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An illusion!
It had to be an illusion!
In the center of the arena, a shallow but clearly defined pit had formed, and Hyuga Tokuma lay sprawled across it.
Akira planted a foot firmly on his head, arms crossed, eyes sharp and cold.
"Heh! This loser thinks he can hang me on the gates of Konoha? Pathetic."
His words, dripping with mockery, carried across the entire field.
The assembled Hyūga clan stared in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.
A top-tier jōnin from their clan… had just been wiped out in a single move by a seven-year-old kid!
When had the world turned so absurdly surreal?
Hyuga Hiashi instinctively glanced at Fugaku behind him.
He suspected some sneaky genjutsu trick—but no… that was impossible!
Fugaku spread his hands innocently, signaling he hadn't interfered at all.
—Byakugan, activate!
Veins bulging on his temples, Hiashi opened his Byakugan, fixing his gaze on Akira.
And in the next moment, he was stunned again.
Such an overwhelming chakra output… how could a seven-year-old possibly possess it?
Even a tailed beast might not match this level!
No wonder Fugaku had agreed to this so easily.
So this kid… wasn't just powerful. He was a monster in human skin.
Hiashi exhaled slowly, forcing the tidal wave of shock and disbelief down.
Then, his voice trembling slightly with a mixture of anger and awe:
"Alright! Uchiha Akira… for someone your age to possess this level of strength, the Hyūga clan admits defeat.
Release Tokuma, and we can consider our grudge settled!"
Given the terrifying power Akira had just displayed, Hiashi knew the Hyūga had no hope of restraining him.
They'd need the combined strength of the entire clan—but that was far too costly. So he decided to back down, plain and simple.
"Heh! You think 'settled' is enough? Who do you think you are?"
Hiashi's face shifted at Akira's words. A bad feeling settled in his gut.
"And what do you want then?!"
Akira gestured casually toward Tokuma under his foot. His tone was calm, almost playful.
"This guy said he wanted to strip me and hang me on the village gates. Well, I'm a believer in fair trade.
So I figured I'd return the favor—strip him and hang him there instead. And since I'm doing this properly, he's staying up for at least two full days and nights."
"Bastard! Uchiha Akira, that's… too much!"
Hiashi trembled with rage. One humiliation wasn't enough; this kid wanted a repeat!
"Too much? I'm just giving back what you handed me!"
Akira pressed his foot down, instantly stopping Tokuma's frantic struggles.
"Fugaku! Was this your plan too? You're trying to drag both our clans into total war?!"
Unable to sway Akira, Hiashi shot a glance at Fugaku.
Fugaku said nothing. Considering the current state of the Uchiha, he finally addressed Akira:
"Akira… show mercy. Enough is enough. No need to escalate this. Besides… it's really your fault to begin with…"
But before he could finish, Akira cut him off coldly.
"Shut up! You've got no say here!"
Fugaku's face turned dark. Damn it! Being scolded like this in front of everyone—he had no dignity left!
Humiliating him again… Akira really was testing his patience.
"This guy has to hang on the gates, no matter what. Even if the Sage of Six Paths came, he wouldn't stop me."
Akira nudged Tokuma with his foot, voice calm.
"As clan head, I will never allow you to do this!"
Hiashi stepped forward, Byakugan fully active.
"I'll say it one more time—release Tokuma!"
"Come on, if you can take him, he's yours," Akira replied with a smirk, casually rolling Tokuma behind him with a flick of his foot.
"I'll admit, you're arrogant for a kid with this much power. But…"
Hiashi closed the gap, now less than two meters from Akira.
"You're still green, kid! Haven't you heard the saying? Don't let a prepared Hyūga get close!"
Boom!
A surge of concentrated power erupted from Hiashi, like a storm finally unleashed.
"You're locked in now, kid. Running isn't an option!"
Hiashi assumed a strange stance, and the ground beneath him seemed to form a swirling Taiji Bagua pattern.
Akira stood at its center, calm as ever.
"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams, 256 Palms!"
Hiashi roared. In the next instant, countless palm strikes rained down like a violent storm.
Two strikes… four… eight… sixteen… 128… 256!
Whew.
After the flurry ended, Hiashi exhaled, a triumphant smile on his face.
"To face you, I unleashed the full 256 palms! Consider it an honor, kid!"
"All your chakra points are sealed! Without massive chakra support, you're nothing but a toy in my hands!"
He confirmed with his Byakugan—every last trace of Akira's chakra had stopped flowing. Pride filled his expression.
"Your carelessness is your own fault!"
With that, he lunged toward Akira.
But he grabbed nothing—Akira had vanished.
Before he could react, a pale hand suddenly expanded before his eyes.
Slap!
A sharp, resounding slap echoed across the arena.
"You need chakra for this?!"
Akira's face was calm, emotionless, as he delivered a heavy slap across Hiashi's face.
At the same time, a system notification chimed in his mind:
[Ding… Congratulations, Host has completed the mission. Sign-in +1]
Hiashi's head buzzed. Half his face was swelling red.
He… had just been publicly slapped by a kid!
Realizing what had happened, his rage exploded.
"Damn brat! How dare you humiliate me! Don't think I can't take you down!"
"Return Heaven!"
Hiashi shouted, spinning his body at high speed.
In an instant, a half-circle of blue chakra formed around him, intended to force Akira back.
"This weak trick? You're trying to use this on me? Hah!"
Akira chuckled and punched straight through the blue barrier.
In the next moment, to Hiashi's disbelief, his supposedly "strongest defense," Return Heaven, shattered.
And helplessly, he watched the small fist slam into his chest.
Boom! Crack!
Hiashi was thrown back, ribs snapping under the impact.
"..."
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