Stepping on Your Left Foot to Ascend to Heaven? (Please Vote with Monthly Tickets, More Chapters Coming)

"What?!"

"He used Wind Release... to blow the Uchiha's Fireball Jutsu off course?"

"What precise chakra control and timing!"

A wave of barely contained cries of surprise immediately rose from the stands and around the edge of the arena.

Outsiders watched the spectacle; insiders saw the skill.

Aside from ninja, most of those in the stands were relatives and friends of the candidates, or simply passersby who had come to watch the excitement.

They only felt that Kiyohara had used the technique cleverly. With what seemed like a mere puff of air, he had blown away Tekka Uchiha's menacing fireball.

But the genin of the same class all furrowed their brows.

As everyone knew, only two factors determined the power of a ninjutsu.

First, chakra.

Second, understanding of the ninjutsu.

The more proficient one was with a ninjutsu, the deeper their understanding would be, and the greater its power.

To use a C-rank Wind Release ninjutsu to so cleverly neutralize the Uchiha's signature Fire Release required an extremely deep understanding of ninjutsu.

Even the stern-faced chief examiner had a trace of surprise flash through his eyes.

Under normal circumstances, someone as talented as Kiyohara would have been directly promoted to Chunin.

Perhaps Lord Hokage also wanted to see Kiyohara's potential, which was why he had him go through the process.

Based on his performance alone, the chief examiner felt that even if Kiyohara lost in the end, he could still be promoted to Chunin.

"Judging from the application submitted to Lord Hokage, the recommender was Jonin Minato. No wonder he used so many words of praise."

The chief examiner nodded slightly, unable to help wanting to see how Kiyohara would perform next.

Kurenai Yuhi and Genma Shiranui in the stands also breathed sighs of relief, while feeling pleasantly surprised by Kiyohara's performance.

A trace of astonishment flashed across Tekka Uchiha's face. He clearly had not expected his ninjutsu to be broken so easily.

But his combat instincts were excellent. He was only stunned for an instant before both hands swiftly reached into his ninja tool pouch.

"Not bad. You neutralized my Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu that easily."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several shuriken were clamped between his fingers. As he threw them, they tore through the air toward Kiyohara.

"Among all these civilians, you're one of the better ones."

Tekka Uchiha's fingers moved slightly, and the steel wires connected to the shuriken reflected cold glints under the sunlight.

It was Uchiha Style: Shurikenjutsu!

Kiyohara had been guarding against this move all along.

The Uchiha excelled at Fire Release ninjutsu and shuriken techniques. Even though Kiyohara had never fought Tekka Uchiha before, there was no downside to preparing for those things.

"Steel wires?"

Kiyohara could vaguely make out an extremely thin thread in the air, tied to the shuriken.

If one did not look closely, it would be easy to overlook.

That was why ninja had to remain vigilant at all times in battle.

"Lightning Release: Ground Flash!"

Kiyohara refined an appropriate amount of chakra. After forming hand seals, the chakra rapidly transformed into an electric arc that clung to the ground.

A piercing crackle rang out as azure currents, like living electric snakes, raced across the dry ground toward Tekka Uchiha's feet!

Though Kiyohara had moved later, the electric arc traveled far faster than Tekka Uchiha's thrown shuriken!

Tekka Uchiha's pupils shrank. He had no choice but to immediately stop his precise control over the shuriken, push off the ground, and leap rapidly backward, narrowly avoiding the electric arc skipping across the ground.

The shuriken in his hand also lost much of their force without his continued control and fell back.

"The Sharingan is coming."

Renegade Kiyohara spoke as he floated behind Kiyohara.

Based on his past experience fighting Uchiha clan ninja, if Tekka Uchiha could use the Sharingan, he would likely activate it at any moment.

"The One-Tomoe Sharingan will greatly improve his dynamic vision and perception. Your taijutsu and ordinary throws will be difficult to land."

"I know."

Kiyohara nodded slightly.

Sure enough, as soon as those words fell, Tekka Uchiha's eyes changed as well.

A black tomoe emerged from his scarlet eyes and slowly revolved around his pupils.

One-Tomoe Sharingan!

After activating the Sharingan, Tekka Uchiha immediately saw many of Kiyohara's movements clearly.

Everything seemed to have slowed down. When he focused, he could see Kiyohara's connected movements frame by frame.

Tekka Uchiha pulled out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and swung it down at Kiyohara with the aid of his Sharingan.

Clang!

Dazzling sparks suddenly burst between them and scattered across the ground.

Kiyohara had also drawn a black kunai, firmly blocking the blade Tekka Uchiha had swung at him.

After their edges briefly collided, they let out a harsh scraping sound and kicked up another shower of sparks.

Clang!

Tekka Uchiha slashed with a backhand strike, and Kiyohara blocked again.

But Kiyohara was, after all, a civilian. His foundation was inferior to Tekka Uchiha's.

Before the One-Tomoe Sharingan had been activated, he could still barely contend with him. But once Tekka Uchiha activated the Sharingan, Kiyohara was pushed into a passive position and gradually fell behind.

Kiyohara frowned slightly. He could only wait for an opening.

"It's over!"

Using the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Tekka Uchiha caught a tiny flaw in Kiyohara's movements and immediately swept a roundhouse kick at his lower body.

At the same time, he secretly flung out a shuriken with his other hand, sealing off Kiyohara's best route for dodging to the side!

"Possess me in a moment. Make me jump higher."

Kiyohara suddenly said.

He could not bring out one hundred percent of his body's potential on his own. Only when Renegade Kiyohara possessed him could he ignore the body's natural limitations and forcibly draw it out.

"What are you planning?"

Renegade Kiyohara was somewhat curious.

He had thought Kiyohara would have him take over for the whole fight and carry him into the Chunin ranks.

"The Sharingan's dynamic vision is too good. That's both its strength and its weakness."

Kiyohara rapidly thought to himself.

It was simple. Dynamic vision allowed Tekka Uchiha to see the force movements in Kiyohara's muscles and evade in advance.

But that also meant Tekka Uchiha would develop a habit of relying on the Sharingan's abilities and fall into assumptions.

Even if an enemy suddenly used some forbidden technique or secret ninjutsu to unleash their potential, the Sharingan could see through the chakra flow and take countermeasures in advance.

But... when Renegade Kiyohara possessed him, when had he ever needed such cumbersome details?

In the next instant, Kiyohara did not attempt to dodge as Tekka Uchiha expected. Instead, he leaped backward with the momentum, as though deliberately crashing into the shuriken blocking his path.

In his mind, he shouted again:

"Help me jump higher."

Seeing this, Renegade Kiyohara understood Kiyohara's intent. After possessing him, the moment his body rose into the air, he unleashed one hundred percent of its potential. His waist and abdomen strained as he forcibly twisted his body and sprang higher.

Kiyohara regained control of his body at that moment. Enduring the pain of strained muscles in his waist and abdomen, he flung three shuriken that had long been hidden in his palm with his right hand.

He formed a hand seal with one hand and shouted:

"Lightning Release: Lightning Current Technique!"

Crackle! Crackle!

Dazzling blue lightning erupted in an instant, traveling along the copper wires toward the shuriken. Like blue streams of water, it wrapped around the three shuriken and transformed them into three streaking azure bolts!

Those three bolts were not aimed directly at Tekka Uchiha's body. Instead, they sealed off his left, right, and upper routes of escape.

Tekka Uchiha, with his Sharingan active, froze for a moment.

What the hell was that just now?

How could Kiyohara still have the strength to jump upward?

Did he step on his left foot and launch himself into the sky?