Genin

Yin Jie swiftly withdrew his right fist, spinning as his left leg swept toward the ANBU chunin's waist like a razor-sharp battle axe, instantly kicking up a cloud of dust.

Driven by the immense momentum generated by his twist, Yin Jie's kick was incredibly fast and considerably more powerful.

Sensing a fierce gust of wind rushing toward his waist, the ANBU chunin instantly focused his breath and gathered all his strength in his abdomen, following his body's instincts.

Then he explosively pushed off with both feet and leaped high again. His body traced a graceful arc through the air like a cheetah, lightly and swiftly twisting midair to adjust his posture before landing steadily behind him.

The instant he landed, the ANBU chunin merely tapped the ground with his toes before viciously lunging at Yin Jie again, even faster than before.

At the same time, he thrust out his left palm while his right hand formed a claw and grabbed for Yin Jie's wrist.

Rather than retreat, Yin Jie advanced and charged straight at the ANBU chunin.

With the insight of his two-tomoe Sharingan, Yin Jie skillfully deflected the hand reaching for his wrist with one hand, while the other precisely seized the ANBU chunin's wrist in a reverse grip and violently twisted it.

At the same time, Yin Jie used the momentum to launch himself into the air, sending another flying kick toward the ANBU chunin's chest.

"Clang!"

The sharp metallic ring of metal striking metal resounded as Yin Jie's solid kick was blocked by the ANBU chunin's free left arm, striking the armor he wore.

Stabbing pain shot through him, but pain of that degree did not hinder the ANBU chunin's movements. Instead, he used the force to lower himself into a dive, driving his knee upward at Yin Jie, who was suspended in midair.

The tomoe spun rapidly, and beneath the two-tomoe Sharingan, the ANBU chunin's movements slowed until they were crystal clear.

Yin Jie rapidly made his judgment. He released the other man's wrist and pressed down with his elbows, coating both palms in chakra to prevent injury as he met the upward-thrusting knee head-on, then borrowed the force to leap backward into the air.

"Bang!"

With the dull collision of palm against knee, Yin Jie soared backward high into the air while facing the ANBU chunin, a curve of just as planned appearing at the corner of his lips.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

Yin Jie completed the six hand seals in just over a second.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!!"

A massive fireball radiating waves of scorching heat plummeted from the sky at astonishing speed, roaring as it smashed toward the ANBU chunin.

Naturally, this was Yin Jie holding back.

Yin Jie had been able to simplify the hand seals for the C-rank Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique—and even perform them one-handed—for nearly half a year already.

Yet he did not use any of that now. He simply performed it normally, step by step, like any other ninja.

"Boom!"

The fireball struck the ANBU chunin with precision, kicking up thick smoke and dust.

However, when Yin Jie landed and the dense smoke gradually dispersed, all that remained where the ANBU chunin had stood was a shallow crater left by the fireball's impact.

As expected!

Yin Jie was not surprised in the least. He had never expected to win with the Great Fireball Technique, which had never scored a single victory in the original story.

Still, this situation looked rather familiar.

Then...

After quickly scanning his surroundings and finding no sign of the ANBU chunin, Yin Jie immediately jumped straight up.

At the very instant he leaped, the ground beneath his feet split open. Two hands shot out at high speed, each grabbing for one of his ankles.

"Earth Release: Headhunter Technique!!!"

The ANBU chunin had used Earth Release to hide underground the moment the fireball came down.

Then, after Yin Jie landed, he had tunneled beneath him, intending to drag Yin Jie straight underground and end the battle.

Unfortunately, the ANBU chunin was not Kakashi Hatake, and Yin Jie was not Uchiha Sasuke.

Yin Jie's jump perfectly avoided the ANBU chunin's grab, causing this opportunistic counterattack to strike nothing but empty air.

Yin Jie then made several more leaps, quickly widening the distance from the ANBU chunin emerging from underground. As his Sharingan locked onto the man's movements, his hands flashed through hand seals.

It was only Earth Release. He could use it as well, since his chakra also possessed an earth nature.

"Earth Release: Fissure Palm!!!"

Yin Jie flipped down and landed, slamming both hands hard against the ground. He sent his chakra underground and rapidly began altering the nearby terrain and geological structure.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

The next second, the ground before Yin Jie split apart on a massive scale, sinking and rising as the destruction rapidly spread toward the ANBU chunin.

But at that moment—

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice reached Yin Jie and the ANBU chunin.

"Time's up!"

"The battle is over!"

What followed was applause led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, joined by the other three members of the Hidden Leaf's F4, including Danzo Shimura, as well as Uchiha Yasashiro, Uchiha Fugaku, and the clan heads or senior members of the other ninja clans who had come to watch. Their applause carried clear approval.

At only seven years old, this Uchiha child had managed not to fall behind in a fight against an ANBU chunin. The strength Yin Jie displayed had clearly surpassed everyone's expectations.

A two-tomoe Sharingan, proficient ninjutsu and taijutsu, and decent shuriken throwing skills—if Hiruzen Sarutobi had not stopped them, the two could likely have fought for dozens more exchanges without issue.

Of course, not everyone sincerely praised Yin Jie.

(Yes, I'm talking about you, Danzo Shimura!)

After all, Yin Jie was an Uchiha.

But at least on the surface, they all maintained this atmosphere of apparent harmony, putting on the same show as everyone else around them.

"Congratulations on graduating, Uchiha Yin Jie!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took out the prepared forehead protector. As he personally tied it around Yin Jie's forehead, he smiled and said, "From today onward, you are a genin of the Hidden Leaf Village who can stand on his own!"

The black straps were tied behind his head, and the brand-new forehead protector still felt slightly cool to the touch.

At its center, gleaming under the sunlight, was a leaf-shaped spiral emblem.

Hidden Leaf genin, Uchiha Yin Jie, reporting for duty!!!