Run After Showing Off~

After Uzumaki Jiuming tripped the previous student out of the ring, he immediately charged at Jiudai. He moved so fast that the students around them could barely follow him with their eyes.

The children watching couldn't keep up with Jiuming's movements at all. Even Hizashi Hyuga had to activate his Byakugan to just barely catch sight of him.

"Fast, but not fast enough!" Jiudai barked. As soon as Uzumaki Jiuming reached him, he took the initiative and threw a punch at Jiuming's chest.

In all his earlier matches against the other students, he had never attacked first. Most of the time, he had simply blocked their attacks to assess their Taijutsu. But facing Jiuming, Jiudai found himself unable to hold back.

He was also feeling a little shaken. Jiuming had just launched a sudden attack aimed at his groin. If Jiudai hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been out of the fight by now. Irritated, he wanted to teach Jiuming a lesson.

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

Jiudai saw his fist about to connect with Jiuming and began to pull his punch, so he wouldn't hurt the boy too badly.

"Hm?"

But just as Jiudai started to hold back, he saw Jiuming plant his right foot and abruptly stop his forward momentum. Jiuming then grabbed the arm he had thrown out and immediately lifted a leg to kick—once again aiming for Jiudai's groin.

"What?"

Jiudai couldn't help exclaiming. With his right arm caught, he couldn't pull it back in time to guard his groin, so he raised his left hand to block Jiuming's kick. Just as he thought he'd successfully defended himself, he suddenly realized his body was no longer under his control. He was being lifted into the air.

"Strength of a Hundred!" Uzumaki Jiuming shouted. Using one foot as a pivot, he flipped Jiudai right over. Though he was only a little boy, he had the strength of an adult.

"Thud!"

Jiudai had already been holding back, and he was caught off guard. Jiuming really did throw him over his shoulder and slam him to the ground. His body hit the ground hard, sending dust billowing into the air. Jiuming's strength had been far beyond what Jiudai expected. He'd never imagined that a five-year-old boy like Jiuming could have the strength of a grown man.

Although Jiudai had been thrown to the ground, he wasn't hurt at all. A ninja's ability to take a hit was far beyond an ordinary person's. If an average adult had taken Jiuming's attack, they might not have been knocked out of the fight, but they'd definitely have been dazed for a minute.

After landing his attack, Uzumaki Jiuming let go of Jiudai and took a step back to watch him.

Jiudai quickly got back to his feet as if nothing had happened. He brushed the dust off himself with an easygoing smile.

"Hahaha! I let my guard down. I didn't even dodge."

Jiudai laughed it off, acting as if he hadn't just been thrown over the shoulder by a child. But after Jiuming's move, he had a better sense of the boy's abilities. He still needed to hold back, of course, but he had to be careful about how he did it. If he hadn't pulled his punch just now and given Jiuming an opening, he wouldn't have taken that throw so cleanly.

"You're Uzumaki Jiuming, right? Your Taijutsu is excellent. Come at me again. I'd like to see more of what you can do."

Jiudai wasn't angry. He even praised Jiuming's Taijutsu and admired him. Still, though he admired the boy, Jiuming had embarrassed him badly. How was he supposed to save face as a Ninja Academy teacher? So he decided to give Jiuming a proper lesson in Taijutsu.

Seeing Jiudai get back into his stance, still smiling, the clever Jiuming decided to call it quits instead of pressing the attack.

Obviously, Jiuming knew Jiudai had been holding back. He'd already pulled off his impressive move, so why not stop now? Was he supposed to charge back in and get beaten up?

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

Jiuming put on an innocent expression, with no sign that he intended to keep fighting.

"(⊙o⊙)..."

"Ahem. You've passed, but I'd still like to properly assess your Taijutsu so I can plan my lessons for the future."

Jiudai was taken aback by Uzumaki Jiuming's words. After thinking it over, he said with a smile, but inside he was already cursing: That little rascal's trying to run away!

"Haha."

"Teacher, there'll be plenty of time to assess me later. Since I've already passed, let the others take their tests."

From Jiudai's expression, Uzumaki Jiuming could tell exactly what he was thinking. He gave an awkward laugh, then turned to look at the Third Hokage.

"Heh. What a sly child."

The Third Hokage noticed Jiuming looking his way and smiled faintly. Jiudai saw Jiuming's gaze too. He turned to look at the Third Hokage and saw him give a slight nod. With a helpless sigh, he said:

"All right. I'll have another chance to assess you later anyway."

"Uzumaki Jiuming: Excellent in Taijutsu!"

Jiudai was quite helpless. It seemed he'd completely lost face today. He'd wanted to recover some of his dignity, but now it looked like he wouldn't get the chance.

When Jiudai announced Uzumaki Jiuming's result, the other students began to look at him differently. Jiuming had already shown destructive power beyond the ordinary during the shuriken test, so the children's first impression of him had been that he was dangerous.

Now Jiuming had managed to knock a Ninja Academy teacher to the ground in a single exchange of Taijutsu. He wasn't merely dangerous—he was downright terrifying.

"Jiudai was holding back, but Uzumaki Jiuming's Taijutsu really is excellent. He's incredibly fast, quite strong, and has outstanding combat instincts. He stopped suddenly while moving at that speed. There's no way he hadn't anticipated Jiudai's counterattack."

"That boy is unquestionably a genius!"

"I'll have to keep a close eye on him from now on."

The Third Hokage smiled and stroked his beard. His interest in Uzumaki Jiuming was different from everyone else's. The others had noticed Jiuming's impressive abilities, but the Third Hokage was thinking about much more.

Uzumaki Jiuming, who came from the Uzumaki Clan, was nothing like the other ordinary civilians. He had already displayed remarkable talent at such a young age, which was no small matter for the Third Hokage or Konoha as a whole.

It was connected to the question of who would become the next Jinchuriki.

As Konoha's leader, the Third Hokage had long since assessed Kushina Uzumaki's abilities, character, and judgment. Compared with most children, Kushina was also quite talented. And as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she was born with a type of Chakra capable of suppressing the Nine-Tails.

What's more, Kushina had always shown a deep sense of belonging to Konoha. This had led the Third Hokage and the members of the Council of Elders to select her early on as a candidate to become the next Jinchuriki.

But Kushina Uzumaki was a girl, and that meant she might marry and have children someday. Other villages might not know this, but Konoha's leaders did: childbirth carried enormous risks for a Jinchuriki. There was no way around it.

Now, though, the Third Hokage had seen the exceptionally gifted Uzumaki Jiuming, and a path he had never considered before suddenly came to mind.

Perhaps, before Lady Mito passes away, we can raise a Jinchuriki who poses less of a risk.

While the Third Hokage silently planned and deliberated, the youngest group of students began taking their tests one by one. The results were much as most people had expected. The children who had come to try out for early admission to the Ninja Academy all had some skill. None of them could throw their teacher over his shoulder like Jiuming had, but their Taijutsu was still good enough to earn Jiudai's approval.

Every child in the under-eight group received an excellent score in Taijutsu.

Once all the children had finished their tests, Jiudai announced that the day's assessments were over.

"Children, today's assessments are now complete. Any students who were eliminated will have one chance to take a makeup test. The date hasn't been set yet, so just wait for the school to notify you."

"All the other children who passed the first two tests should gather at the entrance to Konoha tomorrow morning at eight. You'll be taking part in a week-long wilderness survival test."

"Now I'll explain what the wilderness survival test involves."