"Leaf Hurricane!"
"How fast!"
Hyuga Sōuken's pupils shrank instantly as he missed his strike. This move, Leaf Hurricane, uses body rotation to deliver consecutive upper and lower kicks. The goal is to compress the opponent's evasion space with the first kick, increasing the hit rate of the second.
Having sparred with Obito multiple times recently, Sōuken was familiar with this move. He knew if he jumped to dodge Obito's sweep kick, he'd get hit by the follow-up high kick. So he quickly gathered chakra in his feet and forcefully retreated backwards, escaping Obito's attack range.
"Indeed, Obito's speed has increased again," Sōuken thought, realising he had to go all out.
"Byakugan!"
With a hand seal, veins bulged around Sōuken's eyes as he activated the Hyuga clan's Byakugan. In an instant, Obito had no secrets from him under the Byakugan's penetrating gaze. This also reminded him why he was reluctant to use Byakugan in front of Obito—because through the Byakugan, he saw that Obito's chakra pathways were even more comprehensive than his own.
Speaking of pathways, since the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist relies on chakra as an attack method, the amount of chakra that can be instantly released determines its power. Every Hyuga member undergoes secret training to widen their chakra pathways under elders' guidance. However, this rule seemingly failed with Obito, whose chakra pathways had been expanding rapidly, even surpassing the Hyuga's secret training method.
While pondering this, Sōuken decided to put aside these thoughts and focused on attacking Obito with Gentle Fist, using his superior techniques to compensate for his disadvantage in pathway width. Obito, recognising Sōuken's stance, stepped forward to meet him head-on.
The two exchanged a series of blows, the fierce Taijutsu of Obito's Hard Fist clashing with the subtle Gentle Fist. Amidst the cheers of their classmates, they fought for several rounds.
In the Sealing Jutsu Office, despite Kushina cheering loudly for Obito, Natsuhiko felt bored. For Natsuhiko, their level of Taijutsu could have been more impressive, as it boiled down to who had better physical fitness and fewer mistakes. This allowed Obito, with his superior physicality and basic Leaf Style Taijutsu, to compete with Sōuken, who excelled in technique.
However, because Obito's Taijutsu was copied rather than self-developed, it seemed somewhat stiff, especially against the nuanced Gentle Fist. This likely explained Obito's previous losses to Sōuken. Indeed, while they fought evenly at first, the precision of Sōuken's Gentle Fist began to exploit Obito's rigidity.
Soon, Obito started to fall behind. With Byakugan's insight, Sōuken pressed his advantage, aiming each strike at Obito's weak points.
"It seems Obito will lose again," some students murmured.
As expected, Sōken soon found an opening in Obito's punch, redirecting it while preparing to strike Obito's abdomen with his other hand. Obito seemed resigned, preparing to exchange blows. However, just as Sōken's palm was about to hit, he noticed Obito's chakra surging violently.
"Not good!" Sōuken thought. His palm landed, but the expected damage didn't occur. Obito's intense chakra flow neutralised Sōken's attack. Without more advanced Gentle Fist techniques like Point Striking, Sōuken felt powerless against Obito's raw chakra volume.
"Bang!"
Obito's punch hit Sōuken's chest, making him stagger back in pain. In the brief respite, Obito took a peculiar stance, concentrating chakra in his legs.
Sōuken, seeing this through Byakugan, felt a surge of fear as Obito leapt, his foot glowing with chakra. Realising he couldn't dodge, Sōuken braced for impact, but the Taijutsu instructor intervened, saving him from the hit.
"Boom!"
Obito's kick struck the ground, leaving a small crater. The classmates gasped, imagining the damage if it had hit Sōuken.
"Victory goes to Uchiha Obito," the instructor announced. Sōuken, drenched in cold sweat, asked Obito what move he used.
Obito, emerging from the dust, looked at Sōuken and said, "Dark Gymnastics: First Form - The Fledgling's Flight!"
(End of Chapter)