Seems Not Bad Either

Shin-chan's speed was very fast, dodging left and right, retreating all the way to the edge of the field. Those fireballs couldn't catch up to him at all.

But no one expected that a fireball he dodged actually made a U-turn and flew back.

Shin-chan instinctively dodged, but found that the children who had been exclaiming moments ago were now staring wide-eyed at the flame flying towards them, having forgotten to even dodge.

Shin-chan's movements paused for a moment, then he turned, swung his wooden sword horizontally, and blocked in front of the flame.

"Bang."

The flame hit the wooden sword and exploded into a shower of sparks.

The wooden sword instantly ignited, flames licking up the blade.

Shin-chan stood frozen in place, holding the burning wooden sword, unmoving.

Everyone at the side of the field was stunned.

Only Teacher Ibuki rushed onto the field, extinguished the flames in Shin-chan's hand with a palm strike, quickly checked his injuries, and then announced in a deep voice, "Uchiha Toru wins."

The side of the field was silent for a few seconds, then a buzzing murmur of discussion gradually rose.

Several teachers exchanged glances.

"That child," one teacher whispered, "that last move, it was intentional, wasn't it?"

"To protect the students behind him?"

"Yeah, he could have dodged it, but he took it head-on."

"And he didn't hesitate at all, just blocked it directly."

Yūnagi Asagi's gaze subconsciously fell on the small red figure in the center of the field.

Shin-chan was looking down at the half-burnt wooden sword in his hand, scratching his head with an expression of "Ah, it's broken."

There was no annoyance, no unwillingness, not even frustration at losing the match.

Then Shin-chan looked up and glanced in their direction.

Asagi-sensei's gaze met his.

Shin-chan froze for a moment, then instinctively raised his hand and waved at her.

Asagi-sensei waved back and couldn't help but smile.

This child.

He's a kind child.

As Shin Nohara left the stage, Uchiha Toru followed, pursing his lips as if organizing his thoughts, then looked earnestly into Shin Nohara's eyes.

"That last move, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

But halfway through his sentence, Uchiha Toru didn't quite know how to continue.

Shin Nohara didn't mind, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him, "Xiao Che, you're so amazing."

"What?" Uchiha Toru was taken aback.

"That Fireball." Shin Nohara gestured, "It curved! How did you do that?"

"You just keep Chakra inside the Fireball, and control it to change direction after it flies out," Uchiha Toru explained subconsciously.

"It seems Fire Style is pretty cool too," Shin Nohara started to grin foolishly, already imagining how he'd show off in front of Asagi-sensei after learning Fire Style.

Uchiha Toru looked at his smiling face and suddenly didn't know what to say. After a two-second silence, he quietly said, "But you lost."

"So I lost, what of it?" Shin Nohara waved his hand, completely unconcerned, "When I get stronger, I'll fight you again."

Uchiha Toru looked up at his face and suddenly felt a sting in his nose.

"Shin Nohara."

"Yeah?"

"This time doesn't count," Uchiha Toru said seriously, "Next time, we'll have a proper match."

Shin Nohara blinked and agreed, "Okay!"

From a distance, Teacher Ibuki's voice called out, "Shin Nohara, it's your turn."

Shin Nohara responded, turned, and ran towards the arena, only to find Kakashi waiting for him by the side.

"Here," Kakashi took the Wooden Sword from his waist and handed it over, "Yours is unusable."

Shin Nohara looked down at his own charred Wooden Sword, then at the one Kakashi was offering, and blinked.

"What about you?"

"I have another one."

Shin Nohara hesitated, then took the Wooden Sword, "Thank you."

Kakashi didn't say anything, just turned and waved his hand.

"Hurry, hurry," Teacher Ibuki urged from the stage, "It's almost time to go home."

Shin Nohara, holding the Wooden Sword, darted into the arena.

Teacher Ibuki saw the two stand firm and raised his hand to announce, "Begin!"

Anko immediately assumed a stance, her eyes becoming serious. Although she had lost to Kakashi earlier, he was a recognized genius.

This guy in front of her looked dull; he probably wasn't that strong, right?

Then, her vision blurred.

A red shadow was already in front of her.

Anko instinctively raised her hand to block, and the Wooden Sword was already pressed against her neck.

The sidelines erupted in an uproar.

"So fast..."

"Anko didn't even react!"

"Just like last time against Shiranui Genma!"

Anko stood in place, maintaining the posture of raising her hand to block, motionless for a long time.

She then lowered her head to look at the Wooden Sword pressed against her neck, then looked up at the innocent-looking Shin Nohara in front of her.

Shin-chan retracted his Wooden Sword and scratched his head, "Um... do we still need to fight?"

"No more fighting," Anko retracted her stance and said crisply, "I can't win."

Teacher Ibuki announced from the side, "Shin Nohara, wins."

Shin-chan retracted his Wooden Sword and turned to look at the sidelines. Kakashi was sitting there, watching them with a blank expression.

Shin-chan waved at him.

Kakashi averted his gaze and said something silently.

Anko, however, glared resentfully at the Wooden Sword in Shin-chan's hand and muttered softly, "This sword again..."

Shin-chan didn't hear clearly and turned to look at her, "What?"

"Nothing," Anko turned her face away, "I'll definitely win next time."

Shin-chan nodded, "Okay, let's fight again next time."

Anko snorted and took two steps away before unable to resist looking back at the Wooden Sword.

It had defeated her twice.

The first time was Kakashi, and the second time was this guy.

Used the same knife.

Anko thought resentfully, next time she must knock that knife flying.

The final match was between Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Toru.

But this match ended faster than everyone expected.

Uchiha Toru's Chakra had already been mostly depleted in his fight with Shin-chan, and Kakashi clearly saw this, not giving him a moment's respite from the start.

Close combat, aggressive attacks, grappling.

Uchiha Toru wanted to create distance, but Kakashi gave him no chance, his every step landing in the most uncomfortable position for his opponent.

Three minutes.

In just three minutes, Uchiha Toru was forced to the edge of the field, unable to fight on.

"Kakashi Hatake wins," Teacher Ibuki announced.

Uchiha Toru sat on the ground, gasping for air, his face full of unwillingness.

But losing was losing.

As the Sunset gradually sank, lamps lit up on the Playground, casting a dim yellow glow over the children in the field.

Teacher Ibuki stood in the center of the field, holding a list.

"This exam has successfully concluded."

"First place, Kakashi Hatake."

"Second place, Uchiha Toru."

"Third place, Shin Nohara."

Scattered applause sounded from the sidelines.

Shin-chan, in a corner, heard his name and couldn't help but scratch his head.

Third place.

It seemed not bad either.