NOVEL NEXT 55. Who does it first?
Flowing like water and hitting like a landslide. That is the easiest way to describe what followed. In an instant Hinata closed the gap while attacking with an open palm strike that was easily blocked. She wasn’t done, not even close, with the same arm Hinata kept her momentum delivering an elbow strike followed by an open palm to Naruto's stomach.
The moment Naruto felt pain coursing through his stomach he knew he needed to retreat. However, it was easier said than done. As soon as he attempted to jump backward he found his right foot stomped on by the Hyuga girl. The next instant a harsh knee strike was delivered to his left hip as well as a fist to his rib cage on the right side.
Little by little, strike by strike Hinata was rendering Naruto unfit to fight. Unlike the common gentle fist style that focused on dealing internal damage through the use of chakra as well as the disabling of the tenketsu points. Hers added an extra factor, her strikes also aimed at the exposed pain points as well as the more exposed nerves within the body. The end result was a brutal fighting style that rendered the adversary powerless through pain and unresponsive limbs.
It only took Hinata ten seconds to beat Naruto black and blue. The blond boy had wanted to give up or just fall to the ground but the constant and precise strikes prevented both. At least his suffering had been brief despite its intensity. Having had enough Hinata let Naruto collapse.
“Naruto, are you alright?” Iruka had finally been brought out of his trance-like state after seeing Hinata’s display.
“Yeah, this isn’t the first time she has gone all out on me like that. Though I won’t be able to move for a while, everything either hurts or I can’t feel it ” It was the truth. Once he had made a comment about her red face when Tomoka had praised her which led to an even worse beating than now.
Iruka couldn’t help but sigh. What was wrong with this generation? Any kid in Naruto’s position right now would be crying their eyes out and here he was, seemingly fine. Once again Iruka decided to just ignore it.
“The next two are Shikamaru Nara and Tomoka” Iruka didn’t know what to expect from the confrontation. Every time Tomoka had done anything he had his mind blown. However, she couldn’t be a prodigy in taijutsu too right?
As the two entered the circle Tomoka looked Shikamaru in the eyes and gave him a cheeky grin. For his part Shikamaru looked relaxed and unbothered, even bored. A moment passed and the two made the friendship sign before getting into position.
“Start” As soon as Iruka finished, the two kids moved.
“I giv-”
“I forfeit” Before Shikamaru could give up, Tomoka did so. Looking to the side Shikamaru could see the same cheeky grin she had given him before. At that moment his puzzled mind managed to piece things together. Tomoka knew he would give up so she made it a competition to see who could do so first.
This realization made Shikamaru feel a little amused, perhaps interacting with this girl wouldn’t be as much of a drag as usual. At the very least she wasn’t one of Sasuke’s fangirls.
Iruka felt his whole face twitch as he contained his annoyed expression. He had seen the entire thing and even though he wasn’t as smart as the Nara are his years a teacher gave him enough experience to reach the same conclusion as Shikamaru.
He wanted to retort, to say anything. However, he knew that he could do nothing to force Shikamaru to fight. If he pushed it he would at most let himself be hit and fall out of the circle or on his back. As for Tomoka, she was even more of a variable, one he didn’t feel like dealing with. With an exhausted sigh he decided to move on.
“Alright, next up are Nozomi Uchiha and… Sasuke Uchiha, what a coincidence” The last part was whispered to himself. To think that lady luck would put the two Uchiha against each other. Not that he minded. Both of them seem to have a lot of potential.
A moment later the two Uchiha stood inside the circle with serious expressions on their faces. Sasuke had a frown on him that he was trying to hide. Nozomi expresion on the other hand was one of pure determination. She would win, no matter what.