Overtaking on the Bend

"Young master, I tugged your sleeve just now to hint at you, but you didn't catch it!"

Shimura Genma wore a pitiful expression, inching his steps bit by bit to put distance between himself and this clan elder who was courting death.

"Ahem... Lord Hokage, you misheard. I wasn't talking about the Ninja Academy principal, but the vice principal!"

Glaring at the little brother who'd distanced himself, Shimura Kentei turned back and coughed dryly, insisting everyone had misheard—he'd meant the vice principal, not Sarutobi Hiruzen, the actual principal.

Truth be told, this wasn't entirely Kentei's fault. Though Hiruzen was the Ninja Academy principal, he rarely showed up there, and when he did, it was in his capacity as Hokage.

Add to that Kentei's past disinterest in such matters, and today's blunder was inevitable.

But this statement plunged the atmosphere into another silence, and the looks everyone cast his way grew increasingly strange.

This kid's ruthless!

The odd tension left Kentei a bit bewildered. He turned to Shimura Genma, now three meters away, and shot him a questioning glance.

"Young master, the clan head is listed as the vice principal at our Ninja Academy!"

Having retreated to a safe distance, Genma relaxed and whispered his reminder, only to earn a vicious glare from Kentei.

"Ahem... Lord Hokage, you misheard again. What I meant was that our Ninja Academy's system is outdated, wasting countless talents, and what it churns out is nothing but a bunch of worthless trash. Relying on that trash can't uphold the Will of Fire or protect Konoha!"

Another dry cough, and Kentei ignored the eerie stares from everyone present, declaring that all the graduates in the room were garbage.

This statement plunged the atmosphere into yet another silence, then erupted like a volcano—everyone was furious.

"You useless brat, I've been putting up with you long enough! Get out here and die!"

"Ignorant scum!"

"A dropout who's flunked three years—what right do you have to spout such nonsense?"

All eyes burned with rage. If not for their remaining sanity, they'd have swarmed him already.

"That's Danzō's son, isn't it?"

Tsunade Hime crossed her arms, squeezing a pair of peerless weapons into something even more fearsome, while inwardly feeling curious about Shimura Kentei.

She wondered if that old geezer Danzō had been cuckolded.

This son bore no resemblance to his personality whatsoever—no way he looked like Shimura Danzō's spawn.

"I've heard of that kid. Seems he was premature, his body's chakra points never fully formed, and after birth, they mutated, leaving him unable to form hand seals for jutsu. He's also got no talent for chakra training."

Licking his lips, Orochimaru showed little interest in Kentei, but plenty in his father, Shimura Danzō.

That old man had quite a few goodies on hand now!

"His chakra reserves are indeed a bit low."

Sensing it, Jiraiya nodded slightly. In his perception, Kentei's chakra was pitifully scarce, not even meeting the minimum standard for a genin.

Given his age, he truly had no shinobi talent—even attending the Ninja Academy was a waste.

And to spout such arrogance with that level of strength couldn't even be called reckless; it was mindless, irrational behavior.

To think that Shimura Danzō, known as the Shadow of Shinobi, had fathered such a fool—truly a tiger father siring a dog son!

Was this karma for all his misdeeds?

"Nonsense!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, his old face dark, also saw this as mindless behavior. He barked a reprimand, signaling the Anbu lurking in the shadows to haul the troublemaker away.

"My apologies!"

An Anbu ninja in a fox mask appeared beside Kentei, placing a hand on his shoulder to whisk him off, but Kentei caught his wrist.

Feeling the immense strength in that grip, the Anbu's heart leaped. He looked up to find a smiling face.

"Anbu senior, lend me your body for a demonstration!"

"Super Strength Technique!"

With an innocent, guileless smile, Kentei ignored the Anbu's response, channeled his meager chakra, and exploded with power, reinforcing his whole body. Then, gripping the Anbu's wrist, he swung him and slammed him hard into the ground on the other side.

An Anbu operative was no weakling—at minimum, they were elite chunin level, and this one was close to special jonin.

Twisting his body, the Anbu landed on his feet and steadied himself.

But before he could act, another surge of force yanked his wrist, and he was swung again.

This went on for dozens of swings until one misstep sent him crashing heavily into the ground, his whole body embedded in the earth.

The impact wracked the Anbu with searing pain, his organs twisting in agony. Though not yet injured, it was far from pleasant.

He'd only avoided spitting blood by flooding his body with chakra to temporarily boost his durability.

"Anbu senior, thanks for the trouble!"

Before the Anbu could react, Kentei crouched down and stuffed a pre-prepared envelope into his hand.

Bewildered, the Anbu glanced at the envelope, spotted the familiar color inside, and quickly tucked it into his tool pouch.

Saying nothing more, the Anbu rose and looked to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Receiving a nod, he vanished, inwardly letting out a quiet sigh.

"Truly worthy of being that lord's offspring!"

Though he was a ninjutsu-type ninja, not skilled in taijutsu, that was only compared to ninja of the same rank. In pure taijutsu ability, he could sweep all genin.

Yet after trying multiple times just now, he couldn't break free from Shimura Kentei's grip, showing the sheer strength of the other party.

Indeed, like father, like son!

He then patted his ninja tool pouch. Though he'd been a bit disheveled this time, his heart was full of delight.

That envelope was stuffed with ten-thousand-ryo bills. From the thickness, it had to be at least one hundred thousand ryo.

After all, these days a B-Rank mission only paid eighty thousand to two hundred thousand ryo, and most B-Rank missions were team efforts where the reward had to be split, plus the village's cut, leaving not much left.

Just playing along with that Shimura clan young master for a bit earned him one hundred thousand ryo. All he could say was...

Was there a next time?

Meanwhile, everyone was staring dumbfounded at the human-shaped crater in front of Shimura Kentei. That crater and the tremor that had just run through the ground fully proved the immense force of that slam.

Besides that, there were also many deep footprints, left by that Anbu ninja when he was being swung around.

How could that guy's strength be so monstrous?

"Monster Strength Technique!"

Muttering to herself, Tsunade Hime's beautiful eyes sparkled with unusual light as she saw the secret within.

"Monster Strength Technique? That kid used the Monster Strength Technique? Isn't he unable to use ninjutsu? And the Monster Strength Technique is an A-Rank Nintaijutsu!"

Jiraiya was greatly surprised. He knew how hard this training ground's surface was, and with the recent hot weather baking the ground rock-solid, it wasn't easy to smash out such a crater.

Besides, the Monster Strength Technique was a secret A-Rank Nintaijutsu of the Senju Clan. What circulated outside were just some minor strength tricks, not even worthy of being called a technique.

How could that kid have learned the Monster Strength Technique?

"It's not the same as Tsunade's Monster Strength Technique, but it should have reached the D-Rank level, and his physical fitness is not weak."

Orochimaru responded to part of Jiraiya's confusion, though he himself had many questions.

Wasn't that kid unable to form hand seals and use ninjutsu? How did he suddenly master this kind of Monster Strength Technique?

And where did that D-Rank Monster Strength Technique come from?

He'd never heard of such a level of Monster Strength Technique within the village or the ninja world!

"Is the Shimura Clan also researching the Monster Strength Technique?"

Tsunade Hime grew interested, not in Shimura Kentei himself, but in the Shimura Clan.

She naturally wouldn't think that Shimura Kentei had created this level of Monster Strength Technique. Developing such a Nintaijutsu was far more dangerous than ordinary ninjutsu, with all the changes happening inside the body. One misstep could damage meridians, acupoints, bones, and muscles.

At worst, it meant disability; at worst, death.

Even the Senju Clan, with their strong physiques and self-healing abilities as a foundation, had paid a heavy price when creating the Monster Strength Technique.

She wondered how many people the Shimura Clan had crippled or killed while developing this D-Rank Monster Strength Technique.

"Letting a talent like you slip through the cracks is indeed my oversight, but this alone is not enough to break the graduation rules I've set!"

At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke in a deep voice, a mix of interest and resentment stirring within him.

He hadn't expected that old friend to quietly develop this level of Monster Strength Technique. But Danzo had kept it from him, which hurt.

Had the bond between them developed a crack?

Or had Danzo found someone else on the outside?

"Actual combat is the most important standard for testing a ninja's strength. In one week, I'll give these trash a chance to challenge me. Anyone who can't beat me won't graduate—they can all go back for another year of school, so they don't embarrass themselves out there!"

Arms crossed, Shimura Kentei displayed the bearing of a ruler looking down on the world, completely disregarding all the graduates present.

In this regard, he had full confidence. After all, those present were just nine-year-old brats. No matter how gifted, at best they had chunin-level strength.

As long as they didn't reach jonin level, he could beat them all.

After all, his problem was just low chakra reserves and an inability to form hand seals—it wasn't like he couldn't train. These minor issues were nothing to someone with a Golden Finger like him.

Not to mention anything else, his current physical fitness alone was no worse than Rock Lee's during the Chunin Exams in Naruto. And compared to Lee, who specialized in speed, he was better at strength, giving him stronger direct combat ability.

This arrogant speech once again angered the surrounding graduates, but looking at that human-shaped crater left by the Anbu, they ultimately didn't curse like before, only glaring angrily.

If looks could kill, Shimura Kentei would probably be a sieve by now.

"Indeed, actual combat is the most important standard for testing a ninja's strength. I hope your performance in a week will satisfy me."

Giving Shimura Kentei a deep look, Sarutobi Hiruzen left a parting remark and turned to go.

He had to hurry back and see if Danzo had found someone else on the outside. Keeping something like this from him was utterly unacceptable!

And this statement was clearly an endorsement of Shimura Kentei's proposal, causing an uproar among the graduates below.

"Mikoto, that guy is so annoying!"

Senju Nawaki in the crowd wore a look of displeasure. A perfectly good graduation ceremony had been turned into this mess by that guy.

And his sister had come to watch this time too!

"He's not weak, and saying that means he has some backing. We'll need to be careful when the time comes, so we don't actually get held back and have to repeat a year at the Ninja Academy!"

Uchiha Mikoto's beautiful eyes were fixed on that heroic figure, her mind heavy with thought, yet she also carried an absolute confidence.

His power was astonishing, but a ninja's battle primarily depended on chakra and jutsu—in that regard, she held an absolute advantage.

Moreover...

With that thought, Uchiha Mikoto sensed the Pupil Power within her eyes, her confidence growing even stronger.

"My vacation!"

Senju Nawaki's face fell. He knew that with his sister's temperament, regardless of whether he could defeat that guy, she would definitely put him through extra training this week.

He had originally hoped his sister would play with him, but now it seemed that plan was ruined.

"Didn't expect to encounter such an interesting affair upon returning!"

Licking his lips, Orochimaru felt a hint of anticipation.

"Tsunade, do you think that brat Nawaki will get beaten down and have to repeat another year at the Ninja Academy?"

Jiraiya chuckled, also looking forward to the battle a week from now.

"Hmph!"

Snorting coldly, Tsunade Hime ignored Jiraiya, casting a deep glance at Shimura Kentei, who stood out like a crane among chickens, before turning and leaving.

That kid didn't seem like a fool. Since he said that, he must have something to rely on. It looked like she would have to give Nawaki some intensive training this week, especially in practical combat.

(Per the editor's suggestion, before going on the shelves, I'll maintain two chapters a day, falling short of the promised ten thousand words in the synopsis. However, I'll save these chapters and release them after going on the shelves. Everyone, look forward to the book's launch!

Also, please send more votes of all kinds—a new book needs everyone's care and support!)