At Uchiha Natsume's question, Roy remained calm.
"Lord Natsume, this is merely an application of ninjutsu."
"It can't really be considered a new jutsu."
"C-rank ninjutsu, Fire Style: Fire Spark, releases flames that scatter in all directions."
"By supplementing it with Lightning Style chakra, you can achieve a simple acceleration."
"Once you're familiar with it, you can perform a combination jutsu like this."
"Fire Style: Fire Gun!"
After speaking, Roy immediately fired a Fire Gun toward one side.
Uchiha Natsume watched Roy perform the jutsu.
It did look like he'd performed it instantly without hand seals, but Roy had raised one finger, which also served as an unsealed sign.
And Roy had acted so casually that it gave the impression of an instant cast.
"Fire Style: Fire Gun!"
Uchiha Natsume raised his own hand and tried it as well.
As an Uchiha with elite jonin-level strength, Uchiha Natsume easily copied this "combination jutsu."
But its power and speed... left something to be desired.
"I understand."
"You used this jutsu to defeat your opponent just now."
"But don't expect to use such a trick to win the next two fights."
Uchiha Natsume lowered his finger and spoke softly.
"Understood."
"Lord Natsume, is there anything else?"
"If not, I'll get some rest."
Roy asked with a smile.
"Go ahead."
Natsume waved a hand.
He'd thought he'd found a pleasant surprise, but it turned out...
Watching Roy leave, Natsume sighed.
Once he'd left the room, Roy let out a breath of relief.
That was right. The moment he'd decided to use the Mera Mera no Mi's power, Roy had already thought of this possibility.
After all, instantly casting ninjutsu was no small matter.
Even if it wasn't very powerful, it would draw attention.
Fortunately, it was easy enough to recreate a Fire Gun with a simple jutsu.
Roy had prepared this explanation yesterday.
He didn't want to be dragged off for experiments.
After lunch.
The remaining twenty-four participants had mostly recovered.
They drew lots again, and this time Roy was matched against Uchiha Gai, a fellow clan member a year older than him.
"I watched your fight earlier."
"That was an interesting jutsu, but... I won't be careless and give you a chance."
After speaking, Gai drew his Kunai.
At the same time, he activated his Sharingan.
"Mm."
Roy gave a slight nod, then drew his own Kunai.
As for the Sharingan, Roy didn't activate it.
After all, activating the Sharingan consumed chakra too.
Roy didn't intend to waste his chakra on that right now.
Natsume, watching from nearby, also fixed his gaze on Roy.
For some reason, he felt this kid still had more surprises in store.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Gai opened with a jutsu that couldn't kill anyone, then launched several Shuriken.
Almost simultaneously, he used the recoil to charge at Roy.
"Still not planning to dodge?"
"Then... Fire Style: Explosive Flame!"
Seeing Roy remain where he was, with no sign of dodging, Gai abruptly halted and performed a second jutsu.
This was a special kind of Fire Style jutsu. It could use chakra transformation to make flames from a Fire Style jutsu explode in an instant.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion erupted, centered on Roy.
A thick cloud of dust engulfed him.
"Oh no!"
Seeing what had happened, Gai began to panic.
If he accidentally killed Roy, he wouldn't be executed, but he could forget about joining the Military Police Force.
"Fire Style: Fire Gun!"
Just as Gai focused on the center of the dust cloud, a familiar voice rang out.
The next moment, a pillar of fire shot straight out.
"Th-this isn't like the Fire Gun I saw this morning..."
That was Gai's last thought before he lost consciousness.
Hearing it was a Fire Gun, he relaxed. Roy was still alive.
At the same time, he had plenty of confidence in his own defenses.
A Fire Style jutsu of that level couldn't possibly... Then he crumpled beneath Fire Fist.
Seeing Gai fall, Natsume quickly checked him over.
He'd taken a heavy impact, but had only been knocked unconscious.
After signaling the medical team to take Gai away, Natsume grew even more curious about Roy.
Was this an advanced application of the jutsu he'd used earlier?
This kid had been holding back after all.
Roy won the final match without a doubt as well.
He successfully joined the Military Police Force.
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have completed the random quest: Join the Konoha Military Police Force. Reward: 1,000 units of fixed chakra, Chakra Extraction Double Card.
As soon as Roy earned the right to join the Konoha Military Police Force, that familiar electronic voice sounded in his ears.
Roy's face lit up.
Both rewards were things he needed right now.
Just then, Roy sensed someone's gaze fixed on him.
He turned and saw Uchiha Shisui standing at the entrance to the training ground.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the familiar figure before him, Roy was a little puzzled.
Uchiha Shisui had the Mangekyō Sharingan and near-Kage-level strength. Was he interested in the Military Police Force's tryouts?
Or was he interested in Roy?
Ding! Random quest issued. Convince Uchiha Shisui to stand firmly with the Uchiha Clan.
Just as Roy wondered whether his senses had deceived him, the quest notification sounded in his ears.
The Uchiha Clan's three strongest figures at present were Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Shisui, and the prodigy Uchiha Itachi.
There was no need to say much about Fugaku. As clan head, he had plenty of shortcomings in his duties.
But he still considered matters from the Uchiha Clan's perspective.
As for Uchiha Itachi, the one hailed by Naruto fans as Itachi-sama...
Roy thought he was an idiot.
Forget the issue of where his loyalties lay. Even calling him an idiot was going easy on him, considering the massacre of his own clan.
Shisui was a little foolish, but at least he'd told Konoha's higher-ups his secret because he wanted to buy his clanmates time.
"Roy, report to the Military Police Force tomorrow. Here's your ID badge."
"Go collect your Military Police Force supplies, then head home and get some rest."
While Roy was thinking, Uchiha Natsume handed him a badge.
It was proof of membership in the Military Police Force.
"Understood, Captain!"
Now that he was part of the Military Police Force, Roy addressed Natsume differently.
He put away the badge and walked to the entrance of the training ground.
"Big Brother Shisui, do you have some time?"
Since the quest had been issued, Roy decided to approach him.
The original story said little about Shisui, and Roy's original self had never interacted with him.
He only knew that Shisui was another prodigy from their clan.
"I do."
"As it happens, there's something I'd like to ask you about too."
Uchiha Shisui paused briefly, then replied.
He'd only been passing by, but then he'd seen Roy's impressive performance.
He didn't believe Roy had simply forgotten about the earlier attack. Curiosity had suddenly struck him, making him stop at the entrance.
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