Mokgetsu walked along, introducing the level of Group A students.
"Group A students have basically completed the chakra control training two weeks after the special training started. During the training, they mainly strengthened chakra control ability, learned Instant Body Jutsu, and enhanced taijutsu and ninjutsu skills."
"Group A is the fastest progressing group, and the students' strength is the strongest among all groups. The composition is mainly fourth-year students and recently graduated genin, followed by third-year students and first-year students."
"There are first-year students too? How can first-year students reach such a level?" a teacher couldn't help but ask.
Having the chakra control ability of climbing trees and walking on water, as well as mastering Instant Body Jutsu, is already considered strong among genin. It's hard to believe that a first-year student could reach this level.
"That first-year student should be that Uchiha Shisui from Teacher Mokgetsu's class, right? If it's him, it might really be possible," Ueda Aya asked.
Apart from Shisui, Ueda Aya couldn't think of anyone in the first year who could have such skills.
Mokgetsu nodded.
Although Shisui's fame as a genius is not small in the Ninja Academy, some chunin teachers still feel it's impossible for a first-year student to reach this level.
Even if it's the first-in-grade of the first-year, they think even the first-in-grade of the second year wouldn't possibly reach this level.
If it weren't for Mokgetsu's good reputation and rapport, some teachers might maliciously suspect that Mokgetsu liked Shisui more and directly moved him to Group A through privilege.
Sarutobi Hiruzen just smiled without saying a word.
He didn't know the extent of Shisui's current strength, but the previous battle where Shisui defeated Asuma was enough to get him into Group A.
"Number seventeen, Uchiha Shisui, and number eighteen, Namiashi Raido, prepare to fight."
Mokgetsu's timing was perfect; they arrived just in time for Shisui's battle.
"It's Raido. I taught him before he graduated. He was a very outstanding student," said the teacher who previously thought it was impossible for a first-year student to reach Group A level, smiling.
He was glad for his former student because opportunities to showcase skills in front of the Hokage were rare.
He knew Raido's strength well; he wasn't weak while studying at the academy, and after graduation, he had cultivated quite a bit. Facing a first-year student should still be effortless for him.
Namiashi Raido wasn't aware that his former teacher had already started celebrating before the battle began. Hearing his opponent's name, he felt a headache.
No doubt, he was going to lose early in the competition, Raido thought. He had no confidence in defeating Shisui.
Of course, Raido didn't give up directly. Even if losing, he had to lose with some decorum.
Taking a deep breath, Raido casually walked onto the battlefield and exchanged the Seal of Opposition with Shisui.
Knowing the result in advance, all that was left was to perform to his best ability.
"Look at Raido's calm expression. It seems he's quite confident about this battle," the chunin teacher remarked, feeling proud of his student.
The nearby teachers nodded in agreement.
In fact, most teachers believed in Mokgetsu's words, in Mokgetsu's character, thinking Shisui could reach Group A level, but they didn't think Shisui could defeat Namiashi Raido.
On one side, there was a first-year student who had just finished the first semester, and on the other, a genin who had graduated some time ago and received the same special training. By all appearances, Raido would win.
Forget Shisui; even if it was Kakashi, who had just completed one semester, they thought Raido would ultimately win.
Mokgetsu smiled warmly without speaking. There was no need to say much; Shisui displaying his strength would be enough to slap faces.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his small beard, smiling as he watched the battlefield, somewhat eager to see the teachers' faces when they saw Raido lose.
"Begin the battle!" Mokgetsu shouted.
Swish!
As soon as Mokgetsu finished speaking, Namiashi Raido instantly used Instant Body Jutsu to rush forward, kunai in hand, aiming at Shisui.
Knowing Shisui's strength, he didn't need to test the waters, so he attacked with all his might immediately.
"Raido's got a flaw; he doesn't know how to hold back when attacking, and he hasn't changed that yet," the chunin teacher said, shaking his head as Raido used Instant Body Jutsu with a kunai in hand, not giving Shisui a chance to perform.
But in the next moment, to his surprise, Uchiha Shisui's body disappeared at the last second, and Raido's attack went through the air.
Raido wasn't disappointed. It would have been a problem if Shisui couldn't dodge. He didn't hesitate to throw a kunai backward.
Shisui paused his offense, slightly sidestepping to dodge the flying kunai.
"He's actually faster than Raido!" Raido's teacher was dumbfounded.
Then, Raido grabbed a handful of shuriken and threw them at Shisui, quickly forming seals to perform the Clone Jutsu, creating four clones that, along with the original, began swapping positions in the trees.
"Fire Release: Impatiens Claw Red!" Shisui dodged the shuriken, directly beginning his ninjutsu.
First, he spewed a large flame, then quickly hurled shuriken through the flames. The flaming shuriken, like small fireballs, shot towards the trees where Raido and his clones were.
Bang! Bang!
Shuriken carrying high-temperature flames hit the trees, leaving large holes, instantly toppling several trees attacked by Shisui. All of Raido's clones dissipated, although his main body remained unscathed, just knocked down.
"Is this a first-year student?" Many chunin teachers were stunned by the destructive power of Shisui's Fire Release.
Forget about first-year students; even a graduating genin couldn't use Fire Release like this.
"Raido should still have a chance. A ninja's strength is not only about ninjutsu; taijutsu is equally important," Raido's teacher thought, believing Raido still had a chance to win.
This Uchiha Shisui was so strong in ninjutsu, his taijutsu couldn't be particularly good; being so young, he couldn't excel at everything, and Raido excelled at taijutsu.
Shisui didn't launch any more ninjutsu but ran towards the fallen Raido.
Raido had no time to retreat, so he quickly got up and engaged in close combat with Shisui.
Though Raido appeared taller and sturdier than Shisui, he was rapidly pushed back in their physical showdown, showing signs of being overpowered, much to the surprise of many chunin teachers.
Raido's teacher rubbed his eyes, widening them to look at the battlefield again. After checking twice, he confirmed he wasn't seeing things.
"Uchiha Shisui wins." Raido couldn't hold up under Shisui's intense attacks and quickly lost, Mokgetsu announced the victory.
The teachers' area fell into a deep silence once again, with looks of disbelief on their faces.
They seriously started suspecting whether this Uchiha Shisui had been cultivating since the womb; a first-year having such strength was overwhelmingly exceptional.
"Shisui, this kid, practices the hardest in the class." Mokgetsu said slowly.
Other students only began practicing all day at the start of special training, but Shisui had been training all day early on in the Southern Border Forest, practicing with Mokgetsu overnight during special training.
"You all should learn more from Mokgetsu and create more teaching miracles." The third Hokage said, smiling at the shocked expressions of many teachers.
"Number nineteen, Sarutobi Asuma, and number twenty, Uchiha Obito, prepare to fight."