Punching Konoha Kindergarten

"Come on."

Uchiha Mai smiled, opened his left fist, and beckoned with a backhanded gesture, provoking him.

Arrogant, far too arrogant; he had to be taught a lesson with a heavy blow!

With the goddess Yuhi Kurenai still watching, Asuma didn't want to look like a coward. While remaining guarded, he threw another heavy punch toward Uchiha Mai's cheek.

The fist whistled through the air, carrying a faint gust of wind; it was clear that Asuma had put his full strength into this strike, channeling chakra into his limb.

Nintaijutsu does not strictly require chakra to attack an enemy, but using chakra during an attack allows the body to reach a state of high activation, granting greater power and explosive force.

Body activation is not a unique ability exclusive to Kakashi or the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure; any ninja in the shinobi world possesses this capability.

Surely no one actually believes that a ten-year-old Naruto could scale walls and leap onto rooftops with a single kick using only raw physical strength, right?

Kakashi's cell activation technique, the Lightning Style Body Strengthening Secret Technique of Kumogakure, and the Eight Inner Gates are simply methods that allow practitioners to utilize chakra in a more refined manner.

For the same amount of chakra consumed, they gain more power and faster speed than an average ninja.

Asuma's chakra-infused punch was clearly aimed at smashing Uchiha Mai's face to a pulp.

Uchiha Mai repeated his previous tactic, pulling his torso and head back once more while throwing a straight punch with his left hand as a defensive counter.

But this time, Asuma was smarter; he dodged quickly the moment his punch missed, preserving his not-so-handsome face.

"I've already seen through your moves," Asuma said smugly, mocking him.

"Oh, is that so?" Uchiha Mai smiled slightly, stepped forward half a pace, and launched a lightning-fast straight left toward Asuma's cheek.

Asuma was shocked; he had assumed Uchiha Mai would only use defensive counters and never expected him to take the initiative.

For a split second, Asuma lost his focus, subconsciously trying to block the straight punch. One punch had already swollen his face; if he took another, he would be ruined.

Just as Asuma reacted, his guard dropped wide open. Uchiha Mai seized the fleeting opportunity, quickly unleashing his right fist from his chin in a sharp jab that connected with Asuma's eye socket.

"Ow!"

Asuma let out a miserable cry, tears streaming down his face involuntarily. His left eye socket was bruised black and blue; Uchiha Mai had clearly put some real force into that punch.

Probing attacks and seesaw counters are common tactics in boxing, a style Mayweather is particularly skilled at.

Having been punched again, Asuma blushed with shame. He had just issued a harsh provocation, only to have his face beaten to a pulp within two rounds. It was humiliating, truly humiliating.

Most importantly, his dream girl, Kurenai, was still watching from the sidelines.

It doesn't matter. Winning the start doesn't mean winning the end; he who laughs last laughs best. As long as I beat him to a pulp next, I can salvage everything!

After numbing himself with this self-delusion, Asuma, desperate to restore his reputation, quickly threw a punch toward his opponent's chin.

Uchiha Mai remained calm under pressure, lowering his head while raising his shoulder blades to protect his chin, ensuring he wouldn't be knocked out in one hit.

After the exchange, Uchiha Mai retreated two steps to create distance, holding his left fist in a striking position and waving it in front of Asuma to distract his gaze.

The flick jab, one of Mayweather's common techniques, is effective at controlling an opponent's line of sight, causing them to lose balance and scatter their focus.

Though Asuma was eager to attack, he was wary of Uchiha Mai's fists. If he took another hit, his face would be beyond saving.

Uchiha Mai kept observing Asuma's eyes, and once he noticed the latter's attention wavering, he swung his right fist again, landing it on Asuma's cheek.

Before Asuma could get angry about taking another heavy hit, he realized that Mai, who had previously retreated after every punch, was suddenly unleashing a storm of blows with both fists.

Damn it!

If this were a boxing ring, a professional boxer's first reaction would be to raise their hands to protect their vitals.

But Asuma was a ninja; he decided to go head-to-head with Uchiha Mai. A real man fears nothing.

Unfortunately, before Asuma could land a few punches in his counter-offensive, he was dazed by Uchiha Mai's combination, and finally, a right hook to the chin sent him crashing to the ground, unconscious.

The observing teacher, Murakami Keining, was panicked. What if he actually killed Asuma? He immediately stepped forward to pull Uchiha Mai away, pried open Asuma's eyelids, checked his mouth, and then felt for a pulse and listened to his breathing.

Only then did he subtly signal toward the office that everything was fine. The boy wasn't dead; he was just knocked out, with a few molars knocked loose.

Asuma lay on the ground, his entire face bruised and swollen, blood bubbling from the corner of his mouth. It was a miserable sight.

"Teacher, shouldn't you start the ten-second count?" Uchiha Mai asked subconsciously.

"What count?"

Murakami Keining asked in return, then realized what he meant—that he wanted Asuma to stand up within ten seconds to continue the fight. He replied, "There's no need for that.

The force of your punch traveled through his bones directly to his brain. I estimate he won't be getting up for a few days.

You won this match."

"I told you a punch to the chin could knock someone out," Might Guy said, beaming as he spoke to the girls beside him.

Uchiha Mai sighed silently. He can't even stand up? What a pity. I still had my trendiest, hardest move—the flying cross-armbar—left to use.

With one party knocked unconscious, the Seal of Reconciliation could not be performed, and the match ended in an anticlimactic fashion.

Of course, others could have continued to challenge Uchiha Mai, but after seeing Asuma's fate, no one else was willing to step up.

They had to find other opponents, pairing off on the playground to peck at each other like chickens.

Murakami Keining found an opportunity to return to the office and leaned toward the Third Hokage, asking tentatively, "Lord Hokage, what do you think of this Uchiha Mai?"

"Very good."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly and praised, "To toy with Asuma in the palm of his hand without using Kekkei Genkai, ninjutsu, or anything but pure intellect.

He possesses formidable combat intelligence; he is a rare genius indeed."

The level of taijutsu displayed by Uchiha Mai did not far exceed that of his peers. What crushed Asuma was technique and psychological warfare.

In a ninja's battle, strength is important, but intelligence is equally vital; it was precisely by relying on his wits that Shikamaru Nara buried the immortal Hidan alive.

And Sarutobi Hiruzen, in particular, admired ninjas who possessed such combat intelligence.

In the Chunin Exams of the original plot, 153 people from various ninja villages participated, among whom the battle records achieved by Naruto, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, the cool Sasuke, and Gaara even surpassed those of some jonin.

Yet, the only one to become a chunin from this exam was Shikamaru Nara. This goes to show that when Konoha evaluates a ninja's rank, it does not look at strength alone.