Sasuke understood Hinata well enough to know she never did anything without a reason—except maybe that absurd playboy outfit she'd forced on him. Thanks to that punk-style getup, the number of fangirls surrounding him had doubled.
"Don't question me! Put them on!!"
Hinata raised both arms, veins bulging at her temples as her voice rang out with a fierce challenge.
"I want to see, right here and now, just how far apart our strengths have become!"
With a sharp snap of her fists, orange-red flames erupted from Hinata's gloves like bloodthirsty beasts. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened in shock. That level of heat—it was dangerous.
"I've already proven I was right! In method, in thought! Now! I want to see if you two, blindly walking in my footsteps, are still qualified to follow behind me! HAA!!"
With a roar, she slammed her fist into the ground.
BOOM!!
The stone floor of the training ground shattered like wet paper, scorched dirt and fire sweeping out in a wave. At the epicenter, Hinata stood unfazed.
"Wagh!!"
Startled, Naruto and Sasuke leapt back instinctively, stunned at the crater now left in her wake.
Crouched on a wooden kunai target post, Sasuke's eyes trembled. The earth five meters around Hinata had caved in, still crackling with fire. That one punch had equaled the destructive force of his Great Fireball Jutsu—and it wasn't even ninjutsu.
"You see that? That's the essence of Flame-Killer Fist! Turning chakra into tangible fire—then unleashing it through relentless strikes!"
Hinata stood, flames dancing at her hands, her voice filled with exhilaration and challenge.
"Now! Prove yourselves! Show me you have the strength I do!"
"If you can't…"
"Concede."
---
"You want to know which of us is strongest, don't you? This is your chance. No one else is around—we settle it now."
Hinata expanded her Byakugan's range to its maximum. Not a soul nearby. Even Kakashi, despite his elite jōnin skills, could only monitor the outer Uchiha compound. There was no one watching the training ground now.
"You really can't wait, huh?"
Sasuke's black eyes sharpened, but a hungry spark glinted inside. She was right. Ever since she knocked him out at the shrine, that humiliation had haunted him. This was his chance to repay it.
"Tch! Like hell I'll lose to you two!"
Naruto stepped forward too, scowling defiantly.
Hinata smirked.
"Big words. But real power is shown in action!"
Her hands shot to her tool pouch—and in a flash, two red-hot shuriken, lit with flame, hurled straight at their throats!
SHNK! SHNK!
The searing blades pierced Sasuke and Naruto in perfect sync. But instead of blood—puff!—both targets exploded into smoke and wooden stumps.
Hinata's brows rose. So they'd learned to anticipate her feints.
Good.
"Lightning Style—Star Claw Bloom!!"
From the trees to her left, Sasuke's voice rang out. Five shuriken sliced through the air, glowing with sharp electric-blue lightning.
"Ohh~ so you've improved too!"
Hinata sidestepped immediately, her Byakugan spotting the traps. She darted away rather than stand her ground.
She wasn't about to challenge Sasuke in a shuriken duel. Uchiha were masters of projectiles—and judging by the way Sasuke had layered lightning chakra into his attack, he was evolving fast.
Those shuriken weren't standard. She saw it: their spin patterns, the sudden acceleration of the front ones, and a last-second change in angle. They'd converge from three sides—a perfect encirclement. If she had stayed still, she'd be hit and paralyzed.
Lightning chakra paired with metal shuriken—classic Uchiha synergy. She had no intention of falling for it.
Trying to chase him down would be foolish too. He'd definitely set traps, knowing she'd use close combat.
Instead…
"Naruto! Stop hiding! My eyes can see through any disguise!"
She had to deal with the wildcard first. Naruto was no trap-layer. His edge was raw durability—and unpredictability.
"Don't underestimate me!!"
Naruto, annoyed at being labeled the weaker target, leapt from cover. From his pouch he hurled a single shuriken—but mid-flight, he formed a hand seal.
"Reverse Harem Jutsu: Aerial Assault Version!"
Poof!
The shuriken transformed mid-air—into a naked, airborne, golden-haired pretty boy in a flying hug pose, eyes sparkling. It was a jutsu weaponized to break hearts.
But…
WHAM!!
Hinata didn't even blink. Her cold expression didn't waver as she delivered a brutal uppercut—right into the groin.
The naked illusion shattered in a puff of smoke. The original shuriken clattered uselessly to the ground.
She didn't have time to celebrate.
"HAAAHH!!"
Naruto had used it as a distraction—he now came crashing down from above, fist raised!
Too close to dodge. Even Tiger Roar wouldn't avoid damage. She had to block!
Arms up, Hinata crossed them over her head just in time. Naruto's gauntleted fist smashed down hard. The metal rang out.
Hinata winced. It wasn't just brute strength.
A sharp stinging pain sliced across her forearms and cheek—like being cut by high-speed wind.
So he'd managed it too.
Naruto had trained through that same brutal iron-sand regimen. Now, wind chakra surged in his fists. The Saint Fist gauntlet drew out that power and released it in razor-thin air blades.
Even though she blocked the hit, the wind blades still cut through.
Hinata's eyes flared with pain and rage.
"Elbow Fang!!"
(TL: Basically using the fang move with elbow.)
With a snap of her right elbow, she drove it into Naruto's gut. As he gasped and doubled over, she grabbed him by the throat with her left hand and lifted him clear off the ground.
"Not bad. Another one of your weird jutsu, huh? You really do love Transformation Jutsu."
Her palm began to glow—a surge of violent fire chakra condensed there.
"But little tricks like that… won't beat me!"
BOOM!!
The fire detonated in her grip, right at Naruto's neck. He screamed as he was blasted backward, rolling several times before going limp. His throat smoldered, scorched black.
Ahh. The Kusanagi Ancient Martial Arts moves really did transition nicely.
Flexing her left hand, Hinata turned to face Sasuke, who had arrived a second too late.
"Now… it's just you and me, Sasuke-kun."
"Damn it…"
Even Sasuke was shaken. He'd suspected there was a gap—but this? Hinata was holding back before. And her every strike hit with surgical precision.
That kind of ruthless efficiency… even he wasn't confident he could take it head-on.
"You've figured it out by now, haven't you? There's no such thing as 'Nanto Seven Saints Fist.'"
She grinned with malice as Sasuke tensed.
Yes. All her suspicions were confirmed.
Now it was time for a far more interesting test.
"What?!"