Chapter 14: Defeat

The atmosphere instantly tensed at Lightning's suggestion. His intention was clear—he wanted to test Mochizuki Hui.

But Hui remained calm, merely shifting his gaze toward Bear, the team leader. After all, it was up to him to decide whether they would proceed with a sparring session.

Behind his mask, Bear raised an eyebrow, quickly weighing the situation in his mind. It didn't take long for him to make his decision—he agreed with Lightning's suggestion.

Since they were all part of the same team, they would eventually be working together on missions. If there was a weak link in the team, it would not only make missions harder to complete, but it could also endanger everyone.

It was better to assess Light's strength now. If his abilities were up to par, all the better. If not, Bear would need to report this concern to the Second Hokage.

After all, he couldn't allow one person to jeopardize the lives of the others.

"Lightning has a point. To better understand each other's abilities, a sparring session is necessary," Bear declared, his decision final.

Hearing this, Lightning smirked beneath his mask. "Then I'll go first. Light, you're with me," he said, his eyes locking onto Hui with eager anticipation.

Hui, unfazed, nodded calmly. "I don't mind."

"Alright, Light versus Lightning it is," Bear confirmed, stepping back along with Wind to give them space.

Once the two were in position, Bear slowly raised one hand, then swung it down in a decisive motion. "First Squad, Team Four, sparring session—begin!"

As Bear's voice rang out, Hui's eyes flashed with a brief glimmer of light, while Lightning's expression grew serious.

In the next instant, both moved at the same time.

Hui launched several kunai from his hand, their speed so fast that, with only two or three meters between them, Lightning had no choice but to abandon his attempt at forming hand seals and instead leap backwards to avoid the attack.

The first wave of kunai hit the ground where Lightning had just been standing, but Hui had anticipated his movement. As Lightning leapt into the air, three more kunai flew towards the spot he was moving toward.

"Naive!" Lightning scoffed, twisting his body mid-air to evade the second set of kunai while continuing his hand seals.

Whoosh!

More kunai shot towards him, but this time, Lightning, still forming hand seals, spun his body just enough to narrowly dodge them.

"Lightning Release—"

Just as he was about to finish his jutsu, a faint clang from behind caught his attention, sending a wave of alarm through him.

"What the—?!" Bear blurted out, his voice filled with shock from below.

Lightning, too, completed his final hand seal just as he landed, pressing his palms to the ground.

"Lightning Release: Ground Wave!"

Electricity crackled, spreading in a web-like pattern across the ground, racing toward Hui, who remained standing in his original spot.

But just before the lightning could reach him, Hui gracefully jumped backward, evading the attack with ease. At that moment, Lightning heard a trio of dull thuds behind him.

Thud, thud, thud!

Three kunai had embedded themselves into the ground around him, forming a triangular pattern. Each kunai was only a mere ten centimetres away from his body.

Cold sweat began to trickle down Lightning's forehead as he stared at the kunai in shock. His first thought was, Where did these kunai come from? His second was, Shadow Clone Technique?

But whatever he thought, he knew one thing for certain—he had lost.

Those kunai could have just as easily struck him directly instead of landing around him.

He stood frozen, eyes locked on Hui, unable to believe that the boy hadn't used any hand seals.

Meanwhile, Hui casually hopped backward to avoid the remnants of the lightning technique. Dodging a Lightning Release: Ground Wave was no big deal—it didn't have a large area of effect, and Lightning had only used it as a supplementary attack, expecting to follow up with something stronger. But with the three kunai surrounding him, that follow-up never came.

Hui looked at Lightning, who was slowly rising to his feet, and spoke calmly, "Looks like I've won."

After a brief moment of silence, Lightning nodded. "You win."

Clap, clap, clap!

A round of applause came from Bear, who seemed genuinely impressed.

"What a brilliant display of shurikenjutsu! I've never seen such an innovative attack method," Bear praised, his voice filled with awe.

"Using the first wave of kunai to force your opponent into position, the second to set the stage, and the third to lock in your victory... Truly a genius move."

Lightning's eyes widened as he finally understood how he had been outmanoeuvred. Hui had used the first kunai to make him jump, the second to create an opening, and the third to seal the deal.

It didn't matter how many jutsu Lightning knew or how many tricks he had up his sleeve. In a real fight, those few seconds of misjudgment would have been enough to end his life.

"Now, it's my turn," came a voice from the side. It was Wind, stepping forward with a serious expression, ready to face Hui.