Minato Namikaze and Li were the best students in their grade, so once this battle was over, first and second place would be decided. Morita Mushio was eager to see just how far these two prodigies could go.
After forming the Seal of Reconciliation, the two stepped back several paces to leave themselves enough room to fight.
Minato Namikaze was only a little over five years old and had never learned Ninjutsu. He twirled the Kunai in his hand a few times, then charged at Li. Seeing this, Li pulled out his own Kunai. Once they clashed, they fought with Taijutsu. At their age, few students learned Ninjutsu; only children from powerful clans like the Uchiha Clan could start learning it so early.
Bang! Bang!
Minato Namikaze really was strong, and his Taijutsu was impressive. After trading blows with him for a few rounds, Li realized he couldn't take him down. Clearly, Minato Namikaze trained very hard every day, which was the complete opposite of his effeminate personality.
After knocking Minato Namikaze's hands aside, Li lunged forward and drove his knee into his stomach. But instead of pressing his advantage, Li leaped back to put some distance between them. Several Kunai flew in from the left, aimed straight at his face.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After knocking the Kunai aside, Li quickly formed Hand Seals and rushed to the left. The Minato Namikaze in front of him had only been a Substitution Technique. When Li's knee had struck, he hadn't felt a real body—that was why he hadn't followed up.
"Looks like even a simple Substitution Technique can't fool you!"
Trees surrounded the ranking match grounds, giving the students a better chance to use the Three Basic Techniques in combat. As he spoke, Minato Namikaze jumped down from a large tree to the left and blocked Li's incoming Kunai with his own. But in the next moment, his expression changed, and he hurriedly jumped away.
"Too late. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Standing on a branch of a large tree behind Minato Namikaze, Li had already finished forming his Hand Seals. He opened his mouth and spat out a fireball half a meter in diameter, which hurtled toward Minato Namikaze. Morita Mushio had been watching with an approving expression, but when he heard the words "Great Fireball," his face changed. This is bad! He quickly rushed to Minato Namikaze, grabbed him, and jumped aside.
Boom!
The scorching fireball struck the ground and blasted out a huge crater, sending smoke billowing into the air. Minato Namikaze was stunned. Morita Mushio was stunned. Every student was stunned. Even Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto were stunned.
"Is this Ninjutsu? Is this how powerful Ninjutsu is?"
Once they recovered, all the students stared excitedly at the crater left by the Great Fireball and began chattering about Ninjutsu.
"I really can't keep up with Li. He can already use the Great Fireball Technique, while I haven't even grasped the basics!" Uchiha Fugaku looked at Li standing in the tree with a complicated expression. Then he glanced at Uchiha Mikoto, who was gazing at Li with admiration, and felt a bitter pang in his heart.
"That boy has enough chakra to use a C-Class Fire Release Ninjutsu at such a young age. You can't underestimate anyone from the Uchiha Clan," Morita Mushio murmured, his eyes narrowed as he watched Li.
Li jumped down from the tree and looked at the crater, which was still smoking. He nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't expected a single C-Class Ninjutsu to be so powerful. His chakra was still insufficient; if he had enough, the Great Fireball Technique could be twice as powerful. At that thought, he decided he had to increase his chakra reserves as quickly as possible.
"Uchiha Li, I lost!" Minato Namikaze came over to Li. He wasn't discouraged by his defeat, and his eyes were clear as he smiled. "Thank you for giving it your all when you fought me!"
"It's nothing. Even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit. Besides, the gap between us isn't that big. If I didn't fight with everything I had, I might lose—and it would also be disrespectful to my opponent," Li replied calmly, shaking his head.
Then the two formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit? That boy is sure to achieve great things," Morita Mushio thought when he heard Li's words. His gaze toward Li changed. What a promising student—an absolutely outstanding one. Maybe in a few years, I'll have nurtured a peerless powerhouse. As a teacher, nothing made Morita Mushio prouder than seeing his students succeed.
The ranking matches ended with Li's battle against Minato Namikaze. Li took first place, Minato Namikaze second, and Hyuga Hiashi third. Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku placed fourth and sixth, respectively. Everyone in the top ten came from a clan, with Minato Namikaze as the exception.
Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. You have been awarded 100 points. The Point Mall is now open. Please check it when you have time!
After the ranking matches ended, Li heard the system notification. He showed no reaction and went home with Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku, then told Uchiha Hao about the day's matches.
"Li, you've already learned the Great Fireball Technique?"
In the study, Uchiha Hao looked at Li in astonishment. It had only been three days. How could a five-year-old child have learned a C-Class Ninjutsu in just three days? Could it be that their ancestors had blessed the Uchiha Clan with a prodigy?
"Yes, I can use the technique to some extent now," Li replied with a nod. He only said he could use it to some extent. He knew better than to claim he had mastered it. Being able to use it was one thing; truly mastering it would take more work. The main problem was that he didn't have enough chakra.
Hearing Li's answer, Uchiha Hao's face brightened. He stepped forward, patted Li on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "As expected of a son of the Uchiha Clan. Good! Come outside with me and use the technique once in the yard."
Li nodded without objecting. He didn't want to hide his abilities. In any world, if you wanted others to respect you, you had to prove yourself and show enough potential. If you always hid your abilities and let people think you were useless, then you'd lose any value as someone worth cultivating, and no one would care about you.
In the yard, Uchiha Hao stood to one side with Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, watching Li in the middle.
After taking a gentle breath, Li drew on the chakra inside him and began forming Hand Seals. Though he was slow, he finished a few seconds later. His cheeks puffed out. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A fireball, rolling like a wheel and trailing waves of heat, traveled more than ten meters. The ground along its path turned black from the heat. After a few seconds, the fireball dissipated. Li let out a small breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. With his current chakra reserves, using a C-Class Ninjutsu twice in one day was still a struggle.
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