Victory Decided

I see...

Nawaki clutched his hand, swollen like a pig's trotter, and understood.

Kaminazuki didn't dislike me because of my identity. He was just the kind of person who disliked everyone!

No! With that kind of personality, he'll never make any friends!

I have to change him! I have to make him fit into the village collective!

Fugaku frowned even more deeply. "This isn't the clan grounds. Stop fooling around, Kaminazuki!"

"I'm serious."

Kaminazuki suppressed his emotions and returned to calmness as he looked at Orochimaru. "I want to prove my worth and become your disciple!"

"A disciple... Kaminazuki-kun, do you understand the difference between a student and a disciple?"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly, a faint gleam passing through them.

An Uchiha without chakra, yet possessing considerable strength—now that was truly interesting!

"We can talk about that after I defeat Fugaku."

"In principle, that won't do, but..."

Orochimaru turned to Fugaku and smiled faintly. "Fugaku-kun, could I trouble you to help me conduct the test?"

As the direct disciple of the Third Hokage, the most gifted and powerful among them, and a popular candidate for Fourth Hokage...

Orochimaru was Konoha's principle!

Faced with Orochimaru, Fugaku couldn't bring himself to refuse. He could only glare furiously at the instigator. "Kaminazuki! You can cause all the trouble you want when we get back. Did you really have to do it here?!"

You're not afraid of embarrassing yourself, but I'm afraid of you embarrassing yourself!

Do you really think that just because I usually let you have your way, you can use me to test your limits?!

"Brother, you..."

Kaminazuki said nothing. He took off his outer garment, handed it to Mikoto, and walked toward Fugaku step by step.

His pure black short-sleeved shirt clung tightly to his body, outlining every inch of the boy's musculature with startling clarity.

The lines of his shoulders and neck were sharp and tough. When his arms bent, veins appeared and vanished beneath his skin, radiating explosive power.

He wasn't particularly tall or broad, but his body, tempered like refined steel, was visibly powerful.

In that instant, the Ninja Academy students realized something.

This guy...

Didn't fit our style at all!

At such close range, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't need a report from the Anbu to know what had happened.

He chose not to stop it. He was very curious just how far Kaminazuki's so-called inborn divine strength could go.

An Uchiha without chakra—how rare!

Sensing Kaminazuki's determination, Fugaku's expression changed.

He untied the ninja tool pouch at his waist and drew a kunai. "Then come. When my kunai is pressed to your throat, the fight ends."

Probably... ten seconds.

After receiving clan education, members of the Hyuga main family were qualified to participate directly in the Chunin Exams. Every Uchiha who awakened the Sharingan possessed the same privilege!

At thirteen, Fugaku had already earned his Chunin qualification. The clan even believed that he had a chance to challenge for Jonin rank within the next few years!

A scarlet glow appeared as two tomoe began to rotate.

The proof of the Uchiha—the Sharingan!

Kaminazuki stopped and raised his head, a cold smile curling his lips. "Then my standard will be breaking your bones!"

Two tomoe... His Pupil Power was very strong. Perhaps he wasn't far from Three Tomoe.

Worthy of being the clan head's son. Even among the Uchiha, he could be considered a genius.

Orochimaru watched intently. If Fugaku failed to hold back for a moment, he had to be ready to intervene at any time.

After all, this was a test he was overseeing. He had to ensure that no accident occurred during the battle.

They hadn't gotten to see a conflict between the Senju and the Uchiha... but watching Uchiha clan bullying was pretty interesting too.

That was what the children of ninja clans and the parents who had brought them thought.

Kaminazuki raised his hand and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

Fugaku had just begun to raise his hand...

Whoosh!!!

A fierce wind suddenly rose over the cleared field, and a black streak tore through his vision!

So fast!!

Fugaku immediately withdrew his hand and leaped back. A side kick had already swept past his cheek. He barely dodged it, only for the second strike to follow close behind, its toe slicing through the black hair beside his ear like a blade.

Bang—

Fugaku was sent flying backward. Pinching the severed hair, he stared at Kaminazuki with shock in his eyes. "That kind of speed... How could someone achieve it without chakra support?!"

As one of the three fundamental ninja skills, taijutsu was extremely important.

It was mainly divided into physical attacks that relied primarily on the body with chakra as support, and techniques that incorporated chakra application.

The representative of the former was the Eight Inner Gates Formation, which had briefly appeared during the Warring States period. But because it had existed for too short a time, it was no longer even considered a category.

The most representative taijutsu school of the latter was the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist. Its core principle was using the Byakugan in tandem with taijutsu to block an opponent's chakra flow.

The core of the Senju clan's Strength Enhancement Jutsu was control over one's own chakra, pursuing power taken to the extreme.

Though it looked like brute force beyond reason, it actually demanded finer chakra control than the Hyuga's Gentle Fist.

Overall, except in special circumstances, taijutsu had always been considered merely the prelude to probing an opponent. It couldn't determine a battle's outcome and was unfit for the grand stage.

And Kaminazuki...

This kind of pure physical attack didn't even count as taijutsu. It was low-class even among the low-class.

Without chakra, he theoretically could never become a ninja in his entire life.

Even when they had sent him to the Ninja Academy this time, the clan had only intended for him to keep Mikoto company. They had never expected him to learn anything.

Before Fugaku's words had even finished falling, Kaminazuki's face had already appeared before him, close enough for him to see the flames burning in those pitch-black pupils.

"The warning phase is over. Don't lose too badly, Fugaku!"

A fist smashed into Fugaku's chest, followed by a knee, an elbow, and a whip kick. They were so fast they left afterimages, as though Kaminazuki had sprouted three heads and six arms!

Fugaku's Sharingan spun frantically as he barely defended himself against Kaminazuki's violent onslaught.

When the kunai struck Kaminazuki's fist with the clang of metal, Fugaku went numb all over.

What the hell?!

How could a human body possibly be this hard?!

Bang!!

Kaminazuki's fist struck Fugaku's chin, blasting him into the air as sunlight pierced Fugaku's eyes.

Then a black figure blocked out the sunlight.

A body stretched to its limit, its fist wind ripping through the air.

Fugaku gritted his teeth.

"You've really made me angry, Kaminazuki!!"

He threw away the cracked kunai and rapidly formed hand seals.

With this brat's physical toughness... he shouldn't suffer any serious injury. I have to teach him a lesson!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!"

A blazing fireball more than five meters in diameter crashed toward the descending figure, scorching the dampness from the early spring air.

Every student widened their eyes and cried out at the sight. Most of them had never even seen a ninjutsu before, much less such a visually overwhelming Fire Style technique.

This was going too far...

Orochimaru stared fixedly at the battlefield. He had already completed his hand seals and was about to split the Great Fireball.

At the instant the wind blade was about to fly forth, he saw something and stopped.

The strange gleam in his eyes deepened.

"Quenching."

Kaminazuki murmured softly. His fist became a palm, his five fingers pressed together as he thrust it straight into the Great Fireball!

Screech—!!!

Amid an ear-piercing roar, the fireball split in two and exploded in midair!

W-What!!!

The shock in Fugaku's eyes had yet to fade.

Smack!!

Kaminazuki seized the wrists of Fugaku's instinctively raised hands. Fugaku felt as though iron chains had wrapped around him, leaving him powerless to break free.

It's over...

No, it isn't! I still have genjutsu!!

Fugaku finally reacted. The tomoe in his eyes spun as he tried to cast a genjutsu and stop Kaminazuki's next move.

"Too slow."

Kaminazuki yanked Fugaku closer and drove a vicious knee into his abdomen, forcing him down into the ground!

Boom!!!!

"Cough—"

Inside the crater, Fugaku's body curled up as he coughed out a mouthful of dark blood.

Victory had been decided.