Nawaki vs. Fugaku

Because today was the assessment day for all students at the Ninja Academy, and the training ground was quite spacious, many civilian parents and ninjas were gathered around to watch.

By the time Matsushita led his students to the site, the assessments for the other classes had already concluded.

Nawaki swept his gaze across the area and discovered the Third Hokage, his grandmother, and the Sannin standing outside the testing arena, surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Nawaki! Good luck!" Tsunade waved at him from a distance.

As it turned out, the high-ranking officials of Konoha placed great importance on Nawaki, the heir to the Wood Release bloodline. Out of curiosity regarding his strength and a desire to prevent any accidents, they had come together to observe this assessment.

Regarding the attention from the higher-ups and the surrounding crowd, Nawaki was not nervous at all; instead, he was pleasantly surprised. It seemed he would be able to harvest a large amount of reputation and Wish Power today.

The assessment began quickly, and as the protagonist, Nawaki was naturally the last to take the stage.

"Next match, Senju Nawaki versus Uchiha Fugaku," Matsushita announced.

Since the two of them held the first and second highest scores respectively, they were arranged as opponents.

After they entered the arena, Uchiha Fugaku spoke first: "Kid! Real combat is completely different from the previous two fixed assessments! You can use any means necessary, and it's very dangerous. I advise you to admit defeat early."

Nawaki said with a calm expression, "Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt!"

"You arrogant brat! What kind of big talk is that? Don't blame me if you die! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Knowing that Nawaki's taijutsu and shurikenjutsu were superior to his own, Uchiha Fugaku chose not to engage in close-quarters combat or projectile exchanges, opting instead to attack directly with a Fire Style ninjutsu.

For a six-year-old, being able to use a C-rank ninjutsu was already an impressive achievement. Unfortunately, his hand seals were too slow; three seconds had passed by the time he released the technique.

Three seconds was enough time for Nawaki to do many things.

However, the crowd only saw Nawaki standing blankly in place, as if he had been frightened out of his wits, allowing the fireball to engulf him and leave nothing but ashes on the ground!

Everything happened so suddenly that even Matsushita could not react in time to stop it. He had not expected that Nawaki, who spoke so eloquently during theory classes, would be so incompetent in actual combat.

"Ah!" the girls in the crowd screamed.

"He killed him! An Uchiha killed someone!"

"This is too reckless! It's just an exam, how could he use such a heavy hand?"

"How pitiful! That young master was burned to ashes!"

"This is going to be a huge problem! That is the young clan head of the Senju Clan."

The onlookers cried out in shock, and the entire arena instantly became rowdy.

However, the Third Hokage and the other high-ranking officials remained unmoved, continuing to watch with calm expressions.

Hearing the surrounding discussion, Uchiha Fugaku broke into a cold sweat. Putting on a brave front, he said, "Hmph! What kind of genius? He was so fragile. I already told him to concede; I'm not to blame if he died." After speaking, he glanced at his father, only to see him looking at him with a gloomy, deeply disappointed expression.

I defeated the Senju Clan, so why is Father disappointed? Is it because I killed him?

Just then, a cry of surprise erupted from the crowd, followed by Nawaki's calm voice: "Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"

Uchiha Fugaku felt his feet tighten, and then a massive force dragged him into the ground.

By the time he regained his senses, he found his entire body trapped underground, unable to move, with only his head exposed. Nawaki stood before him, completely unharmed, looking down at him: "It's over!"

It was that same expression again, that same familiar posture! Uchiha Fugaku recalled the scene from half a year ago. "Impossible! You were clearly hit by my ninjutsu! How can you be completely unharmed?"

"How unsightly," Nawaki said, shaking his head at Fugaku's incredulous expression. "As a ninja, you should pay attention to details! Do you really think a C-rank ninjutsu like the Great Fireball Technique can turn a person into ashes in an instant? At most, it would just roast them."

After Nawaki's prompt, Uchiha Fugaku finally realized, "Was it the Substitution Technique? No, there must have been a Clone Technique too? Is this why Father was disappointed—because I, like those commoners, failed to notice such an obvious flaw? What a disgrace!"

Nawaki nodded and said, "You are quite smart. You knew you didn't have the advantage in taijutsu or projectiles, so you chose to attack first with the Fire Style you excel at. Unfortunately, your hand seal speed was too slow, taking a full three seconds. During that time, I had already completed the Clone Technique and the Substitution Technique, hiding the clone behind me and using my real body to block your line of sight. The moment I was hit by the Great Fireball, I swapped positions with the clone, and at the same time, I used the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique to dive underground. The ashes you saw were merely the remains of the clone. If you had observed carefully and made the correct judgment, you wouldn't have been captured so easily. You were too careless, Fugaku."

Upon hearing this, Fugaku lowered his head and said, "You formulated a strategy and completed three ninjutsu in just three seconds? It seems that beyond just strength, I have lost to you in intellect as well. But I will not admit defeat; next time, I will definitely defeat you!"

Nawaki chuckled upon hearing this: "Then keep working hard! But I am training with the belief of protecting the village. Have you found your own belief yet? Without a belief, it will be very difficult to surpass me!"

Nawaki would not let any opportunity for "Talk no Jutsu" pass him by.

The young Uchiha was not so easily swayed. "Hmph! Belief, you say? The glory of the Uchiha Clan is my belief!"

"The Uchiha Clan? That's a bit narrow-minded, but it's a decent belief nonetheless!"

"Tch! I don't need you to judge me!"

After receiving the notification that his reputation had risen to 50 points and his total Wish Power had reached 20,000, Nawaki was in a great mood. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "Then I shall wait and see! Teacher Matsushita, can you announce the results now?"

Matsushita had recovered by then. He felt a flush of embarrassment for failing to see through Nawaki's tactics; this student always managed to surprise him, and his intelligence and talent were truly admirable. "I announce that Senju Nawaki is the winner. With full marks in all three assessments, he is the valedictorian of this grade!"

The surrounding students and parents erupted in cheers and applause.

"So cool! Nawaki is truly the best."

"Tch! I wonder who was just screaming that Nawaki-kun was dead..."

"Aren't you the same?"

"This young clan head of the Senju is truly an extraordinary genius! Even without that talent, he would still become a great ninja!" the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku's father, said with a smile.

The Third Hokage frowned upon hearing this and said, "Judging by this child's performance, he already possesses the strength of a genin, and in terms of strategy, he has reached the standard of a chunin. However, he is only two years old. It is not appropriate for him to graduate too early; it would attract too much attention and easily invite espionage from other nations. Furthermore, I hope that from now on, no one will mention anything related to that incident in public, not even through veiled hints."

"Understood! Lord Hokage, it was my oversight just now!" Facing the suspicious gazes of the other high-ranking officials, the Uchiha clan head had no choice but to lower his head and apologize.