Chapter 44: The First Round Continues

The second day of fighting began with Karatachi Shinji and Munashi Touma. Shinji entered the arena yawning, still seemingly half asleep.

"Karatachi Shinji versus Munashi Touma," Fujimoto-sensei announced. "Start!"

The first exchange was quick - Touma advanced with a combination of well-placed punches, forcing Shinji back. One of the blows grazed Shinji's cheek, finally waking him up.

"Oh," Shinji muttered, small coral crystals starting to form on his knuckles as he dodged the next blow. "You're faster than I thought."

Touma smiled, continuing his pressure with a series of low kicks followed by straight punches. His technique was solid, the result of hours of consistent practice. Shinji responded in a more unorthodox manner, his movements a mix of basic techniques and improvisation that made it difficult to predict his next move.

From the stands, Aoi, who had not yet recovered, watched with interest. "There's something strange about the way he moves," she commented, adjusting her glasses. "As if he's alternating between standard techniques and... something else."

"Or maybe he really is half asleep," Jun'ko chuckled.

The fight continued point for point. Touma managed to land a few clean strikes, his technical precision finding spaces in Shinji's erratic defense. But every time he seemed to gain the upper hand, Shinji would respond with an unexpected movement, the coral crystals on his hands adding weight to his counterattacks.

The turning point came toward the end of the match. Sweat glistened on both fighters' foreheads, their movements slightly slower after minutes of intense exchange. Touma prepared for what he hoped would be the final assault, quickly forming the seals for the Suiton: Mizurappa.

The water projectile hurtled toward Shinji, who ducked to the side to avoid it, rolling awkwardly. Touma saw an opening and lunged forward, chaining the ninjutsu with a taijutsu combination they had practiced countless times in class—left punch, right punch, roundhouse kick.

But in his haste to finish, his Mizurappa seals were slightly imprecise for a second. The resulting stream of water was weaker, more scattered. Shinji noticed the microscopic hesitation between the end of the technique and the start of the physical assault.

That was all it took.

"Super Mega Karatachi Ultimate Attack!" Shinji shouted with enthusiasm that contrasted with his usual drowsiness, a small smile lighting up his face as coral crystals formed on his knuckles.

Slipping under the weakened stream, Shinji moved in the space of an instant. The coral crystals on his knuckles glowed as his fist found Touma's solar plexus. It wasn't a particularly powerful blow, but the combination of precision and timing, along with the rough surface of the coral, was enough to knock the wind out of his opponent and end the match.

"This is the Karatachi clan's secret technique!" he exclaimed triumphantly, though his subsequent yawn ruined the dramatic effect somewhat.

"Winner: Karatachi Shinji," Fujimoto-sensei declared, hiding what might have been a hint of a smile.

Shinji helped Touma up, both panting from the effort. "Good match," he said simply, "but next time try not to telegraph your combinations so much... or was it just me dreaming that you were telegraphing them?" He scratched his head in confusion, before heading to the bleachers to find a comfortable spot, probably to catch up on his interrupted nap.

Touma watched him go, a mixture of frustration and respect on his face. His opponent hadn't been unbeatable, but that unpredictable way of fighting - and those strange improvised "secret techniques" - had made the difference in the end.

"Hōzuki Hiroshi versus Kenji," Fujimoto-sensei called.

The arena fell silent, everyone aware of the disparity between one of the heirs to the Hōzuki clan and the civilian student.

Hiroshi strutted around the arena, his body occasionally showing translucent patches, like water catching the light. Kenji, despite his obvious tension, kept his guard up in a flawless defensive stance.

"I hope you're ready," Hiroshi sneered. "I'm not holding back just because you come from a civilian family."

The first exchange was quick. Kenji's fist passed through Hiroshi's partially melted shoulder, but his second strike found solid flesh - Hiroshi's control of his kekkei genkai wasn't yet fast enough to respond to quick combinations.

'Not bad,' Ren observed, 'odd I've never heard of Kenji in Naruto.'

Angrily, Hiroshi counterattacked. His body turned to water at the points hit, but the process wasn't uniform - some areas solidified more slowly than others, creating moments of vulnerability that Kenji, with his precise technique, was occasionally able to exploit.

"Not bad for a civilian," Hiroshi snapped after a well-placed kick caught him by surprise. "But it won't be enough!"

He lunged forward, his body oscillating between solid and liquid in an irregular pattern that made it difficult to predict where the next blow would come from.

It was then that Kenji surprised everyone. Instead of futilely attempting a water technique against a Hōzuki, he quickly formed a series of different seals.

"Doton: Tsuchi Dango!" (Earth Bullets)

Fujimoto-sensei's eyes widened slightly as small earth bullets formed from the arena, hurtling toward Hiroshi. The water transformation could protect him from physical blows, but earth and debris were another matter.

"A civilian without a kekkei genkai in Kirigakure has to be creative to survive," Kenji said, his voice calm despite the effort.

"I've been training in the earth element in secret."

Even Ren was surprised. ' Brilliant! I need to do some research on the earth element, too.'

Hiroshi was forced onto the defensive, his body struggling to maintain cohesion as he dodged the earth projectiles. When he did manage to liquefy, small particles of earth would contaminate his watery form, making it harder to control.

Finally, Kenji's labored breathing and shaking hands revealed his exhaustion. This was the moment Hiroshi had been waiting for. He lunged forward with a burst of speed, his right shoulder liquefying to avoid a last-ditch punch from Kenji.

As he spun, he solidified his right arm for a strike to the side, while his left arm transformed into water to slide under his opponent's guard. Kenji staggered, his defense compromised. Hiroshi completed the combination with brutal precision: a solid punch to the stomach, followed by a knee strike as his opponent bent forward. His upper body remained liquid long enough to avoid a final, desperate blow, before solidifying completely for the final blow to the jaw that sent Kenji sprawling.

"Winner: Hōzuki Hiroshi," Fujimoto-sensei declared.

"A good tactical choice," he told Kenji as he helped him up. "The earth element... not many in Kirigakure would think of that."

Hiroshi left the arena with his victory, but his pride had been dented. Not only had he struggled more than expected, but his control over his kekkei genkai had proven less reliable than he was willing to admit.

From the stands, several observers took mental notes of Kenji's performance. In a village dominated by kekkei genkai and water techniques, the ability to think outside the box was a valuable asset.

"Yuki Yukiko versus Mori Mizuchi," Fujimoto-sensei announced. The temperature in the arena seemed to drop slightly as Yukiko took her position, her movements as measured as snowflakes falling on a winter's night.