Naruto: Evolution

'Fang Passing Fang'

Gen didn't have a single second to breathe after launching Azora into the air.

Two spinning whirlwinds lunged at him again with terrifying speed. This time, they moved in parallel lines, charging in perfect synchrony.

The attack was much more dangerous than before.

But instead of dodging, as he had done earlier, Gen stood his ground.

Swish

Just as the whirlwinds were about to reach him, his figure vanished.

The only thing left in his place was a residual image.

"¿¡What—!?"

Before Momo could react, Gen appeared above them.

With inhuman speed and precision, he extended both hands to the sides and, without hesitation, thrust his arms directly into the center of the moving tornadoes.

A cry of surprise and a bark of confusion broke the silence.

Immediately, the tornadoes crumbled, losing all their energy. As if their force had been drained in a single instant.

The reason was simple:

Gen had grabbed Momo's arm and her dog's paw in mid-spin, instantly neutralizing the technique.

"How is this possible…?"

Disbelief flashed through Momo's eyes. There was no way someone could interrupt the tornado like that, much less stop them mid-spin.

But before she could process it, Gen changed his grip to a push and, with a single motion, hurled them into the air.

Momo and her companion were thrown more than ten meters, crashing hard onto the ground. Although they managed to stabilize upon landing, the difference in level had become impossible to ignore.

"The gap between them is overwhelming."

At the edge of the training field, Hayato watched with narrowed eyes.

It didn't matter if it was the moment Gen had thrown Azora or the way he neutralized and repelled Momo and her dog.

If this hadn't been mere training, but a real fight, the result would be clear.

Gen would have already won.

And Momo noticed it too. After struggling to regain her balance, instead of attacking again, she sighed in resignation and signaled to Hakumaru to withdraw from the battle.

Azora didn't seem ready to accept defeat. His gaze burned with determination as he launched himself at Gen once again, as if he still had an ace up his sleeve.

Gen saw him coming and, instead of reacting hastily, simply turned calmly to face him.

And he waited in silence, completely motionless.

'Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms'

Noticing that Gen wasn't making any defensive moves, Azora suddenly stopped a few meters away from him and adopted his Gentle Fist stance.

The moment he channeled his chakra, an Eight Trigrams field spread beneath his feet, enclosing Gen within it.

It was one of the supreme techniques of the Hyūga clan. Not only did it allow for a barrage of fluid and lethal attacks, but it also restricted the enemy's movements, trapping them in a limited zone where escape was impossible.

For Gen, it meant becoming a perfect target.

When the technique activated, Gen felt his body tense slightly, as if he had truly fallen into Azora's trap.

An instant of stiffness, a fraction of a second, enough for Azora to propel himself forward and launch his first strike.

Swish

But something strange happened.

Azora's palm passed through Gen's body.

As if it were nothing more than a simple bubble of air, his silhouette faded upon contact, dissolving into particles that floated in the air before disappearing completely.

!

"¡¿What…?! When did he make a clone?"

Azora was stunned.

He had kept his Byakugan activated throughout the entire fight. If Gen had used the Clone Jutsu, he should have detected it instantly.

But he didn't.

"He created a clone at the exact moment before being hit…" Hayato murmured with a serious expression.

The Clone Jutsu was a basic technique, but Gen's execution speed was impressive. Not only had he managed to replace himself with a clone, but he had done so at the perfect moment, just before receiving the blow.

So fast that even the Byakugan couldn't catch the change.

Azora reacted immediately. Without wasting time, he halted his attack and scanned the area with his Byakugan, desperately searching for his opponent.

But Gen was even faster.

Crack

The Eight Trigrams field suddenly fractured with a burst of chakra.

Before Azora could process it, a shadow appeared behind him.

A cold sensation ran down his spine.

A kunai slid silently against his waist.

Azora froze upon feeling the pressure of the blade against his skin.

He slowly turned his head, only to meet Gen's calm gaze, wearing a smile that was neither mocking nor arrogant, but serene, confident.

He had lost.

Gen withdrew the kunai with the same calm with which he had placed it, storing it back in his ninja pouch without saying a single word.

Azora hesitated for a moment, his eyes shifting from Gen to his own hands, as if still trying to process what had happened.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, followed by a bitter smile.

"I was completely defeated… Gen, you're too strong."

His tone was not of frustration or anger, but of genuine admiration.

Gen smiled calmly, "It was just luck. Besides, your Eight Trigrams technique almost caught me."

It wasn't mere courtesy.

The Eight Trigrams field was an extremely powerful restriction technique. Although Azora had only used the Thirty-Two Palms version, the restrictive effect was still considerable.

If he had used the full Sixty-Four Palms version, or worse, the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms version, the situation would have been completely different.

Even an experienced Chūnin would have trouble escaping from that technique.

Gen had managed to break the restriction not because he had found a way to counter the Eight Trigrams field, but because his enormous amount of chakra allowed him to overcome the technique through sheer endurance.

"It's truly terrifying… I thought Kakashi was an exception, but I didn't expect the Uchiha clan to also have a young talent this monstrous."

"Gen Uchiha… No wonder my uncle asked me to keep a close eye on him."

Meanwhile, at the edge of the field, Hayato watched Gen conversing with Azora and Momo.

The two no longer saw him as an unreachable rival but as a companion with whom they could learn and improve.

However, in Hayato's heart, the astonishment persisted.

The fact that he was under his tutelage was no coincidence. His identity, just like Kakashi's, was not simple either.

________

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