The Perfect Embodiment of the Will of Fire?

"Real state?" Yagami Kei was startled and quickly asked, "Does that mean Soseki wasn't actually injured?"

"It's not that he wasn't injured, but that the extent of his injuries is far less severe than you all saw." The Third Hokage looked at Soseki with eyes full of admiration. "To be precise, he was actively guiding himself to be injured. Those wounds looked serious, but in reality, they wouldn't have much impact on the fight."

"This... is something like that even possible?"

"Of course it is, but the prerequisite..." The Third Hokage was in a good mood and couldn't help pulling out his pipe for a smoke, "is having a thorough enough understanding of your own body."

"And another point is that he's pushed the Healing Technique to its limits. Even if I were to use it, I might not do better than him!" (Anti-argument PS: Adding numbers within ten—even a Tsinghua professor might not calculate faster than me, hehe.)

The surrounding crowd couldn't help widening their eyes. Although the Hokage wasn't a dedicated Medical Ninja, as a ninjutsu professor renowned across the Shinobi World, his mastery of Medical Ninjutsu already surpassed the vast majority of Medical Ninjas. (The Third's original setting was a ninjutsu professor proficient in five natures, but later supplementary settings made it all seven.)

For him to say something like that was enough to prove Soseki's talent in Medical Ninjutsu.

Amid their sighs, someone still asked in confusion, "But what's the point of all this? No matter how much he disguises it, his strength won't increase one bit!"

The Third Hokage blew out a smoke ring. "It's not as simple as you think. Asuma should be very clear about the effects of Medical Ninjutsu, but right now, he's getting impatient!"

The crowd was suddenly startled, only then noticing that Asuma in the fight was drenched in sweat.

Not only was his breathing rapid, but even his steps had become much more chaotic.

Was this... psychological warfare?

"It's real! His condition really has recovered!" After several clashes, Asuma confirmed the answer he saw.

On the other side, Soseki didn't use words to provoke him either. Instead, with firm eyes and without a word, he launched an attack at Asuma.

But the more this happened, the more Asuma felt that Soseki was unfathomable.

Clone Technique!

Under the immense pressure from Soseki, his Clone Technique broke through on the spot, increasing the number of clones by one. But it was still useless—clones without substance couldn't interfere with Soseki's judgment at all, only wasting chakra in vain.

And Soseki, as if his Medical Ninjutsu had been "exposed," no longer held back, instead adopting the same violent, berserk fighting style as Asuma.

Before long, his body was covered in wounds.

Then, under Asuma's crumbling gaze, Soseki pressed his left hand to his chest again, and the seemingly severe injuries healed rapidly.

"Again! Too strong—is this Soseki's real strength?" Watching Soseki's calm and composed demeanor, Asuma's chest heaved unevenly, and even the hands gripping his Chakra Blade trembled slightly.

Although he had been in the "upper hand" earlier, the rhythm of this fight had actually been in the opponent's hands all along. Coupled with the fact that Soseki's expression hadn't changed from start to finish, it gave him an unfathomable feeling.

All kinds of intricate factors combined, gradually dismantling Asuma's psychological defenses, allowing the Psychological Suggestion Soseki had planted before the fight to take root and grow.

In the end, his mindset completely collapsed!

"Sigh! Asuma is going to lose!"

"Yeah, his rhythm is completely thrown off."

"It's really because that Soseki is too strong!"

"More like too shameless, I'd say—there's no way to fight this!"

Few could see Soseki's true strength. Watching Asuma's attacks grow increasingly erratic, the surrounding crowd silently judged the outcome of the fight.

Asuma also realized his problem, but it was useless. The more he tried to calm down, the more impatient he became. Amid his chaotic thoughts, he added a few more wounds to himself.

"Calm down, calm down!" Asuma breathed rapidly and bit his tongue hard. "The key to this fight is Soseki's Medical Ninjutsu, but his hand seals are too fast to interrupt. That means I have to find a way to make his Medical Ninjutsu ineffective—in other words, use an attack beyond the limit to take Soseki out of the fight directly."

"Even though this move isn't polished yet, I have no choice but to go all out!" Asuma approached his opponent while forming hand seals. "Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger, Great Fireball Technique!"

"This... it's a C-rank jutsu!"

"You've got to be kidding me! A chunin-level jutsu in the hands of a trainee ninja!"

The older students around couldn't help widening their eyes. While they were still struggling with E-rank jutsu, a freshman could already use a chunin-level technique!

Even if he was the Hokage's son, this was still too exaggerated!

As they marveled, they suddenly realized, "Oh no, Soseki-kun..."

As a high-difficulty C-rank jutsu, the Great Fireball Technique's range and destructive power were enormous. And Soseki seemed to be frozen in shock, standing there dumbly until he was engulfed by the massive fireball.

Boom!

The heat surged, and flames devoured everything!

"I... I killed Soseki?" Seeing this, Asuma's hands trembled, the light in his pupils faded, and his whole being lost its vitality.

Just as Asuma was overcome with grief, a chill suddenly touched his neck, accompanied by Soseki's slightly apologetic voice.

"Sorry about this, Asuma."

Asuma was overjoyed, sniffled, and turned back to ask, "Soseki, you're not ded?"

Soseki withdrew the kunai pressed against the back of Asuma's neck and said somewhat helplessly, "The Hokage didn't even step in, so of course that means I was confident I could dodge it!"

"Righ! My annoyin' old man is here too!"

Soseki looked at him oddly. "Asuma, your tongue?"

Asuma's expression turned awkward. "I accidentally bith my tongue earlier. Ahem, I'll contwol it."

Asuma straightened out his tongue, then changed the subject and asked, "By the way, how did you dodge that just now?"

Soseki smiled. "It was thanks to the Substitution Technique!"

"You know the Substitution Technique too? But I've never seen you use it before!"

"Just because I haven't used it doesn't mean I can't! After all, I don't have nearly as much Chakra as you do."

Asuma still couldn't quite believe it. "In just half a month, you've not only learned such impressive Medical Ninjutsu, but you've also gotten this good at the Substitution Technique?"

Soseki replied with an air of complete naturalness, "For people like us, isn't the Substitution Technique something you can learn just by watching it a few times?"

Soseki truly hadn't given it much thought. Compared to a genius like Uchiha Itachi, who could learn the Great Fireball Technique after seeing it once, his own performance was really just that of an ordinary genius.

"W-watch it a few times and learn it?" Asuma's gaze turned vacant, looking somewhat lost. After a long pause, he let out a dim sigh. "I, I might be holding back geniuses like you. That's right, I'm just an ordinary person, aren't I?"

For someone still in his rebellious, middle-school phase, the shattering of his fantasies was indeed a heavy blow.

Just as Asuma was sinking into self-doubt, a pair of hands pressed down on his shoulders.

"What are you saying, Asuma? You're so strong—when it comes to real ability, I'm no match for you at all!"

With that, Soseki's tone suddenly turned serious. "If a single failure makes you this dejected, then as your rival, I'd be very, very disappointed!"

Asuma looked up, meeting Soseki's eyes, which seemed to flicker with a brilliant light.

In that instant, an inexplicable surge of emotion filled his heart.

Asuma sniffled hard, his voice heavy with congestion. "I get it. Next time... next time, I'll definitely beat you!"

Seeing Asuma revert to the familiar rebellious youth, Soseki smiled. "Then let's form the Reconciliation Seal!"

"Yeah!"

On the other side, Asuma's instructor, Takeuchi Taiga, lowered his head in shame.

"Lord Hokage, this is a serious failure on my part."

Asuma had the best dietary arrangements, the best resources, and even an "elite" instructor like himself guiding him.

Yet in the end, he still lost—and to a newcomer with no resources, a war orphan at that. Such an outcome made Takeuchi Taiga feel he was inexcusable.

The Third Hokage waved his hand with a smile. "You've done well enough. I can see Asuma's growth."

"But still, young master Asuma lost!"

"Losing now is better than losing on the battlefield later. Besides, he lost because his opponent was simply too strong!" The Third Hokage tapped his pipe with a chuckle. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, even I would find it hard to believe that a newcomer who's only studied at the Ninja Academy for half a month could pull this off!"

Takeuchi Taiga nodded vigorously. That brat was nothing short of a monster!

From the arena, waves of cheers rang out one after another.

The Third Hokage watched the scene with a warm smile. Beyond talent, what he valued more was Soseki's "background" and "sunshine."

Over these past few days, he had also looked into Soseki's experiences.

The more he learned, the more he understood how remarkable the boy was.

A war orphan, yet not withdrawn or resentful. Instead, he used his sunny disposition every day to warm others. At Konoha Hospital, almost every doctor or injured patient held great affection for him.

It was the same at the Ninja Academy. In just half a month, he had earned the recognition of the entire class as their leader.

This was a perfect embodiment of the Will of Fire. No wonder he could say something like that... The Third Hokage sighed inwardly, then smiled. "Come, let's leave the time for laughter to them."

Thanks to "Changed Name Cost a Hundred" for the 500 tip, and to reader 1259032828563337216 for the 100 tip. After this fight, the protagonist is about to start pulling off some wild moves. And Soseki's wild moves? They're super, super numerous (￣y▽￣)~.