After Minato dragged me away from my totally deserved celebration, we leaned against the wall in the shade, within the corridor, built into the arena's wall, connecting it to the stands above us.
"Stop grinning like that," He said, standing beside me, "The proctors may take it like you are being cocky."
"Then they aren't fit to be proctors." I shrugged, "Plus, this is my natural expression."
"Sad thing is," he glanced at me, with a genuine smile, "I know. Anyway... good fight, but you took it pretty slow. You should have conserved more of your chakra and ended it quicker."
"Shibi deserved to show what he could do." I shrugged, "He was in a terrible matchup, but he didn't panic, and asked a favor of me. If I just roasted the field, everyone would think he was weak."
"That's... true." Minato nodded, looking toward where Shibi was being checked by the medics. "He isn't."
"No. He really is not." I shivered, thinking about it, "Still hate bugs, though."
Before he could answer, Sakumo stepped back into the center of the arena just then. The attendants were still finishing their work, clearing the last blackened traces from my jutsus, sweeping away insect ash, and inspecting the arena where Shibi's swarm had crawled around. One of them looked at the scorched dirt, then at me, so I gave him a thumbs-up, but he did not return it.
"Unfriendly jerk..."
With that, I glanced upward toward the VIP section, where Kushina was still standing, waving both arms like she was trying to signal a ship from across the ocean. I had no idea what she was yelling, and I wasn't going to try to read her lips, because I knew I would try to answer. As for Sayuri, she sat beside her with her face partly covered with her hair, probably pretending she didn't know me, looking everywhere else but at me. As for my parents... Hehe, they were also still on their feet, and I waved at them, but I don't know if they caught me from up there. Mom looked excited enough to cry, while Dad looked as if he was trying to show some restraint, sitting in the same booth as Fugaku. Meaning, he looked like he had bad constipation, literally holding himself down from jumping and shouting. Speaking of Fugaku, his expression was utterly composed, and I don't think anyone could have read what he was thinking of. I couldn't.
"Sixth match," Sakumo announced, making me look back down at him, "Minato Namikaze of Konohagakure against Hizashi Hyūga of Konohagakure."
"Don't torture him," I whispered, patting Minato on the back while he began heading out.
Minato's face changed at that, grimacing, but he wiped it away quickly as he stepped into the arena. As for Hizashi, he did so too, looking calm, and there was no wobble in his steps.
"You may surrender before the match begins," Sakumo said when they stopped, facing each other, and it was clear he aimed that comment at Hizashi.
"I will not," Hizashi said as his gaze flicked once toward the Hyūga section, then toward Hiashi, who stood silently near the participant area. "I represent the Hyūga clan," he continued, "If I withdraw without attempting to fight, then my previous victory means little. My brother may face the Namikaze boy later. If I can reveal even one opening, force him to spend chakra, or soften him before that happens, then I will have served the clan."
The arena went very still, listening to him... Oof. Brother... You are way too loyal! No wonder you offered yourself up in the future. Tsk. Brainwashing at its best, huh? Okay, that may be a bit too much, because I do respect the loyalty. But not every type of loyalty and self-sacrifice is the same...
"I see," Minato bowed his head slightly. "I respect your resolve," he shrugged, saying what I was feeling in the end, while Hizashi activated his Byakugan, veins popping around his eyes.
"I do not need your respect. I need you to fight me."
"I will," Minato straightened at once, looking impassive, "But remember, that it was your choice." All the softness vanished from his voice after that, but he didn't sound cruel or arrogant... I think. Well, a bit. But he could back it up with skill.
"Then," Sakumo looked between them one final time. "Begin!"
Hizashi moved first, I mean, he tried to. His first step was quick despite his injuries, his hands rising into Gentle Fist stance as he advanced at Minato. He angled himself to cover his injured side, trying to force Minato to attack from the direction where his right arm could respond and counter, but Minato did not attack. He just stepped back once, prompting Hizashi to press forward. His first strike aimed for Minato's shoulder, second toward the ribs, third toward the wrist, already initiating a sequence.
Yet, Minato simply slipped between them. He shifted half a step away from the first palm, leaned away from the second, and rotated his body clear of the third. Hizashi adjusted at once, turning the final attack into a sweeping open-palm strike that forced Minato to hop back. The crowd cheered because it looked close, but it was anything but.
"He's already hurting," I muttered, shaking my head, while beside me, Shikaku popped up and glanced at the arena, sighing the same way.
"Stupid, that is what he is."
"Yeah." I chortled, "Blinded by loyalty. I do respect it in a way, but this could easily cripple him... That's a bit... much. And wasteful. Your self-sacrifice, especially if you dare to risk all your future as a shinobi, has to serve a purpose. This is just a test, not war; taking it this seriously is idiotic."
Hizashi advanced again by then, even faster this time. He knew he didn't have the endurance, so he was gambling on a quick read, trying to force Minato to reveal something. His Byakugan tracked every movement, and his palms flickered, coated in his chakra. Finally, Hizashi's fingers passed within an inch of Minato's chest, but then Minato vanished.
This time, most of the crowd shouted with less surprise, because they had seen it once before against Daichi, meaning they were watching for it to happen again. Down in the arena, Minato had appeared behind Hizashi, beside a marked kunai I hadn't even noticed him drop. With the Byakugan on, Hizashi reacted instantly, so credit where it was due. He caught Minato's arrival, and his body began to turn, right palm heading toward Minato's throat, but his ribs betrayed him at that moment, and he couldn't be as fast as he needed to. Minato caught his wrist, stepped inside his stance, and tapped two fingers against Hizashi's shoulder. Holding him firmly, a burst of chakra pulsed through Minato's hand, right into the body of Hizashi, while he also swept his leg out, and Hizashi hit the ground on his back. It was hard enough to end the exchange, not to mention that Minato's kunai stopped right above his throat. Hizashi stared up at him, his breathing being super shallow. All in all, the match had lasted less than twenty seconds when Sakumo appeared beside them.
"Hizashi Hyūga is unable to continue." Hearing him, Hizashi's hand twitched, and for a moment, I thought he would argue. "Winner: Minato Namikaze."
The crowd erupted, but there was hesitation in it at first. It was a quick match, and everyone could tell Hizashi was barely in a state to fight. In the end, Minato helped him up carefully, not pulling too hard, not wanting to make a show of it, so Hizashi stood with his back straight despite the pain, then he turned, as the brothers looked at one another. After a moment, Hiashi gave him a small nod, and when it happened, his shoulders eased, and he walked out with the medics, clearly relieved.
"Damn." I exhaled, "Minato was slower than I expected."
"You know what?" Shikaku hummed beside me. "I'm not even going to ask."
"Seventh match," Sakumo suddenly announced, before I could answer. "Hiashi Hyūga of Konohagakure against Shikaku Nara of Konohagakure."
"Well," I turned toward him, "You're up."
"I noticed." He exhaled, closing his eyes.
"You got this." I slapped his back with a grin.
"No, I don't."
"That's the spirit!" I said, but then stopped, "Huh? Excuse me?"
"Renji," He looked at me flatly. "The Byakugan is a terrible matchup for me."
"Oh... Oooh... Yeah." I grimaced, "He will see your shadow from everywhere, huh?"
"And my traps, wires, whatever else. Plus, his taijutsu is also a terrible matchup for me."
"I have faith in you."
"Thank you, but I can only exhaust him enough for you two, nothing else. This is where I end my run." He said without much frustration.
"Oh come on," I rolled my eyes, "You got this!"
"If I had a team, of course," He said, shaking his head, "Solo? Well, that's... Troublesome."
Then he started walking. Despite everything he'd said, his posture changed the moment he entered the arena. His hands slipped from his pockets, and his eyes began moving over the ground, the sun's angle, the wall's shadows, the remaining cracks, the positions of the officials, everything, trying to think how to drag the match out and somehow... win.
"Your brother fought well," Shikaku said suddenly, when they stopped, and Minato arrived to stand with me, watching the two.
"Yes." He nodded, "I agree. He did not bring shame to our clan."
"Ready," Sakumo raised his hand as they were speaking, "Begin!"
Shikaku attacked first, and that surprised a lot of people, I think. They expected him to wait, maybe build a trap, maybe use the arena like he had against Chōza. Instead, he threw three kunai at once, each one angled wide, not toward Hiashi directly. Of course, wires trailed behind two of them, while the third had a flash tag attached. Hiashi activated his Byakugan and stepped forward, just when the flash tag went off, and light burst across the arena. Even then, Hiashi didn't slow down, as the Byakugan didn't rely on normal vision the way normal eyes did. Maybe the flash still irritated him, but it didn't blind him enough to matter.
I had a feeling that Shikaku had known that, which meant the flash wasn't for sight. The bright burst threw harsh, sudden shadows across the arena floor, stretching from the kunai, from the wires, from Shikaku's own body, from where his shadow already was going forward.
"Nice," I whispered while Hiashi's palm struck downward.
A burst of chakra scattered the dirt and severed one of the shadow paths before it reached him, then he stepped over the second, twisted away from the third, and continued forward, still rushing him down. Seeing it happen, Shikaku clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed.
"Yeah," Minato muttered. "That's... a problem."
The Byakugan could see his chakra moving through his body, the exact direction he was sending it, the moment before it shifted, and could simply calculate his attacks from there. Against most opponents, Shikaku's tricks would have worked, but... damn it. By now, Shikaku had retreated, but not straight back. He moved in a curve, pulling the wires with him, changing the shadow angles as the flash faded.
"Shikaku needs to make him step somewhere specific, for a proper counter," Minato said beside me.
"Yeah. But Hiashi can see every setup."
"Then he has to make the setup visible and still unavoidable."
"Have a plan?" I glanced at him. "That sounded like something Shikaku would say."
"I have one in mind, hopefully, he sees it too."
As for Shikaku, he threw another kunai, then another. Hiashi deflected both without breaking his stride. One buried itself in the dirt behind him, while the other hit the arena wall after being deflected, right where Shikaku was heading. Hm... Too obvious... Isn't it? Then, Shikaku's shadow stretched toward the one in the wall, using its narrow length to reach farther. Hiashi turned his hand and released another chakra burst, breaking the connection before it fully formed, and then he closed the rest of the distance.
Shikaku barely ducked under the first palm, while the second ripped his sleeve open. The third would have struck his sternum, but Shikaku pulled on one of his wires, jerking himself sideways with a terrible groan, and the wire cut his own hand, splattering blood while crashing him into a roll.
"That looked painful." I groaned, just like the crowd.
"It was," Minato agreed, "But better than getting your tenketsu blocked."
Already back up, Shikaku reached into his pouch and threw a handful of smoke pellets out. The arena was filled with gray clouds by the next moment, and I activated my Sharingan to see better. I watched as Hiashi stopped inside the smoke, and I could guess that his Byakugan saw through it... But I think Shikaku was using it to diffuse light. The shadows inside the cloud grew softer, spreading strangely across the dirt, and Shikaku's main shadow, rather than extending in a single clear line, began splitting into several faint branches. Not bad! Hiashi could see them, but choosing the real threat became harder in light of this. That was when Shikaku's voice came from inside the smoke.
"Shadow Possession Technique."
The shadows moved, and they did, all at once. Five lines snapped toward Hiashi from different angles, causing him to start spinning. Kaiten it is! As he did so, one vanished completely, his jutsu cutting away two more before the fourth reached his foot, but then he canceled the Kaiten, and jumped... And that was when Shikaku smiled... Because the fifth shadow had not been aiming for him. It had been aiming for his landing point!
"Got—" I began shouting, but then Hiashi twisted mid-air.
His hand flashed through a seal-less burst of chakra, striking the ground before he landed. The impact scattered dust and broke the shadow's path just enough for his foot to touch clean earth and dodge further away.
"—damn it," Shikaku finished what I wanted to say.
"That was close." I moaned, rubbing my face.
"Very," Minato agreed, "They are very good..."
Shikaku's smoke began thinning by then, and he had one more chance before Hiashi regained the initiative. Both of them knew that, and both moved at the same time because of it. Shikaku threw three kunai again, two wires, one flash tag, just like before. Wait... was there a rock hanging beside the flash tag? Hiashi ignored the flash this time, too, though, sidestepped the second kunai, severed the wire with a palm burst, and stepped over the other. It was then that the rock hit the ground near his foot, cracking.
"Huh? Not a rock...?" I muttered.
A small ink pellet... Because dark liquid splashed across the dirt, spreading into a sudden black stain beneath Hiashi. My eyebrows shot up, not really understanding what he was trying to do.
"Oh, that's clever!" Minato exhaled, his eyes flashing.
Shikaku's shadow touched the ink-darkened patch and expanded through it. Was this interfering with his ability? That was what I was thinking of, but that ink was... chakra-conductive enough, because Hiashi's foot froze for half a second, getting interrupted nonetheless. The crowd shouted at once, as Shikaku's hands came together, causing Hiashi's body to stiffen even further. Shikaku groaned, sweat dripping down his chin, muttering something I could read from his lips.
"Got you... In the end..."
"No," Hiashi said simply, and his chakra surged like a volcano.
He was forcing chakra through the point where the shadow held him, disrupting Shikaku's control, interfering with the chakra-filled link.
"That's unfair...!" Shikaku moaned as Hiashi stepped forward, and his shadow dragged against him. Shikaku gritted his teeth, trying to hold it, but in the end, he couldn't, and Hiashi broke free and appeared in front of him in the next breath.
Shikaku raised his guard, but it was too late, and Hiashi's fingers tapped his wrist, then his elbow, and lastly, his shoulder. Shikaku's right arm dropped uselessly as he tried to step back when Hiashi struck his thigh, and his leg buckled. Apparently, the strength behind Hiashi's attacks was greater than before; not only did he close tenketsu points and interrupt chakra flow, he even disrupted Shikaku's nerve endings, blocking his brain from sending down commands, numbing him... Damn! A moment later, Shikaku went down to one knee, one arm hanging, one leg half-dead, still trying to move his shadow with sheer stubbornness, but then Hiashi's palm stopped an inch from his chest, clearly signaling he could have stopped his heart.
"That's," Sakumo appeared beside them. "Enough."
"Ugh..." Shikaku looked at the palm, then at Hiashi. "…Yeah. That's enough. I give up..."
"Mhm," Sakumo raised his hand. "Winner: Hiashi Hyūga."
The crowd erupted once more, while Shikaku exhaled and flopped backward onto the dirt, moaning and grumbling.
"Troublesome…"
Hiashi lowered his hand in the end, and for a second, I thought he would just walk away, but instead, he offered it to Shikaku. Huh! I did not expect that, and neither did Shikaku, who looked at it in surprise.
"You Hyūga really like making people feel awkward."
Hiashi blinked once, then, almost impossibly, the corner of his mouth moved, almost smiling as Shikaku took his hand and was pulled up.
Wait... With this match over, now... Three of us remained. Me, Minato, and Hiashi. Of course, the arena knew it too, and everyone began talking, just as a group of Chūnin carried the wooden box back out.
"Oh no. No, no, no...!" I moaned, another lucky lottery pull?! Why not make it into a free-for-all brawl?!
"The semifinal draw will now be held," Hiruzen announced before I could try to suggest my idea, and I felt my stomach twist, seeing the Hokage appear down there.
Please don't give Hiashi the pass. Please don't ruin this! Yet, probably feeling I was on the verge of interrupting, the Hokage reached in, drew one slip, opened it... And paused. Why do old people love dramatic pauses?! STOP IT! JUST TELL ME ALREADY!
"The participant advancing directly to the final is…" I clenched my fists, trembling, stop with the pauses already! "Minato Namikaze."
"FUCK YEAH!" I yelled out, whooping and hollering louder than the crowd.
"MINATO! FINALIST, DATTEBANE!" Came another cry, just as loud as mine.
"Semifinal match: Renjiro Uchiha against Hiashi Hyūga." The Hokage continued, ignoring everything, while I was already rushing in, but Minato was holding my hand, keeping me back.
"Wait until they leave!" He moaned, looking embarrassed enough for both of us.
"Oh come on!" I grinned, "Everyone wants this match! Sharingan versus the Byakugan... Don't worry. We can still have a good match in the final, promise!"
"If you lose," He whispered, finally letting me go, "I am never going to let you forget it."