Chapter 10

The kick was loud enough to ring around the entire stage, which made sense considering Reid put a lot of his strength behind it.

Haze stood still, eyes wide in shock as he mentally replayed what just happened. He couldn't wrap his head around it. He had gone through many simulations in his head about how this fight would go and they always ended with a flawless victory.

So why…

'It's impossible! He shouldn't have been able to dodge that, let alone land his own hit. It was simply impossible!'

'I saved most of my aura for this exact moment. With the boost from my aura he shouldn't have been a challenge at all!'

While Haze was going through a mental crisis, Reid was screaming curses in his head. His opponent had aura which changes things considerably.

Seeing that after spending his stat points, he now had the advantage in speed. He had planned to weave around his punches and jabs while throwing in hits of his own but that seemed almost pointless now.

His aura would block all of the hits and allow him to hit back with worries. The only reason his kick sent him that far back was mostly because of the angle he hit him.

'Tch…this just became a lot more difficult. I can't go on the offenses because his aura would simply shield him and I can't put my all into every hit because it'll leave me wide open. Then…'

He watched as Haze seemed to be gathering himself, the expression on his face still being one of shock.

'I won't let you ruin this for me! I won't lose to you!!!' Haze screamed internally as he prepared to rush Reid once more.

Reid who saw this, readied himself for what was going to happen. Haze rushed forward, intent on utterly pummeling him. Reid dodged a punch by tilting his body away from it before lashing out in return with a back.

He felt Haze's aura protect him as he leapt backwards, dodging the hand that tried to grab him and also creating space between them.

'My only would be to rely on counterattacks and hit and run tactics until I break his aura. Judging from the way he tanks hits without worry, he's confident in his aura so he probably doesn't monitor it so he it'll take some time before he noticed what I'm doing.'

These were Reid's thoughts while dodging another attack, landings one of his own and then ducking out of there.

This hit and run tactic went on for over fifteen minutes and not only had he yet to break Haze's aura, his opponent hadn't reduced his momentum for even a moment.

He was forced to change his strategy. Instead of relying on breaking his aura, he decided to lure him to the edge of the stage. Making it look like he was forced to the edge of the white boundary line, he saw as Haze let out a cruel grin.

"There's no escape for you!" He yelled, aiming a kick at Reid's chest. At the last second, Reid jumped over Haze, a smirk clearly seen on his face as he kicked towards his opponent's head.

'There's no way he can-! Impossible!' His eyes bulged as Haze dodged the seemingly unavoidable kick. Immediately gathering his bearings, backed away from an incoming swipe at his face.

'He shouldn't have been able to dodge that! And by the looks of it, he also seems surprised…'

No matter how much he tried to hide it, it was obvious to Reid that even Haze himself didn't know how he dodged it, evident by the brief look of surprise on his face before it turned to confidence once again.

'What the hell is going on!?' He ranted internally, looking at Haze who was now reveling in his ability. He cursed as a now very confident Haze charged at him, this time taking a rather wide swipe at him which was easily dodged. His attempt at a counterattack was also dodged by Haze's body unnaturally twisting out of the way.

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Haze's mother, Vivian, was watching the fight with a cruel grin. She was enjoying the sight of her son dominating this match against Reid.

His victory would look good for them, showing people that the 'genius son' of the matriarch was nothing compared to her own child. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice a figure standing behind her.

"You seem to be having fun there, Vivian." The figure said, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned to see the Uchiha clan's matriarch standing behind her with a gentle smile.

"Of course. It's not everyday we get to see the progress of the new generation right in front of us." Vivian replied with a confident smile that was closer to one of mockery.

"Is that so?" She asked rhetorically, her smile not dropping in the slightest. Either the matriarch didn't notice or she just didn't care, she ignored it.

"In that case, I would ask you to stop interfering with the fight." She continued casually, not giving Vivian a chance to answer.

"What are you talking abou-" Vivian's voice got stuck in her throat as she looked at the matriarch's now red eyes and emotionless face.

"Do you take me for a fool?" She asked coldly, her glowing red eyes boring into Vivian, who was still choked by her intimidating aura.

"One more step out of line and you'll be looking for a doctor." She finished before walking away while leaving behind a shaken Vivia,who was now reminded why Miko was still the leader of the clan despite her seemingly gentle nature.

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Reid dodged a jab before trying to land kick on Haze. His previous attempts were inexplicably dodged by his opponent so you can imagine how surprised he was when his foot finally landed a hit on Haze's rib.

Not only Reid but Haze was also in shock, allowing Reid to capitalize on the moment and land a few more hits in. Putting a lot in his arm, the back of his fist made contact with Haze's face.

Upon contact, the faint sound of glass breaking was heard. It wasn't loud enough for the audience to hear but it was loud enough for Reid to pick it up. He saw the blue aura that he had seen earlier shatter in front of him.

He let out a vicious grin as he let loose. After a lot of painstaking effort, he had finally broken his opponent's aura so he had to utilize this. With his shield that allowed his to brush off hits gone, Haze was little more than a punching bag to Reid.

This time, Reid was on the offensive. Although his aura was broken, Haze tried to implement the same strategy and push through the hits. That didn't go well for him as he could only receive the onslaught of punches and kick Reid threw at him.

Haze now looked bruised and battered while Reid only had tiny bruises on his arm. With one final kick, Reid sent Haze out of bound and into the realm of unconsciousness.

'I won…' He thought to himself, a satisfied look on his face.

There was silence for a few seconds before everyone began cheering, shouting compliments at him.

He didn't pay them any kind as his eyes searched the crowd for someone. His eyes landed on a figure who was also cheering for him with a very proud smile on her face as she too celebrated.

'I did it, mom…I won!'