Chapter 65: Sarutobi Ao

"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" Hyuga Hizashi was half-crouched in front of the sitting Mikoto, panting heavily. The strain of using the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique and maintaining his Byakugan had pushed him to his limits. If Mikoto had used a Fire Style fireball instead of her Phoenix Flower Technique earlier, he would have had to rely on the Heavenly Spin defense, which might have led to his defeat.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mikoto pushed herself up, hands behind her back. Her earlier overuse of chakra against Hizashi must have prevented his Eight Trigrams from sealing her tenketsu points for long. She had underestimated him - never expecting he would master such an advanced Gentle Fist technique usually beyond most Hyuga chunin. 

Swish! 

Several figures jumped down from the second floor. Minato and Kushina appeared by the side of their sensei. Kushina helped Mikoto up, checking on her condition. Hiashi did the same for Hizashi, though the latter's disabled right arm made it awkward. An unexpected person came to assist - their classmate Miyazaki Satoshi, letting Hizashi lean on him.

The Hyuga brothers looked surprised at his casual helpfulness. Satoshi just smiled. "We're all classmates who made it this far together. Lending a hand isn't a big deal." His gaze flickered momentarily to Hiashi's disabled arm, a hint of regret in his eyes.

As the others started leaving, Nawaki stretched lazily in the arena. "Finally, my turn!" His previously casual expression turned intense.

Across from him stood a smiling youth - it was Sarutobi Ao from the Sarutobi clan. Nawaki returned the smile, the two looking more like close friends than opponents. 

Their proctor Sakumo Hatake took his position between them, an anticipatory look on his face. "Sixth match - Nawaki vs Sarutobi Ao."

Up in the stands, the observers focused intently on the arena, murmurs spreading about Nawaki's lineage as the First Hokage's grandson and his opponent being from the clan of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"It's been nearly a year since they last faced off, hasn't it?" one of Nawaki's teammates remarked.

"Sunao-senpai, did Nawaki-senpai and Ao-san have a rivalry before?" Minato asked the kunoichi. 

Sunao smiled. "A rivalry? More like they've been butting heads their entire ninja academy days, with Nawaki always staying one step ahead as the top student."

She was happy to explain to Minato, being around his good looks. Minato was oblivious, but Kushina quickly inserted herself between the two, staring fixatedly at the arena.

Seeing this, Mikoto gave a wistful smile. "Oh Minato, sometimes you can be so dense."

Unable to get answers from Kushina, Minato focused his attention back on the imminent fight between the two top students.

"It's been a while since we last crossed paths after graduation. I wonder how much you've grown?" Ao had a feminine yet friendly look.

Nawaki stretched his left arm across his body, gripping the wrist. "I can't just tell you. You'll have to see for yourself." A tinge of provocation in his voice.

Ao's gaze hardened. "I intended to."

"Begin!" Sakumo declared.

Boom! The two clashed even before the word left Sakumo's mouth, arms locked against each other's strength. The impact made the onlookers on the second floor flinch. 

Their faces were inches apart, eyes blazing with competitive fire. "You're strong," muttered Ao. Nawaki's natural strength came from the Senju bloodline.

Nawaki smirked. "You're not bad yourself."

He knew better than to underestimate Ao's deceptive wiry build - the Sarutobi had nearly matched Nawaki's brawn many times before.

"Heh!"

In the next instant, their free arms swung fists at each other. Both tilted their heads to avoid the blows while their locked arms separated, only to crash together again with their clenched fists meeting in a contest of pure force.

Their movements flowed like water, no wasted effort, each strike carrying staggering power that most present couldn't hope to deflect or overpower. Even as spectators, the impacted forceful exchanges were palpable.

Neither relented, arms quivering from the exerted strength as neither wanted to yield an inch first and create an opening to be exploited - this was a clash of elite skills, with no quarter given.

"For a genius of the Sarutobi, you seem to just rely on brute force like me," Nawaki taunted, abruptly disengaging and leaping back while his hands blurred through hand seals.

Across from him, Ao's hands were already a flurry of motion! The two prodigies were just getting started.

(end of chapter)