A lot of major things had happened in Konoha recently.
Danzo was dismissed from his post and sentenced to ten years in prison.
The position of Hokage assistant that had been vacant for more than half a year was finally occupied, even though he was a young man whom most people hadn't heard much. Moreover he was as young as the Fourth Hokage.
But since the Fourth Hokage had not encountered any problems since the young man became the Hokage Assistant, there was barely any complaint.
However, although a lot of major things had happened, it did not affect the Academy students.
After all, aside from some Clan Members who might know something through discussions with the elders, the rest of the people will not care about the news.
Just because a Konoha's elder was stripped of his power and imprisoned, will it affect their shuriken throwing practice? Or will it make them miss a class? No, so of course they don't care about these things.
After half a month of basic training, maybe the teacher felt that it was time for the students to have a more serious battle, so that they could see what they were capable of and learn from more skilled Shinobi.
"There will be a test later. Each of will face off against each other according to the number you have. I will grade you based on how well you do in the spar. Even if you lose, you will not necessarily fail. Do your best! You can only use Taijutsu during the spar. Ninjutsu or other Ninja Tools like Kunai and Shuriken are not allowed. However, you can use Chakra to strengthen your body." The
teacher announced the rules of this test.
Hanayo Hyuga's eyes lit up as did her warm-up. Has her time finally come? It was her turn to show off her Taijutsu capability in front of Kabuto.
Hanayo was frustrated because she felt like she kept getting compared with Kabuto even though she was doing quite well among the Clan.
Although she was no longer surprised that Kabuto was better than her, Hanayo felt like there should be one thing that she was better at.
If Kabuto was better than her in everything, Otherwise, their friendship would be one-sided..
Hanayo still remembered saying that if Kabuto wanted to be friends with her, he must study hard and not be distracted in class, yet she was the one falling behind.
She would also try to catch up with Kabuto. Hanayo thought that was how friends should be, chasing each other's back.
"Kabuto, don't hold back, okay? You can't hold back just because we are friends, I won't either." Hanayo said seriously at Kabuto who stood beside her.
The numbers they got matched, which meant they would be facing each other.
Kabuto rubbed his white hair and asked, "Are you sure? My Taijutsu is quite good, you know."
If he could go all out, that meant he could use the Breathing Style that Nagasawa taught, but if he did, Hanayo would be beaten to a pulp for sure.
Although Hanayo was a little weird and airheaded, she was kind, so Kabuto felt bad if he got too serious.
She would remind him to pay attention to the class, and she even volunteered to teach him how shuriken throwing. Although all of her efforts went in vain, Kabuto took it as kindness.
"No, I'm not bragging. Even the elders in the Clan praised my Taijutsu. If you're not careful, you will suffer internal injuries if you get hit by my Gentle Fist," Hanayo said confidently.
Hanayo was full of confidence when it came to pure Taijutsu.
"Okay, I will fight you with all my strength." Kabuto nodded.
Since Hanayo had warned him, it'd mean underestimating her if he didn't do his best.
Time passed quickly and, Kabuto and Hanayo's turn finally came.
"Hinata Hanayo and Kabuto Yakushi." The teacher called for their names.
The two looked at each other and walked to the open space for the spar.
'It's finally the Hyuga girl's turn.' The teacher said secretly in his heart.
As one of Konoha's Noble Clans, Hyuga Clan was considered the strongest even among many other Clans. All members of the Clan was taught their Clan's Gentle Fist style.
The teacher has long been curious about how strong Hanayo Hyuga was.
"The duel between Kabuto and Hanayo, it should be very exciting." One of the students said.
Both Kabuto and Hanayo are excellent students, especially Kabuto, who performed very well in all subjects.
"The winnder should be Hanayo. She is from the Hyuga Clan, she should be really good in Taijutsu." A knowledgeable student said.
Hearing this, one of Kabuto's fans was not so happy and retorted: "Kabuto is better than her in every subjects, so Taijutsu must be one of them, too."
Because Kabuto was good-looking, strong, and kind, he quickly had fans of his own in the class. Let alone girls, even some boys expressed their admiration for Kabuto.
Who could hate a good-looking, strong and kind person?
The smart boy tried to explain the Hyuga Clan's strength to Kabuto's fans, but unfortunately it was useless, and he could only shake his head and give up in the end.
Just because he thought that Hanayo would win, it did not mean that he hated Kabuto. On the contrary, he got along with Kabuto quite well, but he simply thought that Hanayo was better in Taijutsu.
That won't necessarily be the case if they could use shuriken or other Ninja Tools, but this was a pure Taijutsu duel.
As a commoner, could Kabuto really defeat Hanayo who came from a Noble Clan and trained since childhood?
"Spar Sign." The teacher shouted.
Both Kabuto and Hanayo skillfully formed the Spar Sign.
In the Academy, the students made Spar Sign before a spar, telling your opponent that you are about to make a move, and after the spar, they were taught to make Unison Sign, which symbolized that they were still comrades after sparring.
After doing the Spar Sign, Hanayo quickly activated her Byakugan. Her pupils immediately became more distinct and the veins around her temple bulged. After activating Byakugan, Hanayo's perception ability improved rapidly.
Kabuto's breathing rhythm also changed. It was like a steady gurgling stream.
Although Kabuto tried his best to learn Sun Breathing, he couldn't master it in the end, so Nagasawa taught him Water Breathing that was derived from Sun Breathing.
Kabuto's affinity in Water Release matched surprisingly well with Water Breathing, so Kabuto learned it very quickly.
Thanks to her Byakugan, Hanayo saw the Kabuto's Chakra Flow and felt something was wrong.
Since Kabuto promised that he would do his best, he would not break his promise.
Kabuto directly entered the state of Total Concentration Breathing, ready to deliver his strongest blow.
Total Concentration Breathing was extremely exhausting, and he could only keep it up for a minute and a half.
Once Kabuto was in Total Concentration Breathing mode, he immediately used his trump card to show his acknowledgement to Hanayo.
"Water Breathing First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
Relying on the speed he got from Total Concentration Breathing and explosive Chakra, Kabuto used his hand instead of a sword to strike Hanayo like a fast-flowing stream of water.
"So fast!" Hanayo looked at the running Kabuto in disbelief.
Although Hanayo could follow Kabuto's speed thanks to her Byakugan, her body couldn't react at all, so all she could do was focusing her Chakra on her hands hastily, and then cross her hands in front of her in an attempt to block Kabuto's attack.
Boom!
Hanayo was sent flying and hit the ground hard after taking the blow.
Everyone was silent for a few seconds.
Even Kabuto's fans couldn't believe it. Although they believed that Kabuto would win, they didn't expect Kabuto to defeat Hanayo Hyuga in one strike.
"Kabuto is indeed the strongest!" The excited crowd immediately shouted.
"Kabuto Yakushi wins, full marks!"
The teacher also looked at Kabuto in disbelief. Although Kabuto performed very well in the basic training so far, none of those basic training was hard in the first place. Most people could easily do it.
But Kabuto's speed, strength, and strike just now left the teacher baffled. Had he taught Kabuto such thing?
Kabuto ignored the cheering crowd and immediately helped Hanayo get up.
Because Kabuto was so amazing, everyone forgot about Hanayo who was sent flying.
After Kabuto helped Hanayo up, he noticed that Hanayo's usual lively and cheerful smile was gone.
"You know, my Shinobi brother taught me a little Taijutsu." Kabuto explained awkwardly.
Hanayo was a girl after all, and it was normal if she was annoyed when she lost.