So Sharp and Ostentatious? (Seeking Follow-ups)

Soon, the theoretical exam concluded, and it was time for the practical portion.

Ninjas are tools, which is why practical combat is the most important segment.

"I will now begin calling names."

Umino Shika stood at the front of the examination grounds, holding a roster in his hand.

He began to read the names.

Groups of students walked into the sparring area marked by white lines.

When it reached the middle of the list, Umino Shika glanced down at the roster, then looked up, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.

"Next group, Qingyu versus Hatake Kakashi."

Qingyu was not at all surprised by this result.

Because before the exam, he had specifically sought out Umino Shika to express his desire to spar with Kakashi.

Umino Shika had not refused.

Having Kakashi spar with others was essentially bullying; it was better to let the two strongest students clash directly, which was both fairer and more entertaining.

Kakashi stepped out from the line, a short blade already in his hand.

Qingyu likewise drew the katana that Tsunade had given him.

The standoff between the two immediately drew everyone's attention.

Both Qingyu and Kakashi were the subjects of intense discussion within the class.

One was the genius who had sat firmly in the top spot since the first day of enrollment, while the other was Qingyu, who had heaven-defying connections and spent time with the legendary Sannin.

No one could say for sure who would win or lose.

"I'm coming."

After performing the Seal of Confrontation, Kakashi drew his short blade.

The short blade slashed diagonally toward Qingyu.

Qingyu drew his katana and blocked horizontally.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out.

The two touched and separated, then immediately lunged forward again.

The katana and the short blade collided repeatedly in the air, sending a series of sparks flying.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Kakashi became.

Too fast.

Qingyu's rate of improvement was simply too fast.

The last time they had practiced swordsmanship together at home under their fathers, although Qingyu had already shown decent talent, there had still been a clear gap between them.

But how much time had passed since then?

"Are both of them really this sharp-edged..."

Sarutobi Asuma stood on the sidelines, watching the two figures with blades crossing in the arena, and subconsciously pulled his hands out of his pockets.

He thought for a moment and decided to avoid their sharp edge for now.

Two geniuses had ruined his dream of being first in the semester.

Sarutobi Asuma decided to settle down and focus on his own growth, aiming to meet them at the peak later.

"An excellent teacher rating is in the bag."

Umino Shika watched the duel in the arena, a gratified smile appearing on his face.

The more excellent the students, the greater the teacher's reputation, and he could even receive extra bonuses.

This was a system personally established by the Third Hokage to motivate instructors and prevent them from neglecting their students.

With these two trump cards, Qingyu and Kakashi, in his hands, wasn't his promotion a certainty?

"This child is quite impressive."

The examiner next to him, Kite, suddenly spoke up.

"Who is Kite-sensei referring to?"

Umino Shika turned his head.

"Qingyu."

Kite's gaze remained fixed on the figure in the arena gripping the katana.

Umino Shika was somewhat puzzled.

Weren't the two of them fighting to a standstill right now? Why praise only Qingyu?

He cast his gaze back toward the center of the field.

The next moment, the situation shifted abruptly.

Kakashi suddenly stepped back twice, his right hand weaving through hand seals with lightning speed.

Earth Style: Earth Wall!

A wall of earth rose from the ground, shielding Kakashi from view.

This was a D-rank Earth Style jutsu, a simplified version of the B-rank Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall.

It was also something Kakashi had specifically asked his father to teach him to deal with Qingyu.

Chakra elements held mutual restraints against one another.

Earth Style countered Water Style.

He knew Qingyu was highly proficient in Water Style; if he could seal off those techniques, half of Qingyu's offensive capabilities would be neutralized.

Qingyu looked at the rising earthen wall, feeling somewhat surprised.

As expected of a dog lover, Qingyu thought to himself.

Although this wall was not as thick as the one produced by Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, it still featured a dog-head relief on its surface.

It was just a single dog head, however.

Kakashi could manifest dog heads even when his chakra was low; now, without the Sharingan transplanted, the chakra-rich Kakashi displayed his "dog-head art" with even greater ease.

Qingyu surmised that this was likely intended to be used in conjunction with his summoning dogs.

So, had Kakashi already formed a contract with his ninja hounds?

Qingyu pondered this, then began to weave hand seals of his own.

His Sharingan was already active, a single tomoe rotating slowly within his scarlet pupil.

Earth Style countered Water Style.

Qingyu certainly understood that principle.

But what Kakashi did not know was that he was no longer limited to just Water Style.

Qingyu finished his seals and exhaled a torrent of flame.

Fire Style: Snake Bullet!

The flames twisted in mid-air, condensing into a winding, serpentine shape that bared its fiery fangs as it lunged straight for the earth wall.

This was a jutsu Orochimaru had taught him.

BOOM!

The serpentine flame slammed into the wall, shattering it instantly.

Kakashi's eyes widened.

Fire Style?

How did he not know that Qingyu could use Fire Style?!

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Taking advantage of the smoke created by the collision of fire and earth, Qingyu's figure flickered and vanished from his original spot.

Kakashi gripped his short blade, scanning his surroundings with intense vigilance.

A figure suddenly lunged out from the smoke.

Kakashi reflexively slashed downward with his blade.

POOF!

As the blade passed through, the figure burst into a cloud of white smoke.

A clone!

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.

Did he cast it while the smoke from the fire and earth collision was rising?

In the split second Kakashi was distracted, a fist emerged from the smoke to his side, striking toward his chest with a fierce gust of wind.

Kakashi had no time to block properly and could only instinctively raise his arms to shield his front.

THUD!

The fist slammed into his arms.

A massive force sent him sliding backward several paces, his soles leaving two long black streaks on the white lines of the arena.

Qingyu did not give him a chance to catch his breath, stepping forward until the tip of his katana rested against Kakashi's throat.

"I lost."

Kakashi lowered his arms, shaking his head with a wry smile.

He had lost.

[D-rank Trait detected for collection]

[D-rank Trait: Dog-Head Earth Style]

[Effect: Defeated young Kakashi, increasing Earth Style talent by 30%.]

Traits can drop from this too?

Qingyu stared at the newly appeared trait.

He discovered that even among traits of the same rank, the bonuses were variable.

"You are the true genius, Qingyu."

Kakashi said.

"Not at all, I just underwent some special training as well."

Qingyu shook his head, then reached out to help Kakashi up.

"Do you need me to use medical ninjutsu to treat you?"

Qingyu asked.

"That won't be necessary."

Kakashi's expression was strange.

Qingyu had inadvertently displayed his formidable medical ninjutsu once again.

This gave Kakashi a sense of urgency.

If Qingyu could catch up to him while learning so many other things, then exactly where was he falling short?

"The winner is Qingyu!"

Umino Shika snapped back to reality and quickly announced.

Teacher Kite certainly had a good eye.

Umino Shika thought to himself, feeling quite pleased.

Regardless of who won, his class had gained two geniuses.

Just then, a white figure emerged nearby.

"Lord Madara, this is the entire sequence of events."

White Zetsu used certain Yin Style ninjutsu to preserve the images he had witnessed, passing them on to his fellow White Zetsu, relaying them layer by layer back to the source.

This was a secret Yin Style technique that Madara Uchiha had once extracted by using genjutsu to interrogate a ninja from the Yamanaka Clan, which he later refined into a ninjutsu with similar effects.