Chapter 2: Start of Mock Battle

On the stadium, Aoki activated his Byakugan and sprinted toward Haruko and Yumi, intercepting them with his Gentle Fist technique.

Meanwhile, on the left side, Kasai began weaving hand signs and unleashed a Fire Release jutsu he had developed on his own—a C-Rank ninjutsu known as the Fire Release: Fire Dragon's Flare. The fire erupted from his mouth, forming a small column of flames that raced toward his adversary in a straight line, spanning up to 15 meters.

The Fire Dragon's Flare was a ninjutsu he had created after his arrival in Naruto's world, and he had spent half a month mastering it.

Facing this jutsu, Manaka chose not to evade it. Instead, he began weaving signs of his own and released a lightning snake to counter Kasai's attack. Manaka had observed Kasai's use of this jutsu during a previous ninjutsu test.

As the two ninjutsu collided, a small explosion erupted, shrouding their surroundings in black smoke.

In the audience seats, students grew increasingly excited as they watched the unfolding battle. It was common knowledge that Manaka was the top student in ninjutsu, whereas Kasai didn't even rank in the top 10.

"Kasai's got guts, taking on Manaka in a ninjutsu battle."

"Look at how easily Manaka countered Kasai's jutsu."

"Given this situation, taijutsu might be the best option to beat Manaka. He's a genius in ninjutsu, but he's not that strong in taijutsu."

Back in the stadium, Manaka came to a halt, kicking up a small cloud of dust with his feet, and initiated another jutsu: Water Release: Wild Water Wave. He directed it toward Kasai's previous location. Manaka possessed proficiency in both water and lightning release techniques, deliberately focusing on mastering these elemental ninjutsu.

Unbeknownst to Manaka, Kasai had anticipated his move and evaded the jutsu before it could reach him. Kasai's keen eyes scanned the dissipating smoke as he swiftly hurled three shurikens in the direction of the water release, taking advantage of the obstructed visibility.

Manaka, on the other side of the smoke, had expected his water release jutsu to connect with Kasai. However, he was caught off guard when he noticed the three shurikens hurtling toward him.

Startled and distracted by the sudden attack, Manaka attempted to deflect all three shurikens but was only partially successful. One of the shurikens grazed his left arm, leaving a small, bleeding cut.

Manaka, wincing in pain as he held his injured arm, began channeling his chakra to tend to the minor wound. In doing so, he lost track of Kasai's movements and the overall situation in the stadium.

"That was an unwise move, trying to heal a minor wound during a battle," murmured their classmates in the audience, observing Manaka's tactical error.

Meanwhile, Kasai observed as the smoke cleared, revealing Manaka across from him, occupied with his minor injury. Shaking his head in disappointment, Kasai remarked, "Idiot! Why would he divert his attention from the battle when his opponent was still right in front of him?"

.........................

On the right side of the stadium, Aoki confronted Haruko and Yumi simultaneously. Aoki, although not from the main Hyuga family, was considered one of the most talented individuals in his batch, although his accomplishments often went overlooked due to his non-main family status. His mother was not from the Hyuga clan, which meant that he didn't garner as much attention as he deserved.

Upon closing the distance to within a meter of his opponents, Aoki initially appeared to target Yamazaki Yumi. Yumi, also a skilled taijutsu user, aimed to intercept Aoki's every move, diverting his focus away from Haruto. This seemed to align with their initial plan, where Haruto and Manaka were meant to eliminate Kasai and Hina before teaming up against Aoki.

They expected Aoki to engage Yumi first, as she was the second-best taijutsu practitioner in their class, and it appeared that their plan was proceeding accordingly. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Aoki unleashed his Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms on Haruto, catching him off guard and preventing him from defending effectively.

The Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms struck Haruto, knocking him off his feet and rendering him temporarily incapacitated. Aoki then shifted his attention to Yumi, launching a series of straightforward strikes at her. Their limbs clashed as they exchanged blows, with arms striking arms and legs meeting legs.

On the far side of the stadium, Hina began hurling shurikens toward Haruto, who was struggling to rise and escape Aoki's line of sight, with the intention of aiding Manaka.

Realizing that his path to reach Manaka was obstructed by Hina, Haruto began weaving hand signs to execute Water Release: Water Gun Technique. However, he failed to do so, as his chakra points had been sealed off by Aoki earlier.

Their classmates watched the battles unfold, growing increasingly excited about the matchups.

While the mock battle raged on, Hotaru stood at the edge of the stadium, closely monitoring the proceedings. He mused, "Interesting. Their teamwork isn't as bad as I expected. Aoki sealing the chakra points of his opponents to prevent ninjutsu usage, enabling Hina to launch a barrage of shurikens after Kasai was incapacitated, while he faces off against the remaining opponent. Not bad at all."