"Not bad!"
Facing the continuous barrage of fireballs, Ryuji even had the leisure to offer a word of praise. Only when the fireballs were upon him did he move his legs to dodge.
However, calling it dodging isn't entirely accurate.
His body swayed left and right avoiding the fireballs, his legs constantly stepping forward, weaving through them as if threading a needle. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Setsuna, his fist simply and brutally smashing down at him.
Clang!
The iron rod blocked the fist, but the immense force sent the rod's owner sliding far across the ground.
Setsuna's tiger's mouth split open, both hands trembling uncontrollably. But he showed no fear, his eyes gleaming with intense light as he charged forward with the rod. (T/N: Tiger's mouth is the webbing between thumb and index finger in our hand.)
Ryuji wasn't cowed either, swinging his fists to meet him.
This time, Setsuna didn't clash head-on. Instead, he used the Sharingan's insight to read his attack trajectory, then dodged the attack before launching his own.
Ryuji's gloves had Life Fibers, but his clothes did not. With his cannon-fodder Chunin-level physical strength, taking a single hit from the rod would mean collecting his final paycheck.
Reluctantly, Ryuji had to pull back and retreat.
Seizing the initiative, Setsuna pressed his advantage relentlessly. One strike missing, the next followed immediately. A flaming rod danced, filling the air with flames and a blur of rod shadows, giving Ryuji no chance to counterattack.
But his clever plan was mistaken.
Though he lost the initiative, Ryuji remained completely unflustered. His defense was airtight. No matter how fierce the onslaught, he gave no opening.
A person ultimately cannot hold their breath forever, nor maintain a continuous fast attack indefinitely. Setsuna, unable to break through after prolonged assault, finally lost his breath. As he gasped for air, his hand movements faltered slightly.
Ryuji seized the opportunity, immediately counterattacking.
But Setsuna was no ordinary opponent either. He quickly stabilized his breathing rhythm, maintaining distance from Ryuji, using his weapon's length to launch counterattacks.
One used a rod; the other used fists.
The two engaged in an orderly dance of offense and defense, advance and retreat, constantly moving within the not-so-large arena. Fists and rods collided intermittently, shaking the air with shockwaves and scattering gravel in all directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The sound of clashing forces echoed through the arena. The spectators watched the two combatants with rapt attention, not daring to make a sound, afraid that any slight noise might distract them and influence the outcome beyond pure skill.
"Something's not right!"
Suddenly, a young member of the Nara Clan exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.
Feeling the gazes from all around, especially from the respected elders whom he usually had to bow to, he braced himself and said, "That Senki Ryuji is a puppeteer, right? Why is he charging in to fight himself? Where are his puppets?"
These words made everyone suddenly realize.
'That's right, isn't he a puppeteer?'
'Why is he rolling up his sleeves and fighting himself?'
It's common knowledge that a puppeteer's personal combat power is low. Yet this Ryuji was fighting Setsuna to a standstill.
'No wonder we'd felt something was off since the duel started. So that was it!'
Regarding this, Minato could only smile wryly.
As for those like Gin and Karura, who had some understanding of the exoskeleton armor on Ryuji's body, they couldn't help but show proud smiles, arousing the curiosity of the Konoha's people beside them.
Clang!
Suddenly, an intense sound of metal clashing echoed through the arena.
The spectators' attention was drawn back to the two fighters... They saw Ryuji use his left fist to deflect the sweeping rod, while his right fist shot towards Setsuna's chest.
Ryuji's deflecting strike left Setsuna's hands somewhat weak, his body leaning back, his entire front wide open. Though his Sharingan captured the follow-up right fist, it was too late to defend or counter. He could only retreat step by step.
But one step back leads to more.
Seizing the initiative, Ryuji pressed his advantage relentlessly. Taking large steps forward to claim space, his hands became blurs as he attacked continuously, giving Setsuna no chance to steady himself, forcing him to stumble backward unsteadily.
Thud!
His back hit the wall. Setsuna had no more room to retreat. And Ryuji's attacks showed no sign of stopping. His right fist, a heavy blow, aimed for Setsuna's forehead.
Boom!
The fist was, of course, dodged. The immense force caused the entire wall to shatter into a crater over three meters in diameter. Cracks spread out several meters in all directions.
This terrifying strength, though not equal to Tsunade or Gin's, still stunned everyone.
Remember, he's a puppeteer. Without precise Chakra Control, relying solely on himself to unleash such power… how could it not be shocking?
Yet this wasn't the most shocking part.
The most shocking part was that after delivering one heavy punch, Ryuji seamlessly followed with another, then another, and another... Repeating this, he actually used heavy punches as a continuous combo.
What he had done violates biomechanics!
After all, how can you manage to use heavy punches as a combo without breaking your own hands first?
Regardless of how he did it, as the person involved, Setsuna was suffering greatly.
Pinned against the wall, he had lost much dodging space. Even though his Sharingan could capture the opponent's attack routes, evading them was extremely difficult.
As for parrying?
Hah, with the difference in their strength, parrying was simply impossible.
He could dodge one punch, two, three, even four... but he couldn't dodge the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth...
Ryuji's hands were like machine guns, firing left and right, continuously striking his body. The sound of impacts and bone cracking resounded throughout the arena.
"Gah!"
Setsuna vomited blood, the light gradually fading from his eyes.
Seeing it was about enough, Ryuji poured all his strength into his right hand, delivering the final punch.
Bang!
The fist struck Setsuna's face, denting the half of his face covered with tattoos. The back of his head slammed into the wall, leaving a deep indentation.
The light completely left his eyes as he slid down powerlessly, leaving a glaring bloodstain on the wall.
"Huff, huff~"
Ryuji breathed heavily for a moment, steadying the rising and falling of his chest.
He looked around, coldly sweeping his gaze over the silenced audience. Then he looked at Setsuna lying by the wall, a smile splitting his lips. "Even though your physical attributes and skills are so far inferior to mine, you still managed to hold out this long. I have indeed witnessed the power of the Sharingan."
Ryuji's expression was calm, but combined with the blood splattered on his face, it appeared peculiarly eerie and dangerous.
He looked up again, scanning the spectator stands. The look in his eyes gradually turned manic. He laughed wildly, provocative, "Why is everyone so quiet? You came to see my strength, didn't you? Give me some reaction!"
"Or perhaps you think a single Uchiha Setsuna isn't enough to probe my strength?"
"Then any one of you will do. Come down and fight me. No matter who, I will use my strength to tell them: Those who offend me, die!"