At that moment,
the attention of the other students nearby—as well as Ooki-sensei and the others—was drawn over.
Rin hesitated, wanting to mediate, but she didn't even know where to begin. The change happened too fast. Even though she'd been standing right there the whole time, she couldn't follow it—how did it suddenly jump to the point where Yuu-kun and Hyūga were about to fight?
Nearby,
Obito, Shiranui Genma, and farther off Asuma and the others all looked equally baffled. They could only grab the person next to them and whisper back and forth:
"Hey, hey—what happened?"
"No idea… looks like Mikami and Hyūga Kamon are arguing about the Will of Fire…"
"I support Mikami! He's so handsome—he must be innocent! The Hyūga are bullying him with their status. Disgusting!"
"Ohhh, are they gonna fight? Hurry up, fight, fight—I wanna see blood flow like a river!"
"…"
Hyūga Kamon himself—the one actually involved—was still a little stunned, but he no longer had the headspace to think it through. Under so many eyes, he only felt his dignity as a child of a great clan being challenged. His temper flared on the spot.
"Fine! A duel it is! Come on!"
Hyūga Kamon jumped straight onto the ring.
Mikami Yuu followed right after.
"Hey—don't fight here…"
Rin tried to stop them, but in the blink of an eye the two were already on the ring, so she could only go to Ooki-sensei.
Ooki looked a bit conflicted.
By rights, students fighting each other was absolutely not allowed.
But…
What did "denying the Three Basic Jutsu means denying the Academy's teaching principles and the Will of Fire" even mean?
It sounded ridiculous at first… but if you thought about it carefully, the logic was strangely consistent.
In fact, Ooki and Himura were exactly the sort of people Hyūga Kamon was mocking—people who "could only practice low-level jutsu." Both of them were civilian-born. Even though they'd been promoted to chūnin, they didn't know many C-rank techniques, and what they used most often really was the Three Basic Jutsu and Body Flicker—basic techniques like that.
So, speaking purely from personal bias, Hyūga Kamon's words did make them a little annoyed.
"Ahem. Rin, the official combat sparring hasn't started yet. Students doing private sparring practice is reasonable behavior—don't be so nervous…"
Ooki coughed and added, "Don't worry. If anything actually gets out of hand, Teacher Himura and I will step in to stop it."
In the span of a few sentences, Mikami Yuu and Hyūga Kamon had already taken their stances, glaring at each other with fierce eyes.
Mikami Yuu formed seals quickly. "Clone Technique!"
Poof—!
Three clones appeared at his side at the same time and charged Hyūga Kamon.
This kind of opening was basically standard for most Academy students. Against an opponent at roughly the same level, it could easily confuse them—but…
"Byakugan!"
Hyūga Kamon formed seals as well and barked a low shout. Veins instantly bulged at his temples as he activated the Hyūga clan's kekkei genkai. In his vision, chakra pathways became sharply visible.
"Hmph. Child's play! In front of my Byakugan, this low-level clone trick is meaningless!"
With a single sweep of his eyes, Hyūga Kamon saw through the clones' hazy outlines and slightly unreal chakra, locking precisely onto the figure mixed among them with the most authentic chakra flow and the densest presence—
Mikami Yuu's real body!
"Found you!"
A cold smile curled at Hyūga Kamon's mouth. He pushed off the ground, shooting forward like an arrow from a bow straight at the exposed real body. At the same time, he brought his palms up—Gentle Fist's opening stance already formed, palm winds faintly whistling as they cut through the air.
"Gentle Fist!"
Facing the palm strike that came with a ripping wind sound, Mikami Yuu's eyes sharpened. Instead of dodging sideways like Hyūga Kamon expected, he dropped his hips into a horse stance and drove a punch forward to meet it head-on!
Bang!
Fist and palm collided with a heavy, muffled thud.
"This guy…"
Shock flashed through Hyūga Kamon's eyes. This civilian brat's strength… something's off! He actually blocked a Gentle Fist strike?
During their team training a month ago, he definitely wasn't this strong!
Opposite him, Mikami Yuu felt his own heart tighten. So this is the Hyūga, specialists in taijutsu… Even after his Constitution boost, that exchange still made his blood surge. If he'd taken that hit with the body he had two weeks ago… half his arm would've been ruined.
The gap between clan kids and civilian kids really wasn't something a mere +3 Constitution could erase.
Bang! Bang!
After a brief flurry of exchanges, Mikami Yuu immediately hopped back, creating a little distance and breaking contact. He lowered his center of gravity slightly, one hand resting on his ninja tool pouch, eyes fixed on his opponent.
Trading taijutsu with a Hyūga was obviously not a wise choice. If Gentle Fist landed on his tenketsu, it would disrupt chakra flow and he wouldn't even be able to cast jutsu. And besides, the task he'd triggered meant he had to place his winning move on the Three Basic Jutsu.
And he had to win beautifully.
"Haa…"
As he exhaled, Mikami Yuu had already mapped out the entire plan.
Across from him, Hyūga Kamon looked a bit better off. He deliberately puffed out his chest, trying to regain face with words.
"What happened to that swagger just now, 'civilian genius' who only knows the Three Basic Jutsu? From the looks of it… don't tell me you can't even stand anymore?"
"…Stop barking."
Mikami Yuu said.
"…?!"
Hyūga Kamon's temper flared again.
He barked a low shout and exploded forward—faster than before, his Gentle Fist stance heavier and more serious.
"A guy who only knows how to run his mouth… this ends here! I'll show you the essence of Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Palm…"
As the rapidly closing figure approached, Mikami Yuu pulled several wooden practice shuriken from his tool pouch and snapped his wrist hard!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The shuriken ripped through the air in a triangular formation, aimed at Hyūga Kamon's face and his left and right chest and abdomen!
"Too slow!"
Hyūga Kamon had already read their trajectories perfectly. He shifted his steps, his body slipping sideways like a fish sliding through water, smoothly threading between two of the shuriken—showing the Hyūga clan's effortless composure in taijutsu.
"Is that all your tricks? How laughable!"
Before the last word even fell, Hyūga Kamon had already closed to within two meters of Mikami Yuu. His palms fluttered out like a butterfly among flowers, chakra gathering at his fingertips.
"It's over… Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
"First palm!"
A palm strike carrying the power to seal chakra points slammed toward Mikami Yuu's chest.
Below the ring, Rin couldn't help crying out, "Yuu-kun, watch out!"
But at the instant Hyūga Kamon's first strike was about to land—
Pop!
A small sound—smoke burst up!
Mikami Yuu's body instantly became… a wooden shuriken?!
"What?!"
Hyūga Kamon's smug expression froze, his pupils shrinking as alarm bells screamed in his head.
At the same time, behind him, a shuriken he'd dodged earlier—lying on the open ground—also went pop in a puff of smoke, then "turned into" Mikami Yuu's real body!
—Substitution Technique!
And not just that: seal-less instant cast. A 0.2-second extreme swap!
"HYAH!"
Appearing behind Hyūga Kamon, Mikami Yuu didn't hesitate. He twisted his waist and hips, poured all his strength into his right leg, and whipped out a heavy side kick like a cracking lash—slamming it into Hyūga Kamon's back before he could even turn around!