Chapter 29
"Haneda, I'm sorry! It was because I accidentally broke your shadow clone!"
Gai bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle to Haneda, apologizing sincerely.
Haneda waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's nothing, my shadow clone was just too weak. It's not your fault."
Haneda helped Gai stand up and added, "By the way, the challenge you issued to me isn't over yet. Shall we settle it now?"
"Now? Really, Haneda?!"
Gai rushed to Haneda, hugging him tightly, tears of excitement streaming down his face.
This passionate display left Haneda a little stunned.
He wasn't like Lee... not into guys.
However, Haneda roughly knew what kind of person Gai was, so he didn't feel too bothered by it.
On the other hand, Obito, who had been watching from the side, couldn't hold back any longer.
"Stupid bowl-cut, get your dirty hands off Haneda!!"
Obito yanked Gai off Haneda.
Obito had never hugged Haneda like that, so why should Gai get to?!
Seeing that Obito was about to start a fight with Gai, Haneda hurriedly intervened and pulled them apart.
"Gai, let's go now, to the training ground."
"Yosh! This fated battle will begin in the most youthful and passionate moment!" Gai exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up.
...
At the training ground.
Haneda and Gai stood on opposite sides, while Obito, now acting as the referee, stood in the middle holding a small red flag, his teeth clenched in frustration as he glared at them.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had been avoiding Haneda for a while, had gathered nearby along with Asuma, other boys, and a group of excited fangirls.
"Ahhhh!! Haneda looks so cool with his hands in his pockets! Such a masterful vibe!"
"Once again, it's the cool, aloof, and handsome black-clad Haneda! I love him so much!!"
"Move, idiot! You're blocking me from admiring Haneda's beauty!"
"Hey, aren't you guys curious about who will win?"
"As if Haneda could lose! With the name of Uchiha on his back, there's no way he'd lose to a dropout!!"
...
Damn, so noisy.
Haneda unintentionally overheard the fangirls' chatter, and his expression turned colder.
Now he understood how Sasuke felt when surrounded by annoying girls.
"Haneda, it seems you're quite popular!" Gai chuckled.
"Not really," Haneda replied indifferently as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and assumed a fighting stance.
Gai's expression grew serious as well. He silently motivated himself.
"If I lose this challenge, I'll run 5000 laps around the school! And if I can't finish before nightfall, I'll do another 5000 laps... on my hands!"
"Gai, this is the most passionate moment of your youth. You can do it!"
In Gai's mind, the image of his father being mocked by two Chunin resurfaced.
At that time, unable to bear the insults, he had secretly tried to teach them a lesson.
But he was so weak and powerless, easily toyed with.
Just like Kakashi had said, "Your dad's being ridiculed like that, and you can't even lift a hand in return."
"I have to defeat Haneda. I have to prove that hard work can surpass genius, father!!"
Gai's gaze became firm, his eyes burning with determination.
At this moment, Obito slowly raised the flag and shouted:
"Haneda versus Might Guy! Ninja duel, start!"
With the flag lowered, Haneda moved immediately.
He didn't use his specialty genjutsu, nor did he activate his Sharingan. He planned to fight Gai with pure taijutsu.
BAM!
Haneda's punch landed hard on Gai's arm, but Gai didn't budge.
In fact, the force of the impact left Haneda's hand feeling slightly numb from the recoil.
"Gai's arm strength completely outmatches mine. So this is the Blue Beast of Konoha, who put all his skill points into taijutsu?"
A glint of surprise flashed in Haneda's eyes as he used the recoil to leap backward, narrowly dodging Gai's sweeping kick.
At the same time, he slightly twisted his body to avoid Gai's right hook.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
The sound of punches tearing through the air echoed around Haneda as he continuously dodged Gai's attacks, momentarily on the defensive.
"Nice dodging, Haneda!"
"It seems I'll have to give it my all!!"
As he spoke, Gai removed the weights strapped to his legs, revealing a confident smile.
To the bystanders, though, Gai appeared somewhat overconfident.
"What, taking off some weights? What a show-off! Just wait, Haneda will finish him off in a second!"
"Exactly, Haneda hasn't even used any ninjutsu. He's clearly going easy on the guy, and he's still acting all cocky. How shameless!"
...
Engrossed in the fight, Gai paid no attention to the spectators' words. He focused on Haneda, his fighting spirit surging higher.
"Yosh! Get ready, Haneda!!"
With a light leap, Gai soared into the air, spinning 360 degrees as he aimed a kick at Haneda.
"Leaf Hurricane!!"
The powerful force of the kick forced Haneda to channel chakra into his arms to block it.
The massive impact sent Haneda skidding backward.
Simultaneously, the force of the blow stirred up a cloud of dust, obscuring visibility.
"Where is he?" Haneda had no choice but to activate his Sharingan to locate Gai.
At that moment...
Gai's figure suddenly appeared behind Haneda with another Leaf Hurricane!
BAM!!!
In mid-air, a piece of wood flew out from the dust cloud. Kakashi performed a quick body flicker technique to catch the wood and place it on the ground.
"Move back, the real fight is about to start."
The surrounding girls, startled by the sudden appearance of the wood, hastily backed away.
"Gai, I acknowledge your strength. With taijutsu like that, you're easily in the top five of all the opponents I've faced."
"However, my taijutsu surpasses yours!"
Haneda's face flushed slightly as his eyes lit up with excitement.
This kind of intense fight, where he wasn't just being overpowered, ignited his blood.
"Gai! I'll defeat you with your strongest move and prove that your youth is just beginning!!"
Haneda channeled all his chakra, along with the strength in his waist and legs, into a single point.
At this moment, his aura began to change, gaining a trace of dominance.
Sensing Haneda's violent energy, Gai also began gathering his strength.
"Yosh, Haneda! Then I will ignite this peak of youth with my ultimate technique, the Leaf Great Whirlwind!!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The piercing sound of air being split accompanied by gusts of wind echoed through the field, scattering the dust around them.
The two most powerful forces clashed, neutralizing and spreading out.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!!"
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!!"
With these two loud cries, the dust was completely blown away, revealing two figures.
Though Kakashi knew what the outcome would be, he still curiously looked toward the center of the training ground.
Obito, who was serving as the referee, stared wide-eyed, his gaze full of shock and relief.
"I lost, Haneda..."
"I can't believe you learned my technique in one glance, and you performed it even better than I did."
Gai lay on the ground, gazing up at the sky, feeling powerless.
He couldn't help but doubt if hard work could really surpass genius.
"You're strong, but I'm stronger." Haneda stood over Gai, looking down at him and speaking softly.
"Really, Haneda?!" Hearing this acknowledgment, Gai looked up at Haneda, meeting his serious gaze.
Haneda nodded. "In my opinion, your strength has at least reached the level of a Genin."
"Keep training, Gai. When the day comes that you finally defeat Kakashi, challenge me again."
Upon hearing Haneda's recognition of his hard work, Gai's tears of joy flowed freely.
At that moment, he seemed to see his father lifting his exhausted body.
"Yosh! Your hard work has finally caught up with the steps of a genius."
"Keep it up, Gai! Your youth has not been in vain!!"
With those words, his father's smiling face and encouraging thumbs-up appeared before Gai's eyes.
***
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