Naruto: The Wind Calamity
chapter-734

Renjiro chuckled and replied, "The last time we faced, I managed to lead my army back unharmed from your army's attacks. This time will be no different. Even though you are faster than me, you can't move faster than my jutsus. I can keep you here all day."

Shirogane snorted and said, "You said it's been a decade since I died. Yet, you're still weaker than me. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Since his attacks couldn't break through Renjiro's defense, he resorted to taunts to make Renjiro make a mistake. However, Renjiro just laughed and said, "Oh, I'm nearly retired now. Nowadays, I focus on guiding youngsters. Considering how easily my student suppressed you a few minutes ago, I have to admit that I'm doing a damn good job. Don't you agree, Shirogane?"

Shirogane asked in surprise, "That boy is your student?"

Their short clash had left quite an impression on Shirogane. While he believed that Renjiro was weaker than him, Fujin was a whole different matter. Even though his bones blocked most of the wind blades, Shirogane knew that he would have been killed by Fujin's Wind Domain if he was still alive. As a rank S ninja with a terrifying Kekkei Genkai, it was extremely rare for him to experience that.

"Under your feet!" Haku warned as Hoka flickered. Moments later, several large ice spikes appeared from under the ground where Hoka was initially standing. Haku followed it up by launching hundreds of flying water needles at Hoka, who flickered repeatedly.

The constant barrage forced Hoka to retreat further and an annoyed expression could be seen on his face. His situation was the exact opposite of Renjiro's. In terms of overall strength, he was superior to Haku. However, Haku's control over his Kekkei Genkai and proficiency in ranged attacks meant that Hoka couldn't land a single attack on him.

Hoka flickered once again, dodging another barrage of water needles. However, instead of retreating further, he moved towards Haku at a tremendous speed and suddenly appeared a few steps in front of Haku.

Haku analyzed, 'He is good. He first backed away, giving the impression that he was being overwhelmed by my attacks when in reality, he was just looking for a way to maneuver through my attacks. However, this puts him at risk…'

Several water needles formed between Hoka and Haku and shot towards Hoka. However, Hoka was even quicker. The moment the needles started forming, he thrust his left palm forward and launched Vacuum Palm!

The Vacuum Palm moved through the water needles, dispersing them, before landing on Haku's chest and sending him flying backwards for a few meters. Hoka flickered again to reduce the distance between them. Before Haku could gather himself, Hoka appeared in front of him and attacked with the Gentle Fist technique.

Haku tried dodging, but Hoka landed two hits on him. The first was on his right arm and the second on his abdomen before Haku could retreat. Hoka thought, 'Finally, I got him! His fighting style is nearly as annoying as Fujin's! Huh?'

Hoka's attacks blocked a few critical chakra points on Haku's body. Under normal circumstances, it would have been enough to end the battle. However, his Byakugan saw that the closed chakra points opened by themselves. Haku said, "It looks like the Hyuga's Gentle Fist technique doesn't work against this body…"

He weaved hand seals while warning, "Get away. If you are trapped in the formation of ice mirrors, you'll die!"

'Ice Release: Crystal Ice Mirrors jutsu'

Thanks to Haku's warning, Hoka retreated before he could be surrounded by the ice mirrors. He carefully observed the technique and asked, "What's so special about this technique?"

His eyes widened as Haku moved from one mirror to another before appearing outside the dome. He answered, "I can travel between the mirrors at a near Instantaneous speed. Even though you are strong, you won't be able to keep up with my speed if you are trapped inside it. Even if you want to escape, my speed won't allow you to leave alive."

Hoka quickly analyzed, 'He's fast. In terms of movement speed, he's far above me. However…'

A smile appeared on Hoka's face as he took his fighting stance and said, "Bring it on."

Haku, who was already weaving hand seals, was surprised. He thought, 'Didn't his eyes see how fast I am? Why is he challenging me in this aspect? As long as he doesn't get surrounded by ice mirrors, I won't have any chance to defeat him…'

As he was being surrounded by the ice mirrors, Hoka thought, 'For nearly a couple of years, I've been training to counter Fujin's speed. Even though he is fast, compared to Fujin, his speed lags far behind. Besides…'

Hoka chuckled as he thought, 'How is this a trap? If I can't keep up, I can always escape underground. There are no ice mirrors under the ground to allow him to chase me there. Even if they were, I doubt he can move at this speed under the ground considering that he hasn't used a single Earth jutsu.'

While Hoka was confident in himself, he wouldn't take such huge risks needlessly. The only reason why he let Haku surround him with ice mirrors was due to having such an easy escape route!

"Here I come!" Haku warned as he moved rapidly between the ice mirrors. However, Hoka didn't move. While his body wasn't as fast as Haku's, he had no trouble following Haku's movements with his Byakugan. He could see that all the attacks were fake.

Finally, a real attack came at Hoka from behind him. He quickly turned around and launched a Vacuum Palm at Haku, who stopped his attack and escaped into another mirror. For the next couple of minutes, Haku tried attacking Hoka, but Hoka countered every attack precisely! He didn't make a single unnecessary movement. Despite his overwhelming speed advantage, Haku couldn't get the upper hand and instead had several close calls.

Hoka's clash with Haku attracted a few eyes as well. That said, nearly all of these eyes were special. The Hyuga clan ninjas quickly took note of Hoka's prowess. Even though Haku was warning Hoka during their battle, his attacks were ruthless. Except for Hiashi, no other Hyuga in the arena could survive against Haku for so long. Not to mention, Hoka wasn't just surviving but instead held the upper hand throughout their battle.

Hiashi analyzed, 'We misjudged Hoka's strength. No, it'd be more appropriate to say that he kept it hidden until now. The Jounin rank is incorrect for him. His prowess is completely at the Elite Jounin rank! Even though he is still some distance from me, he is only 16 years old…'

Hiashi's eyes moved towards Fujin, who was single-handedly fighting both Juzo and Kaminari. And unlike the other fights, he was completely dominating the fight. Even without his Wind Domain, both Juzo and Kaminari were barely managing to hang on with incredible teamwork.

Hiashi thought, 'For the past 6 months or so, Hoka has been spending a lot of time near Fujin's compound. From what I heard, he even guided some of the orphans that were put under Fujin's command. Initially, I thought that it was just due to their friendship. However, now it seems like he did so to hide his strength and be closer to a ninja that the Hyuga clan can't afford to offend.'

Hiashi's fingers landed on the chest of a Suna ninja, killing him on the spot. A smile appeared on his face as he continued thinking, 'As expected of a hot-blooded youngster. They tend to overthink everything. However, I can't blame him entirely.

The conditions of today are no longer like those of the warring era. Even though there are still many who'd want to get their hands on the Byakugan, the danger is minuscule today compared to those days. Hence, with every generation, the discontent towards the Caged Bird Seal grows…'

Unlike what Hoka and many other branch ninjas thought, Hiashi had no intention of using the caged bird seal to eliminate Hoka. Even if the threat of Fujin didn't exist, Hiashi would still feel the same. The only instance when he'd use it is if Hoka attacked the main family or displayed the intention to do so.

As long as Hoka stayed peacefully with the main family, Hiashi didn't mind even if Hoka exceeded him and became a rank S ninja. As the leader of the Hyuga clan, having a rank S ninja among his ranks would only increase his influence.

Seeing that his attacks didn't work, Haku suddenly launched senbon needles from every direction at Hoka. The Hyuga ninjas immediately became worried about seeing that. They didn't see any way for Hoka to dodge the attack. However, their eyes widened! Hiashi was surprised too as Hoka released chakra from all his chakra points and used Rotation! The senbon needles hit the rotating chakra and bounced off harmlessly!