Chapter 24: Shattered Pride
Fissure!
The moment Shinra's fist clenched, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ignited. A terrifying, shimmering white aura sheathed his knuckles and he drove it forward, meeting Hyuga Tensho's incoming right palm head-on.
CRACK!
Not the sound of flesh on flesh, but the sharp, clear shattering of solid air. The space between their hands fractured like glass, a web of white light erupting and instantly crawling up Tensho's arm.
CRUNCH!
A second, wetter, more visceral crack.
This time, it wasn't the air.
It was bone.
"AAAGH!!! My arm! MY ARM!!!"
A scream of pure, unadulterated agony ripped through the arena, shredding the tense silence. Hyuga Tensho's expression transformed from vengeful fury to one of absolute, soul-deep horror and disbelief. His face drained of all color, twisting into a grotesque mask of pain.
BOOM!!!
The outcome was never in doubt.
Hyuga Tensho, the proud heir who had stood defiant a second before, was launched off his feet as if hit by a runaway train.
THUD-CRACK!
His body flew through the air in a limp arc before slamming, back-first, into the solid stone wall encircling the arena with a sickening crunch. He slid down, leaving a smear on the rock, and collapsed in a heap on the ground. A final, wet cough sprayed blood across the dirt before he fell utterly still, unconscious.
If a jounin took that punch head-on, the best they could hope for was severe injury. For a genin-level fighter, even a prodigious one, it was a force beyond comprehension. Only Shinra's restraint—pulling the tremor's power at the last microsecond—had prevented Tensho's internal organs from being liquefied. It was the difference between a brutal defeat and a coffin.
One move.
He had done exactly what he'd said he would.
For several heartbeats, the massive arena was a tomb. Not a cough, not a rustle of clothing, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
In the VIP stands, the Hokage, the clan heads—all sat frozen, expressions locked in identical masks of profound shock.
"Im… impossible…"
"How can he be that strong?!"
"What was that white light?! It shattered the Gentle Fist!"
Finally, a jounin spectator broke the silence, his voice a hushed, disbelieving whisper.
Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga Main Family, shot to his feet, his chair screeching back. A palpable, icy pressure—the killing intent of a true elite—radiated from him, causing everyone nearby to flinch and tremble, their faces pale.
"Hmph! Useless!" Hiashi snarled, his voice dripping with venomous contempt. He glared at the unconscious form of his son, then at the calm boy in the ring. With a furious flick of his sleeves, he turned and stormed out of the stands.
The disgrace was intolerable. His heir, the pride of the Main Family, had been publicly humiliated, defeated in a single blow by a rootless orphan. It was a blow to the clan's prestige he could not bear to witness.
His departure seemed to break a dam.
The arena exploded.
The suppressed shock, the disbelief, erupted into a deafening roar. Faces flushed with excitement, every eye wide with awe, fixed on Shinra.
"A ONE-HIT KO! BY THE SAGE!"
"UNBELIEVABLE! HE'S MONSTROUSLY STRONG!"
"MOTHER, WHAT DID I JUST SEE?! HYUGA TENSHO GOT ONE-PUNCHED!!!"
The cries shook the very foundations of the stadium.
And at the center of the storm, Shinra stood utterly calm. To him, it had been the simplest thing in the world. Basic physics. Nothing flashy.
The referee, finally shaking off his own stupor, glanced at the unmoving Tensho and raised his arm, his voice booming over the din. "Winner… SHINRA!"
Unhurried, unruffled, Shinra turned and began walking back towards the contestant area, towards where Kushina stood.
"WOW! SHINRA, YOU WERE AMAZING!!"
"SHINRA-KUN, YOU'RE SO HANDSOME! I COULD DIE! COME TO MY HOUSE TONIGHT, I'LL MAKE YOU NOODLES!"
"SHINRA-SAMA! NO… SHINRA-DONO! SO COOL! SO DOMINEERING!"
His fan club had reached a fever pitch of hysterical adoration, nearly mobbing him before he could reach Kushina.
Faced with the wall of screaming praise, Shinra could only offer an awkward, slightly embarrassed grin and scratch the back of his head.
"Basic stuff, really! Nothing special, nothing special! Please, everyone, take your seats!"
He waved them down with a gesture that was both dismissive and charming, trying to navigate the chaos his single punch had wrought.
(End of Chapter)
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