Early Graduation

Uchiha Fugaku erupted with all his strength time and again, trying to carve out a sliver of space to maneuver, yet no matter how hard he struggled, Nawaki's kunai remained as immovable as a mountain, pinning him firmly to the ground.

"Fugaku, I see your efforts. It's a pity it's still not enough. You should concede!" Nawaki said with a relaxed expression.

"Hah! Huff! Hah!" Fugaku gasped for air, drenched in sweat. "Hehehe! It's this... condescending look again, and this... indifferent attitude! What a pathetic sight! I've clearly worked so hard, so why is this still the result?"

"I think it's a matter of conviction and capacity. Although your hand-seal speed has improved significantly, your taijutsu is still too weak! You haven't tried to fundamentally address your shortcomings, only blindly increasing your raw power. Is it because your conviction isn't firm enough, or your capacity isn't broad enough?"

"Hmph! Conviction and... capacity... what an... interesting theory! Taijutsu? Was that... the rapid movement and the ability to... run through the air just now?"

"Correct. That is a taijutsu style I developed independently, called the Konoha Six Powers. What I just used were two of those forms, known as Shunpo and Geppo."

The crowd erupted into an uproar upon hearing Nawaki personally admit to creating his own taijutsu.

"He created his own taijutsu! He's only three years old, right? This is too exaggerated!"

"And the power of this technique is no joke. Not only can he teleport, but he can also walk on air. It must be at least A-rank, right?"

"It's more than that! Didn't you hear him? Those were just two of the six forms. The other four must be equally extraordinary! Combined, these six techniques could easily be considered an S-rank ninjutsu!"

It wasn't just the commoners and ninja; even the upper echelons of Konoha were deeply shocked!

The Third Hokage stared unblinkingly at Nawaki. "Self-created taijutsu, six forms in total, and it looks like at least A-rank. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it! Lady Mito, has Nawaki mentioned the Konoha Six Powers to you?"

Mito replied with a gentle smile, "He hasn't! This child has been sensible and independent since he was small. He completes all his training on his own, and I rarely interfere. I never expected him to have such talent in taijutsu."

"Truly an astonishing gift. He might even surpass the First Hokage in the future!"

"You are too kind, Third."

"You really are remarkable. Creating your own taijutsu at three years old, but... I won't concede so easily!" With Fugaku's loud declaration, a startling surge of chakra erupted from his body. Simultaneously, his eyes underwent a violent transformation, turning blood-red with a single black tomoe appearing within.

Under Nawaki's provocation, Fugaku had actually awakened his Sharingan!

His father, the head of the Uchiha Clan, laughed happily. "It seems the outcome is still uncertain."

Sensing Fugaku's shocking change, a surge of astonishing chakra also erupted from Nawaki, pinning him back down. "Is this the Sharingan? It really is a beautiful pair of eyes! But it's all over, Fuqiu. I don't want to play with you anymore! Take a nap; when you wake up, everything will be over. Nirvana Temple Technique!"

Nawaki performed a rapid one-handed seal, and a feather drifted down onto Fugaku's head. Fugaku suddenly collapsed, exhausted and unconscious, his Sharingan quickly closing and returning to normal.

Due to the massive expenditure of chakra and physical stamina earlier, this genjutsu had a miraculous effect on Fugaku. It was a pity that a single-tomoe Sharingan could not resist the illusion.

"This... he actually used one-handed seals..." The Uchiha clan head, who had awakened his own Three Tomoe Sharingan, looked embarrassed. He had just declared the outcome uncertain, only for Fugaku to fall into a genjutsu-induced sleep. It was truly ironic for an Uchiha to be defeated by a genjutsu.

However, this was the most gentle method. Fugaku was not injured and had even awakened his Sharingan, so he should be thanking this young master of the Senju Clan. Thus, he did not get angry.

Although they didn't get to see Fugaku's comeback, the battle was still spectacular, and Nawaki's final one-handed seal brought a pleasant surprise to everyone.

This time, without needing a reminder from Nawaki, Matsushita announced the result directly.

However, Nawaki did not leave just yet. "Teacher Matsushita, I would like to apply for early graduation!"

"This..." In truth, Matsushita was very eager to send this little monster away, but he lacked the authority, so he looked toward the Third Hokage in a dilemma.

The crowd, originally preparing to disperse, stopped in their tracks upon hearing Nawaki's words, knowing that a good show was about to follow.

The Third Hokage hadn't expected Nawaki to make such a request at this moment and hesitated for a second.

Seeing this, Nawaki spoke directly to the Third, "Third... Teacher, can I graduate early?"

Hearing the word "old" almost slip out, the Third felt a jolt, but he breathed a sigh of relief when Nawaki corrected himself. The brat still knows how to save me some face in front of others.

However, when he saw the threatening glint in Nawaki's eyes, he realized the brat had done it on purpose! It seemed he had to agree today, but graduating wouldn't be that easy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Early graduation is simple. As long as you can defeat Teacher Matsushita, you can do it. Matsushita, don't you dare go easy on your student!"

Matsushita Ida nodded solemnly. "Yes, Lord Hokage! Nawaki, do you need to rest before we begin?"

"No need, Teacher. Let's start right now!"

At the same time, Nawaki removed all the weights from his body.

With a loud thud, a cloud of dust rose from the ground.

The audience gasped in shock once more.

"That child was actually wearing so much weight!"

"That's just too exaggerated!"

"He was taking the exam while wearing weights? He wasn't even using his full strength earlier?"

Feeling his Wish Power surging, Nawaki couldn't help but curl his lips upward. That trick of Rock Lee's really works.

Nawaki jumped in place, feeling much lighter, and said to the stunned Matsushita, "Teacher Matsushita, I'm coming for you!"

Nawaki performed the Seal of Confrontation, then vanished from his spot, rushing toward Matsushita. He threw ten kunai, which collided in mid-air several times before shooting toward Matsushita from different angles.

Matsushita, struck by several kunai, turned into a log with a poof. Immediately after, several kunai struck the charging Nawaki head-on. After a crisp "ding-ding" sound, they were deflected away; Nawaki had used the Iron Body of the Six Powers, naturally fearing no weak kunai attacks.

He seized the opportunity to close in on Matsushita, raising his kunai to strike.

Seeing Nawaki ignore the kunai attacks and charge at him, Matsushita had no choice but to raise his own kunai to parry. Fortunately, due to his age, his strength was slightly greater than Nawaki's. For a moment, the two engaged in a fierce, fast-paced exchange of kunai strikes, locked in a bitter struggle.

Nawaki realized Matsushita's taijutsu was not weak, and continuing like this wouldn't work. He found an opening to create some distance, and while retreating, he instantly completed the hand seals: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.