"You are not Yin Snake. Who are you? And what about my three students?"
A second later, intense anger flashed across Hannya's face. His fury wasn't just because this guy dared to deceive him but because he was vaguely aware of his students' fate.
"I thought my imitation was pretty good. How did you see through it?"
Originally, Yuki was quite confident in his acting skills and didn't think he'd be exposed so easily. He hadn't expected to be seen through before even getting close enough to strike.
But even so, the "Ghost Face" clone standing behind him quietly vanished into the darkness upon receiving new mental instructions. It skirted the edge of the houses, bypassing Hannya's line of sight, and moved towards the crowd gathered in the center of the village.
Behind Hannya was the main gathering point. If Yuki wanted to fight him head-on, he first needed to ensure the villagers' safety.
"Your demeanor and movements are identical to Yin Snake's. Especially with the poor lighting, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But it's a pity... your attitude is wrong."
Looking at Yuki, who had now reverted to his original form, Hannya's face twitched. He hadn't expected this sudden enemy to be so young.
And those white pupils... a member of the Hyūga clan.
"My attitude was wrong? I thought my attitude just now was very respectful. Does that Yin Snake guy usually kneel down to talk to you?"
Yuki could think of many reasons for being exposed, but he hadn't expected it to be a matter of attitude.
"That's not it. Although Yin Snake usually seems very respectful when speaking to me, it's only superficial. Deep down... it's not the case."
Speaking of the student he was most optimistic about, Hannya couldn't help but shake his head.
It wasn't that Yin Snake specifically targeted him, his teacher. In fact, Yin Snake felt the same way towards his teammates, the Monk and Ghost Face—a vague sense of "dealing with mentally challenged children." Simply put, he looked down on these roughnecks.
But the "Yin Snake" Yuki had just portrayed wasn't like that. That kind of respect, coming from the bottom of his heart for his teacher, was something the real Yin Snake always lacked. That's how Hannya knew he was a fake.
Well, I really can't mimic that kind of thing.
Sighing internally, Yuki casually tossed the fake "Secret Medicine: Platinum Pill" aside. Since he'd been discovered, Hannya definitely wouldn't fall for the trap, so keeping it was useless.
"You were among the crowd earlier, so you're not blind; you were just hiding your Byakugan? My three disciples... were they killed by you?"
Although he had already guessed the outcome, Hannya still asked, clinging to a last shred of hope.
"Not exactly, but you won't get a chance to see them again... in every sense of the word."
By now, Yuki noticed that the villagers not far away were slowly retreating towards the houses further back, guided by his clone. He also adopted the standard "Gentle Fist" opening stance, preparing to face this Grass Ninja Jōnin.
Hmph, he just killed three Genin and actually dares to challenge me head-on? What a reckless fool.
Sensing the fighting spirit and killing intent emanating from this young opponent, Hannya narrowed his already slender eyes and also assumed a taijutsu stance.
"Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm" versus "Hyūga Style: Gentle Fist." Since the former was a copy of the latter, their opening stances were nearly identical.
Hah!
Whoosh!
Just a second after both sides took their stances, under the light of the village's central fire, the two figures shot towards each other like arrows. Their speed was so immense that the villagers watching secretly from a distance could only see two blurry shadows.
This is bad. That boy is so young, yet he dares to confront that obviously experienced ninja. Shouldn't he be instantly killed?
At this moment, the village chief, Ichirō Kujō, who was leaning forward, felt his whole body tremble. Although he desperately wanted to believe the boy could win, he couldn't help but consider the worst outcome.
However, while the distant spectators were on tenterhooks, the two figures in the large open space at the village center quickly collided mid-air, setting off a violent storm upon impact.
Hannya's powerful arms constantly sliced through the air. It was hard to imagine such a brawny man could possess such speed and dexterity.
Hannya was a Jōnin. While he possessed no special Kekkei Genkai or heritage, years of life-and-death combat and survival experience had honed all his abilities to a very sophisticated level.
Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu—Hannya had reached a competent level in nearly every metric used to measure a ninja's strength, with particularly notable achievements in taijutsu. His best technique was, of course, the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm."
As a Grass Ninja knock-off of the "Hyūga Style: Gentle Fist," the "undefensible" characteristic of the Exploding Palm was somewhat similar to the Gentle Fist. While it couldn't sever chakra points, a direct hit was guaranteed to cause significant physical damage.
However, in Yuki's view, this physical technique seemed far too crude.
The proof was that, even under Hannya's close-range onslaught, none of the strikes from those thick palms could actually land on him.
In an instant, Hannya leaped up slightly, his right palm—clad in a non-slip glove—slamming down towards the figure below as if to smash him into the ground. Simultaneously, his feet, still mid-air, shot towards his opponent's head and throat. He had unleashed three killing moves in a single leap.
But there was no trace of panic on Yuki's face. He simply turned sideways almost imperceptibly, dodging the two kicks, while moving his left palm in a downward arc, causing Hannya's descending palm to glance harmlessly off his shoulder.
Compared to Hannya, Yuki's palms and arms were much smaller, and his raw strength and speed were far inferior. Yet, what baffled the former was that his attacks were always blocked or deflected.
No matter the angle—high, low, left, right, diagonal, or backhand—Yuki's palm could always lightly strike Hannya's wrist or arm at the last moment, causing the attack to miss or lose its force.
How is this possible? All my attacks are being seen through! Is this the power of the legendary "Byakugan"? But he clearly hasn't activated it!
Of course, anyone who couldn't see his Stand would find it hard to believe that the current Yuki possessed the "Byakugan's" chakra vision. In other words, the flow of chakra throughout Hannya's body was completely exposed to his sight.
If you want to attack with taijutsu, chakra naturally flows to the attacking limb. If you want to use ninjutsu, chakra gathers in the abdomen. If you want to move quickly, chakra concentrates in the soles of the feet.
As long as one could see through the chakra's movement, it was equivalent to true precognition. Even with inferior speed and strength, one could still cope.
Damn it, this guy is too nimble!
"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison!"
The moment his offensive round ended, Hannya, still in the air, quickly formed hand seals. Eight hard earthen pillars suddenly erupted from the ground, boxing Yuki in.
Trying to limit my movement range like this? But it doesn't seem to matter.
"Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm Technique!"
But before Yuki could react, a powerful shockwave of air rushed toward him.
It's too fast! No time for "Revolving Heaven"! Better dodge!
Frankly, Yuki's speed wasn't enough to completely evade the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm Technique's" range. But as he leaped sideways, "Kaguya" behind him gave him a violent shove, finally helping her master escape the blast radius.
However, what Yuki didn't expect was the even worse situation awaiting him the next moment.
Following the bombardment of the "Grass Shadow Style: Exploding Palm Technique," the eight rock pillars behind Yuki were directly shattered. Countless shards of rock shot towards him like a rain of arrows, spreading out in all directions!
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