Chapter 278 I saw it! But I couldn't react!
As the battle escalated, the entire arena began to vibrate violently during the fight between Fujiwara Tetsuya and Hyuga Hiashi, Hyuga Hizashi, Senju Shangcheng, and others.
Countless tiny cracks continuously spread upwards from the ground.
As a result, the Barrier Team members had no choice but to activate the pre-set barrier to reduce the impact of the battle on the surrounding stands.
"Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"
Facing the combined efforts of Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi,
Fujiwara Tetsuya's body was uncontrollably thrown high into the air along the direction of the Chakra flow.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Gazing at the exposed Fujiwara Tetsuya, Uchiha Shinji and Uchiha Toumaru, as their Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly,
charged directly towards Fujiwara Tetsuya's location.
The moment the two Fire Release Ninjutsu collided, Fujiwara Tetsuya was directly engulfed in endless flames.
The terrifying aftershocks, carried by the surging air currents, continuously darted across the arena, impacting the outer protective barrier.
"Is it over?"
"It seems… the title of Mei Zhi Hang isn't worth much after all!"
Gazing at the ball of flames in front of them,
Uchiha Shinji and Uchiha Toumaru stood with their hands behind their backs, their arrogant demeanor unconcealed.
"Uchiha Clan members, don't put on airs there."
"If he were that easy to deal with, he would have died in Kong Ninja Village, died in Hidden Rain Village long ago."
"At this time… just honestly put away your arrogant attitudes."
"After all! If this battle is lost, neither you nor we will be able to report back properly."
In the brief pause as Hyuga Hiashi spoke in a deep voice,
the ball of flames in front suddenly rose with endless steam, accompanied by the spread of a large amount of water mist.
The Fire Release Ninjutsu released by Uchiha Shinji and Uchiha Toumaru also vanished without a trace within a few dozen seconds.
"It's the Water Prison Technique! Did he return it?"
"When exactly did he form the hand seals? Or… did he simplify the hand seals for this Ninjutsu again?"
Amidst the turbulent wind, Fujiwara Tetsuya slowly walked out from the center of the explosion, carrying kirimaru.
"I knew it, Lord Tetsuya wouldn't be defeated so easily!"
"Lord Tetsuya, go for it! You must defeat them…"
Looking at Fujiwara Tetsuya's calm face, the emotions of the audience in the surrounding stands were once again stirred up.
Deafening cheers instantly filled the entire arena.
For the audience, overcoming the strong with the weak, and the many with the few… is always the most spectacular.
"Hiashi, Hizashi, and Uchiha… and the Aburame Clan members!"
"Bring out all your trump cards. I don't care if you're testing me or if it's due to mutual cooperation."
"In short, your current performance is not as good as the previous promotion examination."
"If you keep holding back, you probably… won't have a chance to perform."
As Fujiwara Tetsuya lightly tapped his blade, instructing everyone,
the next second, Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Shinji, and others only felt a blur before their eyes.
Unbeknownst to them, Fujiwara Tetsuya had silently appeared in front of Hyuga Hizashi.
His left hand gathered strength slightly, and a terrifying force, accompanied by the surging Chakra, like a bursting torrent, directly slammed into Hyuga Hizashi's abdomen.
The moment everyone turned around, Hyuga Hizashi's figure had already been blasted by Fujiwara Tetsuya's seemingly casual strike onto the rock wall beneath the stands.
"Hizashi…"
"Shinji… did you see that guy's movements just now?"
Looking at Hyuga Hiashi, who was rushing towards the spot where Hyuga Hizashi fell, Uchiha Toumaru licked his dry lips, his voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm… I saw it."
"However, although I saw it, my body couldn't react in time."
"This guy's speed is simply too fast…"
"It even surpasses Brother Fugaku at full power… and even the elders who taught us."
Turning his head to look at Fujiwara Tetsuya's location,
Uchiha Shinji's heart was filled with surprise… and also a bit of relief.
Good thing!
Fujiwara Tetsuya had targeted Hyuga Hizashi just now, not him.
Otherwise… if that punch had landed on his stomach, his current fate might be even worse than Hyuga Hizashi's.
In a way,
Hyuga Hizashi, who had trained in Gentle Fist since childhood and was familiar with Chakra flow points, was more resilient than him, who specialized in Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Kenjutsu.
"Hizashi… you…"
"Brother, I can still hold on."
"However… Lord Tetsuya's fists are truly hard! They are not at all inferior to his sharp swordsmanship."
With Hyuga Hiashi's support, Hyuga Hizashi slowly stood up.
However, his complexion continued to fluctuate between green and red, indicating that his physical condition was not very optimistic… "Has Tetsuya's speed already reached this level? What terrifying reflexes."
"It seems that old man Hanzo… put a lot of effort into the title he gave Tetsuya."
On the high platform, the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly saw Fujiwara Tetsuya's movements, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
This speed, let alone Hyuga Hizashi, who had just entered the Jonin level.
Even some seasoned Elite Jonin, if they were slightly negligent, would probably be engaged in close combat by Fujiwara Tetsuya due to his speed advantage.
"Koharu! Homura! What do you think?"
"If it's this speed, can you… avoid it now?"
That seemingly casual question immediately made Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's expressions turn difficult.
As for the reason,
it wasn't because Hiruzen Sarutobi compared them to a youngster like Fujiwara Tetsuya.
But because… after a simple thought and comparison,
they actually found that, in their current state, they didn't have full confidence in avoiding it.
"Koharu! Homura… I know the Village has a lot going on right now, but your training can't be easily abandoned."
"I don't demand that you make further breakthroughs beyond your current strength, but… at least maintain your peak condition."
"The situation Konoha will face in the next few years… will be very difficult, and I don't want you to become targets for enemies one day."
Regarding training!
He had always maintained a very rigorous attitude, even though he now possessed peak combat power capable of dominating the Ninja World, he had never slackened in his training.
However… his two companions! His friends!
Seemed to have used busyness as an excuse to avoid training, spending less and less time on it.
In the past ten years, their strength had not only not improved at all, but instead, as they aged, they had prematurely shown a tendency for their condition to decline.
Even though he had reminded them many times, both openly and subtly, over the past ten years, there was still… no change at all.