We're All Shuichi Fanboys, Actually
"Yes! I know the experts in Konoha like the back of my hand, but this is the first time I've seen such a genius. It's simply unbelievable. Does anyone know anything about him?" asked a high-ranking executive from a media company in the Land of Fire.
"Heh heh, I happen to know this boy's identity." Konoha Ninja, disguised as a spectator, suddenly spoke loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
"What? You know? Tell me quickly, what do you mean by keeping people in suspense?"
Seeing the intense gazes of the large crowd around him, as if they wouldn't let him off the hook until he spoke, the ninja thought to himself, "Although this is the Lord Hokage's mission, I'm telling the truth. Our Konoha has produced such a powerful genius. Keep exaggerating!"
"Ahem, since you're all so eager to know, I'll tell you about him." Seeing that some people nearby were already looking to punch him, he immediately blurted out Shuichi's background. "His name is Takeda Shuichi, a true disciple of Sannin, one of the Orochimaru, and also a grand-disciple of the Third Hokage."
"As far as I know, the reason you don't know him is because he went on a high-risk mission right after graduation." The Konoha Ninja paused.
"Less than a year after graduating from the Ninja Academy, he completed more than 10 B-rank missions and one A-rank mission, with a 100% success rate. Note! Including the A-rank mission, he completed them all independently, and he's only just turned 8 years old."
"Hiss!" Everyone gasped. This freakish performance was something they had never heard of before. "So he's Orochimaru's disciple, one of the Sannin Orochimaru. No wonder he's such a genius."
Similar scenes kept occurring on the three high platforms, with not only Konoha Ninja secretly spreading the news, but also some ordinary people mixed in among them discussing it loudly.
Although they didn't know who told them that audience members who enthusiastically promoted Konoha would get half their ticket price back after leaving the theater, they now felt that Konoha Ninja were indeed that strong, so it wasn't embarrassing to boast about them, and they could even save money later, so why not?
Ishikawa Tatsuki and Yūhi Kurenai were dumbfounded. They had originally wanted to challenge those guys, but after Shuichi won, they immediately turned into die-hard Shuichi, even more so than their childhood friend.
The stands below were instantly set ablaze. On the second-highest platform in the center, the Third Kazekage also took a deep breath. Although Tosha had previously reported to him that Konoha was suspected of having produced another top genius, the feeling was still more pronounced after seeing it with his own eyes.
"Lord Hokage, this genius from your village is truly astonishing. I heard from the people below that he's your grand-disciple. He's been keeping it a secret for a long time." The eyesight of someone who can become a Kage is naturally different from that of an ordinary ninja. Even in a short battle, he can quickly analyze a person's information. As soon as he saw Shuichi's performance in battle, he knew that the two Chunin his village were basically doomed.
"Hehe, Shuichi alright, a little better than the average in the village. You flatter me, Lord Kazekage." The Third Hokage's expression seemed unchanged, but the guards beside him felt that he had gone from being sarcastic to extremely smug, like the same painting having two completely opposite moods.
"I don't believe you!" the two Kazekage guards thought to themselves. The Third Kazekage looked at this "Shinobi Hero" with a strange gaze, as if he were seeing him for the first time, and then turned his head away without saying a word.
"Shuichi-kun has improved again recently!" Orochimaru looked at his prized disciple with admiration, while the "idiot" beside him had already fallen silent.
"Hey, Orochimaru." Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "Isn't this old man going too far? The village might benefit a lot, but your disciple will be in even greater danger."
Orochimaru understood Jiraiya's meaning. The Third Hokage had used Shuichi's name to promote Konoha extensively, which would definitely increase the village's mission share in the next few years.
The Konoha Ninja are having a good time, but the interests of other villages will definitely be affected. With so many people present, it's impossible to keep it a secret. Everyone's doing assassinating geniuses from other villages. Shuichi will definitely be on the list after the Chunin Ninja Exams, and a bounty will probably be put on the black market.
"Then let the old man bleed a bit more. One A-rank mission and a few Ninjutsu are far from enough." Orochimaru was relatively calm. "This hurdle was bound to come sooner or later. I have a lot of faith in him. Even if you die, he might not necessarily die."
"What do you mean, you want to curse me to death, don't you...?"
After finishing his fight, Shuichi was startled by the atmosphere in the stands. "What's going on? Why is it so lively?" After approaching and listening to everyone's discussions, he quickly realized, "We were tricked by the Third Hokage again. He's so cunning. If he hadn't used a few more Ninjutsu, I wouldn't have left the village."
While everyone was immersed in praising Shuichi, Tetsuishi from Sunagakure and Nara Rokujin from Konoha quietly entered the arena like two extras. Just as the audience finished their discussion, they realized that the next match was about to begin.
"Who are these two guys? They don't look strong at all."
"I don't know, probably just someone to make up the numbers."
"..."
Seeing that both fighters were in position, Namikaze Minato raised one hand and announced, "Nara Rokujin versus Tetsuishi, the match begins now."
Nara Rokujin knew his opponent was no pushover, so he was already on high alert. Right at the start, he threw several Shuriken in quick succession, and then seemed to run around the field erratically.
After dodging the Shuriken attack, Tetsuishi didn't rush to use his own skills. Instead, he kept his distance from Nara Rokujin, and the two of them ran around like they were dancing the cha-cha.
"What is this? It's so boring!"
After witnessing the previous wide-ranging Ninjutsu, many viewers felt insulted by this duel, thinking, "I could do that too! And this is supposed to be an elite ninja?"
Tetsuishi did not underestimate his opponent. Although the threatening Ninjutsu was that of the shadow, the opponent's intelligence was not to be underestimated. Therefore, he still carefully maintained his distance and waited for the opponent to stop and use that move before counterattacking.
After constantly Earth Flow positions, Nara Rokujin seemed to be losing patience. He stopped abruptly, clasped his hands together, and shouted, "Shadow Imitation Technique!" A shadow shot out from beneath him, extending straight towards the Tetsuishi.
"Will that hit?" The spectators were filled with doubt.
Seeing this, Tetsuishi simply jumped slightly to the side to avoid the shadow, feeling that Nara Rokujin was wasting his chakra like an idiot.
The shadow continued forward, seemingly reaching its limit, but everyone saw that it was about to connect with the shadow of a tree.
"Whoosh!" The shadow suddenly lengthened, merging with the shadow of the tree. Then, the shadow under the tree quickly extended out again, connecting to Tetsuishi from the side and rear.
"Danger!" Sensing something, Tetsuishi immediately used his chakra to lunge in one direction, landing and then rolling to narrowly avoid the sneak attack from behind.
"What a pity, just a little bit short." Nara Rokujin gritted his teeth and said with some reluctance.
"So his initial shadow attack had a hidden extension range," Shuichi realized his intention. "Through his early positioning, he made Tetsuishi overlook the shadow of the tree behind him."
"Although the attack range of one's own shadow cannot be increased, one can indirectly extend one's controllable range by using areas with shadows. The idea is good, but the Nara Clan relies too much on this secret technique. Without the cooperation of Yamanaka and Akimichi, their one-on-one methods are quite limited."