Chapter 23: One Punch
With the chief examiner's announcement, the energy in the arena crackled to a new, fever-pitch intensity.
In the VIP seating, figures of immense influence watched: Danzo, Sarutobi clan elders, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi… Konoha's power structure was on display. The scale rivaled a Chunin Exam.
And every single eye was fixed on the central ring.
Shinra walked forward, calm amidst the roaring waves of cheers, his expression unchanged as he took his place.
Opposite him stood Hyuga Tensho, son of the Hyuga Main Family's head—a true prodigy by any measure.
"To think someone like you made it to the top eight… truly unexpected," Tensho said, his voice laced with open derision.
"Hah. I didn't expect to meet someone so idiotic either," Shinra shot back without missing a beat, his tone icy.
"What did you say?!" Tensho's composure, the product of strict clan discipline, fractured. His brow furrowed, a resentful glare fixing on Shinra.
"I said you're an idiot. Having trouble hearing? Are you deaf and stupid?" Shinra's smirk was pure, unadulterated provocation.
Hyuga Tensho saw red. The Hyuga prized order and formality. In a battle of vulgar taunts, he was hopelessly outclassed.
"You bastard! Do you really think beating Masaki Uchiha by sheer luck makes you invincible?!" he snarled, his annoyance boiling over.
"Oh? But I do feel invincible," Shinra replied, his mocking smile widening. "Want to test that theory?"
The sheer, brazen arrogance of the statement left Tensho momentarily speechless, choking on his own fury.
"Hmph!" he recovered, forcing a sneer. "As far as I know, you don't know a single offensive ninjutsu, do you?"
His Byakugan, already active at a low level, seemed to pierce through Shinra, seeking weaknesses.
Shinra's brow twitched slightly. He didn't refute it. It was true. Beyond the Academy Three, he had no formal ninjutsu.
"A waste who can't use ninjutsu will always be a waste!" Tensho declared, his pride swelling. "How can the refined taijutsu of my Hyuga clan be compared to the wild flailing of a monkey like you?"
His words were a direct hit to Shinra's known limitations. In the stands, Mikoto and Kushina's expressions tightened. He wasn't wrong. The Hyuga's Gentle Fist, enhanced by the all-seeing Byakugan, was a nightmarish counter to pure taijutsu specialists. In close combat, they were arguably peerless.
This was Tensho's trap, and he'd sprung it with glee.
Shinra just smiled coldly. Then, unhurriedly, he raised his right hand, extending three fingers.
"Three seconds," he stated, his voice flat, cutting through the arena's noise. "No. One move. I'll knock you out of the ring in one move."
The sheer, unadulterated audacity of the claim created a vacuum of silence.
Then the arena erupted.
Shinra's fan club went into hysterics.
"AHH! Shinra-kun is so cool!"
"That's so domineering! I… I think I'm gonna faint!"
"Hmph! An arrogant brat who doesn't know his place!" In the stands, Hyuga Hiashi, the Main Family head, frowned deeply, displeasure evident on his stern face.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a slight, internal sigh. His estimation of Shinra's tactical mind dipped a few points. Winning against Tensho would be hard enough. One move? That wasn't confidence; it was foolish bravado.
"First match… begin!"
The moment the examiner's call faded, the enraged Tensho moved. The insult had crystallized his fury into pure, focused intent.
"Byakugan! Open!"
Chakra surged to his eyes. The veins around them bulged prominently. The legendary Doujutsu, with its near-360-degree vision, superhuman sight, and chakra-point perception, was fully online.
Shunshin!
Tensho adopted the Gentle Fist opening stance, then exploded forward, covering the distance to Shinra in a blink, his palms aimed with lethal precision.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms! Die!"
He was beyond holding back. He launched the Hyuga's signature, fearsome technique—a rapid, inescapable barrage designed to shut down an opponent's chakra network with surgical strikes. At close range, against a fellow taijutsu user, it was considered nearly unbeatable.
"A shame. The boy is talented, but his pride will be his downfall against a Hyuga…"
"Too green. Needs more tempering."
The veteran shinobi in the audience murmured their judgments, already writing Shinra off. Even Kushina, who believed in him fiercely, clenched her fists, her face etched with worry.
And then, Shinra did the unthinkable.
As Tensho's palm-strike hurricane closed in, the air whistling around his furious blows…
Shinra didn't move.
He stood his ground, not even bracing, as if rooted to the spot.
The wind pressure from the advancing assault whipped at his hair.
Only when the first strike was a hair's breadth from his face did he finally act.
He stepped forward. His right arm rose.
Still as a mountain, then swift as thunder.
A mocking sneer played on his lips as he met Tensho's furious Byakugan gaze head-on, his own eyes filled with nothing but utter contempt.
Fissure.
He threw a punch.
It was the simplest, most fundamental movement in combat. Utterly crude. There were no flourishes, no intricate steps, no attempt to match the Hyuga's famed technique.
He just stepped and threw his weight behind his fist.
It didn't matter what legendary clan you came from, what centuries of refined technique you wielded, what supreme Doujutsu you possessed.
He, Shinra, only needed one thing.
One punch to shatter it all.
(End of Chapter)
✨Enjoying the story? You can support me on Patreon —
Patreon.com/MizuSan
✨ Patreon members get early chapter access, bonus content! 🥰
🎉 Plus, I'll release 1 extra chapter for every 5 reviews!💎 Or grab 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones you send my way! 🥳
🌊 Let's reach 20 Patreon members to unlock 5 extra chapters together!