"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke Uchiha formed hand seals in a flash, then exhaled a massive stream of fire.
Fueled by fire-nature chakra, the flames swelled rapidly into a scorching fireball.
Hinata Hyuga stopped on a dime, nimble like a cat, and dodged left.
"Manipulated Shuriken Technique!"
With a twist of both wrists, Sasuke launched six shuriken in a wide fan.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata didn't hesitate.
Her pale hands lit up with chakra, and in six rapid strikes, she knocked all six shuriken away.
Even though they were attached to wires, it didn't matter—Sasuke couldn't reel them back in time. By then, Hinata was already gone.
"Tch… Byakugan and Gentle Fist—what a pain."
Sasuke frowned, mind racing. He was searching for the perfect window to cast Genjutsu: Bubble.
The problem? Hinata knew his fire style and genjutsu too well.
He couldn't rely on the same tricks he used to beat Neji.
And worst of all—he couldn't let her get close.
His Uchiha-style taijutsu wasn't on par with her Gentle Fist, and one wrong hit to a chakra point could shut him down completely.
So, to keep her at bay, he had to stick with fire jutsu and shuriken.
But that strategy had a time limit—he didn't have the chakra to drag this out.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke decided to go bold.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
A dozen flaming projectiles shot out in erratic trajectories, like a meteor shower trapping Hinata from all sides.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata didn't flinch. Like Neji had done before, she charged straight into the firelight, smashing each fireball while pushing forward.
Sasuke kept calculating the distance between them.
The moment was right. He formed hand seals again.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Three roaring fire dragons shot toward her.
Hinata's pupils narrowed.
Under Sasuke's control, the dragons blocked off her path completely.
She had no choice but to keep an eye on the dragons and dodge sideways.
She was close now—almost in range—but the dragons blocked her from using the Leaf Body Flicker without getting burned.
Then suddenly, the dragons split apart.
Hinata paused—instinctively. And in that moment, their eyes met—Sasuke's Sharingan was locked on her.
"Got her."
Genjutsu: Bubble—triggered instantly.
But Hinata's eyes flashed with focus.
This... was exactly the moment she was waiting for.
Sasuke had moved the dragons away to cast genjutsu—leaving nothing between them.
Leaf Body Flicker!
Her body flickered and disappeared into a flurry of leaves.
"…What?"
Still mid-casting, Sasuke suddenly had no target. He glanced left and right, confused.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata reappeared right in front of him, both palms glowing with chakra.
She struck cleanly.
Sasuke's body jolted—his chakra flow instantly locked up.
Hinata didn't hold back. She unleashed the first ten strikes she had mastered.
With his chakra halted, Sasuke stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
"No way…"
Frustration surged in his chest.
He'd awakened his Sharingan. He'd beaten Neji. How was he losing to Hinata?
No!
His path to glory—was it already over?
He fought back against the paralysis. Emotions poured into his eyes. He could feel his chakra starting to move again.
"RAAARGH!"
Sasuke forced himself to his feet.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Seeing this, Hinata calmly stepped in and struck ten more pressure points—different ones this time.
"You…"
Once again, his chakra collapsed.
Blood rushed to his head. Vision blurred. He passed out.
"Sasuke?!"
Hinata, so confident just seconds ago, suddenly panicked.
Kitazawa took a step forward to check on him—but someone else got there first.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura Haruno rushed to his side, catching him as he slumped.
She formed seals quickly and pressed glowing hands to his chest.
"He's okay. Just overheated himself," she said with relief.
Kitazawa patted Hinata on the head with a gentle smile.
He'd worked at Konoha Hospital long enough to know—Sasuke's color was good, no serious harm.
Kitazawa chuckled quietly.
Sasuke had been one step away from going supernova—only for Hinata to knock him back to square one with a few palm strikes.
If it had been anyone else, he might've actually turned it around.
"Winner—Hinata Hyuga!"
Kitazawa announced it loud and clear.
Hinata smiled in disbelief.
She actually won against Sasuke?
Honestly, she knew she got lucky.
But most of the credit went to the Leaf Body Flicker that Kitazawa had taught her.
[Current Mission: Help Hinata defeat Sasuke Uchiha.]
[Reward: Genjutsu – Bubble.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa saw the glowing mission prompt and smirked.
This was a world where only Sasuke got smacked down.
But he wasn't out long. Soon enough, he came to.
"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked softly.
"…"
Sasuke didn't reply.
He stood, still silent, and stepped off the field.
He'd awakened the Sharingan. He'd beaten Neji.
Why… did it end like this?
"Sasuke, it's just one loss. You'll win next time," Naruto said encouragingly.
"You don't understand the Uchiha," Sasuke said after a few seconds.
"True, I don't," Naruto nodded, "But I do know one thing: never giving up leads to victory! Come join us on the path of youth and sweat it out together!"
"…I refuse!"
Sasuke actually flinched and took a step back.
"Why not?" Naruto asked. "Weren't you smiling when you wore that green jumpsuit?"
"...??"
Sasuke stared at him, totally bewildered.
Which part of that did I look happy in?
But Naruto's nonsense helped him relax.
The loss to Hinata was in the books—there was no changing it now.
What mattered next was learning more fire jutsu and genjutsu.
Sasuke finally understood how crucial intel and new jutsu were.
He lost because he didn't know Hinata had learned the Leaf Body Flicker.
If he had enough jutsu, no one would beat him.
Kitazawa glanced at him again.
Now that was the right way to use Naruto.
…
"The Uchiha clan really did produce two geniuses," Tsunade said, her eyes still on Sasuke.
"If I'm not mistaken, his dojutsu just spiked again during the fight."
"He just awakened his Sharingan not long ago, and it's already evolved?"
Shizune looked genuinely stunned.
"Isn't he only seven?"
"Tch, geniuses don't follow rules," Tsunade chuckled softly, then added with a hint of amusement, "But Sasuke's kind of an outlier."
Among all of Konoha, outside of the Uchiha themselves, no one understood the Sharingan better than the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
As one of the village's top leaders—and Tobirama's grandniece—Tsunade had read all his research.
She knew exactly how the Sharingan activated and how it evolved.
But this… this thing Sasuke was doing—powering up without deep trauma or death—it was rare. Very rare.
"Sasuke's definitely different," Kitazawa agreed, nodding.
In his past life, a lot of people used to say that Sasuke Uchiha was the only truly "normal" one among his clan—and maybe that was what made him dangerous.
…
"Students holding number two, please come to the field!" Iruka's voice rang out across the arena.
A ripple of movement spread through the crowd.
"Looks like Naruto's up against Yakumo," Shizune said, eyes drifting toward the pair stepping into the ring.
"That's… going to be tough."
"Not just tough," Tsunade cut in, shaking her head. "Almost impossible."
Her tone was calm but absolute.
Yakumo's kekkei genkai was no joke.
She had two terrifying abilities:
—Genjutsu, and
—True Genjutsu Creation.
Even elite jōnin could be caught off guard if they weren't prepared.
And Naruto?
Well, his biggest weapons were his taijutsu and his Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
That could overwhelm normal genjutsu users… but Yakumo wasn't normal.
With her kekkei genkai, she could drag every single clone into a mass illusion all at once.
"Wanna bet on it?" Kitazawa said suddenly, his tone calm but pointed.
Tsunade turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.
"You want to bet?"
Kitazawa nodded.
"I want to see if your confidence really holds."
To be honest, he didn't have much faith in Naruto's chances either—Yakumo's genjutsu was simply too overwhelming.
But still…
Naruto was unpredictable.
And he still had one major card to play: the Nine-Tails.
Kitazawa thought back to those key moments—when Naruto had lost control, when the Nine-Tails' chakra had surged forward.
It wasn't something you could plan for…
But when it happened, it changed everything.
"What are the terms?" Tsunade asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Simple. Loser has to grant the winner one request," Kitazawa replied with a casual smile.
"I've got one condition," Tsunade said. "If the request is truly impossible, then it can be exchanged for another."
Kitazawa blinked.
She was… being cautious?
He silently blamed Hiruzen.
Ever since she fell into one of the old man's traps, she'd been more guarded when it came to people scheming around her.
"…Fine." He nodded.
He knew her too well.
If she really wanted to back out, no one could stop her.
But if she kept her word, that favor might prove valuable later—especially when it came time to push her to treat her hemophobia.
Of course, all of that depended on one thing:
Naruto winning.
Kitazawa had no guarantees.
At best, it was a 50/50 shot.
Still—he had done his part.
And with any luck, maybe Naruto had just triggered Tsunade's famous gambling curse.
…
"Feels like Naruto's got almost no chance."
Kiba let out a sigh, arms crossed.
He'd gone up against Yakumo in the first round and hadn't even had time to fight back—caught in her dual-layered illusion before he even realized what was happening.
"Yeah… it's rough." Ino nodded in agreement.
"We'll just see how it plays out," Shikamaru said lazily, but even he didn't sound hopeful.
Sakura leaned toward the still-quiet Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, what do you think?"
Sasuke stared at the arena. "Yakumo is stronger," he said without hesitation.
"Taijutsu won't work against her genjutsu. Naruto's got nothing that can get through."
…
Down in the ring, the two opponents stood across from each other.
They both raised their hands and completed the seal of confrontation.
Naruto's grin flashed.
"Yakumo! Let's have a good ol' youthful showdown!"
He gave a dramatic thumbs-up, full of classic Naruto energy.
Yakumo gave a slight nod. "Alright."
Back when she was still sickly, she had envied Naruto—his boundless health, his energy, his ability to move freely.
Now, one semester later, she never imagined she'd be facing him in a real match.
"Here I come!" Naruto shouted, forming hand seals.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive clouds of smoke exploded.
Within seconds, over a hundred Narutos filled the battlefield.
The crowd completely lost it.
"WHAT?!"
"Is that—are those all clones?!"
"How the hell does he have that much chakra?!"
Even the first-year students were dumbfounded.
"We're in the same class as him… how is this fair?!"
"Wait… he's seriously only six?"
Shizune blinked hard. "Am I hallucinating? Did I get caught in a genjutsu too?"
She herself could use Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu—but her limit was maybe twenty clones.
Naruto had just summoned a literal army.
"…Yeah," Tsunade murmured. "That's the Uzumaki bloodline for you."
She'd already known Naruto could do it—she taught his class once. But seeing it again was another thing entirely.
Just like his mother, Kushina, Naruto's chakra pool was absurd even as a child.
Sasuke stood there, stunned.
He'd never actually seen Naruto's Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu up close before.
He'd always assumed he could win easily if they ever fought.
But now?
Two things became immediately clear:
—The Sharingan couldn't tell clones from the real one.
—And his genjutsu could never trap that many targets at once.
If they fought now, it'd be a brawl—and Naruto would win by sheer numbers.
"…So that's what he meant by a surprise," Sasuke muttered.
He had been planning to challenge Naruto after his match with Hinata.
But seeing this… maybe that could wait.
Losing two in a row might shatter what little pride he had left.
He clenched his fists.
He needed to learn more fire jutsu. More genjutsu.
Especially the ones that hit wide.
Even Shino—stoic, expressionless—raised an eyebrow.
"...That's impressive."
"Wait, do you think Naruto could actually win?" Kiba asked, a little too hopeful.
"Hard to say," Shikamaru murmured, eyes narrowing. "The match just started. Let's keep watching."
Even though Shikamaru was usually lazy, this kind of sparring match actually had his attention.
…
"Naruto, you really are full of surprises."
Yakumo couldn't help but speak.
She had never seen anyone summon this many shadow clones before.
But it also meant her two most used jutsu—Talk Therapy and Kyouka Suigetsu—were now almost useless.
Both were genjutsu techniques that targeted a single individual.
Against one person, they were devastating.
But now?
She was facing over a hundred Narutos.
It was like trying to trap a storm with a single thread.
Without wasting any more time, Yakumo reached into her scroll pouch and pulled out one of the illusion paintings she'd prepared in advance.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The clones didn't give her a second to breathe.
A swarm of Narutos charged forward in a synchronized wave—
coordinated and relentless.
From a distance, it looked like a tiny girl standing alone against a violent sea of orange and blue.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the skies darkened.
A brilliant bolt of lightning ripped through the clouds and struck the ground.
"Move—now!"
The clones immediately scattered.
But the lightning came too fast.
Two of them were hit before they could react—
Their bodies vanished in smoke as their dying screams echoed across the training field.
Yakumo remained calm.
She tore open two more scrolls with practiced speed.
She'd come prepared—very prepared—for the monthly exam.
But even so, these illusion paintings weren't free.
Each one consumed chakra.
Every time she activated one, she was using her bloodline limit: True Illusion Creation.
It wasn't ordinary genjutsu.
Her paintings weren't just illusions—they became real within a certain range.
Real fire.
Real lightning.
Real destruction.
Thankfully, ever since her kekkei genkai awakened, her chakra—especially her Yin Release reserves—had skyrocketed.
But that strength had come at a cost.
Before Tsunade's treatment, her body couldn't handle it.
If she hadn't received help…
She might not even be alive right now—let alone standing in this exam.
The fire illusions roared to life.
Flames spread outward with a blast of heat.
Two clones who had gotten too close couldn't react in time—
They were swallowed up, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"Everyone! Focus your attack—push one direction!"
Naruto commanded.
His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind!"
The first clone jumped into the fire with a spinning chakra kick—
The blaze split open briefly, carving a temporary path.
But flames rushed back in immediately.
They were alive—moving with purpose.
"Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind!"
Another Naruto followed.
Then another.
Then another.
Like waves of reinforcements charging into a burning wall, the clones sacrificed themselves to widen the path.
Smoke burst everywhere—
But the fire was breaking.
In no time, the surviving clones were almost on top of Yakumo.
Without a moment's hesitation, Naruto launched into a Leaf Whirlwind.
His spinning kick cut through the air with precision and speed—aimed directly at Yakumo.
Yakumo staggered back two steps.
Compared to someone like Hinata, her movements were clumsy—her reflexes much slower.
And the reason was simple.
She had never trained in taijutsu.
Her body had never gone through physical conditioning.
Before Tsunade's treatment, her health had been worse than a civilian's.
And even now, though she was no longer frail, she was just barely above normal.
Flustered, Yakumo scrambled to pull out another illusion scroll.
She threw it forward.
WHOOSH—!!
A violent wind erupted from the painting, forming a sudden gust.
It swept toward Naruto with crushing force.
The clone in front of her was blasted backward, his body spiraling mid-air before bursting into smoke.
A few others nearby were caught in the vortex too—
in a matter of seconds, several clones vanished.
But Naruto wasn't discouraged.
"Again!" he yelled, seeing an opportunity.
He could feel it—
Victory was getting closer.
Yakumo's biggest weakness was clear now: her body.
Her illusions were powerful, no doubt.
But if he got in close, she had no way to defend herself.
Yakumo's expression changed slightly.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her hands trembled as she reached for another scroll.
She opened it.
A thunder illusion.
CRACK! CRACK!
Bolts of lightning rained down once again.
"AAAGHH!!"
Multiple clones let out short cries before vanishing in clouds of smoke.
The field was being torn apart—
but Naruto didn't stop.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
He formed the hand seal again.
BOOM!
Another huge cloud of smoke exploded outward.
Fifty new clones appeared, instantly filling the battlefield.
~~~
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