Inside the arena.
Yūhi Shinku looked at the trace of fresh blood on his fingertip, then raised his eyes and stared deeply at Isshin, who stood there with his sword sheathed, his breathing as steady as ever.
In the end, he slowly raised his hand toward the referee and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "I concede."
Then he turned to Isshin and asked the question on everyone's mind: "How did you do it? My genjutsu should have definitely hit."
Isshin merely glanced at him indifferently, as if looking at someone who had just asked a childish question. "What gave you the illusion that I was ever caught in your genjutsu?"
An illusion?
Shinku's brows knitted tightly.
He had absolute confidence in the secret genjutsu he had painstakingly developed. The sensation of binding after it struck just now had absolutely not been an illusion.
But since the other party said so, it was clear he had no intention of revealing the truth.
Shinku knew there was no point asking further. No one would expose their own trump card for no reason. He took one last deep look at Isshin, nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk back toward the edge of the arena, his steps slightly heavy.
In truth, Isshin had been caught in the genjutsu.
But when the clone "Isshin" had his consciousness dragged into the lotus prison constructed by "Red Spider Lily," the consciousness of the original body, Higashino Shinichi, seated in the stands, was completely unaffected.
After all, the one caught in the genjutsu was Isshin—what did that have to do with Shinichi?
It was similar to a tailed beast and its jinchūriki, but the synchronization of thought between these two bodies was far tighter, more immediate, and perfectly seamless than any jinchūriki-beast relationship.
Like a dual-core processor—when one core fell into a "crash" or "downclock" due to external interference, the other core could instantly and seamlessly take over full control.
At the exact moment when Shinku believed victory was certain and relaxed his guard as he approached, the original body's consciousness, like a supreme commander, bypassed the portion of the clone that had been disrupted by the genjutsu, took direct control of that powerful body, and launched a thunderous counterattack.
After defeating Shinku, Isshin did not leave. Instead, he raised his head and looked straight toward the figure in the Hokage's robes on the high platform. His voice rang out across the arena, which had once again grown noisy: "Third Hokage-sama! An opponent like that wasn't bad—but it still wasn't enough to satisfy me!"
He grinned. Though there was a smile on his face, his tone made no effort to hide his disappointment.
"Konohagakure is said to be the greatest of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Is there really no one stronger who can get my blood boiling? If that's the case, then this commission fee of mine was hardly worth it."
"Arrogant!"
"Outrageous! Who do you think you are?!"
"This is too much! Shinku-sama just made a mistake!"
"You got lucky once and now you think you're invincible!"
"Get out of Konoha! You're not welcome here!"
These blunt and provocative words were like sparks thrown into a vat of oil, instantly igniting the anger and humiliation that had been building in the stands. The shouting and insults surged like a landslide and tsunami. Many Konoha shinobi were so furious their faces turned red, itching to jump down and fight him themselves.
Facing this near-boiling public outrage and blatant provocation, Hiruzen remained unchanged, still wearing that calm, gentle, knowing smile.
He raised his hand slightly and pressed downward.
Strangely, the thunderous uproar gradually subsided, demonstrating his unmatched authority in the hearts of the villagers.
"Since Isshin-san finds it unsatisfying…" the Third Hokage spoke slowly, his voice calm yet clearly carrying across the entire arena. His gaze seemed casual as it swept across the noble clan seating area. "Konoha will naturally not disappoint a guest who has come from afar."
In the Hyūga clan section of the viewing area, the clan head Hyūga Hiashi wore a solemn expression. He turned slightly and said in a low voice to his younger brother, Hyūga Hizashi, "Hizashi, you go."
"Yes, Clan Head."
Hizashi stood up without hesitation and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in the arena. First, he respectfully bowed toward the Third Hokage on the high platform.
"Third-sama, Konoha jōnin Hyūga Hizashi requests permission to fight."
"Oh? Hizashi." The Third Hokage nodded. "Then you shall accompany Isshin-san in a proper match. Make sure our guest is satisfied."
"I will carry out the Hokage's command."
Hizashi turned toward Isshin and assumed the standard opening stance of the Hyūga Gentle Fist. Veins bulged around his eyes as his pure Byakugan activated, his gaze locking onto his opponent like a blazing torch.
A Hyūga jōnin personally stepping into the arena!
The atmosphere in the stands shifted once again. The anger quickly gave way to rising anticipation and confidence.
"Great! It's someone from the Hyūga clan!"
"The Byakugan and Gentle Fist—perfect counter to brute-force fighters like him!"
"Let's see how he keeps acting arrogant now! Once his chakra points are sealed, even the strongest body will collapse!"
"Hizashi-jōnin, show him what Konoha's elite can do!"
"Let him see the true power of a noble clan!"
In the eyes of the Konoha villagers, the Hyūga clan, one of the oldest noble families in the shinobi world, possessed unparalleled insight through the Byakugan, able to see all chakra flow and tenketsu pathways.
And Gentle Fist could inject chakra directly into the opponent's body, destroying internal pathways and organs. No matter how tough the exterior, the inside would remain fragile.
Against someone like Isshin who relied on raw physical strength—it was the perfect counter.
"Konoha jōnin, Hyūga Hizashi."
"Iron Country—Ashina Style, Isshin."
The two exchanged names briefly.
The moment the referee's arm swung down—
Boom!
Just like before—no, even more violent!
The stone slabs beneath Isshin's feet shattered inch by inch as he transformed into a blurred afterimage, charging forward like an out-of-control war chariot, tearing through the air with a deafening roar.
Simple. Direct. Yet pushing strength and speed to their absolute limits—terrifying in momentum.
The veins around Hizashi's eyes bulged further. With the Byakugan's powerful perception, he clearly captured every movement of his opponent's body and the explosive flow of chakra.
He had no intention of meeting it head-on.
His steps were light as wind, his body drifting like a willow in the breeze. At the critical moment, he sidestepped and slid away, narrowly avoiding the frontal charge that could shatter stone.
At the same time, his right hand formed a two-finger strike, chakra highly condensed at his fingertips. Silent, precise, and deadly, it shot straight toward Isshin's exposed flank after the charge.
Gentle Fist — Tenketsu Strike!
If this strike landed, even with Isshin's physique, the chakra flow in the kidney region would be instantly disrupted, affecting both balance and power output.
However—
At the very instant Hizashi's fingers were about to touch his clothes, a sudden change occurred!
Isshin's massive body, which had been leaning forward due to high-speed momentum, abruptly halted with an unnatural coordination that defied inertia.
His left arm snapped backward like a boneless serpent, and his clenched fist swung like a heavy hammer, howling through the air. From a tricky angle, it lashed upward toward Hizashi's temple—
A savage, all-or-nothing counterattack—forcing the opponent to defend, even at the cost of taking damage himself.
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