"Huh? What's going on? Wasn't this newcomer super strong yesterday? How can he not even beat Ueno Mori today?"
"This is too fake! That acting is worse than my grandma's. I saw them whispering over there just now; there's definitely something fishy going on!"
"No way... You can even do this in combat practice? This is blatant cheating!"
The students who had witnessed Ryoko's overwhelming strength yesterday were filled with shock, unable to understand why this was happening.
Meanwhile, some observant and sharp-witted students, such as those from Ninja Clans, immediately saw through the trick and began to voice their complaints.
This full-of-holes fake match clearly couldn't hide from everyone's eyes.
Teacher naturally saw the trickery in the match as well, but he only frowned and didn't expose it on the spot.
Perhaps in his view, this kind of "cleverness" was also a situation a Ninja needed to face.
Soon, all the matches in the first round ended, and the Teacher began to announce the matchup list for the second round.
This time, Ryoko's assigned opponent was a member of the Hyuga Clan's branch house named Hyuga Aoki.
This boy's strength was publicly recognized as being at the forefront of the class, especially his Gentle Fist, which had already begun to take shape.
Ryoko's eyes lit up, and he immediately approached with familiarity, a trademark "friendly" smile on his face as he lowered his voice. "Hyuga, do you want a guaranteed win? For just a week's worth of lunches, I'll let you win easily. How about it?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Aoki's brow furrowed, his face showing undisguised contempt as he coldly refused. "Hmph, no thanks. To throw away the glory of victory for just a few lunches—you're truly a disgrace to the Ninja Clans."
"Is the pride and backbone of your Akimichi Clan worth only this much?"
He was full of confidence in his Hyuga-style Gentle Fist and utterly disdained using such bribery to achieve victory.
Moreover, as a member of another great Ninja Clan, he was particularly repulsed by Ryoko's act of intentionally losing to an ordinary student.
Seeing the other party's firm attitude, Ryoko knew the deal was off. He could only shake his head with regret and walk back to his spot.
Akimichi Chen Dong, who was standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore and whispered a persuasion, "Ryoko, you... can you please stop doing this? It's too embarrassing!"
He felt that Ryoko, for the sake of a few bites of food, was practically rubbing the Akimichi Clan's face in the dirt.
Ryoko glanced at him and retorted righteously, "That's fine too, then will you support me? Just as long as I'm full."
Akimichi Chen Dong was instantly choked up. Thinking of Ryoko's terrifying appetite, he immediately shrunk his neck and didn't dare to say another word.
Support him?
His own rations weren't even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth!
Before long, it was Ryoko and Hyuga Aoki's turn to take the field.
The two of them formed the Seal of Confrontation according to the rules.
Hyuga Aoki took the starting stance of the Gentle Fist. His eyes were sharp, and Chakra faintly flowed around him, clearly intending to get serious.
Meanwhile, Ryoko still looked loose and lazy. Since the other party had refused the deal, he naturally didn't bother to intentionally hold back.
"Start!"
At the Teacher's command, Hyuga Aoki moved swiftly, closing the distance in an instant. His palms, carrying a fierce wind, struck directly at several key Chakra points on Ryoko's body.
However, facing this Gentle Fist attack that could instantly incapacitate an ordinary student, Ryoko didn't dodge or evade. He just took a slight breath, and the thick layer of fat around his body trembled slightly like a wave.
Puff! Puff!
Hyuga Aoki's palm strikes hit their target, but it felt like hitting a resilient, elastic ball, or sinking into a thick pile of cotton.
The expected effect of severing the Chakra flow did not occur. Most of the force was buffered and dispersed by the layers of fat filled with life energy.
Ryoko stood in place, his figure like a mountain, unmoving. Only the fat on his body rippled like water.
He looked down at Hyuga Aoki's palm pressed against his belly and blinked.
"That's it?"
Ryoko's seemingly unremarkable two words were like a thorn, stabbing deeply into Hyuga Aoki's pride.
The Gentle Fist he took pride in, which even his father had praised for its talent, had vanished like a clay ox entering the sea when it hit the opponent. How could he accept this?
"Damn it, I don't believe I can't break through your fat defense!"
Overwhelmed by shame and anger, Hyuga Aoki gave a low shout, concentrating more Chakra into his palms. His figure flickered as he darted around Ryoko like a butterfly flitting through flowers.
His palms left trails of afterimages as more dense and fierce Gentle Fist strikes fell like raindrops on Ryoko's round belly, back, and waist.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
The sounds of fists and palms colliding with thick fat were continuous and full of momentum.
However, no matter how he channeled his Chakra or changed his angle of attack, the force of the Gentle Fist—which was enough to disrupt a normal person's Chakra and leave them limp on the ground—was easily dispersed, absorbed, and neutralized the moment it touched Ryoko's layer of fat, which had been nourished by massive amounts of energy and possessed extraordinary elasticity and resilience. It couldn't stir up even the slightest ripple.
Ryoko even squinted his eyes comfortably, as if he were enjoying a massage.
"How is it?" Ryoko took advantage of a gap in the opponent's attacks to kindly suggest again in a low voice, "It's still not too late to accept my previous offer. For a week's worth of lunches, you won't lose out, you won't be fooled, and you can even buy a victory. It's a great deal!"
"Shut up! I don't want a victory given as charity!" Hyuga Aoki's face flushed with anger as he roared through gritted teeth, "I will defeat you fair and square!"
He didn't believe the other party had no weaknesses at all! His gaze locked onto Ryoko's round face.
This should be where the fat is thinnest and the defense is weakest, right?
He didn't believe he couldn't even move the skin on his face.
With a thought, Hyuga Aoki lunged forward, his figure leaping up as he delivered a Gentle Fist strike infused with even more Chakra. It whistled through the air, aimed directly at Ryoko's face!
Bang!
The palm landed squarely on Ryoko's forehead.
However, the expected scene of the opponent falling to the ground did not happen.
Hyuga Aoki only felt as if his palm had struck a piece of incredibly tough old cowhide—hard and resilient. The recoil made his wrist go numb and his knuckles ache!
He was right that the fat on the other's face wasn't thick, but what he hadn't guessed was that the toughness of Ryoko's skull and skin far exceeded his imagination!
At the moment Hyuga Aoki's body faltered due to the recoil—his old strength exhausted and new strength yet to arise—Ryoko moved.
He neither formed seals nor dodged; he simply and crudely delivered a sudden, powerful headbutt forward!
Thud!
With a dull thud, their foreheads collided violently.
Hyuga Aoki only felt an irresistible, massive force. His vision went black, his head rang, and all consciousness and strength were instantly drained. His body slumped to the ground, and he passed out immediately.
Ryoko rubbed his forehead, which didn't even have a red mark, and shrugged as he looked at his fallen opponent.
"The match is decided. Akimichi Ryoko wins!"
The Teacher's voice rang out at the right time, ending this slightly comical yet eerie battle.
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