An Eternal Goal

As soon as Itachi Uchiha realized that he had failed, he immediately retreated several steps back until he felt safe before stopping.

"Since close combat still won't be enough to defeat Xuan Ye, I'll use Ninjutsu to fight. Ninjutsu made some progress using Ninjutsu yesterday, so let's see if I can defeat Xuan Ye now."

"Even knowing they'll fail, the Uchiha clan will persevere. Xuan Ye, take this! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Suddenly, a large amount of flames appeared from Itachi Uchiha's mouth. The scorching flames kept spewing out of Itachi Uchiha's mouth and gathered in the air, forming a huge, scorching fireball.

The temperature around the area was constantly rising due to the huge fireball in the sky. The students watching were sweating profusely because of the rising temperature, and the ninja teachers standing at a distance also showed expressions of surprise.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. The power of this Ninjutsu has reached the level of Genin. Even some weaker ordinary Genin cannot use Ninjutsu of such strength. Itachi Uchiha, the genius of the Uchiha clan, was able to use Ninjutsu of such power."

Xuan Ye could feel the scorching heat of the Great Fireball in front of him. Just standing there made him feel a little bit of heat.

However, given Chunin Xuan Ye, the fact that the Great Fireball could still make him feel a slight burning sensation already indicated that the Great Fireball was quite powerful.

"Call out!"

In the blink of an eye, the giant fireball that Itachi Uchiha spat out was already flying toward Xuan Ye at an extremely fast speed. In the eyes of the other students, they couldn't even see the trajectory of the Great Fireball.

Suddenly, the extremely skilled ninja teachers standing nearby were shocked, and their faces turned ugly.

"Oh no! I never expected that Itachi Uchiha, the genius of the Uchiha clan, could use such a powerful Ninjutsu. Fire Style is already one of the most powerful Ninjutsu, but the Great Fireball that Itachi Uchiha is using is twice as powerful as the ordinary Great Fireball Jutsu."

"This is bad!" The ninja teachers standing around tried to stop him. Although they could easily block the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, there wasn't enough Xuan Ye Ninjutsu.

"Now we can only hope that Xuan Ye can dodge that Great Fireball attack. Otherwise, being hit by that fireball will definitely cause him considerable damage, and it will cause trouble if the Fourth Hokage finds out." The ninja instructors sighed inwardly, their eyes fixed on Xuan Ye's location.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the huge fireball fell from the sky and crashed into the spot where Xuan Ye had just been standing. A ball of flame exploded instantly, and the temperature rose wildly in that instant.

"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"

Standing at a distance, Itachi Uchiha watched the exploding Great Fireball, feeling a vague unease, as if some danger was about to befall him.

However, the instant the Great Fireball was about to hit, Xuan Ye had already left his original spot and was already behind Itachi Uchiha. He took out a Kunai, held it tightly in his hand, and slashed it towards Itachi Uchiha's smooth, undefended neck.

The Kunai swept across the air in a beautiful arc, splitting it in two after breaking free from the air. In an instant, the Kunai in Xuan Ye's hand was pressed against Itachi Uchiha's neck.

Instantly, Itachi Uchiha felt a sudden chill on his neck. Turning his head, he saw that Xuan Ye had already pressed a Kunai against his neck. With just a light slash from that sharp Kunai, Itachi Uchiha's neck would have a red wound, and a large amount of blood would spurt out.

"Itachi, you lost again. I won again this time." Xuan Ye's face showed no expression, as if he thought his victory was a matter of course.

Itachi Uchiha placed his hands at his sides, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. "Sigh! I lost again. Is the gap between me and Xuan Ye really that big?"

"No, I will definitely surpass Xuan Ye, and one day I will be able to defeat Xuan Ye."

The ninja instructors standing around watching were dumbfounded. What on earth was going on with Xuan Ye? His speed was so fast that even the ninja instructors couldn't see when he got behind Itachi Uchiha. They only saw Xuan Ye when he was holding a Kunai to Itachi Uchiha's neck.

"Sigh! He truly lives up to his reputation as the son of the Fourth Hokage. Xuan Ye is already this powerful now, and he will probably surpass his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, and lead Konoha to become the number one ninja village in the Hokage world."

A hint of anticipation and longing appeared in the eyes of the ninja instructors, and their gazes toward Xuan Ye were filled with respect.

At this point, the students standing around watching started to make a fuss, and the noise of their discussion gradually increased.

"Oh my god! What's going on?"

"Why didn't I see how Young Master Xuan Ye got behind Itachi Uchiha? Is there something wrong with my eyes?"

"This is what a ninja battle should be like. This kind of battle is exciting and thrilling to watch."

"Are those two really students like us? Why do I feel like they could already become ninjas?"

Numerous discussions erupted from the group of students, all of them fired up by the battle between Xuan Ye and Itachi Uchiha, as if they were about to engage in a fierce battle with someone else right now.

Many people in the arena were amazed by Xuan Ye's strength and speed. Before they could even react, Xuan Ye had already run behind Itachi Uchiha and even took out a Kunai deliver the final blow to Itachi.

After seeing that Xuan Ye Itachi Uchiha already knew his fate, Genya withdrew the Kunai his hand, put it back in his pocket, waved to Itachi Uchiha, and left.

As Itachi Uchiha watched Xuan Ye gradually disappear into the distance, and as his figure shrank, he made a decision. Itachi decided to take Xuan Ye as his rival, his lifelong rival, and to make surpassing Xuan Ye his eternal goal.

After Xuan Ye left, Itachi Uchiha, who had been standing there in a daze for a long time, finally showed a genuine smile again. "Xuan Ye, although my strength is not as good as yours now, and although your strength may be much greater than mine, I will not give up the idea of surpassing you. I will definitely work hard to improve myself until the day I surpass you."

"I don't know if that day will ever come, but you will always be my best rival, my best target, and I will always challenge you."

As Xuan Ye walked towards his home, he was unaware that he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble. Because of Itachi Uchiha, Xuan Ye was fighting him almost every day.