Chapter 568: Pretty Fast, Aren’t You?

Chapter 568: Chapter 568: Pretty Fast, Aren’t You?

By now, Hizashi had completely cast aside his worries about Kagami, becoming utterly absorbed in Kagami’s simple yet fierce taijutsu style.

Before entering battle, members of the Hyuga clan would typically assume a Gentle Fist stance, then rigidly follow its established forms when fighting all manner of enemies.

Having been refined over countless generations, the Hyuga clan’s Gentle Fist had already approached perfection. In terms of taijutsu, it was more than capable of dealing with the vast majority of opponents.

However, it was precisely because of this ’perfection’ that the Gentle Fist had to maintain a sufficiently balanced and moderate approach to accommodate all kinds of unexpected situations and unusual taijutsu styles.

Yet the line between moderation and mediocrity was often razor-thin!

Moderation could raise the Gentle Fist’s lower limit, ensuring that it would not be countered by some peculiar taijutsu style. But at the same time, moderation also restricted its upper limit, depriving the Gentle Fist of the two most essential qualities of taijutsu—ferocity and flexibility!

Even before today, Hizashi had experienced his own moments of uncertainty.

The Uchiha clan’s prestige was growing with each passing day, while the Hyuga clan’s reputation was nowhere near what it once had been.

He could not see what future lay ahead for the Gentle Fist. All he could do was wander within the circle drawn by his ancestors, searching for a path forward that did not actually exist.

But after witnessing Kagami’s battle today, he finally began to understand something.

The Gentle Fist was both the foundation upon which the Hyuga clan had built its existence and the cage that imprisoned its growth!

...

On the battlefield.

Bang!

With a sweeping kick, Kagami sent the seventh Uchiha jonin crashing to the ground.

The man’s head struck the ground, leaving him battered and bleeding as he fell unconscious.

Immediately afterward, he grabbed the bloodied Uchiha jonin by his feet and tossed him onto the pile of unconscious Uchiha jonin nearby, all while turning his gaze toward the last Uchiha jonin still standing.

"You... you..."

The sole remaining Uchiha jonin stammered as he backed away.

Just moments ago, right before his very eyes, Kagami had defeated his last two companions using nothing but taijutsu.

He had never imagined that pure taijutsu could be so terrifying!

Kagami slowly approached him and smiled. "What exactly are you trying to say? If you surrender, I wouldn’t mind letting you off the hook!"

Seeing the composed expression on Kagami’s face, which had remained unchanged from beginning to end, the last Uchiha jonin roared furiously, "Come on, then! I’m a noble Uchiha! I’m not afraid of you!"

The moment those words left his mouth, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and his eyelids suddenly became unbearably heavy.

Poof...

At the same time, the Kagami standing before him vanished into a puff of white smoke, which dispersed with the wind.

"A Shadow Clone? When did he...? How did I not notice anything...?"

His body swayed, and the last standing Uchiha finally lost consciousness, collapsing unwillingly to the ground.

Kagami, who had used a Shadow Clone to distract his opponent while his real body stealthily moved behind him to launch a surprise attack, bent down and picked up the final unconscious Uchiha jonin.

He walked over to the pile and casually tossed him onto it as well.

Looking at the pile of seven unconscious Uchiha jonin stacked in the middle of the street, the Hyuga clansmen lining both sides of the avenue stood with their mouths hanging open, their faces filled with disbelief.

It was as though everything unfolding before their eyes was nothing more than an unreal dream.

The fierce battle everyone had anticipated never happened. Instead, what they witnessed was a completely one-sided beatdown—an overwhelming display of superiority in both taijutsu and tactics.

Rei was equally dumbfounded. "When did Kagami become this strong without me even noticing? Back when we were at the Ninja Academy, he couldn’t even beat me!"

Beside her, Neji gazed at Kagami with admiration, thinking to himself, "Sensei really is the strongest member of our Hyuga clan! I was such a fool! How could I have admitted defeat so easily?! Sasuke, your Uchiha clan isn’t invincible! Just you wait! I’ll definitely show you the true strength of our Hyuga clan!"

In front of the main family’s residence, Hiashi, the clan head, stared at Kagami, who had effortlessly dealt with eight Uchiha jonin, his face filled with surprise.

Kagami’s strength had far exceeded his expectations.

Others might not have noticed, but Hiashi had caught something important: throughout the entire battle, Kagami had not even activated his Byakugan!

"Defeating eight Uchiha jonin without using your Byakugan or any advanced Gentle Fist techniques... Kagami, you’ve really given me quite a shock!"

As he marveled at this, Hiashi could not help recalling the various recommendations Kagami had once made to the clan.

Just then, the leading Uchiha jonin, the one Kagami had kicked away at the very beginning and sent crashing into a low wall, shook his head and staggered to his feet, still dizzy.

Standing quietly before the pile of unconscious Uchiha, Kagami turned his head and glanced at him, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

Kagami had not held back much with that initial kick.

Logically speaking, even with the physique of a jonin, the man should have remained unconscious for at least an hour or two.

He had not expected the other party to regain consciousness so quickly.

Clearly, this man’s physique had already surpassed that of an ordinary jonin. He was quite an exceptional fellow.

Feeling the gazes of the surrounding Hyuga clansmen upon him and recalling how Kagami had sent him flying with a single kick, the leading Uchiha, now fully conscious, was overwhelmed with shame and humiliation.

And when he saw the pile of his seven unconscious companions beside Kagami, his humiliation turned into a mixture of shock and fury.

"HYUGA KAGAMI! I’LL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!"

Boom!

In his towering rage, the leading Uchiha’s chakra erupted from his body in an instant.

Immediately afterward, his figure blurred, and accompanied by a piercing shriek, he lunged straight at Kagami!

"So fast!"

Hearing the piercing shriek beside their ears, almost like a sonic boom, many of the weaker Hyuga clansmen hurriedly covered their ears.

At the same time, every member of the Hyuga clan inwardly marveled at the man’s speed. Even Hiashi, the clan head standing before the main family’s residence, was no exception.

Only at this moment did the Hyuga clansmen remember that the people who had come to provoke them were no ordinary opponents.

They were jonin-level experts!

And not just any jonin, but jonin of the Uchiha clan, a clan renowned throughout the shinobi world!

A wave of apprehension instantly surged through the hearts of every Hyuga clansman, and everyone instinctively turned their gaze toward Kagami, who stood quietly before the pile of unconscious Uchiha.

Amid the intertwining sonic boom and surging air currents, the Uchiha leader charged toward Kagami like a shockwave!

The tremendous blast of air swept outward in every direction, causing the weaker or more timid Hyuga clansmen to instinctively close their eyes, unable to bear watching the heart-stopping scene before them.

However, the earth-shattering collision everyone had anticipated never occurred.

The sonic boom accompanying the leading Uchiha’s charge abruptly came to a halt!

For a moment, the Hyuga clansmen were utterly bewildered.

Then, when they finally came back to their senses, all they saw was Kagami holding the leading Uchiha by the throat, muttering softly to himself:

"Mm, pretty fast, aren’t you?"

Immediately afterward, he casually tossed the Uchiha leader onto the pile of unconscious bodies beside him...