First Appearance

Sitting high upon the dais, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the green figure suddenly appear in the center of the arena. He couldn't help but breathe a secret sigh of relief. Hideaka, you've finally returned...

The task of suppressing the Uchiha's arrogance has been placed entirely on your shoulders!

"You... you are Sato Hideaka?"

The jonin presiding over the match stood in the center of the arena, glancing from the photograph in his file to the short figure before him, who was hidden beneath a straw cape and hat. He asked with a hint of confusion.

The spectators in the stands also turned their eyes toward the newcomer. Clad in a thick, straw-woven cape and hat that obscured his true appearance, he looked both mysterious and out of place. Had this guy really prepared carefully for this tournament?

Why did it feel like he had just arrived and entered the arena without any preparation at all?

Sato Hideaka stood under the gaze of the masses. He took off his straw hat and tossed the cape aside, revealing his short, cyan hair, cyan eyes, and a sharp, well-defined face. Days of training had converted most of the fat on his body into muscle.

Now full of vigor and spirit, he had shed his former childishness, replaced by a touch of maturity!

"Wow, how old is this kid? Why do I feel like he's not even ten yet?"

"How could someone like this stand out in the Genin Exam? Could there be some shady background involved?"

"Wow, look at his cyan eyes, they're as pure as the sky. Even though he's young, he looks so cool. He's got real style!"

The stands erupted in an instant. It wasn't just his entrance, attire, or age—they began to discuss his very appearance. Other "foreign guests" also stared intently at Sato Hideaka. A child of about six years old being rated as excellent might be an important piece of intelligence...

The jonin proctor was somewhat bewildered. The Sato Hideaka in the photo looked delicate, while the one in reality appeared cold and stern. Although their features were similar, their temperaments were vastly different. Were the person in the photo and the one standing here truly the same individual?

After carefully comparing them for a moment, the proctor, who carried a short blade, finally confirmed his identity and said, "Er, there is indeed a resemblance... Well then, let the match begin!"

Aburame Hakushou and Sato Hideaka faced each other, extending their right index and middle fingers to perform the Seal of Confrontation, signaling that the battle had begun.

The match had started, but neither was greedy for an early advantage.

Sato Hideaka placed his left hand behind his back, his right hand, wrapped in white bandages, held in front. With his feet staggered, he stood in place, adopting the standard stance of a taijutsu ninja.

Aburame Hakushou also stood his ground as countless dense Kikaichū emerged from all over his body, appearing like a dancing black mist that materialized out of thin air. The black mist surged toward Sato Hideaka, as if to swallow him whole.

Seeing the swarm of Kikaichū rushing toward him, Sato Hideaka arched his body like a lobster. A green aura suddenly exploded from his entire body, and he stomped hard against the ground, vanishing from his spot in an instant.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

The rapid movement allowed Sato Hideaka to appear instantly at Aburame Hakushou's side. Using his left leg as a pivot to rotate his body, he lashed out with his right, striking Aburame Hakushou with a kick fueled by high-speed air currents.

The Aburame Hakushou who was struck instantly dissipated, transforming into countless Kikaichū that scattered in all directions.

A Bug Clone?

The real body is... underground!

Sato Hideaka closed his large cyan eyes and instantly sensed Aburame Hakushou's location. This was thanks to a sensory-type ninjutsu he had recently created: Lightning Release: Electric Net Technique.

As long as a creature exists, it emits electrical signals into its environment. These signals are extremely weak but undeniably real. By using the Lightning Release: Electric Net Technique, the user becomes a large-scale receiver capable of picking up every signal in the vicinity.

Right now, there was a human-shaped signal beneath his feet, and countless dense signals were swirling, about to burst through the surface...

"Secret Technique: Bug Tornado!"

Countless Kikaichū flew out from the underground, spinning rapidly to whip up a tornado that engulfed Sato Hideaka. Kikaichū are greedy creatures; beyond draining chakra, they devour flesh and blood. Those swarmed by them are often consumed entirely, leaving not a trace behind.

However, Aburame Hakushou learned from the feedback of his Kikaichū that this carefully prepared strike had missed. The target of the attack had been nothing more than an afterimage; the opponent's true body had long since vacated that position.

Having opened the first three of the Eight Inner Gates, Sato Hideaka's speed far exceeded that of Aburame Hakushou, whose level was merely that of a chunin—or perhaps even lower. With her eyesight, she could barely track Sato Hideaka's movements.

Sato Hideaka stood twenty meters away, the green energy aura burning across his body. Yet, having opened the first three gates, he did not look flushed like Rock Lee; instead, he appeared as normal as if he were in his base state, without the slightest burden.

Of course, this was the result of his improvements to the Eight Inner Gates. By using his self-developed Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique to increase his own gravity, he used gravity training to strengthen his physique, allowing his body to fully adapt to the strain of opening three gates.

In other words, with this improved Eight Inner Gates, as long as one's physical constitution could keep up, one could adapt to any of the seven gates—excluding the "Gate of Death"—and open or close them at will!

"You are no match for me, Aburame Hakushou!" Sato Hideaka said calmly as he watched Aburame Hakushou emerge from the ground.

Aburame Hakushou, who wore sunglasses and appeared somewhat mysterious, shook her head. She gathered all the surrounding Kikaichū and released even more from her body, filling the sky with a dense swarm.

"Secret Technique: Kikaichū Cluster!"

Individual Kikaichū surrounded Sato Hideaka from all sides, crowding him and trapping him in place to restrict his movement. As Aburame Hakushou spoke, "Secret Technique: Kikaichū Erosion," countless Kikaichū gathered together, transforming into five flowing streams that swept toward Sato Hideaka!

"You think you can defeat me by restricting my speed? Aburame Hakushou, your judgment is flawed!"

Sato Hideaka, surrounded by the Kikaichū, did not change his expression in the slightest. Suddenly, scorching magma erupted from his hairline. His arms were completely covered in black and red, boiling hot lava, and thick smoke billowed out, spreading upward—much like the combat form of the Marine Admiral Akainu from the One Piece anime.

The Kikaichū, originally poised to attack, were affected by the intense heat of the magma. Their attack trajectories veered off as if out of control, circling around Sato Hideaka but never daring to strike!

"I forfeit!"

Seeing this, Aburame Hakushou turned and walked toward the edge of the arena. The countless Kikaichū seemed to obey a summons, leaving Sato Hideaka's side and turning into clouds of black mist that retreated into Aburame Hakushou's body.

The Kikaichū could not face the high temperatures brought by the magma. Even if they could adapt to the heat for a short time, it would require sacrificing the lives of a vast number of bugs to evolve. Rather than waste the Kikaichū she had carefully nurtured with her own chakra to fight a battle with such a high failure rate, it was better to simply forfeit!

"What... what kind of ninjutsu is this? Magma actually appeared from his body?"

"Lava Release, this is Lava Release! I never expected that our Konoha would produce a user of the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. It's truly too powerful."

"Wow, this kid who isn't even ten is really strong. I couldn't even see that kick from before, and then there's this Lava Release ninjutsu. He's truly worthy of being an elite candidate selected for this!"

"..."

The stands erupted in cheers. Although this match hadn't been as conventional as the previous bout between Uchiha Kenichi and Shimura Masao, both the Bug Tornado and the Lava Release ninjutsu had opened their eyes. They were truly worthy of being the elite of the new generation.