A person’s external demeanour can reflect their true inner self.
Hyuga Kyo firmly believed this.
The way Uchiha Shuu immersed himself in his swordsmanship reflected his pride in his skills and his trust in the sharp short sword in his hand.
It was precisely this pride in his skills and trust in his sword that made him habitually take risks whenever he engaged in intense battles.
This flaw had gone unnoticed by him.
Or rather, no one in the entire Uchiha clan, except for Shisui, had noticed this flaw.
Sometimes, it is these small details that determine the outcome of a battle!
After a brief close-quarters fight with Uchiha Shuu, Hyuga Kyo took the initiative to retreat and began to manoeuvre around the small forest, using the terrain to his advantage.
Crash…
With the screech of a short sword cutting through the air, another thick tree was cut down at its waist.
Counting this one, eight or nine large trees in the small forest had already fallen victim to Uchiha Shuu’s blade.
Using the dust stirred up by the falling trees, Hyuga Kyo managed to once again widen the distance between himself and Uchiha Shuu.
Uchiha Shuu, filled with murderous intent, shouted, “Coward, is all you can do is run?”
Hyuga Kyo, with a calm expression, replied, “All you can do is cut trees?”
“You!”
Uchiha Shuu was at a loss for words.
Hyuga Kyo did not continue to mock him but instead focused entirely on dealing with Uchiha Shuu’s increasingly fierce attacks.
Uchiha Shuu was indeed an elite of the Uchiha clan. Even without using genjutsu and ninjutsu, his strength was definitely at the Jonin level. His exquisite swordsmanship, enhanced by his Sharingan, was simply dazzling!
Honestly, without using the Tenseigan or the Third Kazekage Puppet, Hyuga Kyo had no good way to deal with Uchiha Shuu. If it weren’t for the information Shisui had provided in advance, this battle would have been much more troublesome.
Hyuga Kyo’s current strategy was simple: drag it out!
He aimed to prolong the fight until Uchiha Shuu became impatient and filled with uncontrollable murderous intent, causing him to make mistakes.
Like most of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Shuu lacked patience. After chasing and attacking Hyuga Kyo for a long time, his emotions grew increasingly unstable.
Each move was filled with killing intent, but an excess of killing intent inevitably led to a lack of variation.
As a result, in Hyuga Kyo’s Tenseigan, Uchiha Shuu’s sword techniques revealed more and more flaws. There were several instances where Hyuga Kyo could barely grasp the opportunity to counterattack with the Eight Trigrams Palm.
But Hyuga Kyo wasn’t in a hurry.
He trusted Shisui’s information, but he trusted his own eyes even more.
After another round of pursuit, the two of them leapt out of the now devastated small forest and arrived at a lakeside, startling the villagers who were washing clothes by the lake.
Standing on the water, Hyuga Kyo, breathing lightly, said, “You seem to be stronger than the last guy.”
Uchiha Shuu roared, “You coward, who only knows how to hide, have no right to judge us Uchiha!”
As soon as he finished shouting, Uchiha Shuu coughed violently.
It was clear that already having poor stamina, the continuous and unrelieved killing intent had drained his energy more than it had Hyuga Kyo’s.
Knowing the time was ripe, Hyuga Kyo smiled, “Cowardly? Your shallowness is truly astonishing!”
Without waiting for Uchiha Shuu to respond, Hyuga Kyo took the initiative to attack.
Seeing this, Uchiha Shuu’s spirit lifted, and he immediately swung his sword towards Hyuga Kyo.
In an instant, the calm surface of the lake surged with waves as the two began an intense battle.
As soon as they engaged, Hyuga Kyo noticed that Uchiha Shuu’s sword techniques had become much more chaotic. Although his killing intent was still fierce, his sword strikes lacked the swiftness they had before, becoming more vicious instead!
However, killing intent alone cannot kill a person.
Opportunity!
Opportunity!
Opportunity!
In his Tenseigan, Hyuga Kyo saw one flaw after another in Uchiha Shuu’s sword techniques.
But he wasn’t in a hurry. He was waiting not only for an opportunity to defeat Uchiha Shuu but also for a chance to seize the short sword from him.
He wanted to completely shatter Uchiha Shuu’s confidence!
A few moments later, the opportunity finally presented itself.
Without hesitation, Hyuga Kyo transformed his palm strike into a punch, aiming directly at Uchiha Shuu’s chest.
As he expected, Uchiha Shuu did not retreat. Instead, he chose to counterattack, swinging his sword towards Hyuga Kyo.
“Just as I thought, he loves to take risks!”
Hyuga Kyo’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Simultaneously, his feigned punch suddenly swung upwards, striking Uchiha Shuu’s wrist that held the sword, while his other hand swiftly seized the short sword.
The entire process of seizing the sword took only a blink of an eye.
By the time Hyuga Kyo had taken the sword and stepped back, Uchiha Shuu was still standing there, stunned.
Playing with the short sword in his hand, Hyuga Kyo said calmly, “It’s indeed a good sword, but the one wielding it lacks the skill.”
“You…”
Hyuga Kyo threw the short sword back to Uchiha Shuu, saying, “You lost!”
Without waiting for a response from the stunned Uchiha Shuu, he turned and walked away from the lake.
Before long, Shisui appeared in front of Hyuga Kyo, asking, “Senior, was it smooth?”
Because Uchiha Shuu was very strong, Shisui had not dared to follow him closely, unlike his previous surveillance of Uchiha Jinichi, so he did not watch the entire match.
Hyuga Kyo nodded, “It went smoothly, more or less. But that Uchiha Shuu is quite strong. If we hadn’t agreed to only use Taijutsu, the outcome would have been uncertain.”
During the battle, though Hyuga Kyo appeared calm and collected, seemingly unfazed by Uchiha Shuu, the truth was that without using the Tenseigan or the Third Kazekage Puppet, this was close to Hyuga Kyo’s limit.
Had they not agreed to limit the fight to Taijutsu, Hyuga Kyo’s chances of defeating Uchiha Shuu would have been much lower.
Shisui smiled, “I never doubted you for a second, senior.”
“You know, some techniques are not convenient to use within the village.” Pausing, Hyuga Kyo continued, “If your Uchiha clan sends someone stronger next time, I might really be in trouble.”
Against Uchiha Shuu, Hyuga Kyo had already resorted to a bit of trickery. If the Uchiha clan sent someone even more formidable next time, Hyuga Kyo’s chances of winning would be slim.
Moreover, Hyuga Kyo accepted these challenges not only to hone his skills but also to make a name for himself using the Uchiha’s reputation.
Though the Uchiha clan was unpopular, their reputation was still formidable. While the village’s ninjas might not say it aloud, they had long equated the Uchiha with elite ninjas. With the village’s higher-ups suspicious of the Uchiha, defeating them was the most efficient and safe way to gain fame.
Shisui quickly assured him, “Don’t worry, after Shuu’s defeat, the clan probably won’t send anyone to challenge you for a while.”
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