"Oh, so it's you," Inuzuka Chi sneered when he saw Kirito's face. "The famous failure of the Hyuga clan."
For a moment he found the face familiar, then quickly remembered—the laughingstock of the noble clan circle.
"Heh."
Kirito didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled faintly.
"Are you sure it's wise to say that in front of so many people?" he said calmly.
"What if you lose? You might end up looking for a hole to crawl into."
"Hah!"
Chi laughed angrily.
"Don't worry. The miracle you're fantasizing about will never happen."
He waved his hand impatiently.
"Do it."
"Got it, boss!"
One of Chi's companions immediately rushed forward, reaching for Kirito's face with his bare hand.
His plan was simple—
grab Kirito's head and slam his face into the ground, ending the fight instantly.
Fast. Brutal. Satisfying.
Yet Kirito barely reacted.
He simply stepped slightly to the side.
The hand missed him completely.
"…"
The attacker grew annoyed.
He lunged again, this time using both arms to grab Kirito.
But once again—
Kirito moved only slightly.
No wasted motion.
Just enough to evade the attack perfectly.
"Damn it! Coward! All you do is dodge!"
Frustrated, the man attacked wildly—hands and feet flying, determined to grab Kirito.
Yet even in such close quarters—
none of the attacks touched Kirito even slightly.
Kirito calmly commented:
"Slow movements. No technique at all."
"Are you really a ninja?"
He suddenly spotted an opening.
Kirito knocked aside the incoming arm with a palm strike, then extended two fingers and jabbed sharply into a pressure point on the man's waist.
"Ugh!"
The attacker stumbled forward several steps.
He clutched the spot Kirito had struck.
His body felt numb and painfully tingling.
"You bastard!"
The man threw a punch.
Kirito turned sideways, dodging it easily.
Then his fingers suddenly locked onto the opponent's wrist joint.
At the same time, two fingers from his other hand stabbed another hidden pressure point beneath the right chest.
Half of the man's body instantly went numb.
Kirito flipped him over and slammed him to the ground.
---
Hinata watched in shock.
Subconsciously, she thought Kirito was using the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist technique.
But something was different.
The Gentle Fist normally required the Byakugan to see chakra points.
"Gentle Fist without the Byakugan?" Chi said with slight surprise. "Interesting."
Kirito remained silent.
In reality, the technique he used was only similar to Gentle Fist.
The Hyuga clan attacked chakra points using the Byakugan.
But Kirito attacked them because he already knew their locations.
As an assassin, his abilities granted him deep knowledge of the human body structure.
He didn't need to see the points.
He simply knew where they were—and struck them with perfect accuracy.
---
"Let's see how that works against the Inuzuka clan's Beast Human Taijutsu!"
Chi formed a special hand seal.
Then he crouched down on all fours.
His fingernails suddenly grew long and sharp, and his fangs protruded slightly.
Before Kirito could react—
Slash!
A tearing sound echoed.
Five claw marks appeared on Kirito's left shoulder.
His clothes had been shredded.
"Not bad," Chi smirked, shaking off bits of cloth stained with blood.
Then he leapt forward again like a hunting beast.
Kirito's lips moved slightly.
At that moment—
a faint golden flash flickered near his feet.
It was almost like an illusion.
Whoosh!
Chi's attack missed completely.
"Hm?"
Chi frowned.
"Your speed… suddenly increased?"
"But I can go even faster!"
He turned sharply and lunged again like a cheetah striking its prey.
---
"Kirito… big brother…"
Watching from the side, Hinata clenched her hands nervously.
Kirito appeared to be completely on the defensive.
He kept dodging Chi's relentless attacks.
Yet his expression remained calm.
He quietly murmured numbers under his breath.
"1 second."
"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Chi taunted.
"2 seconds."
"Let's see how long you can keep running!"
"3 seconds."
"When I catch you, I'll break those fast legs of yours!"
"4 seconds."
Chi kept pressing him backward.
Eventually he cornered Kirito against a wall.
There was no space left to dodge.
"Game over," Chi sneered. "The cat-and-mouse game ends here."
"5 seconds."
At that moment—
the passive effect of the Boots of Swift Movement activated.
After 5 seconds without taking damage, Kirito gained an additional burst of speed.
Whoosh!
Suddenly—
Kirito vanished.
"Wha—?!"
Chi froze.
Before he could react—
Kirito appeared behind him.
Kirito slowly raised a finger.
A light tap struck the back of Chi's head.
The next moment—
the arrogant Chi collapsed face-first onto the ground.
---
The entire dojo fell silent.
Everyone stared with their mouths open.
No one could believe what they had just seen.
Hyuga Kirito, the so-called disgrace of the clan—
had defeated Chi with overwhelming ease.
Chi might have been arrogant, but he was still known to be one of the top three students in the Ninja Academy two years ago.
He had even participated in the Chunin Exams before.
Yet he had been defeated effortlessly.
---
"You arrogant brat!"
Chi's last remaining companion lost his temper.
Seeing both of his teammates defeated by someone younger, he pulled out a ninja sword and rushed toward Kirito.
The spectators were stunned.
No one expected a dojo sparring match to escalate into real weapons.
For a moment, no one reacted in time to stop him.
"Kirito! Watch out behind you!" Hinata shouted in panic.
Yet Kirito stood completely still.
As if he hadn't heard her.
The attacker swung his blade down.
Just as the tip was about to hit—
Clang!
A clear metallic sound echoed.
A broken piece of blade flew through the air in an arc before landing on the ground.
The attacker stood frozen.
The ninja sword in his hand had been cut in half.
Only then did people notice—
Kirito was now holding a long katana.
No one had seen when he drew it.
No one had seen when he struck.
By the time they realized what happened—
Kirito had already sheath his sword.
---
If you'd like, I can also translate Chapter 17 next, which is interesting because:
This fight spreads Kirito's reputation across Konoha
The Hyuga clan reacts to his strength
And someone very important from the village leadership starts paying closer attention to him.