Practical Sparring and Watchers in the Shadows (Please Bookmark, Follow, and Vote)

Ninja Academy classroom.

The moment Taiichi walked into the classroom, he heard Obito provoking Kakashi from across the room. "Kakashi, I'll definitely beat you flat in today's practical sparring match and let you see how awesome I, Lord Obito, am!"

"A lord who's late every day?" Kakashi showed Obito no mercy, relentlessly attacking his weak point.

"Ahhh! I can't wait anymore! Come on, Kakashi, let's start right now!" Obito was already on the verge of hysteria.

Rin Nohara hurriedly stopped Obito from the side.

"Idiot!" Kakashi threw out another taunt.

"Can't you two be quiet? You start arguing every time you meet." Rin Nohara was helpless as well.

Obito still listened to Rin Nohara. Seeing that she was genuinely angry, he quickly gave up on arguing with Kakashi and turned to coax her instead.

Taiichi walked over to Shizune and looked at the three clowns nearby. "Shizune, what's going on over there?"

When Shizune saw Taiichi approaching, her ears immediately turned red. Hearing his question, she answered, "Teacher Yamada came by earlier and said we'd be having practical combat training today, and that everyone would be ranked. Then Obito and Kakashi started arguing over who was stronger."

Taiichi was speechless. Those two could really argue over anything.

At that moment, Might Guy noticed Taiichi talking with Shizune and walked over as well.

"Taiichi, are you nervous about today's sparring? I can feel my hot blood burning already!"

"Why would I be, Guy? Don't we spar every day?"

"No, Taiichi! This is a chance to show myself! I'm going to show everyone the results of my training and let them know I'm not dead last!"

It turned out that because Guy had been admitted last, he was often mocked by his classmates. Taiichi had thought Guy was too carefree to mind it, but apparently, he still held a grudge in his heart.

"I see. Then do your best, Guy. I'll be cheering for you." All a hardworking person needed was support.

"Ahhh! I knew it! Taiichi, you really understand me best." Sure enough, tears began streaming down Guy's face.

After several classes, it was time for the afternoon practical drills. Teacher Yamada led everyone to the Training Ground.

"Next, the students whose names I call will come up to spar. Everyone else will watch from the sidelines."

"Takeshita Haneda, Sarutobi Asuma."

The first match featured the Hokage's son. Asuma usually acted as though the sky was first and he was second, so he rarely interacted with Taiichi and the others. Today, they could finally see what he was capable of.

The two stepped onto the field and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

At Teacher Yamada's command of "Begin," Asuma charged toward Takeshita. His speed alone surpassed that of most students in the class. Takeshita was stunned by Asuma's momentum, and by the time he reacted, it was already a little too late.

Asuma closed in and threw a straight punch. It was heavy and powerful, shattering Takeshita's defense in a single blow. Without hesitation, he followed up with a combo that knocked Takeshita to the ground.

"Asuma wins," Teacher Yamada promptly announced.

The two stood up, formed the Seal of Reconciliation, and left the field.

"Asuma's pretty strong. His fundamentals are especially solid," Taiichi said to Guy.

"Yeah, he's a formidable opponent. Youth is meant for this kind of competition."

"Second match: Obito Uchiha, Hatake Kakashi."

Taiichi hadn't expected these two to face each other so soon. This would be entertaining.

As Obito and Kakashi stepped onto the field, Obito began provoking him again before the match had even started. Rin, watching from below, slapped her forehead in utter disbelief.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation!" Teacher Yamada, who was acting as referee, could no longer stand it and urged them on.

The two formed the Seal of Confrontation, and the battle began.

Kakashi faced Obito, and what surprised Taiichi was that the two were actually evenly matched in the first half. They exchanged attacks and countered each other's moves with impressive order and technique.

Taiichi felt that he needed to reevaluate his classmates. He couldn't look down on anyone just because he knew the original story. He knew Kakashi's level well, since they had sparred many times. Obito being able to fight Kakashi to this extent truly exceeded Taiichi's expectations.

Their exciting duel drew cheers from the students at the edge of the field. Yet compared to Obito, Kakashi was clearly more popular, especially among the girls in class.

Hearing all the girls cheering for Kakashi, Obito was so jealous that his Sharingan was practically about to awaken. Even Taiichi, standing far away, could feel his resentment.

That made Obito's attacks increasingly impatient and disordered. In the end, Kakashi seized an opening and knocked him down with a combo.

"Hatake Kakashi wins."

Obito got to his feet and reluctantly formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

"Third match: Taichi Matsushita, Hyuga Yuchu."

Hearing his name, Taiichi stepped onto the field. Looking at Hyuga Yuchu approaching from the other side, he was eager to try. He wanted to see what the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was like.

The two formed the Seal of Confrontation, and the battle began.

Hyuga took up an opening stance. Seeing that he had no intention of attacking first, Taiichi rushed forward. He opened with a straight step-in punch, which Hyuga deflected with a blocking hand. Taiichi followed with a turning elbow strike, and when Hyuga leaped backward to retreat, he immediately followed with a high kick aimed at the head. This time, Hyuga had no room to retreat and could only raise his arm to block.

Bang.

Hyuga hadn't expected Taiichi's kick to be so heavy. He couldn't block it with one hand, and his arm was knocked into his own head. He staggered several steps to the side before stabilizing himself.

Taiichi seized the moment and pressed forward with a series of attacks, but the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was no joke. Hyuga gradually stabilized the situation.

The first phase of their clash came to an end, and both of them retreated, panting.

Hyuga Yuchu steadied his breathing and took the initiative to attack. He assumed an opening stance, leaving Taiichi puzzled, but Teacher Yamada, watching from the side, became alert. He recognized it as the opening stance of the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palm. He hadn't expected this class to be so full of talent.

When Taiichi saw Hyuga Yuchu rushing toward him, he had already heightened his vigilance. Then he heard the other side shout, "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!" and became even more cautious, focusing all his attention.

Hyuga Yuchu, already extremely fast, doubled his speed the instant he struck with his palms, moving so quickly that afterimages appeared.

At that moment, Taiichi's talent, Academic Overachiever, began to show its effects. His focus increased tenfold, and his thinking speed rose by 100%. It was originally a talent for studying, but it worked just as well in battle.

The world in Taiichi's eyes slowed down, and Hyuga Yuchu's movements became clear. Though his body still struggled to keep up, blocking and parrying became much easier.

To the others, both of them were moving so quickly that afterimages followed their movements. When Hyuga Yuchu unleashed his final palm strike, he knew he had lost. Sure enough, Taiichi decisively struck during the brief moment his opponent needed to recover, landing a punch squarely in his abdomen.

"Taichi Matsushita wins," Teacher Yamada announced. Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong. In that situation just now, even he might not have been able to intervene in time.

The two formed the Seal of Reconciliation and left the field.

At the same time, Hokage-sama, who had been secretly watching through a crystal ball, also let out a sigh of relief. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had watched the entire match, was amazed that Hyuga Yuchu could use the Thirty-Two Palms at such a young age. But he was even more astonished that Taichi Matsushita had completely blocked the technique and still managed to counterattack. He truly was a child Hiruzen had taken a liking to.

"Fourth match: Rin Nohara, Shizune."

"Alright, that's enough sparring for today. The rankings will be posted on the bulletin board tomorrow. That's all for today. Class dismissed."

With that dismissal, the day's lessons came to an end. The students left the academy in small groups.

As usual, Taiichi, Guy, and Kakashi headed toward the small grove together to burn off their remaining energy. Obito, Rin, and Shizune joined them along the way. The group marched grandly toward the grove.

Night, Root Base.

Danzo, the leader of Root and still in his prime, looked over the information in his hands. It contained the day's sparring results from the Ninja Academy. "Born in an Orphanage. Both parents were ninja who died in battle. No Kekkei Genkai. His outstanding traits are exceptional learning ability and neural reaction speed."

The Root ninja responsible for assessing the Ninja Academy's outstanding students lowered his head and replied, "Yes, Lord Danzo."

"This Taichi Matsushita has exceptional learning ability. Whether in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or theoretical courses, he ranks among the best in his class. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him first."

"His taijutsu is not particularly outstanding at present, but his extraordinary reaction speed always allows him to turn defeat into victory."

"Furthermore, he possesses an exceptionally admirable quality: self-discipline."

"His self-discipline even surpasses that of most adult ninja. Therefore, I believe someone like him is worth recruiting and cultivating in Root."

"Self-discipline, is it? That truly is a quality well suited to Root. Combined with his other strengths, he is indeed worth cultivating," Danzo said.

"Keep a close eye on this Taichi Matsushita."

"Yes!"