Item Card: Skill Proficiency Card

Shuriken spun like pinwheels, dazzling to the eye.

Sarutobi Enju held a kunai, nimbly dodging about like a monkey. From time to time, he swung his kunai to cut the elastic threads attached behind the shuriken.

Uchiha Style shuriken were renowned far and wide. During his earlier spar with Uchiha Inabi, the latter had displayed shuriken-throwing skill no inferior to Uchiha Gen's, so Sarutobi Enju had naturally been on guard against this.

As the Iron Triangle of this graduating class, Uchiha Gen, Sarutobi Enju, and Uchiha Inabi were evenly matched. In nearly every exam involving combat drills, the three of them were opponents, and they knew most of each other's methods well.

All he had to do was keep his rhythm steady, find an opening, and unleash a ninjutsu powerful enough to decide a battle at this level in one stroke.

In the previous final exam's combat exercise, Uchiha Gen had not shown the ability to use a ninjutsu on the level of the Great Fireball.

If he had not mastered such a technique during this time, like his clansman Inabi had, then he had this year's top spot in the bag!

Even if Gen had learned it too, Sarutobi Enju was still confident he could win!

No matter what, he had the advantage!

In the distance, Akimichi Chōza curiously opened Sarutobi Enju's water bottle.

"Never seen this kind of drink before. Even the smell is strange."

Akimichi Chōza extended a chubby finger, dipped it into the yellow-orange liquid in the bottle, and sucked on it. Then he opened his mouth and sprayed it out.

"It tastes awful! Why is it oil?!"

Uchiha Inabi, who had stepped aside to rest, heard Choza and immediately leaned over to sniff it. His expression darkened at once.

It really was oil!

"No wonder. He had oil in his mouth—specially refined oil, at that. That's why Enju's Fire Release was stronger and lasted longer than Inabi's. But aside from the first time, it should be hard to find another chance to drink oil in actual combat."

Kurama Murakumo looked at Sarutobi Enju's bottle as he spoke.

"Not necessarily. On real missions, teammates will definitely help keep the enemy occupied, so there should be opportunities. I just wonder how Enju came up with such a rotten idea."

Nara Shikaku said leisurely, sitting with one leg crossed over the other, his hands behind his head as he leaned against a tree trunk.

Uchiha Inabi said in a low voice:

"Looks like Gen is going to lose too. Half a year ago, I sparred with him once at our clan's Training Ground. Though he had learned the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique as well, his mastery of Fire Release was probably even worse than mine."

His father, a jonin proficient in Fire Release Nature Transformation, had given him guidance in ninjutsu, and his power had improved considerably over the past half year.

No matter how solid Uchiha Gen's foundations were, given the talent he had previously displayed before everyone—talent on par with his own—there was no way he could surpass him in such a short time without the guidance of a powerful Fire Release ninja.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Gen was the one with cheats.

At the very beginning of the semester, he had already saved enough experience to raise his personal level to eight and drawn an Item Card.

[Item Card: Skill Proficiency Card (Green)]

[Can be used on a mastered ninjutsu, increasing that ninjutsu's proficiency to a certain extent during training over the next month]

Bang!

More than half of Uchiha Gen's ninja tools had been used up, and after expending a great deal of stamina, Sarutobi Enju finally weaved and darted his way close to Gen.

His taijutsu was publicly acknowledged as the strongest in the class. Even the other two Uchiha fell slightly short of him.

Sarutobi Enju needed to find the right opportunity to cast ninjutsu, but he also needed to close the distance and ensure his opponent could not easily escape its range.

He could only hold one mouthful of oil. If the first attempt failed, the power of any Fire Release he used afterward would drop by a level.

He had to use his slight advantage in taijutsu to create that opportunity after closing in.

Clang!

The kunai collided with a crisp, pleasant ring of metal.

Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through the kunai's handle, Uchiha Gen took a step back with the momentum to dissipate it. At the same time, his left hand pulled another kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch. He hooked his index finger through the ring at the end of its handle and spun it lightly several times, generating centrifugal force to increase its power. Then, with a sharp acceleration of his wrist, he flung it out.

This little kunai-throwing trick was not very powerful and had little killing power at long range, but it was sufficient in close combat and much more concealed.

Sarutobi Enju had been wary all along. He withdrew his hand and turned aside to dodge the kunai, while Uchiha Gen seized the opportunity to step forward, turn, raise his leg, and deliver a side kick.

Bang!

A little dust rose. Sarutobi Enju crossed his arms before him and blocked the blow, rapidly retreating several steps as his hands began forming seals.

This was an excellent opportunity to launch ninjutsu, turn defense into offense, and secure victory in one move.

Yet this was also the opportunity Uchiha Gen had created to use ninjutsu.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball twice the size of Uchiha Inabi's earlier one erupted from Uchiha Gen's mouth. Carrying overwhelming force, it bore down on Sarutobi Enju.

Compared with it, the latter's Flame Bullet was like a billiard ball beside a tennis ball. Though their diameters were within the same order of magnitude, Uchiha Gen's Great Fireball was clearly far larger.

Boom!

Endless light and heat erupted where the two fireballs met. Under the intense temperature, beads of sweat quickly steamed onto Sarutobi Enju's forehead.

This power was too strong to be something a Ninja Academy student could use!

Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the Great Fireball Uchiha Gen had released within the Crystal Ball.

As a top contemporary grandmaster of ninjutsu proficient in all five elemental attributes, he could tell from the fireball's shape, color, and other manifestations that it did not involve Fire Release Nature Transformation, nor was its shape transformation particularly exceptional.

That was normal. He was only a Ninja Academy student about to graduate as a genin. It would be strange if he had truly mastered jonin-level Nature Transformation.

But that made it all the more clear just how rare this was.

"This talent for ninjutsu... I'm afraid it isn't much worse than Orochimaru's was back then."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his thick beard.

An Uchiha with such talent had to be brought into the Hokage Faction, influenced, and made one of their own.

Otherwise, if an uncontrollable Uchiha truly emerged, he might become a second Madara someday.

They had to bind him more closely to the Hokage Faction.

"Kōtō should understand what I mean, and he is capable enough. But if we are to deepen Uchiha Gen's bond with the Hokage Lineage, it seems we'll have to choose someone else."