Competition?
Hyuga Minji?
Who is this guy?!
As a seasoned Naruto fan, Yasuke remembered every plot character with any talent. Otherwise, how could he have recognized Uchiha Fugaku at a glance?
So, when even Shikaku and Choza exclaimed in surprise, reminding Yasuke that the boy named Hyuga Minji was the pride of the new generation of the Hyuga clan, Yasuke couldn't help but scrutinize Minji, thinking, "There seems to be no such person as Hyuga Minji in the original! Could he be a genius who fell during his growth?"
With this thought, Yasuke's heart tightened, and looking at the smirking Uchiha Fugaku, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Many geniuses are only valuable if they grow up.
In the ninja world, especially during the harsh war periods, it was common to kill geniuses in their cradles. Moreover, the Uchiha clan members came with hostility, leading Yasuke to suspect Uchiha Fugaku's real purpose was to use this "spar" to eliminate a genius like Hyuga Minji, preventing the Hyuga clan from rising.
Perhaps Yasuke's thoughts were dark, but Uchiha Fugaku was certainly someone to be wary of.
Then, even if Shikaku hadn't spoken, seeing Minji assume a Gentle Fist stance to spar with Uchiha Sano, Yasuke began to silently guard against the Uchiha clan's tricks.
Especially when Minji took the first move, using a Gentle Fist strike against Uchiha Sano, Yasuke, watching their spar, couldn't help but think:
"How impressive! Compared to the new generation of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, the new generation of the Nara clan is just useless!"
"Their spar is what should be called a ninja battle, not child's play!"
At this moment, Yasuke wasn't exaggerating; Minji and Sano were indeed very strong.
Only eight years old, Minji had not only awakened his Byakugan but also mastered Gentle Fist quite well, suppressing Sano's attacks within a few moves.
Sano seemed at a disadvantage, but when he took out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, he seemed like a different person, reversing the situation and suppressing Minji instead.
Indeed, having a weapon in hand was stronger than being barehanded.
Watching Minji and Sano's spar, Yasuke felt he had accumulated quite a bit of combat experience. Seeing Yasuke watching the spar intently, Shikaku nodded approvingly. Then, turning his gaze to Minji, Yasuke heard Shikaku slowly say, "Choza was right, Minji is the hope of this generation of the Hyuga clan, but it's a pity he was born into the branch family. Sano seems to have the upper hand, but he's completely relying on the sharpness of his kunai to suppress Minji."
"Yasuke, in at most two moves, the winner will be decided. Watch Minji's movements closely, he's about to counterattack!"
"Yes!"
Nodding vigorously, initially, Yasuke hadn't taken their spar seriously, but as time passed, just watching their spar made Yasuke feel like he was growing stronger!
Because a ninja's battle relies not just on individual strength; real combat and accumulated experience are also very important aspects.
In the original story, Naruto Uzumaki's first fight with a ninja left him scared out of his wits, unable to showcase even half his strength. In contrast, Sasuke Uchiha, performing tasks with Naruto, because he had accumulated some combat experience during ninja school, showed an outstanding performance, leaving Naruto behind by several miles.
At that time, it wasn't that Sasuke was too strong; it was that Naruto's lack of experience made him half-defeated before even starting.
The same scenario played out here; Minji and Sano were in a fifty-fifty situation. But Minji, with more combat experience, executed his Gentle Fist strikes meticulously, step by step, quickly grasping Sano's rhythm, then decisively attacking!
"Gentle Fist Art! Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
With a shout, the essence of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was displayed. The spectators, including Shikaku and Choza, were astonished. Clearly, they hadn't expected an eight-year-old like Minji to have grasped the essence of Gentle Fist, even able to perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
However, with the vision of Jonin, Shikaku and Choza, though slightly surprised, deeply sighed.
Because Minji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms were only superficially mastered, lacking the intensity of a rainstorm, even the continuity of his moves was somewhat problematic.
But in the spar between youngsters, using Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Minji had already secured his victory.
The next second, Sano, who had been suppressing Minji, found himself unable to counter, retreating step by step, on the verge of defeat.
But just when Sano was about to lose, Yasuke, who had been observing Uchiha Fugaku, suddenly noticed a glint in Fugaku's eyes!
"Not good!"
Originally, seeing Minji use Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, even Hizashi thought his nephew would surely win.
Unexpectedly, Uchiha Fugaku was prepared; before sending Sano and Yuno to challenge, he had them wear armor covered in barbs!
So, after just ten strikes of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Minji's fingers were stained with blood, nearly crippling his hands!
More despicably, taking advantage of Minji's hand injuries, Sano's eyes flashed with malice, reversing his grip on the kunai and thrusting it towards Minji's abdomen!
Sano's intent was clear: to cripple Minji!
Moreover, Uchiha Fugaku's plan was clever, letting Sano appear on the brink of defeat, then making a critical counterattack. So, as Sano's kunai thrust towards Minji, neither Hizashi nor the Jonin like Shikaku and Choza could stop him in time!
But just as Uchiha Fugaku's eyes gleamed with pride, and Sano was about to cripple Minji, there was a sudden "bang!"
In Sano's shocked gaze, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stab down with the kunai!
Hizashi, seeing this, was overjoyed!
Glancing at the changing shadow at Sano's feet, Hizashi sneered, leaping between Minji and Sano, grabbing Sano's wrist holding the kunai, and angrily shouting, "Fugaku, what's the meaning of this? It's just a spar, are you trying to cripple Minji?"
"Cripple Minji? I had no such intention."
"But Shikaku, what's the meaning of this? It's just a spar between two juniors, and you intervened."
"Wait! It's not Shikaku, who are you?"
Seeing the shadow at Sano's feet, most assumed it was Shikaku, even Uchiha Fugaku thought so.
But looking closely, Shikaku was smirking without making any hand signs!
Instead, it was the kid behind Shikaku. As Uchiha Fugaku and the others directed their gazes, the kid lazily said, "Lord Fugaku, does it count as Sano winning just now?"
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