LET IT RIP

With a beeping sound, the golden letters on the screen displayed the next pairing.

Jin Hyuga VS Chosuke-Chosuke Kirabokua

Accompanied by some encouraging looks and words from their teammates, but mostly banter and teasing, the two young taijutsu experts descended from the gallery. They took their spots in the middle of the arena, with the Proctor between them, and stared each other down. The brief moment of intensity got interrupted when the disabled boy spoke up.

'Would you like to shake hands before we begin?'

His white-eyed opponent grinned.

'I see what you did there.'

The Proctor sighed, intent on speeding the process along.

'Get ready.'

'It's a shame I'll have to eliminate you here, but I'd give an arm and a leg to get to the finals.'

'Same to you, but it is expected of me to pass, so I guess I'll just have to keep my eye on the ball.'

The Proctor rubbed his temples.

'Just begin.'

On one side of the arena, a pair of hands shot up and formed a quick seal. Veins bulged around the Hyuga's eyes when the full power of Byakugan was released.

On the other side, raised scissors were crossed, and a couple clones spawned around their wielder, immediately breaking into a run towards their target, bladed prosthetics leaving deep cuts in the arena's floor.

Jin fought defensively, trying to take measure of his opponent. While dodging and parrying with his hands coated in chakra, he quickly dispersed the clones one by one, but his main goal was trying to focus his breathing and activate his trump card, hoping that with it, he'll be able to end the fight quickly.

And that was what Chosuke expected. Team 11 was the first to complete the second stage, so he had plenty of time to learn about the competition. The main body remained on the backline, spawning more clones to act as a distraction, while at the same time preparing a little surprise. His mastery over elemental techniques was lacking compared to many chunin-hopefuls, but he believed it was enough to do the job.

The air rushed violently around Jin. It could not be considered a proper attack, but it disrupted his breathing and made it hard to achieve the proper rhythm he needed, barely managing to achieve the First Activation. He tried to match his breathing to the gusts, but their chaotic pattern proved impossible for him to predict. However, he could easily spot their origin.

Chosuke observed as his opponent was fighting his way towards him. The Hyuga was making progress, the distance between them closing, but the speed at which he moved was decreasing as the shadow clones in his path grew more numerous, until finally, he was forced to stop, his target only slightly outside his reach. His next move was precisely what Chosuke waited for.

Jin spun around, releasing chakra from all his tenketsu, activating the Palm Rotation. His goal was to clear the field, and it seemed to work, as the force caused the clones around him to disperse. Even after that, he kept his defence up because this was the moment his opponent attacked.

This was the chance Chosuke was waiting for. He had heard about the exhibition match that took place before the tournament, and wanted to exploit the window of vulnerability Jin displayed in it.

Using the last of his clones as a stepping stone, he leapt up and covered himself in chakra, before crashing down in a spinning dive, the blade on the stump of his leg drilling straight down into the Hyuga's protective dome.

Sparks drowned the arena, as the two struggled in a deadlock. Chosuke somehow managed to keep his balance as his rapid pirouette continued. The small point of attack minimized the amount of pushback from the storm of chakra below him, enough that the gravitational pull kept him from flying off. He was confident in his deep reserves and the ability to hang on until his opponent will be forced to drop his shield.

But for the first time in the fight, Chosuke had miscalculated. He underestimated the amount of frustration Jin felt from losing his fight to D, and how many hours he had spent after that to patch the opening, which he had displayed back then.

The golden glow peaked through the blue light. With Chosuke no longer affecting the surrounding air, Jin had managed to achieve the next Activation, and then another one. Entering higher stages of the Heavenly Breaths simultaneously with Palm Rotation was something he was not confident in, but the long hours and litres of sweat he poured into training had paid off.

Now it was time to finish it. Display his prowess and announce that he learned from his mistakes. That his own Rotation no longer blinded him.

The blue dome shifted very slightly, barely half a step, but even such a minuscule movement was enough to cause Chosuke to slide off. And that was when the blue chakra dispersed.

With no counter force, Chosuke crashed down, his attack missing its mark and devastating the ground of the arena instead. Mirroring his opponent, he stopped his spin, but the moment he got his bearing, he was faced with a Gentle Fist onslaught. Before he could dodge, a palm connected with his chest, a needle of chakra sinking in.

He did not expect to use it, but he had one last line of defence. The moment the attack connected, Chosuke split in two. It was no mere clone or illusion. It was the Split-Body Technique. Like a lizard abandoning his tail, he abandoned half of himself to give himself another chance.

But before the Byakugan, that deception had failed. With his current speed, Jin instantly leapt between the two Chosukes.

「EIGTH TRIGRAMS: DOUBLE SIXTY-FOUR PALMS」

In an impossible tempo, he executed a series of attacks at both targets at the same time, one hand targeting one, while the other targeted the other. The sound of strikes landing was accompanied by Jin's loud voice.

'TWO PALMS!'

'FOUR PALMS!'

'EIGHT PALMS!'

'SIXTEEN PALMS!'

'THIRTY-TWO PALMS!'

'SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!'

'DOUBLE SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!'

Jin remained in his stance, breathing heavily as his golden aura fainted.

The two Chosukes lied helplessly on the ground, after a moment, slowly re-merging into one.

The Proctor quickly analysed the situation.

'Match winner, Jin Hyuga.'

Jin walked over to his opponent and extended an offer to help him stand up.

'Need a hand?'

A raspy, strained voice answered.

'Thanks. The fight did spin a bit out of control.'

The Proctor managed to restrain himself from instantly disqualifying the two chuckling boys.