‘Did I…
hear that right?’
‘Did this commoner just say…
he’s going to beat me up?’
Hizashi Hyuga’s face was full of shock.
Before he could even open his mouth to confirm, he saw Kaito roll his wrists and charge straight at him.
‘I didn’t mishear, he really is going to hit me!’
‘On what grounds?
A mere commoner.
I didn’t even plan to teach you a lesson with force, yet you dare to strike first?’
‘Your combat grades are at the bottom of the class, while I’m in the top thirteen.
How dare you say you’ll beat me up?
You’re overestimating yourself!’
Various thoughts flashed through his mind.
Facing this absurd situation, Kaito threw a straightforward punch.
The usually strict and serious Hizashi Hyuga didn’t take it seriously at first.
He drew an arc with his left hand to push Kaito’s wrist away, raising his right hand to strike Kaito’s most painful pressure point on his chest while his guard was wide open, wanting to teach him a little lesson.
However, he failed at the very first step.
The arm he thought he could easily push aside was as stiff as iron, not bending in the slightest.
With a muffled thud, it slammed right into his chest.
Hizashi let out a grunt and stumbled backward.
Clutching his chest, he coughed heavily several times, his face turning slightly purple.
He looked at Kaito, who was casually scratching his butt, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another fit of coughing.
Opposite him, Kaito suddenly hopped sideways, causing Hizashi’s cough to tremble as he immediately raised his guard.
Kaito put on a serious expression and said in a deep voice, “Damn it, have you been hiding your true strength all this time?
I underestimated you.
But do you think this is enough to defeat me?
Commoner!”
Hizashi choked on his cough in sheer confusion.
Kaito hopped back and continued, “Fine, then let our fists do the talking.
We have an agreement: the loser can’t tell their parents or call for backup.”
Kaito hopped again.
“Heh, whoever snitches is a puppy, will get sores on their face, and their future son will be born without an a**hole!
Besides, the loser will definitely be you, commoner!
Come on, let me show you the Gentle Fist of my Hyuga clan.”
“Exactly what I had in mind!” Kaito replied to himself.
Hizashi Hyuga: “…”
He finally caught his breath, but he took in a bit too much air and almost exploded from the sheer audacity of it all.
“That was so embarrassing.” Seeing Hizashi recover, Kaito blushed slightly, raised his fists, and attacked.
Smack!
This punch was firmly caught by Hizashi’s palm.
Hizashi really wanted to say something like, “Commoner, don’t underestimate me,” but thinking about Kaito’s bizarre one-man play…
Byakugan!
Gentle Fist Art!
‘Here it comes!’
Seeing the veins bulging around Hizashi’s eyes—distinct from normal bulging veins—Kaito immediately went on high alert.
As a self-proclaimed “correction tape,” he was incredibly familiar with the Gentle Fist.
During an anime fan meetup in his past life, some delusional guy had even performed a Gentle Fist routine right on the spot.
But this time, it was definitely the real Gentle Fist!
‘Using the Byakugan for support, attacking pressure points with tiny chakra needles at the fingertips to block chakra flow, or using chakra-infused palms to vibrate internal organs and cause penetrating damage…’
‘I can’t let him hit me easily.’
‘I’ve never been in a real fight, so I don’t know how to defend.’
‘I’ll just leave it to instinct for now.’
Calling it instinct wasn’t entirely accurate; it was actually the muscle memory of this body, combined with the “instinct” brought about by his recently upgraded Taijutsu level.
For the first two seconds, Kaito felt quite insecure.
But soon, he realized that no matter how Hizashi attacked or how tricky the angles were, he could block them steadily.
His Taijutsu level was indeed a tier higher than his opponent’s.
Relieved, he began to shift from instinctual defense to active engagement, trying to use various parts of his body to meet the attacks.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
The continuous physical clashes felt so good that Kaito almost groaned out loud…
It really scratched the itch!
Hizashi, on the other hand, was flushed red.
Waves of numbness spread from the spots where he collided with Kaito…
‘How is this commoner so strong?’
They were both eight-year-old kids.
Aside from a few exceptionally gifted ones, their physical strength should be about the same.
Because of Uncle Takumi’s work, Kaito occasionally swung a heavy hammer, so his strength was already above average.
Now, thanks to his stat points, it had increased by another large margin.
Hizashi’s Gentle Fist simply couldn’t overcome it.
After just a few dozen intense clashes, Hizashi’s body was losing strength, unable to hold on much longer.
Fortunately, Kaito also seemed tired.
He stopped his assault and raised a hand to fix his hair.
The two stood face-to-face, panting for a few seconds.
Hizashi said, “You…”
“Alright!”
Alright what?
Hizashi was stunned, his words cut off.
Seeing Kaito charging at him once again, he met the attack with irritation.
After a few more rounds of this, Hizashi felt like his body no longer belonged to him.
If it weren’t for his inner pride preventing him from giving up easily, he would have just lain down and gone to sleep right then and there.
Looking at Kaito—drenched in sweat and looking disheveled but still full of energy—he started to feel a bit scared.
‘Looking at Kaito, it seems he can launch several more rounds of attacks.
Am I really going to get beaten up by this commoner?’
‘No!
The Hyuga clan cannot be shamed because of me!’
Thinking this, he forced himself to muster some energy.
Twisting his feet, he stepped forward into a lunge with one leg, thrusting one hand forward and raising the other back, striking a rather unique stance.
Kaito felt enveloped by an inexplicable aura and couldn’t help but feel a jolt of surprise.
‘Eight Trigrams Palms?
No way, can Hizashi actually use that with his current level of strength?’
‘It can’t be the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, so is it Thirty-Two?
Is there an Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms?’
‘Did I push him too far?’
The next second, Kaito quickly reined in all his stray thoughts.
For the first time since the battle began, Hizashi took the initiative to attack!
The Eight Trigrams Palm style originated from the Gentle Fist, but it was slightly different, or rather, an enhanced version of the standard Gentle Fist.
It was faster, its strikes were more precise, and it flowed more seamlessly.
The most important point was its seamless flow!
Combos came with a combo bonus!
Kaito easily blocked the first and second palms just like before.
But by the third palm, due to its tricky angle and the increased speed from the combo, Kaito’s defense fell into slight disarray.
The fourth palm forced him to take a half-step back.
This was Kaito’s first minor disadvantage, making him realize that the Eight Trigrams Palm style truly lived up to its reputation.
‘If Hizashi can use the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, I’ll definitely take a few hits today.
I could probably barely block Sixteen Palms…’ Thud!
“But you only have four palms.
Are you fucking kidding me?” Looking at Hizashi, who had collapsed sideways onto the ground and passed out looking very unpeaceful, Kaito didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Standing still for half a minute, he recovered his stamina and fixed his hair while observing the situation.
Seeing that no one suddenly swooped in from the shadows, Kaito breathed a sigh of relief.
‘As expected, Hizashi isn’t Hinata.
He’s just an invisible nobody from the branch family, so there’s no reason for an elder to be secretly protecting him.
In that case…
this makes things easier.’
Kaito revealed a slightly sleazy smile.
He shifted Hizashi’s body so he was lying flat on his back, straightened out his clothes, and even combed his hair, muttering under his breath, “His hair isn’t as nice as mine.”
Once Hizashi was as neat as before, Kaito grabbed him by the armpits, spun around, and hoisted Hizashi onto his back.
“Let’s go, Young Master Hizashi.
This commoner shall carry you home!”