Early in the morning, Hyuga Kyo arrived at the Forest of Death with a bulging backpack.
He expected to spend some time finding the little wild boar, but as soon as he reached the pond where the boar often appeared, it emerged from the bushes.
It was more like the boar had found him rather than the other way around.
Today, the wild boar was noticeably larger than the day before, but the fur on the back half of its body had been chewed off, indicating it had been roughed up by other animals in the forest.
Watching the limping boar, Hyuga Kyo chuckled, “Who did you mess with to end up in such a sorry state?”
After a laugh, Hyuga Kyo put down his backpack, took out a large piece of meat, and cut it into strips with a short knife, laying them on the ground.
The wild boar sat nearby, eyeing the meat strips hungrily.
Once the meat strips were laid out, Hyuga Kyo numbered them and then took out five vials of paralytic poison, injecting each into the meat strips numbered 1-5.
These five vials of paralytic poison contained the same toxic ingredients but in different ratios.
Hyuga Kyo’s goal today was to test which of these five vials had the strongest toxicity and then fine-tune the paralytic poison based on the results.
Once everything was ready, Hyuga Kyo tossed the number 1 meat strip to the wild boar.
The boar, already salivating, quickly gobbled up the number 1 meat strip and then sat back down, staring intently at the remaining meat strips.
Hyuga Kyo immediately observed closely with his Tenseigan.
However, the boar showed no signs of being affected by the paralytic poison in the number 1 meat strip. Neither its weak chakra nor its muscles showed any noticeable changes.
The only visible change was the increased drool from its mouth.
“Is this for real?!”
The number 1 meat strip contained no ordinary poison; it was a carefully formulated compound paralytic poison. In Hyuga Kyo’s estimation, even a chunin might not withstand it.
But this mottled, unremarkable wild boar seemed completely unaffected after eating the poisoned meat strip, which was hard for him to accept.
Unwilling to give up, Hyuga Kyo tossed out the number 2 meat strip, followed by number 3, number 4, and number 5…
The boar ate each one without hesitation, showing no courtesy at all. After eating, it merely drooled more and looked at Hyuga Kyo affectionately, even rubbing its drool-covered face against his pants.
Veins bulging on his forehead, Hyuga Kyo thought, “This boar has no sense of being a test subject and treats me like a caretaker.”
“Do you think I can’t deal with you?”
Feeling a bit humiliated, Hyuga Kyo angrily took out a vial of lethal compound poison, injected it into the number 6 meat strip, and threw it to the wild boar…
An hour later, Hyuga Kyo returned home and began a new round of poison formulation.
As for the previous batches, he discarded them all.
If the poison couldn’t even affect a wild boar with some toxin resistance, it was worthless.
Over the next few days, Hyuga Kyo kept formulating poisons, testing them, and reformulating them. His efforts weren’t entirely fruitless; at least the test boar grew fat and strong.
One morning, as Hyuga Kyo was about to leave his house, he noticed someone standing at his doorstep.
Seeing Hyuga Kyo, the person stepped forward, blocking his path, and said, “I am Uchiha Shuu. You should know why I’m here. Do you want to settle this here or somewhere else? You decide.”
Looking at the thin, cold-eyed Uchiha in front of him, Hyuga Kyo recalled the contents of the note Shisui had given him the night before.
‘Uchiha Shuu, Jonin, cold-blooded, proficient in Fire Release, Wind Release, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and shurikenjutsu. Weakness: poor stamina, tends to take risks when using a sword, overly bloodthirsty.’
From Shisui’s description, this Uchiha Shuu was very versatile.
Poor stamina could be a serious weakness in a life-or-death battle, but in a sparring match between village ninjas, it was not a major issue.
It was clear that the Uchiha clan had put some effort into regaining their honor this time.
Thus, Hyuga Kyo’s only advantages were Uchiha Shuu’s risky sword techniques and his bloodthirsty nature, which could affect his combat mindset.
After a moment’s thought, Hyuga Kyo said, “Follow me.”
Uchiha Shuu nodded coldly without speaking.
Leading Uchiha Shuu to a secluded grove, Hyuga Kyo asked, “What do you want to compete in?”
Uchiha Shuu was slightly taken aback, not expecting this question. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, either is fine. You decide.”
Hyuga Kyo smiled, “Let’s compete in Taijutsu then.”
After the battle with Iwamoto, Hyuga Kyo realized that conventional Hyuga techniques were somewhat lacking against unpredictable ninjutsu specialists. So he deliberately provoked Uchiha Shuu, hoping to steer the match towards Taijutsu.
With the match type settled, Uchiha Shuu slowly drew his short sword.
Under the morning sunlight streaming through the tree canopy, the blade of his short sword gleamed brilliantly, adding a bright touch to the misty grove.
Hyuga Kyo sank into a low stance, his hands enveloped in blue chakra, guarding his front.
A gentle breeze blew, dislodging a few leaves.
As the leaves spun in the air, one landed silently on the blade of Uchiha Shuu’s short sword and was sliced in half.
Hyuga Kyo’s expression became serious, thinking, “What a fine sword!”
A sword master with a good blade would see a significant increase in combat power, and Uchiha Shuu’s short sword was undoubtedly an exceptional weapon.
Even the aura of the blade was intimidating.
In an instant, Uchiha Shuu moved, turning into a blur as he lunged at Hyuga Kyo with a whooshing sound.
Although Uchiha Shuu was fast, Hyuga Kyo’s Tenseigan could see his every move and expression in detail. Therefore, Hyuga Kyo remained calm, using the Eight Trigrams Palm to meet him head-on.
In a flash, sword and palm clashed, fighting for dominance within inches!
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