"Step right up, don't miss out!"
On a bustling street, iron wire was wrapped around kunai to form a makeshift ring.
Nawaki stood at the edge, holding a bronze gong in one hand and a wooden mallet in the other, shouting as he struck it.
Clang! Clang!
People were quickly drawn over.
In the center stood Hyūga Ming, planting a red banner into the ground.
Written boldly on it were four large characters:
Genin Battle
"Genin battle? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Look at those eyes—he's from the Hyūga clan."
"What are they trying to do?"
The crowd murmured in confusion, unsure what they were watching.
Once enough people had gathered, Nawaki raised the mallet and struck the gong again.
CLANG!
The sound cut through the noise.
This was Ming's cue.
"Ahem." Hyūga Ming cleared his throat.
"Fellow villagers, life is hard. The Hyūga clan is reduced to street performance."
He clasped his hands toward the crowd and continued smoothly,
"Due to my family's financial difficulties, I have set up this challenge arena today."
"I am putting up fifty thousand ryō as prize money. Anyone who defeats me will receive the full amount."
"Entry fee: one thousand ryō per challenge.
Genin only."
This was Ming's solution to his money problem.
Not only could it earn cash—it could earn experience.
Taking missions required the squad leader's approval, and Tsunade clearly had no intention of taking him out of the village anytime soon.
Ninja weren't allowed to take regular jobs.
So the arena it was.
He had confidence in himself. Among genin, very few could beat him.
And anyone strong enough to do so probably didn't have the time—or interest—to bother with him.
As for chūnin…
He had at least that much self-awareness. He wasn't there yet.
Though the experience would be tempting.
"Is this for real?" someone asked, tempted.
Genin made up the largest portion of Konoha's ninja.
Not everyone could advance to chūnin—many spent years stuck at this rank.
"Of course," Ming said, gesturing for Nawaki to show them.
With great reluctance, Nawaki pulled out a stack of fifty-thousand-ryō notes.
Who could've imagined—
The boss was making money, but the underling had to front the capital.
This was all of Nawaki's pocket money.
But considering Ming's flawless record so far, he decided it was worth supporting him.
Definitely not because of the fifty–fifty profit split.
Fifty thousand ryō was a fortune to a genin.
Soon, someone climbed over the wire.
A young man stepped into the ring, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ming raised one hand, striking a pose of calm superiority.
The young man reached for his ninja pouch—
"Wait," Ming suddenly said.
The man stopped and raised a brow.
"What? Getting scared?"
Ming shook his head patiently.
"There are rules to a challenge. To prevent serious injuries, ninja tools and ninjutsu are forbidden."
"Only taijutsu is allowed."
The man frowned and sized Ming up.
Taijutsu against a Hyūga?
Everyone knew the Hyūga specialized in close combat.
Before he could object, Ming added calmly,
"And besides—do you really think fifty thousand ryō is that easy to take?"
That made sense.
If it were easy, it would just be giving money away.
And Ming didn't look like a fool.
Sure, the Hyūga excelled at taijutsu—but Ming was just a freshly graduated genin.
Maybe he wasn't that strong yet.
The man withdrew his hand from his pouch, kicked off the ground, and charged.
"Hold it!" Ming waved again.
The man skidded to a stop, nearly crashing into him.
"Now what?!" he snapped.
Ming rolled his eyes.
"You haven't paid."
"Even if you win, you won't get the prize."
The man laughed awkwardly.
Nawaki stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Payment."
With a sigh, the man pulled out a one-thousand-ryō note and handed it over.
Only after Nawaki stepped back and cleared the space did the challenger raise his fists again—
"Wait!!" Ming shouted once more.
"That's enough!!" the man yelled.
In the next instant—
A palm struck his chest.
The man's eyes went wide, a curse about to spill from his mouth—
"Eight Trigrams: Mountain-Breaking Strike!"
BOOM!
His body flew backward, crashing outside the wire ring.
His eyes rolled back as he passed out cold.
Ming nodded in satisfaction as the notification flashed before him.
[EXP +325]
Stronger than those two bandits from before.
Two more like that, and he'd level up.
Nawaki slapped a hand to his forehead.
The surrounding crowd let out a wave of groans.
Classic Hyūga Ming.
Ming wasn't bothered at all.
"Next."
When no one stepped forward—only looks of disgust—Ming said confidently,
"This is called deception. Haven't you heard of it? In ninja combat, who fights fair?"
"If it's fair, can it even be called a ninja fight?"
Seeing how shamelessly proud he was, the crowd found themselves at a loss for words.
Annoyingly—
He wasn't completely wrong.
Just then, a figure vaulted over the wire and landed in front of Ming.
"You really are just as shameless as ever," the newcomer said through clenched teeth.
A blue outfit, emblazoned with the fan-and-flame crest.
"An Uchiha."
"It's really an Uchiha."
"Now this is going to be good."
Ming sighed, waving him off dismissively.
"Go on, go on. Kids should play somewhere else."
"Bastard!!"
The man exploded in rage.
Uchiha Sōsuke glared at Ming, hurled a one-thousand-ryō note toward Nawaki, and charged.
Nawaki glanced at the bill lying on the ground, shook his head, and bent down to pick it up.
He knew this guy.
Ming's classmate. Eternal second place.
Always suppressed by Ming.
Always challenging him.
Always losing.
Even after becoming a ninja, he still hadn't given up that dream.
Some dreams were fine as dreams.
Sōsuke rushed in—
And flew back out just as fast.
He landed right at Nawaki's feet, instantly knocked out, sleeping soundly.
Ming looked at the tiny bit of experience gained and frowned.
"Still no growth, even after becoming a ninja."
Sōsuke had already been farmed dry.
Unless his strength improved drastically, his experience value wouldn't recover.
"Next."
Ming scanned the crowd.
This time, people hesitated.
One was an experienced genin.
The other was an Uchiha.
Both had been put to sleep effortlessly.
They all liked their sleep just fine—and none wanted it forced on them.
Just as the crowd wavered—
A figure lightly flipped over the wire and landed in front of Ming.
"I'll give it a try."
The newcomer opened his eyes—
The same pale Byakugan.
Ming's lips slowly curved upward.
"Hyūga Hizashi," he said softly.
"You've really got time on your hands, don't you?"
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