A One-Second Victory!

Kakashi had heard the news and, for once, looked interested.

He'd seen ordinary clowns before, but someone ridiculous enough to challenge Qingyu, of all people? He had to see that for himself.

And so the whole group streamed toward the Third Training Ground.

Sarutobi Asuma came along too, bringing his close friends with him: Yamanaka Tsukano, Nara Inshui, and Akimichi Domaru. Not one of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans' new generation was missing.

"Qingyu?"

Nara Inshui stroked his chin.

He was a year ahead of Asuma, but he'd heard that this year's class had produced an extraordinary genius.

"That's right. This is Qingyu."

Sarutobi Asuma folded his arms.

Qingyu glanced around the training ground and saw quite a few people gathered.

Besides their class, some older students had come after hearing the news. They stood in twos and threes along the edge of the field, whispering and speculating.

Qingyu then looked back at Obito, who stood across from him.

"Let's begin, Obito."

Qingyu's voice was calm.

"Hmph! Don't think you're so great just because you've awakened the Sharingan!"

Obito pulled down his yellow goggles, covering his eyes completely.

He'd deliberately stuck a strip of paper to the inside of the goggles, hoping it would shield him from Qingyu's Sharingan Genjutsu.

For someone whose eyes hadn't awakened, Sharingan Genjutsu was the sort of thing where one more look could make your head explode.

So Obito had taken special precautions against Qingyu's Sharingan.

"Obito came prepared," Shizune remarked, somewhat surprised.

"They're about to start..."

Rin Nohara clasped her hands in front of her chest, her gaze shifting between the two.

The next moment, Obito moved first.

He pulled several shuriken attached to specially made steel wires from his pouch and flung them forward at Qingyu.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Halfway there, Obito curled a finger, and the wires suddenly tightened, changing the shuriken's positions in an instant.

Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu!

Qingyu understood at once, and a single tomoe quietly appeared in his eye.

At the same time, he was already learning the technique.

Substitution Technique.

A wooden post remained where Qingyu had been, while his real body had already moved several meters away.

Thud.

The wires on the shuriken sliced through the wooden post Qingyu had left behind.

"You used the Substitution Technique to dodge? You're underestimating me!"

Obito frowned, clearly unhappy with Qingyu's response.

The Substitution Technique involved quickly replacing yourself with an object the instant you were attacked, then using smoke to make it look as though you'd been hit.

Qingyu had performed it so smoothly that he had to be faster than Obito. Otherwise, he couldn't have dodged and taken out a wooden post at the same time.

To Obito, Qingyu was deliberately making a fool of him.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Obito formed the Hand Seals: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger.

He completed all six in just a few seconds.

Drawing a deep breath, he gathered chakra in his throat and spat out a ball of fire much smaller than Uchiha Tekka's had been last time.

Barely passable.

That was Qingyu's verdict.

Compared to Uchiha Tekka's barely acceptable Fireball, Obito's was little more than a big flame.

Still, it was enough.

While Obito was forming his Hand Seals, Qingyu had already circled behind him.

The moment the flames vanished, Obito's pupils contracted. There was no one in front of him.

Water Release: Water Bullet Barrage.

Several Water Bullets shot at Obito from behind, skimming past his hair and slamming into the ground, splashing mud everywhere.

Obito froze in place, still holding his Hand Seals, not daring to move.

If Qingyu had aimed at his body, he'd already be on the ground, unable to get back up.

"You lose, Obito."

Qingyu spoke.

One second!

After dodging Obito's opening move, Qingyu had struck once—and Obito hadn't even had a chance to dodge.

Right now, he truly lived up to his reputation as the dead last.

[Detected collectible trait: Fire Release Affinity]

[D-rank trait: Fire Release Affinity]

[Effect: Learning speed increases by 20% when training in Fire Release Ninjutsu.]

Qingyu glanced at the newly acquired trait and gave a slight nod.

He hadn't gotten anything related to space-time, but Fire Release Affinity was still useful.

Too bad Obito's chakra was so low. If only he could farm traits from him regularly.

"Qingyu's already won?"

Yamanaka Tsukano sat on the grass at the edge of the field, cradling his little Ninja Dog.

From his perspective, the entire fight had lasted less than half a minute from start to finish.

Obito's Shurikenjutsu had looked pretty impressive, but after Qingyu dodged it, the rest had been a one-sided beatdown.

"I thought Obito would have some new trick."

Sarutobi Asuma was sorely disappointed.

He'd thought Obito's bold challenge might mean he had some sort of secret weapon. And that was it?

Kakashi stood to one side with his hands in his pockets. He couldn't even be bothered to comment.

Obito crouched on the ground, head bowed, looking as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

His expression was hidden behind his goggles, but his fists were clenched.

"Obito, you've improved a lot since last time."

Rin Nohara went over, crouched beside him, and gently tried to comfort him.

Obito's ears twitched, and he finally raised his head a little.

Losing was embarrassing, but Rin had come to comfort him. Maybe... it hadn't been a complete loss after all.

"Hmph! I'll definitely win next time!"

Obito pointed at Qingyu and declared it loudly.

"Good. I'll be waiting."

Qingyu nodded.

He wasn't just being polite.

He really was looking forward to Obito bringing him another trait next time.

It would be great for Qingyu if Obito came by regularly.

After watching the fight's anticlimactic, completely one-sided conclusion, the crowd quickly dispersed.

They'd come hoping to see the dead last make a dramatic comeback, but the facts had proved that the dead last was still the dead last.

Meanwhile, Qingyu's reputation as a genius had only grown in their eyes.

After returning, Qingyuan planned to get in his usual training.

Even with the power of traits, Qingyu didn't intend to rely on them completely.

Otherwise, wouldn't he just become someone led around by the system?

Qingyu knew the system helped him enormously, but that didn't mean he should neglect everything else. If he did, he'd inevitably grow lazy.

The ninja world was brutal. Even Naruto, who was nearly invincible in his era, had slacked off for ten years in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and then had his stomach pierced by some Uchiha Shin who'd just appeared out of nowhere.

If Naruto hadn't had the Nine-Tails' healing ability, those wounds could easily have been fatal.

"Are you sure you don't have a team leader yet?"

After Qingyu finished training, he found Tsunade asking him that question.

"I don't, no. Isn't that decided after graduation?"

Qingyu was puzzled.

"Some people find out early. They just don't officially take charge of their teams until graduation."

Tsunade explained.

Qingyu understood at once.

He remembered that in the original story, Kakashi had also learned in advance that Naruto would be his student.

So it wasn't impossible for some team leaders to meet their students ahead of time.

Still, Qingyu thought it was a little early.

"This is the first I've heard of it," Qingyuan said.

"What do you think of Orochimaru?" Tsunade suddenly asked.