Class Rankings

"Sarutobi Asuma!"

"Here!"

"Yūhi Kurenai!"

"Here!"

"Yamanaka Tohru!"

"Here!"

"Uchiha Obito!"

"Yamashiro-sensei, Obito must have been helping an old lady cross the street!" Passerby A said.

"You're not allowed to mock your classmates!" Yamashiro Ginichi was also quite dissatisfied with this king of tardiness, but as a teacher, he could not let the other students openly ridicule him.

"Reporting in! Sorry, Sensei! I was helping an old lady cross the street, so I was late!" The moment Obito finished speaking, the entire class burst into laughter. Yamashiro Ginichi could only look helplessly on and wave him toward his seat.

"Students, the Ninja Academy trains ninjas! Since we are training ninjas, it is naturally survival of the fittest. Today, we will be holding a Class Ranking Tournament. One-on-one battles will determine your class rankings! Everyone, head to the training field now!"

Yamanaka Tohru had no interest whatsoever in this childish ninja game, but he had to display enough talent today. He was the only student from the Ino-Shika-Cho Three Clans in this class, and he represented the honor of those three clans.

Moreover, Yamanaka Tohru knew very well that displaying his talent today would benefit his future development.

Just imagine it: if a ninja who had always been at the bottom of the class suddenly used advanced ninjutsu like Chidori or Rasengan, no village would think that ninja had suddenly seen the light. Yamanaka Tohru wanted to show his excellence without exposing his trump cards, laying the groundwork for "developing" all kinds of ninjutsu in the future. Starting today, he would become a true genius!

"First match: Mizuki Bu versus Passerby A!" After Yamashiro Ginichi announced the matchup, the two entered the field and formed the Seal of Confrontation. Then they began grappling, without the slightest semblance of a ninja battle. In the end, Mizuki Bu was slightly better and knocked Passerby A down first!

Yamanaka Tohru watched five matches of children fighting. All ten of those children were civilians; before entering the academy, they had never learned to refine Chakra or trained in taijutsu, so there was naturally nothing worth watching.

"Next match: Hatake Kakashi versus Uchiha Obito!"

In the original story, Hatake Kakashi had graduated at the age of five. Yamanaka Tohru was quite curious to see what the four-year-old Kakashi was capable of.

"You bastard Kakashi! I'm going to beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth!" Kakashi ignored Obito's provocation, merely casting him a glance with his dead-fish eyes without making any other move. Obito was enraged by Kakashi's attitude and charged at him!

"Idiot!" Kakashi assumed a defensive stance and easily blocked Obito's punch. Both came from ninja clans. Obito had no parents, but ninjas from the Uchiha Clan taught him how to refine Chakra and practice taijutsu.

Kakashi had studied under his father, Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo, since childhood. At four years old, he was clearly far superior to Obito in both ninjutsu and taijutsu.

After several exchanges, Obito was beginning to run out of stamina, while Kakashi still looked completely at ease. "Damn it! You bastard Kakashi, take this—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" As the Uchiha Clan's basic Fire Release technique, Obito naturally knew the hand seals. But knowing them was one thing; being able to perform the technique was another.

Obito's Great Fireball naturally failed. Kakashi seized the opportunity to press his attack. Already low on stamina, Obito was steadily forced back.

In the end, Kakashi deliberately exposed an opening and allowed Obito to knock him to the ground. Obito fell for it and threw a punch at Kakashi.

"Poof!" The Kakashi on the ground turned into a wooden log. Kakashi appeared behind Obito.

"Damn it, you bastard Kakashi! I'll definitely beat you next time!" Obito reluctantly formed the Seal of Reconciliation with Kakashi.

"Next match: Mitarashi Anko versus Yūhi Kurenai!"

The battle between the two girls was equally fierce. Their Chakra levels were nearly identical, and neither had an advantage in taijutsu. In the end, Yūhi Kurenai barely managed to win with an interference-type D-rank Genjutsu.

Other than Sarutobi Asuma's match against Shiranui Genma, which was somewhat worth watching, the following matches were all just like children fighting.

"Next match: Yamanaka Tohru versus Might Guy!"

Might Guy, Konoha's Proud Azure Beast. He was not skilled in ninjutsu, could not use genjutsu, and practiced only taijutsu. After opening the Gate of Death, the eighth gate of the Eight Gates Formation, he had nearly kicked the story to its conclusion with one kick. But to Yamanaka Tohru, the current Might Guy was simply far too weak.

The result of Yamanaka Tohru's battle against Might Guy was an instant defeat! Guy's proud taijutsu never even had the chance to be displayed before Yamanaka Tohru!

As soon as the match began, before Guy could make a move, his vision was disrupted by Yamanaka Tohru's Water Release: Water Wall. Yamanaka Tohru knocked Might Guy unconscious with a single punch!

The training field instantly fell silent! Yamanaka Tohru's ninjutsu had dealt an enormous shock to this group of students who had only just entered the Ninja Academy!

Kakashi's Substitution Technique had already left everyone except Yamanaka Tohru dumbfounded. No one had expected that Yamanaka Tohru could already perform ninjutsu.

"Winner: Yamanaka Tohru!" Yamashiro Ginichi looked at this five-year-old child in a new light once again. Being able to perform ninjutsu at only five years old—what terrifying talent.

After Yamanaka Tohru and Guy's match ended, the winners continued into the second round. Yamashiro Ginichi grouped the students who had performed well in the first round together, so Yamanaka Tohru's opponent naturally became Hatake Kakashi.

"Next match: Yamanaka Tohru versus Hatake Kakashi!"

"Kakashi, please go easy on me!"

"Likewise!"

Yamanaka Tohru and Kakashi represented the highest level in the class. Their taijutsu exchange was not the slightest bit inferior to that of ordinary Genin. Even Yamashiro Ginichi, who had taught several classes of students, could not help but marvel at their talent.

"Kakashi, if that's all you've got, you're going to lose!" To the others, their pure taijutsu contest appeared evenly matched. In reality, Kakashi had discovered during their exchanges that Yamanaka Tohru's physical abilities were better than his. If this continued, he would definitely lose.

As time passed, the increasingly exhausted Kakashi was gradually suppressed by Yamanaka Tohru. Kakashi clearly had no intention of admitting defeat, using the Substitution Technique to evade Yamanaka Tohru's punch. Yamanaka Tohru had already noticed when Kakashi used the Substitution Technique, and the two formed hand seals almost simultaneously.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

"Lightning Release: Ground Walk!"

Yamanaka Tohru's lightning traveled along Kakashi's Water Release, paralyzing Kakashi's body with Lightning Release. Yamanaka Tohru sent Kakashi flying with a kick!

"Match over. Yamanaka Tohru wins!"

"Amazing. Kakashi, you managed to use the ninjutsu after seeing me perform it just once!" After this match, Yamanaka Tohru had to admit that Kakashi was a true genius. In the original story, many Uchiha possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, yet not one of them had earned the title of Copy Ninja. Yamanaka Tohru had never been able to understand why, but through today's battle, he realized that Kakashi's ability to copy thousands of ninjutsu was not solely thanks to the Sharingan—he himself possessed a special talent for ninjutsu.

"Didn't I still lose to you? Next time, I'll definitely beat you!"

"Alright! I'll be waiting!" The two formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

The other students had already been rendered speechless by the two's absurd performances. In the remaining matches, anyone who encountered Yamanaka Tohru forfeited directly. Even Sarutobi Asuma, who had always refused to admit defeat, gave up the match outright.

Yamanaka Tohru won first place in this Class Ranking Tournament!

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