Sudden Invasion

Watching Shinji leave leisurely, Sasuke and Neji nearly ground their teeth to dust.

Being thoroughly surpassed by their opponent in a field they considered their strength was simply too hard for the two geniuses to accept!

Thus, they both turned around at the same time and glared furiously at the only upperclassman still standing in the field.

"Wh-what are you two trying to do? I surrender! Don't kill me!"

The upperclassman had never seen anything like this. He was scared senseless and fled the small woods while crying and screaming.

With the last standing upperclassman running away, the only ones still on their feet were Sasuke and Neji.

As for the other upperclassmen, they were all lying on the ground. Some had fainted, while others groaned ceaselessly in pain.

Even so, Sasuke and Neji still felt extremely displeased. Their expressions looked as though they had lost a fight.

At the same time, they were secretly astonished by Shinji's Taijutsu.

Of course.

In front of so many classmates and teachers, neither of them revealed their wariness directly.

Sasuke put his hand back into his pocket. "I was just moving around a little. I didn't expect that guy Shinji to take it so seriously."

Neji had not actually wanted to hide anything at first, but after hearing Sasuke start things off, he hesitated before saying, "I wasn't in a hurry either, so I wasn't taking it too seriously."

After saying that, the two exchanged a glance.

They both saw a trace of guilt in each other's eyes.

Seeing a bullying incident turn into a farce, the students swarmed over and began asking questions.

Outside the woods.

The Ninja Academy teachers all wore complicated expressions.

No one understood better than they did just how great the gap was between seven- or eight-year-old students and eleven- or twelve-year-old students in physical fitness, strength, agility, and other areas.

Under normal circumstances.

Even a genius seven- or eight-year-old student needed to meet many conditions to defeat an eleven- or twelve-year-old student.

It was not as though they had never seen someone sweep through opponents like Shinji had just done.

But the last student capable of doing so had been named Itachi Uchiha!

Mizuki said with a half-smile, "The Uchiha Clan really is full of geniuses!"

The ANBU protecting Sasuke nodded and chimed in, "I never expected Shinji Uchiha to be so outstanding in Taijutsu despite not even having awakened the Sharingan. His speed..."

Halfway through, even the ANBU fell silent.

Clearly.

With the boost from Water Breathing, Shinji's speed had already exceeded that of an ordinary eight-year-old boy.

After returning to the classroom, Shinji paid no attention to the commotion outside.

Back in his seat, he propped up his chin with one hand and pondered silently.

He had now realized that, in Taijutsu alone, he probably already possessed the strength to crush ordinary Ninja Academy students.

This also meant that Haku, who could still suppress him in Taijutsu, likewise possessed the strength to sweep through the Ninja Academy students.

He simply had not shown it!

And on closer examination, Taijutsu was not actually Haku's greatest strength. His true specialty was his superb control over ninjutsu.

Not just anyone could perform one-handed Hand Seals.

This meant that Haku possessed extremely fine control over his own Chakra. In other words, he had the potential to develop Chakra Nature Transformation.

That was probably also why, despite his young age and having received no guidance, he had inadvertently used Ice Release.

"Haku, that guy... Never mind. At least I don't have to worry about my Taijutsu giving me away anymore."

Shinji sighed.

What he needed to worry about now was that his Taijutsu was too dazzling and might attract unnecessary trouble.

Because he had gradually realized that, after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, the strength of his Chakra had been steadily increasing.

He had also been diligently cultivating Water Breathing and had recently used the Susanoo Lamp to control a second Mangekyō Sharingan.

Leaving aside technique, just judging by his current physical statistics, he had already far surpassed his peers.

So, if he was not careful, he might display abilities far beyond those of his peers and attract other people's attention.

At that moment, the students gradually returned to the classroom.

Haku hurried over to Shinji and said, "Shinji, your performance just now was amazing."

"Yeah! You beat all those upperclassmen by yourself!"

"Shinji, can you teach me Taijutsu?"

Tenten and Rock Lee also crowded around, chattering incessantly.

Shinji sighed inwardly and thought, Trouble's here.

Neji walked over as well, pushed through the crowd, and said to Shinji, "I'm looking forward to facing you in the next class assessment!"

Looking at Neji's Byakugan, Shinji somehow thought of the Byakugan's evolved form, the Tenseigan, and blurted out, "Oh, then you'd better work hard!"

Neji's expression froze, then his face instantly flushed red. However, he did not argue and instead clenched his fists tightly.

Facts spoke louder than words. Shinji had already proven his strength in the fight just now, so all Neji could do was secretly resolve to catch up!

Just then, the voice of the "Lamp" suddenly sounded beside Shinji's ear.

[The plane has been invaded.]

[Countdown: 1]

Shinji froze at first, then his expression changed. "The countdown is only one day? Doesn't that mean I'll have to repel the invasion after midnight tonight?"

He knew that, after being anchored by the mysterious Lantern Bearer's Light Mark, it would become easier for the other side to invade the Shinobi World. But having only half a day to prepare still left him in a difficult position.

More importantly, he had only recruited Haku and Karin as his attendants yesterday and had not yet had time to observe whether the two of them were reliable. If they had to act tonight, everything would be far too rushed.

That evening.

After returning from school, Shinji gently closed the apartment door before collapsing onto the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought, Wasn't the reason I took the risk of recruiting Haku and Karin to deal with the demons' invasion? If so, what is there to hesitate about?

Whether it came a day early or a day late, he had to face it sooner or later.

Whether this newly formed team was truly reliable could not be determined through covert observation alone. Only by actually dealing with a demon invasion once could he learn the answer.

Having figured this out, Shinji immediately sat up in bed.

"Now I need to find a way to notify them and have them prepare for midnight!"

As attendants chosen by the "Lantern Bearer," Haku and Karin could be directly transported by the "Lamp" just like Shinji after it locked onto the area of the demon invasion.

Therefore, Shinji had to notify them immediately and have them get ready. Otherwise, being suddenly transported by the "Lamp" to a battlefield thousands of miles away without knowing anything would be incredibly awkward.

First update!

Today is the last day of the month. Those of you who still have monthly votes, don't forget to vote! Otherwise, they'll go to waste, and that would be such a shame!