Fleeing After Showing Off~

After hooking the previous student out of the arena with a kick, Uzumaki Kuming immediately charged toward Jiudai. His extreme speed left the surrounding students feeling dizzy just watching him.

The children watching the match couldn't track Kuming's movement with their naked eyes at all; even Hizashi Hyuga had to activate his Byakugan just to barely capture Kuming's moving figure.

"Fast, but not fast enough!" Jiudai let out a low shout. As Uzumaki Kuming arrived before him, he took the initiative to strike, throwing a punch toward Kuming's chest.

In all his previous spars with the other students, he had never once taken the initiative. Most of the time, he had been passively blocking their attacks to gauge their taijutsu proficiency. But facing Kuming, Jiudai couldn't help himself.

Deep down, he felt a lingering sense of fear. If he hadn't reacted quickly to that sudden strike Kuming aimed at his crotch earlier, he would have already lost his combat effectiveness. Annoyed, he wanted to teach Kuming a lesson.

"With such fast movement, you can't dodge my attack!"

Seeing his fist about to connect with Kuming, Jiudai prepared to pull his punch to avoid causing Kuming any serious injury.

"Hmm?"

But just as Jiudai intended to pull back, he noticed Kuming stomp his right foot into the ground, abruptly braking his forward momentum. Kuming then quickly grabbed the arm Jiudai had extended and lifted his leg to kick—aiming, once again, for his crotch.

"Nani?"

Jiudai couldn't help but exclaim. With his right arm held fast by his opponent, he couldn't pull it back to defend his crotch, so he could only raise his left hand to catch Kuming's incoming kick. Just as he thought he had successfully defended against Kuming's assault, he suddenly felt his body lose control and begin to lift off the ground.

"Strength of a Hundred!" Uzumaki Kuming let out a low shout. Using his single standing leg as a pivot, he flipped Jiudai's entire body over. Despite being just a small child, he possessed the strength of a full-grown adult.

"Boom!"

Jiudai had been holding back, and caught off guard, he was truly thrown over Kuming's shoulder and slammed into the ground. His body hit the earth with a violent thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. The main issue was that Uzumaki Kuming's strength had far exceeded his expectations; he never dreamed that the five-year-old boy possessed the power of an adult within his small frame.

However, although Jiudai had been thrown to the ground, he hadn't sustained any injuries. A ninja's durability is far beyond that of an ordinary person; if it had been a normal adult, they might not have lost their ability to fight after taking such a hit, but they certainly would have been dazed for at least a minute.

Having succeeded with his attack, Uzumaki Kuming let go of Jiudai and took a step back to maintain distance and observe his condition.

Soon, Jiudai climbed up from the ground as if nothing had happened, casually brushing the dust off his clothes with a calm and indifferent expression.

"Hahaha~ I was careless, I didn't dodge."

Jiudai laughed it off, acting as if he hadn't just been thrown over the shoulder by a child. However, after being thrown by Kuming, he realized the extent of the boy's strength. While he still needed to hold back, he realized he had to be more careful about how he did it; if he hadn't pulled his punch and given Kuming an opening, he wouldn't have taken that clean throw.

"Uzumaki Kuming, right? Your taijutsu is quite good. Come at me again; I want to see more of your abilities."

Far from being angry, Jiudai didn't skimp on his praise for Kuming's taijutsu, and he felt a sense of genuine admiration for the boy. But praise was praise, and admiration was admiration—Kuming had made him look like a fool, and where would that leave his reputation as a ninja academy teacher? Thus, he intended to properly "instruct" Kuming in taijutsu.

Seeing Jiudai stand up, take a stance, and wear that wide smile, the clever Kuming decided to call it quits and had no intention of attacking again.

Nonsense. As the one fighting Jiudai head-on, Uzumaki Kuming knew full well that the man was holding back. He had already successfully shown off his skills, so why wouldn't he stop now? Did he look like he wanted to rush in and get beaten up?

"Teacher Jiudai, I think I'm the only student who has managed to land a hit on you. Doesn't that mean my taijutsu has already met the requirements?"

Kuming put on an innocent expression, showing no sign of wanting to continue the attack.

"(⊙o⊙)..."

"Ahem, you passed, you passed. But as your teacher, I still want to thoroughly understand your taijutsu capabilities so I can better conduct my teaching in the future."

Jiudai was stunned for a moment after hearing Uzumaki Kuming's words, then smiled as he spoke, though he was cursing internally: This little slippery brat, he's trying to run?

"Haha."

"Teacher, I think there will be plenty of time for that later. Since I've already passed, let the others take their tests."

Uzumaki Kuming saw the look on Jiudai's face and knew exactly what he was planning. He gave a dry laugh before speaking, then turned his gaze toward the Third Hokage.

"Heh, what a cunning child."

The Third Hokage noticed Kuming looking at him and a faint smile appeared on his face. Kuming's gaze also fell into Jiudai's eyes. Jiudai looked back at the Third Hokage, saw the Third Hokage give a slight nod, and then said helplessly:

"Fine, I suppose there will be opportunities to learn later."

"Uzumaki Kuming, taijutsu grade: Excellent!"

Jiudai felt quite helpless. It seemed his reputation was completely ruined today; he had hoped to salvage it, but now it seemed there was no chance.

As Jiudai announced Uzumaki Kuming's grade, the students' expressions toward Kuming changed. Kuming had already displayed unusual destructive power during the shuriken test, and the children's first impression of him was that he was dangerous.

But this time, Kuming had managed to knock a ninja academy teacher to the ground in a single round of taijutsu. This wasn't just "dangerous"—it was extremely dangerous.

"Although Jiudai was holding back, this Uzumaki Kuming's taijutsu is truly impressive. Not only is he incredibly fast, but his strength is not small, and his combat awareness is outstanding. To stop suddenly while moving at such high speed—it's impossible to say he hadn't anticipated Jiudai's counterattack from the start."

"This guy is, without a doubt, a genius!"

"It seems I need to pay more attention to this child in the future."

The Third Hokage smiled and stroked his beard. His focus on Uzumaki Kuming was different from the others; while others saw Kuming's outstanding strength, the Third Hokage was thinking about much more.

Uzumaki Kuming, hailing from the Uzumaki Clan, was not comparable to the commoners. Now that Kuming had displayed such remarkable talent at such a young age, this was no small matter for the Third Hokage or for all of Konoha.

This concerned the future candidate for the Jinchuriki.

As the leader of Konoha, the Third Hokage had long since evaluated the abilities, temperament, and character of Kushina Uzumaki. Compared to the average person, Kushina was also a child with great talent, and coming from the Uzumaki Clan, she naturally possessed a chakra attribute capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails.

Furthermore, Kushina had shown a deep sense of belonging to Konoha, which led the Third Hokage and the Council of Elders to designate her as the next Jinchuriki candidate early on.

However, Kushina Uzumaki was, after all, a girl. And being a girl meant that she might marry and have children in the future. Other villages might not know it, but the high-ranking officials of Konoha were well aware that a Jinchuriki giving birth meant enormous risk. This was something that could not be avoided, no matter what.

But now, the Third Hokage had seen the exceptionally talented Uzumaki Kuming, and a path he had never considered before suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Perhaps, before Mito-sama passes away, I can cultivate a low-risk Jinchuriki."

Just as the Third Hokage was silently planning and calculating in his heart, the youngest group of students began their respective assessments one by one. The results were as most people had expected; the children who came to participate in the Ninja Academy's early enrollment all had a few tricks up their sleeves. Although no child was able to perform a shoulder throw on the teacher like Jiuming, the taijutsu skills displayed by those children were enough to earn Jiudai's approval.

Without exception, every child in the under-8 age group achieved excellent marks in taijutsu.

After all the children had finished their assessments, Jiudai announced that today's examinations were officially concluded.

"Children, today's assessments have all come to an end. All students who have been eliminated will still have one chance for a make-up exam, though the date for the make-up is yet to be determined; just wait for the school's notification."

"As for all the other children who have passed these first two assessments, gather at the entrance of Konoha tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock to prepare for the one-week wilderness survival assessment."

"Now, I will explain the content of the wilderness survival assessment."