A large and a small figure charged at each other like fierce tigers unleashed from their cage.
As the distance between them rapidly closed, both struck out almost simultaneously.
The taller figure, Hizashi, moved with incredible speed. His arms danced like agile serpents, unleashing a flurry of palm strikes in an instant. The force of his attacks tore through the air, producing sharp, piercing whistles that made one's scalp tingle.
Despite being physically smaller than him, Tanaka's speed was no less impressive.
His arms spread out, one palm striking forward like a raging gust of wind, intercepting each of his opponent's attacks with powerful precision.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two clashed at lightning speed, their strikes as heavy as mountains. Each collision of their limbs echoed with deep, explosive sounds, almost painful to the ears. Every impact stirred the surrounding air, sending shockwaves rippling outward.
In mere moments, they had exchanged over a hundred blows.
Anyone observing from the sidelines would immediately notice that their techniques were strikingly similar, as if taught by the same master. Beneath their feet, at some point during the battle, two Eight Trigrams symbols had been laid out across the training ground.
With every strike exchanged, the two Eight Trigrams symbols seemed to resonate with intense energy, clashing just as their wielders did.
And so, the battle of palm strikes continued—until the 127th strike.
Whoosh!
Just as they were about to execute their 128th exchange, Tanaka suddenly stomped on the ground and leaped backward, retracting his attacking palm. A three-meter gap instantly opened between him and Hizashi.
With his Byakugan activated, Hizashi saw Tanaka retreating mid-air like an agile monkey. Unable to withdraw his strike in time, his palm was on course to hit empty space.
But he was no ordinary fighter. Having survived the war, his battle instincts, skill, and awareness far surpassed Tanaka's at this stage.
Without even thinking, he made the optimal choice.
Maintaining his palm strike, he lunged forward in an explosive dash, closing in like an arrow released from its bow—his palm aimed straight for Tanaka's chest.
As expected of Hizashi-sensei.
Still mid-air, his feet yet to touch the ground, Tanaka couldn't help but admire the move. But his body never hesitated.
He had retreated first, and Hizashi had immediately pursued.
Between them, the distance fluctuated—slightly beyond one meter, but not quite two. This just barely exceeded Hizashi's arm's reach.
With the insight of his Byakugan and the spatial awareness honed through extensive use of ROOM, Tanaka's grasp of spatial distances far surpassed Hizashi's.
Hizashi was fully aware of this fact. However, he had already committed to his attack—the final strike of the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, the most powerful finishing blow.
At this moment, two possibilities existed:
He misses, leaving himself vulnerable to Tanaka's counterattack at the moment when his previous force has faded and new strength has yet to build—effectively deciding the battle.
He relentlessly pursues, using his fully matured body and longer reach to strike Tanaka before he lands, using sheer momentum to overwhelm him while he remains airborne and unable to leverage any ground force.
Before the era of Six Paths Obito and Six Paths Madara, the shinobi world always believed in one principle: true strength comes from the ground.
This was especially true for taijutsu specialists. Having both feet firmly planted was paramount.
Right now, his feet were on solid ground. Meanwhile, Tanaka was mid-air, retreating.
If Tanaka entered his attack range in this state, defeat would be inevitable.
However, just as Hizashi relentlessly pursued, closing the distance and about to bring Tanaka into the strike zone of the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, Tanaka, still midair, suddenly thrust out the hand he had previously withdrawn in a feint.
With his yet-to-fully-mature arm span, even if he extended his arm completely, he wouldn't be able to reach Hizashi's attacking palm—let alone his body.
And yet, this single airborne strike caused the battle-hardened Hizashi's face to change dramatically.
Not good!
At that moment—
Vacuum Palm!
From his elevated position, like an eagle swooping through the sky, Tanaka unleashed a palm strike. The air in front of him, nearly invisible to the naked eye, was forcibly compressed into rippling waves like liquid mercury.
Boom!
With a sharp, piercing sound, a shockwave erupted from his palm, surging forward. Carrying a vast and unstoppable force, it shot directly at Hizashi's chest.
This isn't One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms?
No—wait!
He switched techniques mid-battle, replacing it with Vacuum Palm!
Facing the sudden Vacuum Palm, Hizashi instinctively wanted to sidestep, but there was no time. He considered shifting to Revolving Heaven for defense, but that required forcibly interrupting his own One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms sequence.
The two were separated by less than two meters, and the speed of Vacuum Palm was monstrous. The moment Tanaka struck, the shockwave was already upon him. There was no chance to dodge or switch techniques.
I've lost.
In the end, all Hizashi could do was acknowledge his defeat in his heart. Maintaining the motion of his final palm strike, he was engulfed by the roaring shockwave, blasted backward like a raging dragon had struck him.
When he landed, battered and disoriented, he had already been knocked outside the boundaries of the training ground.
Not only has he mastered the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, but also Vacuum Palm... And in battle, he doesn't rigidly follow form—his attacks are fluid, unpredictable, weaving both techniques seamlessly together.
It's only been three days... and he can already do this?
What kind of taijutsu genius is this?
Hizashi half-knelt on the ground, his eyes fixed on Tanaka, his expression subtly moved.
To be fair, during the match, he had intentionally controlled his chakra, strength, and speed to match Tanaka's level. However, height, reach, muscle and bone density, battle experience, and instinct—these were things he could not suppress or change.
Moreover, both the Vacuum Palm and One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms were techniques he had practiced for years, while Tanaka had only been learning them for three days.
From the moment they started, the natural advantages were all on Hizashi's side.
And yet, in the end—he was the one who lost.
How could he not be shocked?
He actually defeated Hizashi-sama without using any time-space ninjutsu! From the outer edges of the training ground, Natsu, who had been watching the duel, was filled with both shock and admiration.
If Tanaka had used time-space ninjutsu to win, she wouldn't have been surprised. In fact, she wouldn't even have been shocked if he had defeated Hizashi instantly using such techniques.
But from start to finish, he had relied solely on the Byakugan and Gentle Fist—without using any abilities outside of pure taijutsu.