Shining in Konoha in the Name of Genius! (Part 1)

On the training ground, the two stood facing each other.

"Shinichi, go for it!"

Ishizuka Takashi's rough voice was the first to break the silence.

"Get him, Shinichi!"

"Show him what we've got!"

"Fight!"

With Takashi leading the charge, the entire Class 2 erupted in cheers for Shinichi, a clear sign of his popularity among his classmates.

Faced with the sudden wave of support from Class 2, Class 1 paused for a moment, then, as if stirred by a collective instinct, they too raised their voices:

"Kakashi, beat him!"

"Show them what a genius can do!"

"Fight!"

Though Kakashi was cold and aloof, with few friends his age, his overwhelming talent, calm and mature demeanor, and the halo of "the makings of a Hokage" had still earned him considerable popularity among his peers, who admired strength.

Among them, a girl with short brown hair and two purple markings on her cheeks had a particularly clear and forceful voice.

"Go for it, Kakashi!"

Rin Nohara cupped her hands around her mouth, her small face flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling as she stared intently at the silver-haired boy's back.

"Hmph!" Obito Uchiha, seeing this, shouted loudly as well, "Hey! Whoever you are from the other class! Give it your all and make sure you knock that smug Kakashi down!"

"First practical exam: Higashino Shinichi vs. Hatake Kakashi. Both parties, form the Seal of Confrontation!"

In the center, Shinichi and Kakashi simultaneously raised their right hands, held them before their chests, and completed the simple opening ritual.

The difference was that Shinichi's gaze remained steadily fixed on his opponent, while Kakashi's eyes stayed calm, even casual.

"Then, I look forward to your guidance, Kakashi."

The moment the words left his mouth, Shinichi, like a tiger that had been coiling its strength, tore through the air, bringing with it a hair-raising whistling wind. In an instant, he crossed several meters and lunged straight at Kakashi!

So fast!

Kakashi's pupils abruptly contracted. The casualness was gone from his face. He had no time to dodge, and could only cross his arms like lightning to block in front of him.

"Boom!" The moment fist met leg, a dull thud rang out. Kakashi felt as if a heavy hammer had slammed into his arms. His limbs went numb, his bones felt like they were about to crack.

His entire body was forced backward, sliding a full ten-plus meters before he managed to stop by digging his heels into the ground.

Before the dust had even settled, another gust of wind arrived!

Just as Kakashi barely stabilized himself, the next attack came.

A black figure appeared before him, his right leg straightened like a steel whip, sweeping out with the force of a thousand pounds.

The air was torn by the leg's wind, like a giant axe chopping down heavily. The resulting gust even blew Kakashi's white bangs backward.

"Is that the Konoha Wind Splitter?" Ishizuka Takashi on the sidelines gaped in shock. He knew that move well; it was a Steel Fist taijutsu technique Teacher Chen had taught him.

He never expected Shinichi to have learned it from sparring with him just a few times.

On the field, Kakashi's expression changed. But he was a true genius after all, trained from childhood by the White Fang of Konoha, possessing excellent combat instincts.

At the critical moment!

His body, relying on its astonishing flexibility and reaction speed, suddenly rolled backward and to the side.

At the same time, his wrist slammed into the ground during the roll, and his chakra exploded instantly. Using that point of support, his body sprang up like a spring, his right leg drawing a sharp arc, aiming straight for Shinichi's chin!

However, Shinichi seemed to have anticipated this counterattack. He took a light and precise step to his left, letting the dangerous high kick graze past the tip of his nose.

At the same time, his left hand formed a palm, the base of his fingers taut like refined iron. A sweeping palm strike, carrying a whistling force, shot upward from below, aimed directly at Kakashi's chin.

"Thud!"

The dull sound of impact rang out. Kakashi's vision went black, stars exploded before his eyes. The violent shock sent his thoughts into a momentary blank, and his body, completely out of control, fell backward.

Shinichi gave him no chance to catch his breath. The moment Kakashi lost his balance, a heavy kick slammed fiercely into his abdomen!

Like a sandbag hit at full speed, Kakashi curled up and shot backward even faster than before, crashing into the trunk of a large tree at the edge of the training ground.

The thick trunk shuddered violently, and withered yellow leaves rained down, covering him.

"Cough!"

Kakashi slid to the ground, curled up, clutching his aching stomach and coughing violently. His mind had only just begun to clear.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up from the ground, trying to get back into the fight, but a cold touch silently pressed against his neck.

Shinichi had somehow closed in again like a ghost, a kunai held to his throat.

He lost.

The entire training ground fell into a deathly silence.

All the cheers, murmurs, and the sound of the wind were abruptly cut off, as if by an invisible hand.

Whether students from Class One, Class Two, or even the two instructors, everyone stared dumbfounded at the unbelievable scene unfolding in the arena.

Even further away, other classes and grades conducting their practical exams had people noticing this moment.

The super genius Hatake Kakashi, burdened with the illustrious reputation of "Hokage Potential," shining like a dazzling star.

In this head-on confrontation, he had been overwhelmingly defeated.

The sun still blazed fiercely, yet it could not dispel the almost frozen shock and bewilderment that permeated the entire field.

How is this possible!?

This question exploded in nearly everyone's mind as they turned their gaze to the standing Higashino Shinichi—an orphan commoner with no illustrious lineage, no inherited Kekkei Genkai, and reportedly only mastering the most basic Three Body Techniques in ninjutsu.

Though his grades were excellent and he was a model student, in the Ninja Academy, that was practically as ordinary as it got.

What they didn't know was that Shinichi possessed an advantage uniquely his own.

It was the power of Traits transformed from the "persona" he had meticulously built over years of consistency.

[Robust], [Swordsmanship Apprentice], [Tenacious]... these white Traits were not empty titles; they genuinely and continuously optimized and enhanced his physical constitution.

In particular, the [Robust] Trait—as early as when he worked as a helper at the blacksmith's shop, he discovered he possessed pure strength surpassing many adult master smiths. And the blacksmith occupation itself was known for great strength.

When the white Trait [Robust] evolved into the green Trait [Natural Strength], Shinichi's power experienced an explosive, multi-fold increase.

As for Kakashi, he was indeed a once-in-a-century genius, but he had an objective limitation he could not overcome—his age.

He was only five years old. No matter how extraordinary his talent, his physical development, bone density, and muscle capacity all had physiological limits.

Without the aid of Chakra, his strength was always far inferior to Shinichi's.

What Shinichi possessed was a monstrous physique, far beyond his age group, built by years of training stacked with his Trait system.

His strength and constitution stats were simply too high compared to his peers.

More importantly, it came down to mindset and preparation.

Kakashi might not have looked down on Shinichi, but the long-standing reality of being unmatched among his peers had subtly instilled in him a certain ease.

He might have imagined that Shinichi—the kid he first saw carrying a boulder to school—had some strength or a few special taijutsu moves.

But he never anticipated that Shinichi's strength would be so immense, beyond his imagination—that the very first blow would be a mountain-crushing, sea-splitting assault completely exceeding his strength limit.

And Shinichi had been planning for this moment for five years!

"Did you hear? The White Fang's child has been born..."

"I heard. The child's name seems to be... Kakashi?"

No one knew that five years ago, at the entrance of the village's western orphanage, a one-year-old child sat on the steps, staring blankly at the sky. When he overheard passersby chatting, something seemed to ignite in his eyes.