Death Forest.
Hatake Sakumo vs. Chunin Hojo Isamu.
As the names appeared on the screen, the rest of the genin cleared the sparring hall and moved to the railings—just a kid who looked around eleven, with long, spiky silver hair that reached his back, dark eyes with lines running under them, the Konoha forehead protector fastened around his head, and a short blade fixed on his back—left standing alone.
Thup!
Isamu didn't let his opponent wait long, jumping down from the railings and landing at some distance from Sakumo, his curious eyes locked on him.
There was no way Isamu didn't know the kid before him. This was the kid who would grow up to gain a reputation more terrifying than the Sannin—who were currently still in the academy—the kid whose son would grow up to be the Sixth Hokage: Konoha's White Fang.
"Don't forget that at the end of the day, this is just a sparring match, so don't go for the kill. I'll step in to stop the fight if I feel like it's too dangerous to continue. Now start."
Saying that, the jonin referee waved his hand down and flashed away, giving all the space to Isamu and Sakumo.
"Let's have a good fight, Hojo-senpai," said Sakumo in a polite tone, his eyes turning fierce the next second as his right hand reached toward the blade on his back. At the same time, he made hand signs with his left hand.
Lightning Style! Lightning Walk!
Zzzzz!!!
Chakra from Sakumo's leg flowed into the ground, turning into crackling blue lightning rushing toward Isamu, who, calmly crouching down a little, jumped up high into the air.
But Sakumo seemed to have expected this, doing so at the same time as well. The short blade was pulled out. Everyone watching saw Sakumo leaving a blue trail as he shot toward Isamu in the air, appearing before him in less than a second with his blade slashing at him.
But as the blade approached Isamu mid-air, Sakumo's eyes shrank as he saw his opponent with his hand around his mouth and his chest swelled to an abnormal degree.
Wind Style! Wind Blast!!
BOOM!!!
Everyone saw a massive wind gust blasting out of Isamu's mouth, impacting the blade and Sakumo at close range, both blown away—Isamu due to the recoil pushed back in the air but landing back on the ground with a spin.
Sakumo, holding the blade, landed on the ground as well, but his steps were shaky—some clear cuts on his face and hands from which blood rinsed out.
"The kid's good—one-handed seals with good battle sense," said Sarutobi while rubbing his chin, his eyes fixed on Sakumo who, despite having been injured, impressed him.
"But his opponent seems far better than Sakumo or even any other chunin here. He not only anticipated that Sakumo would anticipate his jump but had even prepared a counter the moment he jumped—not easy to do without a calm head."
Kagami, with his eyes red and three tomoe flowing in them, praised Isamu instead—seeing much more than most of those present with his eyes.
Tobirama, though, didn't say a word and, with his arms crossed around his chest, just watched everything unfold calmly.
Seeing Sakumo injured by his attack, Isamu didn't rush forward to attack and press him so as not to deny him a chance to catch his breath. He simply watched. There were some unspoken rules he had to follow, and he had to give the genin, Sakumo, a chance to demonstrate his abilities clearly.
Just from this little round, Isamu could see why Sakumo would grow up to reach that feared height. At his age, Isamu was not even close to the strength Sakumo possessed now—but compared to his present self, still somewhat behind.
Poof!
Finally, Sakumo seemed to have recovered from the injuries. Eyeing Isamu at a distance, he began making one-handed signs again. With a burst of smoke, two shadow clones appeared next to Sakumo.
Lightning Style! Lightning Body Flicker Technique!
Zzzzz!!!
Isamu saw blue lightning arcing around the legs of Sakumo and his two clones, the clones leaving a blue trail as they rushed forward and arrived before him in an instant—one slashing toward his head and the other toward his waist.
Ducking, Isamu dodged the blade aimed toward his head, but the other aimed at his stomach was mere inches away. At the last moment, a hand surrounded by green chakra clasped the sword and stopped its advance.
"Oh, change in wind chakra nature," Tobirama's calm eyes finally showed some interest as he gazed at the green chakra around Isamu's left hand.
Poof!
With his left hand holding the blade of the second shadow clone in place, Isamu punched the first shadow clone—who had missed his attack—with his right hand, dispersing it into smoke. Then, yanking his left hand upward, still gripping the blade of the second clone, he pierced it with its own sword—it too dispersing.
All this happened in a span of less than two seconds, not giving Sakumo's clones—after missing their first attack—any chance to recover. But it surely did give the real Sakumo ample time to launch one good attack.