Chapter 68: Who Will Come Out on Top?
Chapter 68: Who Will Come Out on Top?
"Might Guy, do you remember me? You are indeed strong, but your journey ends here now that you've encountered me in this round." Hinata Hyuga formed the opposing seal, a hint of regret in his voice.
Despite being the second-strongest student, Might Guy could only bow out in the second round upon facing the top student.
"Hmm, who are you again?" Might Guy scratched his head, trying his best to recall the identity of his opponent, but to no avail.
"Could you be Hinata Daimon?" Might Guy vaguely recalled the proctor's announcement from earlier.
His fists clenched tightly.
Hinata Hyuga felt that Might Guy was insulting him.
"It's Hinata Hyuga, not Daimon! I beat you last exam, remember?" Hinata Hyuga couldn't help but correct him, deciding to teach Might Guy a lesson during this fight.
"Oh, right." Might Guy formed the opposing seal and nodded.
"Begin!" The proctor announced.
As soon as the words left the proctor's mouth, Hinata Hyuga activated his Byakugan, causing the veins around his eyes to bulge and giving his face a fearsome appearance.
With the power of the Byakugan, Hinata Hyuga saw right through Might Guy, easily observing his meridian points and the chakra flowing within.
Without hesitation, Hinata Hyuga chose to take the offensive, gathering chakra into his palm.
With his Gentle Fist and Byakugan, two powerful close-combat tools, Hinata Hyuga believed that no one in the Ninja Academy could surpass him in close-quarters combat.
The Byakugan allowed him to see through his opponent's movements, and the Gentle Fist, combined with the Byakugan, could directly inject chakra into an opponent's meridian points, disrupting their chakra flow.
However, something unexpected happened. Hinata Hyuga's punch, aimed at Might Guy, was swiftly caught by the latter.
Hinata Hyuga's other hand struck out towards Might Guy's meridian points, only to be caught as well.
Hinata Hyuga swiftly switched to using leg attacks, but this played right into Might Guy's strengths. Might Guy released Hinata Hyuga's hands and retaliated with a lightning-fast whirlwind kick, sending Hinata Hyuga stumbling backward by three meters.
"How is this possible? I clearly saw through his movements, but my body..." Hinata Hyuga's hands trembled as he stared at Might Guy in disbelief.
Just now, he had indeed seen through Might Guy's actions, but his body hadn't been able to react in time.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
"Hinata Hyuga is actually falling behind in a taijutsu battle!" The spectating students were stunned.
Ever since Kakashi had graduated, their year had been dominated by Hinata Hyuga, and anyone who dared to challenge him in taijutsu had received a painful lesson.
"Is Might Guy that strong? He placed second in the last exam, but it looks like he's aiming for first place this time."
Might Guy's ferocious display immediately caught the attention and surprise of many.
"Go, Might Guy!" Upon seeing Might Guy suppressing Hinata Hyuga, who had been the top student in the previous exam, Yuki Ike couldn't help but cheer for Might Guy.
He could almost see the thick bonus check waving at him.
"Ahem, Teacher Ike, you're one of the proctors. Mind your behavior," the proctor next to Yuki Ike whispered, reminding him to maintain his composure.
Yuki Ike came back to his senses and quickly closed his mouth, but the smile on his face refused to fade.
"Although Might Guy has the upper hand now, it's still too early to tell the outcome. If he gets hit by the Gentle Fist just once, his offensive rhythm will be completely disrupted," one of the teachers commented.
Some teachers nodded in agreement.
A mistake from Hinata Hyuga would only cause temporary pain, but if Might Guy were struck by the Gentle Fist, it would be a whole different story. Having chakra injected into his body was no trivial matter.
He didn't refute the statement, as Hinata Hyuga had taken first place numerous times, and Ike Yuki wasn't feeling very confident.
What happened next exceeded many people's expectations.
Hinata Hyuga launched several relentless assaults on Might Guy but failed to land a single hit. Instead, Might Guy seized the opportunity to kick him again while he was attacking.
"Wow, cover his eyes, and you'd think Might Guy was the one with the Byakugan," the students exclaimed, impressed by Might Guy's performance.
In the past, it had always been Hinata Hyuga who saw through his opponents' moves and effortlessly dodged them, but this time, the roles were completely reversed.
"You only see Akai's current agility and are unaware of what he has endured," said Obito, recalling the tragic experiences he and Might Guy had shared as he overheard the students' discussion.
Being hit once meant answering two questions. The battle began with dozens of questions, and one had to hit their opponent while avoiding being hit themselves to reduce the number of questions.
It was this terrifying training that forged Might Guy's extraordinary agility.
Obito still hadn't finished the questions from the previous issue.
"Damn it, what's going on?" Hinata Hyuga, who had been on the losing end the entire time, grew anxious.
He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way. Might Guy hadn't been this strong in their previous battle, yet his strength had increased so much after two months.
Hinata Hyuga, eager to turn the situation around, exposed more flaws in his technique.
Might Guy gathered his chakra in his legs and burst forth, seizing the opportunity to kick with his most potent move.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Bang!
The chakra-enhanced, high-speed spinning leg viciously kicked Hinata Hyuga, knocking him to the ground and rendering him incapable of continuing the fight.
"Candidate number four, Might Guy, wins!" the exam proctor announced Might Guy's victory.
All the proctors gave Might Guy a perfect score of ten for his exceptional taijutsu.
Hinata Hyuga's taijutsu score was nine-point-nine, but the teachers knew the gap between them was more significant than the mere 0.1 points.
"It's not easy to fight Hinata Hyuga, but thankfully, he didn't land a single Gentle Fist hit. Otherwise, it would've been disastrous," Ike Yuki said with a smile, already sensing the bonus within his grasp.
Hinata Hyuga's homeroom teacher opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.
"It looks like Might Guy will be this year's top student, having defeated Hinata Hyuga, who was first in the previous exam," the onlooking students commented, feeling that the outcome of the year's top student had already been decided.
"Not necessarily," countered Uchiha Tenka. "Uchiha Madara's Fire Release ninjutsu is formidable. Even if Might Guy has strong taijutsu, can he withstand Fire Release ninjutsu at this stage?"
Uchiha Tenka had lost to Madara in the practical exam for their class, so he hoped Madara would secure the top spot.
Soon, Madara proved Uchiha Tenka's words with his combat prowess.
The top student of Class Six, Hiromaku Tokonatsu, was effortlessly defeated by Madara.
Madara's powerful Fire Release and exceptional taijutsu established him as a strong contender for first place, surpassing the previously defeated Hinata Hyuga.
If not for the proctor's requirement to grade the exams, Ike Yuki would have already dragged Mu Yue to the izakaya for drinks.
With these two students, how could he worry about not getting a bonus or getting too little?
(End of Chapter)
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