[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." WATER AND SNOW #02 FIGHT Kazuhira Tsukuru Wahei vs Yuki Kazu Shigure's fight with Haruka as hard and dragged on for quite some time due to the situation he found himself in. He couldn't afford getting captured by her Genjutsu, but he still fell for it at the beginning of the match, which impaired his ability to fight at his main specialty: close quarters. Because of that, he was forced to play it safe and hide in the smoke while trying to create a situation in which she would either release her Genjutsu, or tire herself out enough so he could take a decisive blow against her. Using all his wits, the Hyuuga managed to land a good hit with a combination of an explosive tag and a windmill shuriken, and lounged for a decisive attack. Haruka, however, was no pushover, and managed to avoid his assault and counter from afar. But that took all her chakra, and Shigure blocked her last attack with his Rotation, winning because of her chakra exhaustion. He was still in a pretty good condition and that was good. It meant he would be able to properly analyse all the fights that would follow, gathering important intel for the last round on the following day. Once he entered the Bunker, he saw Wahei getting ready and he looked at his friend, gave him a large smile and an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Wahei-kun, I believe in you! Do your best and be careful if he is up close and personal, his Taijutsu skill is nothing too be shrugged off." he said with a firm nod. If he was honest, he believed Kazu had a better chance at winning this fight, but Wahei was also quite smart, and with the aid of the Byakugan, he could prove to be quite the force to be reckon with. Leaning against the window, Shigure's eyes were ready to watch every single detail of that match. "I hope you can win, Wahei-kun... But if things look bad, please have the wisdom to give up." he thought to himself. To his surprise, Wahei - with the mindset of fair play - told Kazu a little about his specialties, which prompted Shigure to facepalm. "Wahei-kun... That was... Silly... But I guess it can't be helped. That's just how you are." he sighed, shaking his head. Still, as the battle started, Wahei played it really well creating a defence system with his Water Clones, and the cold mist created by Kazu wouldn't really work against his Byakugan, and eventually, he managed to land a potential hit to Kazu's back before yielding the fight. Shigure folded his arms and nodded, satisfied with Wahei's performance and feeling hyped up for the possibility of fighting Kazu tomorrow. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 2 Winner: Kazu [Wahei] [456 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." A DANCE OF SWORDS #03 FIGHT Hase Hoshi vs Momochi Kasumi The next battle of the day was between Hase Hoshi, the Genjutsu dancer, and Kasumi and her impressive swordplay skill. The battle started right away with Kasumi using some sort of demonic chakra to create a sensory field. "Interesting... I didn't know she was a sensor as well... That makes things a bit more tricky." he thought to himself, especially considering the fact that the Momochi had an idea of how his doujutsu worked, even though he didn't share all the details about it. Hoshi didn't seem intimidated though, and responded by using Genjutsu, thus confirming Shigure's suspicion regarding his main specialty. With his Byakugan, he could notice that it was a Genjutsu that was activated by his mouth, so something he said, and it was affecting Kasumi's brain in some way, but he couldn't yet determine how, but Kasumi seemed unfazed by it. "I wonder how she will counter his Genjutsu." and her response was to use a quite interesting technique, one that resembled the one Kazu had used on his fight against Taru. It was a thick mist with the goal of depriving the opponent of a clear line of sight, which could protect her from visual genjutsus. The downside would've been the fact that she couldn't see as well, but her sensory technique now made even more sense. "Quite crafty, Kasumi-san." he said, cracking a smirk, feeling a bit proud of the girl. Even though they were enemies, deep down he was cheering on the girl. It turned out that Hoshi's Genjutsu, in order to be properly effective needed visual and auditory triggers and with Kasumi's strategy, she managed to best the Rain shinobi in the fight, and eventually Hoshi collapsed from shock. The girl was also a force to be reckon with, but deep down Shigure also wanted to have the opportunity to fight her if possible. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 3 Winner: Kasumi [N/A] [322 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SILK AMIDST THE ILLUSION #04 FIGHT Komatsuzaki Kiko vs Uchiha Tokaku This would be yet another opportunity to see the Waruichi techniques facing off against Genjutsu. On the previous round, in the fight between Hoshi and Asuna, the Genjutsu dancer triumphed but because the time ran out. He wondered how his old friend Tokaku would fare in this bout. "Her Sharingan should help her react to the silk... And her Genjutsu is strong so... As long as she doesn't let her opponent trap her with her silk, I think she has a decent chance... Be careful, Tokaku-chan." he thought to himself, folding his arms in anticipation for the match. Kiko didn't waste any time in preparing her future attacks by using her technique, and demanding Tokaku to give up, which he seriously doubted she would do. The fight began quite heated up, with a powerful exchange of attacks, and it seemed like the two were evenly matched, until Tokaku suddenly yielded for no apparent reason. Shigure was more than shocked about that outcome. "What the heck?" it was the only thing he could say about this fight before slapping his forehead and shaking his head in disappointment; the Leaf was not doing great in these exams. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 4 Winner: Kiko [N/A] [206 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." BARRIER BREAKER #05 FIGHT Miyamoto Ikana vs Nakatani Ogi This was a fight between Ikana, the youngest participant in these exams, and a girl he didn't really know, one of the other many participants that made it to the final round. Shigure was curious, because he didn't expect Ikana to be that capable, but she did manage to best Okingshi in the first round, so there was definitely more to her than meets the eyes. Like many Mist shinobi, Ikana used the Hidden Mist Technique to conceal herself, prompting Shigure to activate his Byakugan in order to properly follow the fight. "So many of them rely on this technique... Well... Can't really blame them! If I had that technique in my arsenal, I would use it too." he thought to himself, half wishing he could actually learn it, albeit that was not very likely. Moreover, he wasn't able to use Water Release yet. The other girl seemed quite capable with barrier ninjutsu, a tricky fighting style indeed, but he wasn't too bothered by it. If they did come to fight, he had ways around it. Ultimately, Ikana out-maneuvered the girl and managed to lock her into a water prison technique. Now that was a dangerous one, for it not only locked a person inside but also prevented them from properly moving. Luckily, Shigure had the perfect technique to counter that, but to many people, that was the end. And that was exactly the case, and Ikana managed to get her second victory. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 5 Winner: Ikana [N/A] [252 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." WHITE AS A BONE #06 FIGHT Waruichi Kei vs Kaguya Kazue The two of them seemed to be either friends or teammates, for there was a sense of familiarity in the air. Shigure was already growing used to how the Waruichi clan fought using their unique hijutsu involving silk, but he was rather curious to see what this Kaguya boy was capable of, for the fame of their clan was something that went beyond the borders of the Land of Water. Kazue's biology was quite different, and he could see the chakra flowing inside his own bones, which gave a hint of what his Kekkei Genkai was all about. "Interesting... And dangerous... But is he strong enough to cut through those tricky silk threads?" he wondered, touching his chin and narrowing his brows. Kazue did fight a lot against Kei's bandages, but ultimately he was having a very tough time trying to cut them, and ended up getting snared by her threads. Shigure also noticed the explosive tags on it, and noticed that the girl was indeed more clever than she seemed. Now, how would the Kaguya handle that? Would his weird body be able to tank the potential explosion? Did he have something under his sleeves to deal with this predicament? Well, apparently not, for he ended up forfeiting the match. Shigure sighed deeply in mild disappointment. Not because he was judging him, but because he wanted to see more of his abilities before the end of the match. "Well... It is what it is I guess." the Hyuuga shrugged. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 6 Winner: Kei [N/A] [262 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." DUELING ARROWS #07 FIGHT Kuishinbou Kashiwa vs Suzuki Taru A battle between two archers and the two who were highest in the scoreboard: Taru and Kashiwa. Now that was a battle definitely worth watching, especially because Shigure wanted to learn more of what Kashiwa and Taru were doing in order to get such high marks. The two started by firing arrows at one another, and dealing with the attacks coming their way. If anything, they were quite quick in their movements, and had a pretty good aim. Kashiwa also had a decent arsenal of Wind Release techniques at his disposal, and could use them very well within his own style. He was a long ranged fighter who had the tools to keep the battle just like that. Taru seemed a bit less proficient with her bow when in comparison to the Grass Shinobi, but she was extremely well-rounded and had a plethora of different techniques at her disposal, which definitely compensated for that. If he was being completely honest, it was very hard to determine who would win, and that got him deeply engaged in watching their bout. It was becoming a bit more clear to Shigure why they were scoring so high. It felt like all their movements were well-thought, and even when a selected approach didn't fully work out, they had something in mind for their next step. It was like their mind was processing multiple possibilities at the same time, at all times, and that was rather impressive. "I see..." he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. Kashiwa's ability to use the Shadow Clone Technique changed the tide of battle in his favour, and even though Taru tried her hardest, the Kuishinbou emerged the victor of a rather intense match. "That was a pretty good one. Next one is Yoru... I hope he is ready, because the Waruichi are tough." he said to himself, but he was confident in the boy, he had a good brain and he was growing a lot since he first join the team. He could win this fight if he gave it his best, Shigure thought. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 7 Winner: Kashiwa [N/A] [354 words]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"last surprise". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SHADOW OF DEATH #08 FIGHT Nara Yoru vs Waruichi Asuna As soon as the battle started, Shigure activated his Byakugan so he could see where her silky threads were. Asuna started off hot, sending her silk to ensnare Yoru and impede his movements and his chakra. The Hyuuga frowned his brows, hoping the young Nara was ready for such an attack, and to his relief, he was. With the single hand seal and the chakra moving to his legs, he used the Body Flicker Technique to come behind Asuna, where she was vulnerable, avoiding her dangerous attack. With a quick movement, Yoru placed an explosive tag on her back. She was well-armoured, he could see that, but the explosion should still pack quite the punch and give Yoru the edge on the battle. Only he... Decided to explode the tag while he was still dangerously close to that. Shigure's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened in disbelief. "W-what are you doing?!" he exclaimed as the big explosion took place, sending Asuna skidding back and Yoru flying away. The armour, just like Shigure had anticipated, absorbed most of the attack and allowed her to keep herself standing, while the Nara was already severely injured and flying away. Recognising his terrible mistake, he moved his lips and tried to shout to forfeit the match. Shigure saw that clearly with his doujutsu, but the proctor didn't even flinch. Of course, the explosion muffled the sound of his voice, but still, he should've noticed that, right? This battle was basically over. So why was Shigure's heart hurting already? Why wasn't the proctor doing anything? That was when he noticed her counter attack. The threads were quick to grab the boy and hold him up, mouth shut and completely vulnerable. "That's it... He lost." he thought, but Asuna didn't demand a forfeit, and the proctor didn't understand his complete inability to move out of her deadly trap as a decisive maneuver in the fight. No, instead, he allowed her to dash forward, preparing her other threads and molding them into deadly blades. Shigure immediately noticed what she was about to do, and shivers ran down his spine. "NO!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist against the glass of the bunker. "STOP THIS! HE IS DONE FOR!" he screamed, but his voice couldn't reach them there. Nobody moved to interfere and in a flash, Yoru's body was pierced by her threads. His neck and heart were pierced and quickly it stopped beating, he couldn't breathe either, he was dead. Just like that, his life had been taken away from him. "NO! NO! NO!" the Hyuuga roared as he kept on slamming his fist against the glass until his hand was bleeding and sore. The strength from his legs vanished and he felt to his knees. The Byakygan deactivated on its as tears poured down Shigure's face. His mind drifted back into the past, remembering the deaths of Kaito and Natsuki years ago, and how then - just like right now - he was completely unable to save his comrades. "T-this... C-cannot be... W-why?" and as he asked himself that question, he felt his body going hot with rage. The frowning of his brows prompted veins to bulged all over his face, prompting his doujutsu to activate again. He could clearly see the killer, that scum of a girl standing there. The tears ceased rolling down his face, the strength came back to his limbs and he got up, clenching his fists so hard it bleed. "Waruichi Asuna! I will fucking kill you!" he roared before turning around and leaving the bunker. He was too angry and hurt to watch any of the other fights. The day was over for him. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Fight 8 Winner: Asuna [N/A] 624 words]