Naruto: Choosing from Birth

Boom!!!

A powerful blast of air surged up from the arena, spreading in every direction!

"Gasp! Two humanoid tyrannosaurs hiding in the Ninja Academy."

A wave of astonished cries instantly erupted outside the arena.

Neither side used any more ninja tools or ninjutsu. They had actually begun clashing head-on with the most straightforward taijutsu.

In everyone's eyes, all they could see were swift afterimages. They could not catch a complete glimpse of either figure at all.

"What incredible speed! Even if you sent dozens more students up there, they still wouldn't be their match. They couldn't even touch them."

"Isn't the Uchiha Clan known for the Sharingan and ninjutsu? What kind of monstrous taijutsu is this?"

Boom!!!

The floor beneath Uchiha Cheng's feet cracked like a spiderweb.

"Second Gate: Gate of Healing, open!!!"

Bang!!! Blue energy flames rose once more!

"This feels amazing! It's been so long since I met someone who could trade blows with me so directly in taijutsu. This is awesome! Uchiha Cheng, I'll remember you!"

"Don't worry. This is only just beginning!"

Thud!!!

The floor exploded outright, and Uchiha Cheng vanished from where he stood.

After half a year, opening the Second Gate with his body's further enhanced physical abilities put him on par with Rock Lee when he had first opened the Third Gate in the original story.

Slap!!!

His feet scraped across the ground as he barely stopped at the edge of the arena!

This was awkward. It was his first time using it; he was too fast and had nearly failed to stop in time.

Then... Sharingan, activate!!!

Why hide it? I just need to enjoy the fight. Besides, if the Third Hokage discovered an eight-year-old's Sharingan, it wouldn't be too shocking.

At most, the level of attention on me would rise by another tier.

He turned around again and charged straight at A once more.

This time, A's rapid fists seemed to slow down in his eyes.

And his body could keep up with his thoughts, allowing him to dodge in time.

"Then... Uchiha secret technique: Pegasus Meteor Fist!"

In an instant, countless fist shadows shot toward A. The name sounded impressive, but it was really just ordinary punches thrown at high speed!

Slap!!! Crack-crack-crack...

The two exchanged hundreds of blows in an instant. The string of cracking impacts made everyone's scalps tingle.

"Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora..."

What was more, Uchiha Cheng even added auditory interference.

The relentless barrage left everyone dizzy and dazzled, utterly amazed.

Boom!!!

A was sent flying hard, plowing a faint trail across the ground.

One of A's eyes was swollen shut, one of his teeth had been knocked out, and blood poured from his nose.

In contrast, Uchiha Cheng was completely unscathed. With the airflow swirling around him, he looked almost ethereal, imposing and majestic.

A lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, his eyes stinging. "From now on... I'll never dare call myself the fastest again! I'll call myself the second fastest instead!"*

"Strongest Uchiha!"

"Coolest Uchiha!"

"Invincible Uchiha!"

The Konoha Ninja Academy students cast off the dejection from A's nine consecutive victories and began shouting wildly, venting their excitement.

A looked at the dazzling sunlight overhead, but for the first time, dark clouds filled his heart.

It had been so long since he had tasted defeat.

No! Among people his age in Kumogakure, he had never suffered a single defeat.

Suddenly, a figure blocked the light before A's eyes, and a hand reached out in front of him.

"Get up. Your feet aren't injured, so why are you lying on the ground pretending?"

"You only lost one front tooth, got a black eye, had one cheek swell up, and your ear—"

"Enough!!!"

A grabbed the offered hand and sprang to his feet! If Uchiha Cheng kept talking, his other cheek would swell too—from embarrassment!

"Not bad! As expected of Kumogakure's strongest student. When you fall, you get back up. That's what a real man should be!"

"Look at Konoha. Even though we lost to you nine times in a row, which one of us hasn't kept his head high and continued fighting despite repeated defeats?"

"I believe your brief defeat just now was caused by underestimating your opponent. But you should know that Konoha has a saying: failure is the mother of success! Come on! Let's fight again!"

Uchiha Cheng shouted with a solemn expression, casually giving A's shoulder a heavy pat.

Damn it, it wasn't easy finding an opponent. If I don't knock out your other front tooth too, how can I face the nine students you bullied? Besides, every Konoha Ninja Academy student can only be bullied by me!

Everyone below the stage looked at each other after hearing Uchiha Cheng's heroic words.

Failure is the mother of success? Since when did Konoha have that saying? Maybe it really did, and they were simply too ignorant to know it.

Looking at the nine people A had defeated earlier, sure enough, every one of them held their heads high. Though their faces were bruised and swollen, they stood with unyielding pride.

At that moment, it was as if they were the victors.

Why... does what Brother Cheng said seem to make so much sense?

"Y-you still want to fight?"

A touched his swollen cheek. For the first time, he felt that being beaten hurt not just physically, but even more in his heart.

If I accept, I really don't think I can win. He's been staring at my other cheek the whole time. Does he want to beat me into a complete pighead?

But if I refuse, after all that righteous talk, and with all those losers holding their heads high, it'll make me look like I'm not a man—like I'm some woman.

I...

"I'll fight you!"

Just as the hot-blooded A was unable to suppress his emotions, nearly coughing up several liters of red dye from frustration, a rap-like voice rang out behind him. Killer B stepped forward:

"Fool, you tool, sneaky Uchiha, taking advantage of the chaos, huh?"

"My bro won nine straight, his spirit's already spent. If you're really that tough, then fight us two brothers by yourself!"

"Ding! In response to the emotions stirred up by the host both inside and outside the arena, please choose!"

"1. Continue fighting A. Reward: Healing Technique!"

"2. Fight the brothers A and Killer B. Reward: B-rank ninjutsu, Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

"3. Look down upon all challengers and let the thirty-plus students from Cloud Village Academy come at you together! Reward: B-rank ninjutsu, Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet + Healing Technique!"

Looking at the rewards in the system, was there even a need to choose? He had planned to sweep through all of them anyway. Now they were simply coming together, so he might as well finish this quickly.

"Oh? In the ninja world, you have to keep your word! Since I, Uchiha Cheng, said I'd take on all of you, then I'll definitely take on all of you!"

"Don't come one or two at a time! Let's save time—we still need to eat later. Every student among you who can fight, come at me together!"

Uchiha Cheng glanced at the sun gradually climbing high in the sky and spoke to them with his nose in the air.

"W-what?"

"This is too much! Help me up, I can still fight!"

"I've seen arrogant Uchiha before, but never one this arrogant!"

"Brothers, since he's asking for a beating, this time, beat the shit out of him!"

The hot-blooded students of Cloud Village Academy immediately leaped into the arena in outrage, not even waiting for approval from their supervisor.

"This..." Nomura-sensei looked grimly at the Third Hokage, wanting to stop this farce.

"Let them keep playing. Don't worry, with us here, nothing will happen."

The Third Hokage waved his hand, stopping Nomura-sensei. Then he watched Uchiha Cheng with great interest.