10 AM.
Students from both classes gathered on the training field of the Ninja Academy.
Though it was called a "friendly match," none of the kids cared about "friendship first, competition second." All they thought about was defeating their opponents.
For a moment, the atmosphere was tense and confrontational.
Except for Hinata Hyuga.
She had spotted that familiar figure among the crowd from Class 2-A and immediately grew nervous.
Neji Hyuga noticed her.
He frowned slightly, feeling disappointed.
He had thought that Hinata might have changed after achieving first place in her grade, but it seemed her personality was still the same.
He wasn't even interested in sparring with her anymore.
But Neji didn't consider her his true rival anyway.
Like Sasuke Uchiha, he believed the strongest should face the strongest.
The Hyuga and Uchiha clans were both powerful eye-technique families in Konoha, and had long competed openly and secretly.
And typically, the Uchiha came out on top—so much so that many considered them the true Number One ninja clan.
Neji didn't particularly care, but the rest of the Hyuga clan certainly did.
If he were to lose to Sasuke, he would no doubt hear endless nagging from the elders.
But Neji didn't believe he would lose.
…
"Hinata."
Kitazawa approached her, patted her head, and said, "If you're nervous, just use the method I taught you."
Hinata paused for a second, then silently chanted "rice ball, rice ball" in her mind. Her nerves settled a little.
At that moment, the noisy students suddenly fell silent.
Four people were walking toward the field.
Leading the way was none other than the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Behind him were two Anbu, and walking beside him was a young ninja.
He wore a jōnin vest, had pineapple-shaped hair, and bore scars on both his face and forehead.
"Crap, why is my old man here too?"
The usually laid-back Shikamaru Nara instantly snapped to attention.
"You're screwed. If you don't perform well, you won't get past your dad."
Ino Yamanaka laughed.
"More like I won't get past my mom."
Shikamaru sighed.
In his household, it was his mom, Yoshino Nara, who ran the show, enforcing strict rules on both father and son. A very troublesome woman.
Which was exactly why Shikamaru's dream was to marry an ordinary, peaceful woman.
"Good luck, Shikamaru."
Choji Akimichi patted him on the shoulder.
"Sigh…"
Shikamaru just felt a headache coming.
…
"The Hokage actually came?"
Mizuki subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling a fire burning inside him.
But he quickly suppressed it and changed his expression into a bright smile as he approached Kitazawa and the others.
"Ho—"
He tried to speak first, wanting to represent the two classes.
But he froze after uttering just one syllable, feeling like a complete clown.
"Kitazawa," said Sarutobi Hiruzen with a pleasant smile, "I brought an extra judge. You don't mind, right?"
"Of course not!"
Kitazawa quickly replied, touched by Hiruzen's tact.
"It's our honor to have you and Shikaku-sama here, Hokage-sama."
The young man beside the Third Hokage was none other than Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father—the most intelligent man in Konoha.
In truth, quite a few spectators had come to watch.
Besides Kurenai Yuhi, there were nine other academy instructors who happened to have no classes and came for the show.
None of them expected the Third Hokage himself to attend.
That, plus the earlier conversation, made everyone silently label Kitazawa as someone not to be trifled with.
Mizuki watched Kitazawa chatting with the Hokage, feeling like stabbing him twice out of spite.
Damn it!
That should've been my moment!
"It's about time. Let's begin."
The Hokage spoke after a brief chat.
"I'm looking forward to your performance."
"We won't disappoint you, Hokage-sama!"
Mizuki replied loudly.
Although displeased by the Hokage's favoritism, he knew better than to offend a top leader in the ninja world, especially in a strength-based society.
…
"Shikaku, which class do you think will win?"
Hiruzen asked as they stopped at the edge of the field.
"Hard to say."
Shikaku shook his head.
"I thought you'd say Class 2-A for sure."
Hiruzen looked a bit surprised.
"I heard about Class 1-A's special training from Shikamaru. It seems promising."
Shikaku explained. "They might surprise us."
"Then let's see."
Hiruzen smiled.
He himself had heard bits and pieces about the Class 1-A training, mostly from observing Naruto Uzumaki, but not the full picture.
From a standard teaching perspective, Kitazawa's methods were excessive and unorthodox.
But Hiruzen liked that kind of sincere, motivated ninja.
"The first event is Chakra Form. Simply put—it's about ninjutsu power. The more powerful the technique, the higher the score."
Kitazawa stood before everyone and announced.
"The two classes will take turns, starting with Class 2-A."
"Kojima Shu!"
Mizuki called out confidently, glancing smugly at Kitazawa.
Kojima Shu stepped forward and formed hand seals.
Water Style: Wild Water Wave!
He opened his mouth and spat out water balls the size of fists.
Kitazawa raised his eyebrows.
Mizuki came prepared.
Though Kojima's proficiency was low, it was still a proper Water Release technique.
But Kitazawa remained calm.
Ignoring Mizuki's proud expression, he called out, "Chiha."
A small girl stepped up and clumsily used the Clone Technique.
Compared to Kojima, it was rather unimpressive.
Mizuki scoffed and continued calling names.
Hiruzen felt a bit of a headache watching.
To him, these students' ninjutsu were all quite clumsy.
"Neji Hyuga!"
Mizuki's voice grew louder.
Neji assumed his stance and performed a set of Gentle Fist movements.
"As expected of the Hyuga prodigy."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
He even caught glimpses of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—a technique normally passed only to the Hyuga clan's main family.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Kitazawa's eyes lit up as well. He now believed Class 1-A would win this round.
Though Neji's moves were impressive, they lacked flair—visually strong, but not shocking.
"My turn!"
Naruto tumbled onto the field, brimming with excitement.
Kitazawa and Hiruzen simultaneously twitched their mouths.
Because Naruto was wearing that ugly green bodysuit.
"Well… he's certainly... interesting."
Shikaku commented with his trademark calmness.
He couldn't reconcile this Naruto with the elegant Minato Namikaze.
Hiruzen didn't even know how to respond.
All he could hope was that Naruto wouldn't use that jutsu.
If Naruto used his Sexy Jutsu now, Hiruzen would have no choice but to harshly reprimand both Kitazawa and Kakashi.
Thankfully, Naruto chose to demonstrate Taijutsu, like Neji.
Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief.
He'd never been so nervous in his life.
Many in the village knew he was Naruto's guardian.
If Naruto used that ridiculous jutsu, people would think Hiruzen had taught it to him.
His reputation would be ruined.
"Tenten."
Mizuki called again.
Kitazawa knew why.
Class 2-A's top student was Neji. Second was Tenten.
He had two impressions of her: rich loli, and insanely lucky.
She was so lucky she could pick up Sage Tools just walking around.
"Rich loli" referred to her fighting style—summoning loads of weapons via scrolls.
In the original timeline, she gifted Naruto a diamond kunai for his wedding.
Tenten took center stage and unrolled a scroll.
The next moment, she unleashed a storm of ninja tools.
The spectacle shocked everyone—it was more impressive than Neji's show.
"Shikamaru Nara."
Kitazawa called next.
"So troublesome…"
Shikamaru lazily stepped up.
He glanced at Shikaku and performed a perfect Clone Technique, better than usual.
"If that kid put in more effort, he'd already have learned the Shadow Imitation Technique."
Shikaku said helplessly.
"He's just a kid. Playing around is normal."
Hiruzen thought of his own son, Asuma Hiruzen—even more rebellious, having run off to become a Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire.
Time passed, and most students had performed.
Hinata and Rock Lee showcased Taijutsu.
Haruno Sakura, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi used the Clone Technique.
"I think Class 1-A will win the upcoming Chakra Control round."
Hiruzen mused.
As a ninjutsu expert, he could easily tell the quality behind even basic Clone Techniques.
Both Sakura and Ino displayed excellent control, and considering their age, they were genius-level talents.
But it wasn't just them—Class 1-A overall had solid chakra control.
"But in terms of Chakra Form, Class 2-A still leads."
Shikaku chimed in.
So far, Class 1-A lacked the same mastery over ninjutsu.
Many students couldn't even do basic Clone Techniques properly.
"I'm not so sure about that."
Hiruzen smiled.
"Look, Class 1-A's top student is stepping up—Sasuke Uchiha."
"The younger brother of Anbu genius Itachi Uchiha?"
Shikaku's interest was piqued.
"That's right."
Hiruzen sighed.
"Fugaku sure had two great sons."
Sasuke calmly walked to the center of the field.
Unhurried, he formed hand seals, gathering all his chakra.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
In an instant, a roaring flame shot skyward—a massive fireball nearly 8 meters tall.
The entire crowd was stunned into silence.
Sasuke slightly curled his lips.
Looking at everyone's reactions, he felt like he was on top of the world.
~~~
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