Chapter 20: Battle Against Hyuga and Uchiha
Yamamoto Ryusei, Yamashita So, and Komiya Yuki were walking home. Ryusei said to the dejected So, "Their foundations are better than yours, so it's normal to lose. But you have indeed been slacking lately. For the next few days, you need to study hard and practice your shuriken, otherwise, what will you do if you really can't pass the re-test in five days and have to repeat the year?"
"I know, Big Brother," So replied沮丧地.
Ryusei then said to Yuki, "Yuki, you and So head back first. I'm going to go learn ninjutsu."
Yuki and So knew that Ryusei was learning from Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. "Alright then, Ryusei-nii, we'll head back," Yuki said. "Remember to come to my house the day after tomorrow for my birthday." She then left with So.
When Yuki and So were far enough away, Ryusei spoke to the woods behind him. "Come on out. What are you two following me for?"
Two figures emerged from the forest. One was Uchiha Kagami, and the other was Hyuga Natsuki.
Kagami looked eager to fight. "To be honest, I just want to spar with you."
"I want another look at that taijutsu you used against Danzo," Natsuki said, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.
Ryusei gave a teasing look. "To receive a challenge from both the great Uchiha and Hyuga clans... it truly is an honor of three lifetimes for a commoner like me."
"Commoner? The moment Lord Madara and Lord Hashirama began to teach you, you were no longer a commoner," Kagami said, activating his Sharingan and staring at Ryusei. "Besides, I want to see for myself what Lord Madara sees in you."
"So you want to test my strength." Ryusei looked at Hyuga Natsuki. "Natsuki, you should activate your Byakugan. Otherwise, you won't be able to see me clearly."
The veins at the corners of Natsuki's eyes bulged as he activated his Byakugan. "What, you want to fight me first?"
"No," Ryusei said arrogantly. "You two can come at me together."
Kagami's and Natsuki's faces instantly darkened. "How arrogant, Ryusei. You underestimate us too much."
"You'll see in a moment." Ryusei's figure vanished, reappearing directly in front of Kagami. He threw a punch that sent Kagami flying.
He vanished again, then threw a punch at Natsuki, but it was blocked. "Ryusei," Natsuki said, "although your speed is great, you always move in a straight line. Your attack direction is easy to predict."
"Oh? Then let's see you try now." Ryusei used Soru again, but this time he increased his speed significantly. He would strike from Natsuki's side one moment, then attack from another the next. It looked as if several Ryuseis were besieging him at once.
Natsuki was finding it harder and harder to fend him off. Just as his defense was about to be broken, Kagami jumped in and threw a punch at Ryusei. The fist passed right through Ryusei's head. The figure of Ryusei before them slowly faded and disappeared.
Boom!
A sharp pain shot through Kagami's shoulder as a powerful kick sent him flying into Natsuki. The two of them rolled several meters away.
Ryusei stood nearby and said to Kagami, "Kagami, a one-tomoe Sharingan can't keep up with my speed."
Kagami climbed up from the ground. "Then two tomoe will have to do." He looked at Ryusei, the two tomoe in each of his eyes shining brilliantly.
Ryusei was a bit speechless. He had just acted cool for a second, and he was already proven wrong. Are you the real protagonist here, Uchiha Kagami?
Natsuki got up from the ground. "Ryusei, what is that taijutsu?"
"It's Soru, something I invented," Ryusei said proudly. "It's pure taijutsu, no chakra required."
"No wonder Lord Madara values you so much. But..." Kagami's spirit rekindled. "Let's have a second round!"
The three of them were once again locked in battle. Although Natsuki and Kagami still had some trouble keeping up with Ryusei's speed, with their teamwork, they were now able to trade blows with him.
Kagami formed hand seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A ball of fire rushed towards Ryusei, who simply ran around it and charged at Kagami again.
Kagami struggled to defend himself and was about to be overwhelmed.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!" Natsuki blocked Kagami's path and attacked Ryusei with his Gentle Fist.
Pak, pak, pak, pak, pak!
Ryusei's hands erupted with high-quality chakra, and he met Natsuki's Gentle Fist head-on with his own.
"How is that possible?" Natsuki's Gentle Fist had no effect at all. He was so stunned that he began to doubt his life. In that moment of hesitation, Ryusei punched him in the face, sending him flying into a tree, where he lay motionless.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Kagami spat out a dozen fireballs that formed a net of flames, surrounding Ryusei.
"Rankyaku!" Ryusei kicked towards the Phoenix Sage Fire. A huge slash of air tore through the fire net and continued towards Kagami with undiminished force.
Seeing the slash cut through the flames and fly straight at him, Kagami immediately used a Body Flicker to escape.
Boom!
The flying slash slammed into the ground, kicking up dirt several meters high and leaving a fissure in the earth.
Thump!
Ryusei struck Kagami in the abdomen. Kagami clutched his stomach, curled up like a cooked shrimp, and collapsed.
It was half an hour later when Natsuki woke up. He saw Kagami and Ryusei grilling fish.
Natsuki rubbed his swollen left cheek, walked over to the bonfire, sat down, picked up a cooked fish, and started eating.
After finishing the fish, Natsuki tossed the bones into the fire and asked Kagami, "You lost?"
Kagami, chewing on a fish with a swollen right cheek, replied, "Yeah. Lost."
Natsuki asked Ryusei with some embarrassment, "How did you manage to block my Gentle Fist with your bare hands? You don't have to say if it involves a secret technique."
Ryusei threw the fish bones from his own meal away and stretched lazily. "There's really no secret. Your Gentle Fist mainly works by injecting chakra into the human body. But if I just erupt with chakra of a higher quality than yours, I can block your chakra."
Natsuki was dejected. "So the Gentle Fist can be broken that easily?"
"It's not that simple," Ryusei continued. "If your chakra quality was higher than mine, I wouldn't be able to defend against it. And when I blocked your Gentle Fist just now, I used more than ten times the amount of chakra you did. If you hadn't hesitated, I would have been the one to lose."
Kagami looked at Ryusei with a strange expression. I'll believe you, my foot. You would have lost? That final taijutsu kick alone is enough to make you unbeatable.
Natsuki, however, was very happy. His spirits were revived, and he ate several more fish in a row.
After the three finished eating, they put out the bonfire and went their separate ways.
Back home, Ryusei drew a picture and then went to Yamashita So's shop.
Only So's mother, Yamashita Eeko, was in the shop, which mostly sold cloth, with a small section for finished clothes. They also took custom orders.
"Ryusei, you're here! So went out to play; he'll be back in a bit," Eeko greeted him.
Ryusei bowed. "Auntie Eeko, I'm not here to see So. I came to see you. Can you see if you can make this dress?"
Ryusei handed her the drawing.
"Wow... this is beautiful! Did you draw this? Is it for Yuki? Wait... I think I've seen this drawing style somewhere before." Eeko began searching under her counter. "Found it! You drew this one too, right?"
She handed a drawing to Ryusei. It was the blueprint for Sun Wukong's battle armor.
Ryusei nodded. "Yes, I drew that."
Eeko stroked the two drawings. "Ryusei, you draw so well. But why did you have to draw that for So? It made me use such good materials to make it. I lost a lot of money."
Ryusei was speechless. "Auntie, you never thought of making more to sell?"
Eeko's spirits immediately lifted. "This can be sold? Will people buy it?"
"They will," Ryusei said with certainty. "Today, our classmates saw So wearing it and wanted to buy one."
"Alright then! I'll make a few sets to sell!" Eeko looked at the new drawing. "Ryusei, can I sell this one too? I'll give you a cut of the profits."
Ryusei nodded. "You can sell it. But don't worry about giving me a cut. Just please help me make this dress by tomorrow so I can give it to Yuki."
"Of course, no problem," Eeko said confidently. "Come and pick it up tomorrow afternoon. And from now on, Auntie will take care of all your family's clothes, free of charge."
"Thank you so much, Auntie. I'll have to trouble you to make more clothes for me in the future."
"No problem at all! Just leave it to Auntie!" Eeko said happily.
"Then I'll be heading back." After saying goodbye to Eeko, Ryusei went home.