone knew Fujisuke was the one who provoked and behaved despicably. He did not have time to waste with these people, as he himself was already under a lot of pressure to survive the looming civil war.
As far as he was concerned, they were all soon to be dead folks anyway.