Early in the morning, Hyuga Kagami arrived at the Forest of Death with a bulging pack slung over his back.
He had expected to spend some time tracking down the little wild boar, but the moment he arrived at the pond where it usually roamed, it darted out of the underbrush.
Rather than him finding the boar, it was more like the boar found him.
The boar looked noticeably bigger than it had yesterday, though its hindquarters were practically bald, as if it had been chewed up by another beast in the forest.
Seeing the little boar limping toward him, Hyuga Kagami chuckled. "What kind of trouble did you stir up to get beaten this badly?"
With a smile, Kagami set down his pack, pulled out a large chunk of meat, and used a short blade to slice it into strips, laying them out on the ground.
The boar squatted nearby, drooling as it stared hungrily at the meat.
After arranging the meat strips, Hyuga Kagami labeled each piece, then took out five vials of paralyzing toxin, injecting one into each strip labeled 1 through 5.
Each vial contained the same base poison, but with different ingredient ratios. Kagami's goal today was to test which of these variations was most potent so he could refine the formula further.
Once ready, he tossed the strip labeled #1 to the boar.
The boar, already salivating, rushed forward with snorts and gobbled the meat in seconds. It then sat back down, staring intently at the remaining meat.
Hyuga Kagami immediately activated his Tenseigan and began closely observing the boar.
But nothing happened. The boar, having eaten the meat infused with the paralyzing toxin, showed no visible change—not in its faint chakra flow, nor in its muscles.
The only difference was that more drool now dripped from the corners of its mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
This wasn't just any toxin. It was a meticulously crafted composite paralyzing poison, one that, by his estimate, even a Chunin would struggle to resist.
Yet this scruffy little wild boar had gobbled it down without the slightest effect. Kagami found that hard to accept.
Still skeptical, he tossed the strip labeled #2... then #3... #4... and finally #5.
The boar ate them all without hesitation, licking its lips and drooling on the ground, but again, no other reaction.
Now rubbing against Kagami's leg affectionately—and even smearing drool on his pants—the boar seemed oblivious to its role as a test subject.
Hyuga Kagami's forehead twitched with frustration.
"You think I can't handle you?"
Slightly embarrassed and annoyed, he pulled out a vial of composite lethal toxin, injected it into the sixth strip of meat, and tossed it to the boar...
An hour later, back at home, Kagami was already brewing a new batch of toxins.
The earlier formulas? All trashed.
If they couldn't even take down a slightly resistant wild boar, then they were worthless.
Over the next few days, Kagami repeated this cycle: formulate, test, refine. It wasn't a total loss though—the little test subject was getting plump and healthy from all the meat.
One morning, as Hyuga Kagami stepped out of his house, he found someone already waiting at the door.
The man stepped forward, blocking his path. "My name is Uchiha Hiiragi. I believe you already know why I'm here. We can settle this here or somewhere else—you decide."
Looking at the slender, cold-eyed Uchiha before him, Kagami immediately recalled the note Shisui had given him the night before.
"Uchiha Hiiragi, Jonin. Cold personality. Skilled in Fire Style, Wind Style, taijutsu, kenjutsu, and throwing weapons. Weaknesses: poor stamina, risky sword tactics, bloodlust."
From the note, it was clear Hiiragi was a versatile and formidable opponent.
His stamina weakness might be a liability in a prolonged battle, but for a spar between village comrades, it wasn't a major issue.
Clearly, the Uchiha clan had put effort into regaining their honor.
The only advantages Kagami could see were Hiiragi's reckless tendencies with his sword and his unstable mindset during combat.
After a short pause, Hyuga Kagami said, "Follow me."
Hiiragi didn't speak. He simply nodded coldly.
Kagami led him to a quiet grove.
"What do you want to compete in?" Kagami asked.
Hiiragi blinked, slightly surprised by the question. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Ninjutsu or taijutsu—your call."
Kagami smiled. "Let's go with taijutsu."
After his recent battle with Iwamoto, Kagami realized the Hyuga clan's standard methods weren't enough against unpredictable ninjutsu users. He had baited Hiiragi a bit, not expecting him to give him the choice—but now that he had, Kagami was definitely going to capitalize.
With the match agreed upon, Hiiragi slowly drew his short blade.
Morning sunlight filtered through the treetops, catching the edge of his blade and casting dazzling reflections, lighting up the shadowy grove with brilliant flares.
Hyuga Kagami lowered his stance slightly, his hands glowing with blue chakra, one in front and one behind, guarding his center.
Whoosh—
A light breeze passed through, shaking a few leaves loose from the trees above.
As the leaves spun and floated down, one landed on the edge of Hiiragi's blade and silently split in two.
Kagami's expression tightened. "Nice sword."
For a swordmaster, having a quality blade drastically enhanced combat ability—and Hiiragi's short sword was clearly no ordinary weapon.
The sheer pressure radiating from its edge was enough to make Kagami wary.
Swish—
Hiiragi suddenly moved, his figure blurring into a shadow as he dashed forward with a sharp whoosh.
Despite the speed, Kagami's Tenseigan allowed him to see each movement in perfect detail—every twitch, every expression.
He calmly activated his Eight Trigrams Palm technique and stepped in to meet the attack head-on.
In a flash—
Blade met palm. A deadly contest within inches began!
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