Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

What had just happened in that fight? He had been decapitated with a single slash, a slash so fast it was barely a flash of cold light. Everyone asked themselves, if they had been the one on the stage just now, could they have reacted in time?

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing rose and fell throughout the crowd, because everyone realized the answer was probably no. A lingering, trance-like feeling of having just survived a disaster washed over them.

Gaara's gaze grew even more fervent. He stared at Kusuo, wishing he could fight him right then and there, to stain his sand with Kusuo's blood.

"S-so strong... Neji, it's a good thing we didn't get into a conflict with him earlier. This guy is monstrously strong," Tenten, in her pink qipao, said, patting her chest with a look of lingering fear.

Neji stared fixedly in Kusuo's direction, where Hinata was currently wiping sweat from his brow. The joints in his knuckles cracked audibly, his thoughts a mystery.

"This..." Kurenai covered her small, red mouth, her face a mask of shock. "A child who just graduated has this kind of strength? It feels like everyone else... is not even in the same dimension compared to him!"

Seeing Kurenai's shocked expression, Asuma was secretly pleased. In truth, he himself had been watching with his heart pounding. This kid... he's even stronger than before! His rate of progress was beyond imagination. He had a faint feeling that he and the other so-called jonin instructors had likely already been left far behind by him.

"Kakashi, this is a child from your clan, isn't he?" Even the usually boisterous Guy wore a serious expression now.

"Mm," Kakashi replied succinctly. His mask hid his face, making his expression unreadable.

"It seems the Hatake clan's revival is in sight," Kurenai, Asuma, and the others sighed with emotion, tacitly acknowledging this fact.

Only Kakashi remained silent. He felt that his mysterious cousin's ambitions were not so small. A clan, or even a village, seemed to be insignificant in his cousin's eyes. Their brief conversation that night, and the look in his eyes, had told him. Hatake Kusuo, this monstrously talented cousin of his, had a much grander goal. His capacity was so great that even he himself couldn't imagine it.

"My dear cousin... where are your eyes looking now?" Covering his left eye, Kakashi's heart grew complicated. Heh, a genius. I used to be a genius too.

Below the stage, the battles had reached a fever pitch. The fight between Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka was full of surprises, a rollercoaster from start to finish. Especially Naruto's divine move of using a fart to disrupt Kiba's sense of smell, which made even Kusuo crack a smile. In the end, Naruto won, though not without some trouble.

Following that was the fateful duel between two women, which ended in a draw. Then, as expected, Kankuro, Temari, and Shikamaru all won their matches.

"Next match: Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga!"

The second-to-last test. As expected, it was a Hyuga clan civil war. Everyone looked at the two contestants with curiosity. The Hyuga clan, a noble family of Konoha. Many ninja from other villages even took out small notebooks, preparing to record the famous Byakugan of the Hyuga clan in this battle. Perhaps it could be of use in future wars between their villages.

"Brother Neji," Hinata said hesitantly as she walked onto the stage. She could feel that Neji's attitude towards her had always been cold. The shackles of the branch family had fostered in him a strong desire to resist, and she, in his eyes, represented the incompetent and cowardly main family.

"Hmph! I remember telling you, this is the Chunin Exam. The process is filled with cruelty and struggle. It's not the ninja game you imagine it to be. Since you lack that resolve, then I will be the one to end it!" Neji's gaze was filled with hatred, the look he gave Hinata incredibly cold.

Kusuo, standing below the stage, his eyes sharpened, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. But this was a battle Hinata ultimately had to finish on her own.

He had expected the timid Hinata to be shamed into bowing her head by Neji's few words, just like in the original story. But he never thought...

SWISH!

Hinata took the stance of the Hyuga's Gentle Fist style, her palms facing outwards towards Neji. "I'm sorry, Brother Neji. I cannot lose this fight. I will defeat you!"

Then, in an extremely small voice, she said to herself, "Because... I have to work hard to catch up to Kusuo's footsteps."

This time, Hinata's gaze was firm and resolute. Neji was stunned for a moment. This Hinata seemed completely different from the one in his memory. Then, his face twisted into an even more annoyed expression. "If you're a dead-last, then just act like one! Stop playing these boring games of redemption!" he roared, instantly activating his Byakugan and thrusting a palm towards Hinata's chest. The palm carried a blue wave of chakra, its goal to seal her chakra points and lock her movements. The secret art of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.

"Hah!" Hinata let out a sweet cry, took a step back, and extended her own palm, swatting Neji's hand away.

PAK!

With a crisp sound, Neji's arm was slapped to the side.

Impossible! Neji was greatly shocked. There was no way Hinata could have reacted to the speed of that palm strike. It should have been a guaranteed hit. How could this be?

"Hoo~" Before he could react, he heard the sound of rhythmic breathing by his ear, and another palm strike came.

"Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!"

"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The sound of fist hitting flesh echoed continuously. Neji had been caught in an opening, and Hinata drove her chakra into his body with one palm strike after another. Slowly, Neji was horrified to find that his chakra network was almost completely sealed. He couldn't mobilize any chakra at all. In other words, he had been defeated fair and square by Hinata using the Hyuga's Gentle Fist.

This huge reversal made his eyes feel like they were about to split, his white pupils now filled with blood vessels.

Seeing her cousin's crazed appearance, Hinata's heart softened. She didn't continue with the full Sixty-Four Palms. Instead, she withdrew her hand and asked with concern, "Brother, are you okay?"

Who would have known...

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

The moment Hinata stepped forward in concern, Neji used what little chakra he had left to strike at her with a Vacuum Palm.

POW!

Hinata hurriedly retreated, immediately blocking the blow with her arm. The powerful blast of air left her arm red and swollen, and she winced in pain.

It was blocked again! Neji was filled with unwillingness. He had even resorted to a sneak attack, but Hinata still reacted in time, blocking it with her arm instead of taking it to a vital point. Now, there was only one question in his mind.

In this period of time, what on earth happened to Hinata?

Watching the fallen Neji, his chakra completely sealed, struggle to prop himself up, Hayate Gekko, who was observing the match, was also filled with surprise.

"Hinata Hyuga wins!"

"No way?! Neji actually lost? He was the top student of our year!"

"Weren't there rumors that the heir of the Hyuga main family was no match for this genius from the branch family? Was it all fake?"

"Yeah! Whether it was skill or power, I think this Hinata was stronger by more than just a little!"

The moment Hayate announced the result, the entire venue was in an uproar. The outcome of this battle was completely beyond their expectations, totally different from the rumors.

"That little girl... she's that boy's little girlfriend, right?" On the second floor, Kurenai looked down again with disbelief. At this moment, Hinata was proudly running to Kusuo, seeking praise. Kusuo gently booped her cute little nose, then looked with concern at her injured arm.

"Yes," Asuma nodded. He, who had thought he knew his students very well, was now starting to doubt his own life. Not only had Kusuo's strength skyrocketed, but even Hinata was no longer the same as before. Her valiant performance in the battle just now had made all the jonin instructors nod in approval. Although she couldn't compare to a rare existence like Kusuo, to be able to defeat Neji head-on, her strength was self-evident.

"Why do I get the feeling that Hinata was using more than just the Hyuga's Gentle Fist style just now? Guy, you're the expert in taijutsu. Did you notice anything?" Hearing Kurenai's question, Asuma also turned his gaze to Guy.

Guy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Indeed. The techniques Hinata used were still the Hyuga's Gentle Fist, but her breathing rhythm seemed to be from another secret art. I've never seen this kind of secret art before, so it's hard to judge."

"Could it be a secret art of the Hyuga clan?" Kurenai asked again.

The others shook their heads. Indeed, if the Hyuga clan had such a secret breathing technique, it would have become common knowledge over the centuries. It couldn't have been hidden until now.

Only Kakashi stared intently at Kusuo and Hinata. Just now, he had used his Sharingan to observe Hinata during the battle. He saw that her entire body—her blood flow, her cells, the vitality of her organs—had all been massively enhanced the moment she stepped onto the field. But oddly, even though he could clearly see the flow of oxygen in her body, he still couldn't copy it. It was like knowing the full details of the Eight Gates, but still being unable to open all eight of them. It involved the secrets of the human body, and the human body was precisely the most complex and mysterious subject.

Shaking his head, Kakashi deactivated his Sharingan. In fact, he had also observed Kusuo's body just now. It was the same as Hinata's, but different. It was more turbulent, more powerful. That vigorous life force, standing in a crowd, was as dazzling as a sun. "No wonder he has such outstanding physical fitness," he whispered, then smiled lightly. Ultimately, he was his cousin. Since he had confirmed that the Sharingan could only see it but not copy it, there was nothing to worry about.

At this moment, the preliminary rounds below were nearing their end. Only the last match was left. Hayate Gekko glanced at the roster in his hand, his eyelids lifting.

"Next match: Gaara versus Rock Lee!"

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