Chapter 5: You're Not Afraid, Are You?

The sudden turn of events shocked the remaining two boys from the group. They couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

Wasn't Mochizuki Hui supposed to be the one knocked out with a single punch?

But the two boys had no time to dwell on their disbelief, as eight shuriken flew from Mochizuki Hui's hands, curving through the air with a sharp whistling sound, aimed straight at them.

The deadly speed and the piercing sound of the shuriken made the boys' faces pale. Despite how absurd it seemed, they instinctively tried to dodge.

Unfortunately for one of the boys, just as he rolled to avoid the shuriken, Mochizuki Hui was already upon him. As the boy got to his feet, Mochizuki Hui delivered a powerful kick, sending him crashing into a tree, instantly knocking him out.

The remaining boy's face twisted in fear. He had never expected the "prey" they were hunting to be such a terrifying and powerful predator.

Seeing Mochizuki Hui charging at him, he turned and fled without hesitation.

However, he was no match for Mochizuki Hui's speed. In a few swift strides, Hui caught up and knocked him out with a single punch.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. From the moment the three boys attempted to surround Mochizuki Hui to the moment he effortlessly defeated them, less than twenty seconds had passed.

And that was only because Mochizuki Hui had intentionally slowed himself down to enjoy the game. If he hadn't, it would've ended even sooner.

After searching the unconscious trio, Mochizuki Hui retrieved their forehead protectors.

A smile curled across his lips as he raised the two forehead protectors high above his head and shouted loudly:

"If you want these two forehead protectors, come and get them! Don't worry about someone else swooping in to steal them—you can all work together.

"Beat me, and you can decide among yourselves how to divide the spoils.

"Come on! Defeat me, and you'll graduate! Or are you afraid?

"If so, that's pretty disappointing."

His voice echoed through the forest, the words carrying an air of arrogance.

The other participants, mostly eleven- or twelve-year-olds, were at that impulsive age where they were easily provoked. Hearing Mochizuki Hui's taunting, many of them couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

"I can't stand it anymore! Let's get him, all of us together!"

Finally, someone lost his patience and leaped down from a tree.

"Yeah, let's all attack at once!"

With one boy leading the charge, others quickly followed suit. In moments, nine more boys jumped down from the trees, surrounding Mochizuki Hui in a tight circle.

"Mochizuki Hui, you may have been hiding your strength, but you're way too arrogant. Since you want us to work together, we'll grant your wish."

One of the boys spoke, his voice firm. Though he had been surprised by Mochizuki Hui's earlier display of power, it wasn't enough to scare him off.

After all, the three boys that Mochizuki Hui had defeated were from the weaker half of their group. If they hadn't been, they wouldn't have been the first to rush after Hui when everyone else had hesitated.

Mochizuki Hui glanced around at the nine boys, a faint sense of regret in his voice. "Nine people, three teams. What a pity. There's still one group hiding."

It wasn't that he feared these boys. He was just disappointed that three others were still hiding, meaning he'd have to waste time tracking them down later.

"You bastard!"

One of the boys, unable to bear Hui's arrogant attitude, charged forward, kunai in hand.

But before he could get far, his teammate pulled him back.

"Don't attack alone. We need to do this together!"

His teammate's words were sensible. After all, this wasn't just about defeating Mochizuki Hui and taking his two forehead protectors. The most important thing was what would happen next—once they had the protectors, the groups would have to fight among themselves to decide who got to keep them.

They couldn't afford to lose members during the attack on Hui.

Understanding this, the others nodded and drew their shuriken, throwing them all at once.

A barrage of shuriken flew toward Mochizuki Hui from every direction, blocking off all possible escape routes.

But once again, they underestimated him.

With his dynamic vision, which rivaled that of a two-tomoe Sharingan, Mochizuki Hui's ability to perceive his surroundings was incredible. The moment the shuriken left their hands, he had already found the optimal path to evade the attack.

Mochizuki Hui sprang into action, moving with lightning speed. With a series of swift flips and dodges, he weaved through the rain of shuriken, quickly closing the distance between himself and one of the teams.

The three boys from that team were startled but immediately raised their kunai to defend themselves.

Seeing this, the remaining six boys abandoned their long-range attacks and rushed in, hoping to overwhelm Hui with sheer numbers.

Clang! Thud!

Mochizuki Hui effortlessly deflected their attacks with his own kunai and followed up with a swift kick to one boy's stomach, knocking him out instantly.

At the same moment, he twisted his body, grabbed another boy's wrist as the boy tried to stab him, and delivered a sharp elbow to the boy's head, knocking him unconscious as well.

Without missing a beat, Mochizuki Hui leaped into the air and hurled several shuriken at the remaining seven boys. While they were busy deflecting the incoming projectiles, he landed and rushed at another boy, taking him out with a single punch.

In less than an instant, three of the boys were already down.

This display of speed and power terrified the remaining six boys. They had seriously underestimated Mochizuki Hui's strength.

But Hui wasn't about to give them a chance to recover. He launched himself at the nearest boy, his superior strength making it feel like a grown man beating up children.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

One after another, the boys fell to the ground, unable to keep up with Mochizuki Hui's relentless assault. In under ten seconds, all six were defeated.

Nine boys lay scattered on the ground—some unconscious, others groaning in pain, clutching their stomachs. None of them were left standing.

"Well, now it's just Jiraiya's group. Let's wrap this up quickly."

Mochizuki Hui muttered to himself as he gathered the forehead protectors from the fallen teams.