Drawing lots wasn't anything new to the two classes. For every monthly practical exam, they drew lots to decide matchups. Without Kitazawa saying a word, they lined up and stepped forward one by one to draw.
"I got number twenty-seven." After drawing, Uzumaki Naruto hurried back and blurted, "Who else got the same as me?"
With more than seventy students between the two classes, the numbers available were almost double what they had during monthly exams.
"I'm twenty-seven," Uchiha Sasuke said flatly. "Your opponent is me."
"Sasuke, huh?" Naruto immediately grinned. "Sasuke, let's have another youthful showdown!"
"That was then," Sasuke said coolly, hands in his pockets. "This time I won't lose."
"Same here!" Naruto's smile got even brighter.
"Thank goodness I didn't draw either of you," Inuzuka Kiba exhaled. He'd just checked; his number didn't match Nara Shikamaru's, Hyuga Hinata's, or the others'.
"Looks like luck's with you this time," Shikamaru chuckled.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Aburame Shino reminded him. "This is only round one."
Kiba's face froze.
"Students who drew number one, to the stage," Kitazawa called, putting away the lottery box.
He'd only rigged Naruto and Sasuke's numbers; everyone else's drawing was legit.
Two boys stepped out—one from each class. After a few minutes of sparring, the 2-A kid won thanks to an extra year of practice.
Time passed. Hyuga Neji, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, and the others went up one after another. Since they didn't run into each other, they picked up easy wins.
Round one neared its end.
"Students with number twenty-seven, get ready," Kitazawa said with a smile.
The main event had finally arrived. This was the whole show he'd built the day around.
Sasuke and Naruto stepped into the ring together.
"Go, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura Haruno led the girls in cheering.
"Sasuke, you're really popular," Naruto said, a little envious. Besides 1-A, plenty from 2-A were shouting encouragement for Sasuke too.
"Naruto!" Rock Lee thrust up a thumb. "Unleash your youth!"
"I will!" Naruto practically buzzed. "For youth!"
"…," Sasuke's mouth twitched. Unpleasant memories surfaced.
"Begin!" Kitazawa announced after they formed the Seal of Confrontation.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto didn't hesitate; a crowd of clones popped into being.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
Sasuke wasn't surprised. After being classmates so long, he knew Naruto's style. How to put it? Naruto fought brain-off—but brain-off didn't mean easy. At the academy level, Multi Shadow Clone was a straight-up tier breaker.
Soon they were at an impasse. Under siege from Naruto and his clones, Sasuke hunted for a chance to cast genjutsu—the only path he saw to victory.
The next second, he picked out the real Naruto. His body burst forward, closing the distance.
Genjutsu: Bubble!
Sasuke's Sharingan gave a faint tremor, invisible pupil power rippling out. Naruto's eyes went vacant. From his point of view, Sasuke scattered into a sky full of crows and vanished. But then everything went black—the crows blinked out and a massive tail filled his vision.
"Wait—!" Naruto yelped, then felt a sharp pain in his head and snapped back to himself.
"Broke my genjutsu again?" Sasuke's pupils tightened. Why? Weren't ordinary shinobi supposed to have a hard time breaking Sharingan genjutsu on their own?
Even if Naruto could break it, it should take a few seconds—long enough for Sasuke to finish it. But a near-instant break gave him no time to follow up. Helpless, he hopped back, avoiding two clones sweeping in with kicks from the sides.
"Sasuke, let's keep going!" Naruto, fully conscious again, dove right back in.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu! Sasuke spat a large fireball, scowling. Boom—the Naruto in front of him burst into smoke.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!" Naruto came flying in from the flank with a kick.
Leaf Great Whirlwind. Sasuke's eyes shifted. He kicked out to meet it. Their bodies jolted from the collision, but Naruto's strength had the edge and drove Sasuke back two steps.
Genjutsu: Bubble! Sasuke didn't get flustered—he'd found another opening. Anyone else would have sent in clones while hiding to ambush, but Naruto was different; he liked to charge in himself.
A scarlet gleam flashed. Naruto blanked out for an instant—caught by genjutsu again. Just a heartbeat later, he was fine.
Sasuke's heart lurched, but his hands didn't slow; he'd anticipated this after two failures, even if he couldn't explain it. The moment he cast Bubble, his kunai was already stabbing forward.
Naruto saw a blur and then a kunai was less than five centimeters from his face. In a panic, he threw up both arms.
"You're wearing weighted bracers?" Sasuke's expression changed; the words slipped out. He'd struck, but the kunai hadn't gotten through—Naruto had metal bracers on. Sasuke never imagined Naruto would be sparring with weights on—and still not losing. Humiliating.
"Sorry, I forgot to take them off," Naruto said sheepishly. He put on his weights at dawn for training with Might Guy and kept them on at school while practicing Rasengan. With Kitazawa springing a spar out of nowhere, he'd simply forgotten he still had them on.
"Damn it!" Sasuke's eyes quivered. He twisted the kunai and thrust again—only to forget, in his agitation, the horde of clones. The instant he stabbed, wind split with a whoosh and a whirlwind kick blasted him away.
"Crap!" Midair, Sasuke forced his body to right itself. On the ground, Naruto's clones were already swarming him. The moment Sasuke landed, he was surrounded.
"Naruto, not the face!" Sakura shrieked.
"Naruto, that's enough," Kitazawa called.
Naruto dispelled the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu at once and hurried over to pull Sasuke up. "You okay, Sasuke?"
"…," Sasuke hadn't blacked out, but losing badly again made him wish he had—less embarrassing. He looked at Naruto, face full of unwillingness.
If his genjutsu had worked, he would've won twice already. But "if" didn't count; he'd just lost to Naruto twice. If he counted the one in Yakumo's illusion, that made three. Unreal.
Sasuke clenched his fists. Why were his—Uchiha's—genjutsu useless?
"Sasuke-kun, let me heal you!" Sakura ran up. Kitazawa glanced at Sasuke—perfect. That look was exactly what he'd wanted to see. Still, Sasuke hadn't come away empty-handed; that chilly aura in his eyes had deepened a touch.
"We continue," Kitazawa said. In rounds two and three he set Sasuke up with wins—he didn't want him to spiral if he lost three straight. There was plenty of time; no rush. He'd line things up again on Wednesday.
"Good work today," Kitazawa clapped. "That's it for now—head home and rest."
"Bye, Kitazawa-sensei!" The two classes filed out. Stone-faced, Sasuke ignored Sakura and turned to leave. Even with the two wins later, his opponents had been too weak to cheer him up.
"Sasuke." A familiar voice sounded.
"Onii-san?" Sasuke's face flipped instantly, delight in his voice. "You're home today?"
"I finished a mission yesterday, so I'm free today." Uchiha Itachi ruffled his hair. "Why the long face?"
"I lost to Naruto again in combat class," Sasuke muttered, reluctant.
"As a shinobi, you win some, you lose some," Itachi said gently. "No one wins forever."
After Sasuke's last loss to Naruto, Itachi had looked into it. How to put it… Sasuke hadn't exactly been robbed. If Itachi himself, at seven, had run into someone using Multi Shadow Clone, he'd have found it tricky too.
"Have you ever lost, brother?" Sasuke asked, curious. In his mind, Itachi was invincible—the Uchiha's once-in-a-century prodigy.
"Of course," Itachi said, a masked man flashing through his mind. "I suffered a crushing defeat—almost lost my life." He meant the day he awakened his eyes. If the masked man hadn't spared him, he would've been a corpse like his teammates.
"What?" Sasuke's eyes went wide.
"That's the shinobi world, Sasuke—there will always be stronger enemies," Itachi said, expression soft again. "Better to lose at the academy than after you graduate."
"I guess…" Sasuke nodded, half understanding.
"Come on," Itachi stood and smiled. "I'm free the next couple of days. I can teach you genjutsu."
"You seem in a really good mood today, Onii-san," Sasuke tilted his head.
"Do I?" Itachi blinked. "Maybe seeing you put me in a good mood."
In truth, it was the chain reaction from Tsunade storming Root. Relations between the Uchiha and Konoha were at their calmest in years. Root had been hit hard, and Danzo was leaving the Uchiha alone for the moment—his focus was Tsunade.
He was afraid he'd wake up to a new Hokage, so he was glued to her. Fugaku, for once, had taken a firm line because Itachi had aided Tsunade's raid, ordering the clan to rein it in and reducing friction. If days like this could last, Itachi's burdens would ease. He only regretted that Shisui wasn't around to see it.
"I don't want to learn genjutsu," Sasuke mumbled as they walked into the courtyard. "It doesn't work on Naruto."
"Doesn't work?" Itachi paused.
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "I used it twice today and he broke it instantly."
That shouldn't be. A thought clicked for Itachi. To snap genjutsu instantly, you either needed a Mangekyo Sharingan… or to be a jinchuriki. He swallowed the explanation.
He couldn't exactly tell Sasuke it was normal he couldn't control Naruto—unless he could control the Nine-Tails in Naruto's belly too.
And if that ever happened, Sarutobi Hiruzen would blow a gasket, and the hard-won calm for the Uchiha would shatter.
"How about this." Itachi thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'll teach you a Body Flicker. How's that?"
"Let's do that!" Sasuke's eyes lit up. Genjutsu didn't work on Naruto, but if he could move faster, he could still create chances to win. He'd lost to Hinata before because of the Leaf Body Flicker.
…
After leaving the academy, Kitazawa went back to Kurenai's place—but stopped at the door. He'd noticed the house next door, where Tsunade and Shizune lived, had its door wide open.
"Home early today?" Surprised, he walked over and knocked.
"Oh, it's you." Shizune exhaled in relief.
"What's up?" Kitazawa teased. "Why do you look so relieved to see me?"
"Because people have been coming nonstop to visit Tsunade-sama from morning till night," Shizune said helplessly. "She hasn't had a minute to rest."
"Who?" Kitazawa blinked.
"Most of the clans, and some chunin and jonin," Shizune said.
"Because of Root?" Kitazawa put it together.
"Mhm." Shizune nodded. "They're here to thank her."
"As they should," Kitazawa smiled. "Getting out of Root is a huge deal."
"Come in and talk," Shizune said, closing the door behind him.
"I said I'm not seeing anyone!" Tsunade's impatient voice rang out before they even reached the living room.
"Tsunade-sama, why the foul mood?" Kitazawa glanced around. In one corner, gifts were piled into a small mountain.
"Kitazawa?" Tsunade scowled. "School's out already? Damn it! I didn't make it to the casino today!"
"Skipping a day of gambling won't kill you," Kitazawa said soothingly. For someone who always lost, a day not gambling was a day of profit.
"Fine. I'll go tomorrow," Tsunade huffed. "If I get up early, they won't be lined up at the door to block me!"
She was used to sleeping in. Today she'd woken to a queue outside.
"They're all bringing gifts—why so unhappy?" Kitazawa nodded at the towering piles.
"…," Tsunade curled her lip. The gifts were a pretext; pledging loyalty was the point. She felt like if she wanted, she could sideline Sarutobi Hiruzen and be Hokage tomorrow. Which was exactly why she was so annoyed.
"You're just in time," Tsunade said, standing with a grin. "I'll teach you monster strength now."
"Maybe tomorrow?" Kitazawa felt a twinge of dread.
"Quit whining!" Tsunade clenched a fist. "Outside. Now."
"…," Kitazawa bit back a retort and followed obediently.
"What's going on?" Shizune stood there stunned. Kitazawa was already starting monster strength? Once he learned the Yin Seal too, wouldn't that make him a second Tsunade? Worse, Kitazawa's current strength already surpassed hers—there goes her "senpai" status; she'd be the kouhai.
They stepped outside.
"Let me check your chakra first." Tsunade took his wrist, then, after a moment, raised a brow. "Not bad—you've got plenty."
Kitazawa's natural chakra was average, but—well—he had cheats. Right now he had more chakra than Hatake Kakashi. As his Senju bloodline and Byakugan purity rose again, his chakra would climb further.
"Strictly speaking, monster strength is a power-release technique," Tsunade explained, letting go. "You gather a large amount of chakra to a point in your body, then release it in an instant."
Time slipped by. Half an hour later, Kitazawa had basically wrapped his head around it. It sounded simple, but the bar was high.
On one hand, it demanded superb chakra control so you could condense enough chakra in a split second.
On the other, it burned through chakra, so the user needed a deep well to draw from. That was why Tsunade had checked his reserves—she was worried he'd get hurt if he didn't have enough.
With the Senju bloodline and the Yin Seal storing chakra, Tsunade never lacked for it. With ample chakra, monster strength had a very high ceiling—its impact was on par with S-rank or even forbidden jutsu.
~~~
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