The morning mist had cleared, revealing the academy's training arena where the fights would take place. Students had gathered on the stone bleachers, excitement palpable in the air as Fujimoto-sensei stepped forward to announce the first match. Two hooded figures sat beside Fujimoto-sensei and the other examiners.
Their dark robes and ANBU masks created an aura of silent menace.
"Kaito Aoi versus Kaguya Shin," his voice rang out through the arena.
"Begin!"
Aoi adjusted his glasses, his clinical gaze already analyzing his opponent's every move. Shin stepped forward with a contemptuous smirk, his posture betraying the confidence of someone who considered the fight already won.
"Let's make this quick," the Kaguya said. "I don't have time to waste with a bookworm."
'The right shoulder joint moves with a range of about 178 degrees... slightly limited,' Aoi noted, as he assumed a defensive posture. His chakra concentrated in his hands with surgical precision.
The first exchange seemed all in Shin's favor, until he noticed a slight numbness in his shoulder.
"Joints," Aoi explained as he dodged a punch, his voice calm as if he were lecturing, "are surprisingly vulnerable points. Technically, repeated impacts in the right places can cause temporary neuromuscular paralysis."
"Shut up!" Shin charged, only to find his legs strangely heavy. His movements, once fluid and lethal, were becoming increasingly stiff.
"Striking the same spot multiple times," Aoi continued, striking another nerve node with surgical precision, "causes temporary micro-paralysis. It's fascinating how the human body..."
Shin stopped, realizing that the "weak" scholar had systematically weakened him. Half of his seemingly harmless strikes were actually aimed at specific points on her body.
"You..." he growled, anger rising in his eyes. "I didn't think I'd have to use this against someone like you."
Small, sharp bones began to emerge from his arms and shoulders, his kekkei genkai manifesting in all its brutality. "Let's see how you fare against this, four-eyes!"
Aoi stepped back slightly, but her eyes continued to calculate, analyze. 'The bone manifestation increases its reach by 47 centimeters... extension speed approximately 30 centimeters per second...'
"Now that's enough playing!" Shin's attack became brutal, savage. The bones extended and retracted, creating a lethal vortex of sharp points.
From the bleachers, Ren watched the scene with apparent detachment.
'I can't intervene,' he told himself coldly. 'A heroic act would ruin months of careful planning… I'm sorry, Aoi.'
Shin, furious at being outmatched by what he considered an inferior opponent, concentrated all his hatred into one final attack. A bone spear formed from his arm, aiming straight at Aoi's chest.
'A 47-degree angle… expected impact: left lung area…' Aoi's calculations were interrupted by the realization that he no longer had time to dodge. But instead of panic, cold determination shone in his eyes.
In a move no one expected, Aoi fell backwards, twisting his body so that the bone spear barely grazed his side instead of piercing his chest. At the same time, his fingers filled with medical chakra precisely struck a specific spot on the outstretched bone.
"Bones," he panted as he struggled to his feet, a cut bleeding from his side, "have specific stress points. Technically, if you apply the right amount of pressure..." Shin's spear-bone cracked where it hit, forcing him to retract it.
"Aoi!" Jun'ko leapt up from the bleachers, her usual playful demeanor momentarily forgotten. "Stop reciting the walking encyclopedia and move!"
Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white as she watched her friend narrowly avoid yet another bone attack.
"For once in your life, could you stop giving anatomy lessons and focus on not getting killed?" Shinji, at her side, looked at her in surprise - he had never seen Jun'ko so serious. Even her usual chaotic energy seemed to have transformed into an almost palpable concern.
When she saw the blood on Aoi's side, Jun'ko started to leap forward, only to be stopped by Yukiko's hand on her arm.
"We can't interfere," Yukiko said calmly, though her eyes betrayed a note of concern.
"But..." Jun'ko bit her lip, frustrated by her helplessness. "If this keeps up, that idiocephalic guy with glasses is going to end up..." Her voice trailed off as she watched her friend stagger, narrowly avoiding yet another attack.
"If you survive this, Aoi," she muttered, "I swear I'll make you regret all those times you corrected me on the difference between jellyfish and sea anemones."