For several seconds, the academy training ground was completely silent.
Then everyone began talking at once.
Students abandoned the ninjutsu demonstration area and crowded toward the marked combat ring. Even those from the neighboring class turned to see why Ren had publicly challenged a member of the Hyūga clan.
Rin stood between Ren and Daichi, looking from one to the other in confusion.
"Wait. How did this happen?"
Only moments earlier, Ren had completed an excellent Three Basic Techniques assessment. Then Daichi made one dismissive remark, Ren accused him of insulting the Will of Fire, and now the two of them were preparing to fight over the dignity of three E-rank ninjutsu.
The entire situation had escalated too quickly for Rin to follow.
Nearby, Obito grabbed Shiranui Genma by the shoulder.
"What did I miss?"
Genma shrugged. "Daichi called the Three Basic Techniques useless. Ren somehow turned that into treason."
"That's possible?"
"Apparently."
A few steps away, Asuma stared toward the two boys with a bewildered expression.
"Why is the Will of Fire involved?"
"No idea," Aoba admitted.
One girl from the neighboring class nodded with complete confidence. "I support Ren. He's too calm to have started this."
"That makes no sense," Asuma said.
Another student raised both fists excitedly. "Forget the reason. Let them fight!"
Guy pushed his way to the front of the crowd. His eyes burned with passionate tears.
"To defend the honor of the techniques that guided his youth… Ren, your resolve is magnificent!"
Rin pressed one hand against her forehead.
No one around her was going to help restore order.
Daichi heard the students whispering and felt their gazes settle upon him.
He belonged to the Hyūga clan, one of Konoha's most prestigious families. Retreating after Ren challenged him in front of both classes would humiliate not only Daichi but also the lineage he had spent all morning praising.
His pale face flushed.
"Fine," he snapped. "If you're that desperate to embarrass yourself, I accept."
He leaped over the boundary rope and landed inside the combat ring.
Ren followed more calmly.
Rin reached for his sleeve. "Ren, you don't have to prove anything."
He stopped long enough to meet her worried eyes.
"I know."
"Then why are you doing this?"
The system window remained open at the edge of his vision.
[Limited-Time Mission: Defend the Dignity of the Three Basic Techniques]
[Clone Technique stage reward pending.]
Ren smiled.
"Because some arguments are easier to settle through actions."
"That explanation doesn't make me feel better."
Before Rin could stop him, Ren stepped into the ring.
She immediately hurried toward Instructor Oki.
"Sir, shouldn't we stop them?"
Oki looked toward the two students.
Under ordinary circumstances, an unscheduled fight would have earned both participants a severe reprimand. However, Ren and Daichi had already been paired for the practical combat assessment.
More importantly, both Instructor Oki and Instructor Himura came from civilian families.
Neither possessed a secret clan art, hereditary dōjutsu, or exceptional bloodline. Even after becoming Chūnin, much of their combat ability still depended on the academy foundations Daichi had dismissed as worthless.
His words had struck closer to home than he realized.
Oki coughed and straightened his collar.
"They were already scheduled to fight during the practical assessment. We'll simply move their match forward."
Rin stared at him. "Is that allowed?"
"It is now."
Instructor Himura stepped beside him, wearing an unusually neutral expression.
"We'll supervise the match. The moment either student faces serious danger, we'll intervene."
Rin looked between the two instructors.
She had the distinct impression that neither man was entirely displeased by the situation.
Instructor Oki walked toward the ring and raised one hand.
"Ren. Daichi. This will count as your official practical combat assessment."
The students quieted.
"Standard academy rules apply. Wooden weapons only. No attacks intended to cause permanent injury. The match ends through surrender, incapacitation, or an instructor's decision."
His gaze sharpened.
"Do you both understand?"
"Yes," Daichi answered.
Ren nodded. "I understand."
"Take your positions."
They separated until approximately ten meters stood between them.
Daichi lowered his body into a Gentle Fist stance. One palm extended toward Ren while the other remained close to his chest. His earlier anger had not vanished, but his breathing became controlled and his gaze focused.
Despite his arrogance, he had trained seriously.
Ren rolled his shoulders and studied him.
This was his first genuine fight since awakening the system.
It was also his first opportunity to discover whether the traits he had gained could function under pressure.
Instructor Oki brought his raised hand down.
"Begin!"
Ren formed a seal immediately.
"Clone Technique!"
Smoke burst around him.
Three identical Rens emerged and spread apart. All four figures rushed toward Daichi from different angles, their footsteps striking the ground almost simultaneously.
For most academy students, it was an effective opening.
The Clone Technique produced illusionary bodies without physical substance, but separating the real user from the false images required experience and careful observation. A moment of uncertainty was often enough to create an opening.
Daichi possessed neither problem.
He formed a seal.
"Byakugan!"
Veins bulged around his eyes.
The world changed.
Color faded from Daichi's perception as his vision expanded in every direction. Chakra pathways appeared within the bodies before him like networks of pale blue fire.
Three of the approaching figures contained only shallow, unstable chakra.
The fourth possessed a complete chakra pathway.
Daichi's mouth curved into a cold smile.
"Found you."
His gaze locked onto the real Ren.
"Before the Byakugan, your Clone Technique is meaningless!"
Daichi drove one foot against the earth.
His body shot forward.
The three clones attempted to surround him, but he passed through the gap between them without hesitation. One illusion flickered as his shoulder crossed its body, confirming that he had selected the correct target.
Ren saw him coming.
Daichi's palms moved into position, chakra gathering around his fingertips.
"Gentle Fist!"
His lead palm struck toward Ren's chest.
Ren did not retreat.
He lowered his center of gravity, twisted his waist, and drove his right fist forward.
Their attacks collided.
Bang!
The impact produced a dull crack.
A sharp numbness shot through Ren's knuckles and along his forearm. Daichi's palm had not landed cleanly enough to seal a tenketsu, but the chakra carried by the Gentle Fist still penetrated beneath the surface.
Ren's breath caught.
Daichi's eyes widened.
He had expected to overwhelm the civilian student immediately. Instead, Ren's fist had halted his palm and forced his arm backward.
"This strength…"
Ren was far stronger than he had been during their last sparring lesson.
Before Daichi could recover, Ren stepped inward and drove a second punch toward his ribs.
Daichi rotated his body, deflecting the strike with his forearm. His other palm swept upward toward Ren's shoulder.
Ren leaned away just in time.
The fingertips missed by less than an inch.
They exchanged three more strikes.
Palm met fist.
Forearm struck forearm.
Their feet scraped across the dirt as each attempted to seize the better angle.
Daichi's technique was more refined. Every movement targeted a chakra point or vulnerable joint. Ren possessed greater raw strength than before, but he was forced to defend cautiously, using his fists and forearms to keep Daichi's fingertips away from his torso.
Even imperfect Gentle Fist attacks caused a disturbing vibration beneath his skin.
After the fifth exchange, Ren kicked against the ground and retreated.
The remaining clones followed him before fading from sight.
A dull ache spread through his right arm.
Ren flexed his fingers.
The chakra flow had become slightly sluggish where Daichi's palm first struck him. Had the attack landed cleanly, the entire arm might already have been disabled.
"The Hyūga reputation isn't empty."
Three physical attribute points had improved Ren dramatically, but they could not erase the advantage provided by years of specialized clan training.
If he had fought Daichi ten days earlier, that first clash might have ended the match.
Across the ring, Daichi concealed his surprise and lifted his chin.
"What happened to all that confidence?"
He flexed the hand that had collided with Ren's fist. His palm stung, but he refused to show it.
"You claimed you would defeat me with the Three Basic Techniques. Yet your clones were useless, and now you're running away."
Ren rested one hand near his equipment pouch.
"I'm reconsidering my approach."
Daichi mistook the answer for fear.
"You should reconsider your challenge."
"Stop barking."
The entire training ground became quiet.
Daichi's face turned red.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me."
Anger disrupted Daichi's carefully controlled breathing.
He stepped forward, Gentle Fist chakra gathering around his palms once more.
Ren's expression remained calm, but his mind accelerated.
Competing directly against a Hyūga in taijutsu was foolish. If Daichi sealed several chakra points, Ren might lose the ability to use ninjutsu at all.
The system mission required him to prove the value of the Three Basic Techniques.
That meant the decisive moment could not come from superior strength.
It had to come from one of those techniques.
Ren exhaled slowly.
A plan took shape.
He could not prevent the Byakugan from identifying his real body. His clones lacked substance, and their chakra patterns were visibly incomplete.
So he would allow Daichi to find him.
He would make that certainty into a trap.
Daichi saw Ren lower his stance and interpreted it as preparation for another direct clash.
"You still refuse to admit defeat?"
Ren's fingers slipped into his equipment pouch.
"I haven't begun trying."
Daichi lunged.
This time, his speed was greater.
His feet followed the practiced rhythm of the Gentle Fist, allowing him to glide across the ground while keeping his upper body stable. His Byakugan tracked every movement Ren made.
Ren pulled out several wooden training shuriken.
His wrist snapped forward.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The shuriken cut through the air in a triangular formation. One flew toward Daichi's face, another toward his chest, and the third angled low toward his abdomen.
"Too slow."
Through the Byakugan, their trajectories appeared painfully obvious.
Daichi altered his steps. He leaned past the first shuriken, twisted between the second and third, and emerged from the formation without losing momentum.
The wooden weapons struck the ground behind him.
Daichi smiled.
"Is that all?"
The distance between them fell below five meters.
Then three.
Then two.
Ren remained in place.
To the watching students, it looked as though he had frozen.
Rin clenched both hands against her chest.
"Ren, move!"
Daichi crossed his arms before his body.
His stance shifted.
Chakra gathered around both palms in a pattern far denser than before.
Ren recognized the opening posture.
It was an incomplete version of one of the Hyūga clan's signature combinations.
Daichi had not fully mastered it. His footwork was imperfect, and he could not yet produce the speed of an adult Hyūga.
But if the sequence landed, the match would end immediately.
"You only know how to talk," Daichi said. "This is over."
The circular range of the Eight Trigrams seemed to spread beneath his feet.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Gasps rose from the watching students.
Even Instructor Oki moved one foot forward, prepared to intervene.
Daichi entered striking range.
"First Palm!"
His hand shot toward Ren's chest.
The chakra-coated fingertips were less than an inch from making contact.
Ren activated his trait.
No seals.
No warning.
Only a thought.
Sealless Instant Release.
Activation time: 0.2 seconds.
Poof!
Smoke erupted between Daichi's palm and Ren's body.
Instead of flesh, Daichi's fingers struck a wooden shuriken.
His triumphant expression froze.
"What?"
The shuriken spun away from his palm.
At that exact moment, one of the wooden weapons Daichi had dodged behind him vanished beneath another burst of smoke.
Ren appeared in its place.
The exchange had occurred so quickly that even the Byakugan could not save Daichi. His eyes registered the sudden shift in chakra, but his body was already committed to the Thirty-Two Palms sequence.
Worse, Ren had chosen the shuriken that landed almost directly behind Daichi's upper back—near the Byakugan's tiny blind angle.
Alarm exploded across Daichi's face.
He tried to turn.
Too late.
Ren had already planted his left foot.
His waist twisted, his hips drove forward, and every bit of power in his strengthened body flowed into his right leg.
"Hah!"
Ren's side kick tore through the air like a cracking whip.
His heel slammed into Daichi's unprotected back with a thunderous impact.