With This Face of Chrollo

Konoha, Ninja Academy

The noisy playground gradually fell quiet.

This was the final exam.

Genius Kakashi vs. Uchiha Suifeng

"That's Uchiha Suifeng, right? He's pretty cute!"

"Don't talk nonsense. Kakashi's the cutest!"

"Hey, don't make things up. How would you even know what Kakashi looks like?!"

"I'm not making things up! Kakashi's handsome, and he's a genius, too!"

"That Suifeng guy sure has changed a lot!"

With his fingers interlaced behind his head, Obito watched Suifeng on the field and couldn't help sighing.

There was no helping it. To adults, he was just a mischievous kid, but among children his own age, he made quite an impression.

"Yeah. Why does it feel like he's gotten even better-looking than before?"

Asuma turned his head, chewing on a blade of dried grass. Then his face darkened. "Kurenai, don't you think so? Kurenai, what are you doing?"

"S-so handsome!!" Little Kurenai clasped her hands beneath her chin, her eyes shining red with two hearts. "He's so handsome! Suifeng is so handsome!!"

Asuma: "(ʘдʘ╬)"

Come to think of it, Suifeng was quite good-looking, with delicate features. After three months of honing himself, his whole bearing had changed a great deal, too. The greasy, sleazy middle-aged-man vibe had been completely scrubbed away, and the arrogance of a mischievous kid had vanished as well. In its place was a calm, steady air that a kid his age had no business possessing. That unusual aura naturally made him look even better.

Only recently had Suifeng realized that his face had come to resemble Chrollo's, and their temperaments were blending more and more, too. So he'd let his hair down and tied a bandage around his forehead. Starting today, he'd be Chrollo.

That was why he'd made such a dazzling entrance. His looks were actually on par with Kakashi's.

"Wow, that Uchiha kid is so cute! I had no idea before. Minato, Minato, look!!"

In the crowd, a red-haired girl excitedly pointed at Suifeng. "He's really so cute, Minato! Way cuter than you used to be!"

"How so...!" the blond boy thought, exasperated. I was cute when I was little, too!

"But he really is so cute! Minato, Minato, you're a Special Jonin now, so you can lead a team. How about putting him in your squad?!"

"Kushina, don't be ridiculous. I've only just become a Special Jonin. I need to take on more missions, and I don't want to lead Genin yet."

The still-green Special Jonin reluctantly turned down his girlfriend's request.

On the field

Holding a Kunai in each hand, Suifeng stood in the middle of the playground and looked at Kakashi across from him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Before stepping onto the field, he'd been a little scared. Even after taking his position, he was still scared. But just then, the red glow in his mind gave a faint tremor, and the panic in his heart was completely suppressed and dispelled, replaced by absolute calm.

He knew that feeling all too well. It was exactly how he felt after two cups of liquor.

He was buzzed.

"Both of you, make the Seal of Confrontation!"

The Special Jonin overseeing the exam, Echizen Ryunosuke, stood between them. Once they had made the Seal of Confrontation and each retreated ten steps, Echizen moved out of the way and swept one hand down. "Begin!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As soon as the signal sounded, Suifeng charged. The Kunai in both his hands shot out at the same time, tracing two graceful arcs through the air as they streaked toward Kakashi.

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes narrowed. Suifeng was fast, and his tactics were much better than they'd been three months ago.

"But that alone won't be enough to beat me!"

Clang! Clang!

With two crisp strikes, Kakashi easily knocked away the incoming Kunai. In the next instant, a gust of wind swept toward him, and Suifeng's flying kick came straight at his face.

Konoha Whirlwind!

The feeling was familiar!

Last time, he'd used this very kick to send Suifeng flying and end the fight.

Thud!

Suifeng's kick struck Kakashi squarely in the right cheek.

With a pop, white smoke billowed out, and a log fell to the ground.

Whoosh!

A flash of white light, and Kakashi appeared behind Suifeng, his Kunai slicing past Suifeng's neck.

Thud!

Another Substitution Technique.

Both figures leaped back at the same time, switching positions.

"So fast!!"

"Are those really two little kids?!"

"Uchiha Suifeng... Looks like the Uchiha Clan really has produced a genius!"

In the first exchange, the two moved like lightning, darting back and forth so quickly that the parents and even the ninja watching were taken by surprise.

It was incredible. Though the exchange had been brief, it was clearly a cut above all the previous graduation exams!

Their speed, the accuracy of their Kunai, and their use of the Substitution Technique were all at the level of elite Genin.

No wonder Kakashi was going to take the Chunin Ninja Exams!

Wait—if that was the case, didn't it mean Suifeng was qualified to take the Chunin Ninja Exams, too?

Let's wait and see. That was only the first round.

Chunin weren't cabbages, ripe for the picking. Promotion wasn't that easy. They were only in the first round, and it had lasted less than five seconds. Let's wait and see!

"How could this happen? Even Suifeng's gotten this good?!"

Obito's hands had dropped from behind his head. Staring at the two on the field, he muttered to himself. He knew there was a gap between him and the two of them, but he'd never imagined it could be this huge.

Asuma was no different. He rubbed his eyes furiously, unable to believe what he was seeing.

He could understand this kind of strength coming from Kakashi. But Uchiha Suifeng—the overconfident Uchiha Suifeng who'd once fought him to a standstill—when had he gotten so ridiculously strong, too?

Was this some kind of joke?

As for the lovestruck girls, there was no need to mention them. They were even more smitten than before. Even Rin couldn't help blushing, while Obito was going out of his mind.

On the field

Suifeng's breathing was slightly labored. That first brief exchange had drained a great deal of his stamina. After all, this body was only seven years old. He'd trained hard, but those few seconds of intense, focused combat had already put him under pressure.

Across from him, Kakashi's expression was blank, and his dead-fish eyes had brightened slightly. He showed no sign of fatigue.

So, in the end, I'm still a little behind?

Suifeng pressed his lips together. A red gleam flickered in his eyes, and a single Tomoe appeared in his pupil. He pointed his Kunai at Kakashi. "Kakashi, you're weaker than I expected!"

Whoosh!

As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi turned into a blur and charged right up to him, his speed suddenly more than doubling compared to the first round.

Clearly, he hadn't been giving it his all before!

I can see him, but I can't keep up with that speed!

To everyone else, Kakashi was a blur. But with the Sharingan's monstrous visual acuity, Suifeng could see every one of his movements perfectly. Seeing them clearly wasn't enough, though. His body couldn't keep pace with his eyes, and his reflexes were lagging, too.