The Hyuga clan's typical fighting style undoubtedly centers on close-quarters physical combat—at most, physical attacks laced with a touch of internal, chakra-based disruption via the Gentle Fist. In contrast, Shibi Aburame, relying on his swarms of kikaichu insects, could easily be classified as a ranged specialist. A "mage," in gamer terms.
There's no such thing as "class balance" in the shinobi world. Although Hizashi Hyuga, with his penetrating Byakugan, held an absolute advantage in intelligence gathering, detection, and predicting movements, this edge seemed difficult to translate directly into victory. In fact, the key to this battle likely depended entirely on whether Hizashi could effectively close the distance to Shibi.
This wasn't to say Shibi's taijutsu was poor. As an elite Jonin of Konoha, he certainly possessed above-average hand-to-hand skills. It was just… well, put it this way: unless he had a few screws loose, he definitely wouldn't want to engage in a close-quarters brawl against the Gentle Fist.
Maintaining mid-to-long range was Shibi's primary objective in this fight. He had every reason to understand kiting tactics.
Ordinarily, the power dynamic between these two elite Jonin wasn't clear-cut. In the unique profession of shinobi, the one who strikes first often holds a decisive advantage. From that perspective, a structured one-on-one duel in a defined arena was highly disadvantageous for the one "lacking reach"—namely, Hizashi Hyuga.
More importantly, before the battle even began, Shibi had, somewhat unscrupulously, downed a whole heap of "stimulants." Thus, the outcome of this contest was arguably already clear… Ahem, alright, perhaps storing one's own chakra "externally" and then directly ingesting it during combat doesn't technically count as using stimulants, right? The fairness of the battle was definitely still guaranteed.
Shibi Aburame didn't just produce chakra; he was practically a chakra delivery service.
Upon noticing Shibi's chakra intensity steadily increasing and the insect cloud around him growing denser, Hizashi recognized his disadvantageous position. No longer hesitating, he charged straight towards Shibi's location.
Clad in the traditional white robes of the Hyuga, Hizashi's figure flickered in and out of sight amidst the dense forest. Soon, he appeared within Shibi's direct line of sight.
Shibi focused his chakra, his hands flashing through seals. He began retreating, but the surrounding insect cloud surged upwards, rapidly expanding from its initially dense cluster.
The entire forest echoed with a skin-crawling buzz.
In an instant, the dense swarm of kikaichu enveloped the rapidly advancing Hizashi Hyuga. Hizashi knew that a protracted battle would put him at an even greater disadvantage; he absolutely could not let this insect cloud stop him.
Slightly reducing his speed but maintaining momentum, he spread his arms while continuing his advance, beginning to display the Hyuga clan's signature offensive technique:
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The flurry of precise palm strikes created chaotic ripples in the surrounding air, causing the kikaichu closest to his body to scatter instantly.
Then, Hizashi paused his steps for a fraction of a second before thrusting his arms forward with greater force and speed:
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"
A high-density blast of air shot forward like a cannonball, punching a large hole through the obstructing insect cloud. Immediately, he burst through the opening.
Though he seemed to be cutting a path through sparks and lightning, such an attack couldn't possibly evade all the kikaichu. A quick glance confirmed numerous insects had already latched onto him.
He was also puzzled. While his attack had undoubtedly crushed many insects, even more had merely been knocked to the ground, only to struggle for a moment before taking flight again. This phenomenon exceeded his understanding—kikaichu weren't known for their resilience; their threat lay in numbers and scale. Yet, insects that should have been killed by the impact hadn't died.
'I see… their life force increased along with their host's enhanced chakra, didn't it…' Hizashi quickly grasped the reason.
Shibi shifted his position, constantly moving through the forest. However, such visual obstruction was utterly useless against the Byakugan; it was wasted effort.
Hizashi wouldn't lose his target, but as the distance between him and Shibi shrank, his brow furrowed tighter… because he was about to enter the enemy's prepared "battlefield."
An even denser concentration of chakra points filled his vision.
As he closed within thirty meters of Shibi, countless kikaichu surged into the air! Faced with this, Hizashi stopped short, then, without hesitation, began to spin—"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
The Hyuga clan's "absolute defense" manifested. As his body rotated, unleashing a massive amount of chakra from his tenketsu, a huge sphere of blue chakra light enveloped and protected him.
The defensive power of Kaiten was undeniably strong, but the problem was its immense chakra consumption; it wasn't a technique that could be sustained for long. More importantly, once Hizashi started spinning, he couldn't easily stop.
The Kaiten was like a lightbulb by a riverbank in summer, attracting innumerable insects to swarm it relentlessly, moths drawn to a flame, heedless of their own lives.
With a constant crackling sound, large numbers of kikaichu were instantly obliterated by the rotation, but even more gathered, eventually turning the azure chakra sphere into a black ball.
Layer upon layer of kikaichu clung to the Kaiten, gradually absorbing Hizashi's chakra. If he stopped the technique, the insects would overwhelm him instantly. If he didn't stop, the Kaiten's drain combined with the insects' absorption would deplete his chakra just as quickly. It was a lose-lose situation.
The valiant cry of "I can take on ten!" meant little against the reality of "I am the Swarm."
Hizashi spun and spun until he simply couldn't spin anymore.
The buzzing of the kikaichu hadn't diminished in the slightest, but they didn't press the attack immediately. Having exhausted nearly eighty percent of his chakra, Hizashi stumbled, almost falling. After barely regaining his balance, he saw the insect cloud ahead part, revealing Shibi Aburame standing before him.
Hizashi supported himself with his left hand on his knee, raising his right hand flatly. "I concede. Your skill was superior."
Shibi offered a slight smile, then extended a hand to help Hizashi up. This wasn't a life-or-death battle; ultimately, they were both shinobi of the same village.
"Superior skill?" Shibi shook his head slightly. He certainly wouldn't feel complacent about defeating Hizashi, knowing how he'd won. "It might have looked like you were fighting me, but in reality, you were fighting against an entire organization…"
Losing was normal; winning would have been extraordinary… Shibi didn't voice the second part of that thought.
An entire organization directly supported Shibi's combat efforts; his victory was practically assured.
After securing this minor victory, Shibi helped Hizashi leave the battlefield. However, the reception wasn't one of congratulations, but rather… well, when Shibi returned, both Habara and Kakashi silently took a step back, distancing themselves from him.
Shibi, naturally, didn't care about micro-expressions like "are you holding back that step?", but Habara and Kakashi's decision to temporarily keep their distance from their teammate, stemming from a certain visceral discomfort, was entirely genuine.
The fact that the Aburame clan hosted vast numbers of kikaichu within special containers and their own bodies was one thing. What truly made one's skin crawl and scalp tingle was another fact… For every kikaichu Shibi hosted, there were thousands upon thousands more insect eggs within him.
With sufficient chakra stimulation, these eggs could rapidly "hatch," which was why the insects seemed inexhaustible.
Habara glanced at Shibi, unable to resist speaking up. "Aburame-senpai, maybe try going to bed early and waking up early from now on."
Shibi tilted his head, marked by question marks. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Someone in your condition… doesn't look like they'll live long."
Shibi: "…"
People who mess around with pranks tend not to live long, let alone those who cultivate parasites inside themselves, Habara mused.
The first battle was practically a blitzkrieg, unfolding without much drama and at a faster pace than a typical fight. The actual combat lasted less than ten minutes. However, this didn't mean all matches would conclude so quickly. This was just a Jonin competition, after all, not a fight to the death, and there was no real urgency. In such circumstances, some participants might prefer to take things slow, and that was perfectly fine.
Consequently, only five matches were held on the first day. At this rate, the first round alone would take four days, and completing the entire tournament would require at least a week. Honestly, it felt somewhat sluggish; Jonin's time was valuable. However, considering it wasn't wartime, and defeated Jonin could immediately return to their duties—seamlessly resuming their roles as tools—sacrificing a week wasn't entirely unacceptable.
Among the three participants from their group, after Shibi defeated Hizashi on day one, Kakashi also secured an easy victory against his opponent on day two. Habara, however, had drawn a lucky spot in the bracket. He'd been able to slack off until the very last day of the first round, scheduled for the second-to-last match.
This was, by standard definition, the "main event" slot.
For this kind of internal village battle, he saw no need to stir up trouble. Thus, he decided to follow the strategy employed by his two senpai from the organization… He walked straight to the center of the battlefield, making no attempt to hide or evade, openly waiting for his opponent to arrive.
His opponent seemed quite reasonable. Seeing Habara's straightforward approach, he reciprocated, walking out to meet him without much hesitation.
Habara was certain he hadn't interacted much with this ninja before, yet the man looked vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen him somewhere.
Upon seeing Habara, the opponent didn't rush into combat either, instead offering a greeting first.
"Habara-jonin. It's been a while."
"Er…"
Where have I even met you before? Habara thought.
"Since the Nine-Tails Incident," the man clarified, seemingly understanding Habara's confusion. "I didn't expect our first formal meeting would be under these circumstances… Regardless, I must first offer you my thanks."
For certain reasons, the damage caused by the Nine-Tails Incident hadn't been as catastrophic as it could have been. The contributions of certain individuals naturally earned them some gratitude.
"Right… uh, your name?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Shinku Yuhi."
Habara: "…"
"Is there a problem?"
"Right, well… you should also try to get to bed early and wake up early."