Fire Release: Great Fireball Showdown

Iruka stepped forward and separated the two who were hugging tightly.

"All right, today is the new student's first practical combat class. According to the rules, we'll first assess your skill level."

"How will you assess it?" Chiye Jun asked.

"Like this. You'll challenge Nara Shikamaru."

Nara Shikamaru looked impatient as he muttered, "Why me? What a pain..."

Just then, the system popped up.

[Ding! Sign-in mission issued: Change the challenge target and choose Uchiha Sasuke.]

Upon hearing this, Chiye Jun immediately said, "Iruka-sensei, I want to challenge Sasuke!"

Those words exploded across the room like a bomb.

"Did I hear that right? He wants to challenge Sasuke?"

"Is he crazy? He dares challenge the top student in the class!"

"Even though Sasuke is arrogant, no one can deny his strength, especially that Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique..."

"This guy looks just as goofy as Naruto. He must be dead last too!"

"Haha, this is going to be entertaining..."

[Ding! Sign-in mission successfully completed. Reward: Host receives the taijutsu Body Flicker Technique.]

"Damn it! Why wasn't it Flying Thunder God or Amenotejikara?"

A classic case of greed swallowing the elephant...

Still, the taijutsu Body Flicker Technique was pretty good.

Before the Chunin Exams, Might Guy had used it to suddenly appear behind Sasuke and the others.

Chiye Jun had been so envious when he saw it!

"If I raise the Body Flicker Technique's proficiency to god-tier, wouldn't I become so fast people couldn't even see an afterimage..."

The joy welling up inside him made the corners of his lips rise uncontrollably.

The spar began.

"Go, Sasuke!"

The girls screamed, overwhelmingly cheering for Sasuke.

Sasuke, on the other hand, kept his hands in his pockets, looking utterly calm.

Iruka walked over and asked,

"Sasuke, do you agree to spar with Chiye Jun?"

Sasuke's answer caught everyone off guard.

"There's no need."

Everyone immediately began questioning it.

"What? No need?"

"Is Sasuke planning to give up?"

"All right then, if that's the case..." Iruka was about to switch in Nara Shikamaru.

But Sasuke said in a low voice,

"Just declare him the loser. It'll save me from accidentally hurting him."

The moment he said that, the room erupted.

The boys who admired him exclaimed excitedly,

"That's Sasuke for you!"

"Yeah, he wasn't admitting defeat. He just couldn't be bothered to fight!"

"He thinks Chiye Jun isn't even qualified to fight him."

Sakura was even more excited. "Sasuke-kun is so cool!"

Everyone's reaction was perfectly normal. Sasuke had always ranked at the top, and he was also a descendant of the Uchiha clan.

Almost every student looked at him with admiration.

Only Naruto, fists clenched and brimming with excitement, threw an arm around Chiye Jun and said,

"Don't listen to those idiots. You can definitely beat Sasuke."

Chiye Jun laughed inwardly.

Sure enough, he's such a chuuni brat. He never forgets to show off.

Iruka had not expected Sasuke to say something like that either, and he stood there stunned.

Sasuke said blandly,

"Sensei, then I'll leave class first."

At that moment, Chiye Jun finally stepped forward and said with a grin,

"Sasuke, I really don't want to fight you."

The students immediately started jeering.

"Of course you don't. You're scared of getting beaten senseless."

Chiye Jun shook his head and laughed.

"Hehe, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

Sasuke froze for a moment before saying curtly,

"Since you want to spar that badly, let's begin!"

The training ground fell silent.

"Don't forget the Seal of Reconciliation afterward. Sparring isn't fighting, so stop before anyone gets hurt," Iruka stressed.

The two formed the Seal of Confrontation at the same time.

The crowd held its breath, afraid of missing a single exciting moment.

"I won't hold back!"

Sasuke said coldly, then moved quickly.

But!

Just as he rushed in front of his opponent, Chiye Jun vanished amid the dust suddenly kicked up!

Then—

While Sasuke was still stunned, Chiye Jun had already appeared behind him.

"He knows the Body Flicker Technique!!!!"

Sasuke was astonished. Just as he tried to dodge, Chiye Jun flashed in front of him again.

A fierce gust carrying blue chakra howled toward him.

A powerful uppercut, brimming with immense force, struck straight into his abdomen.

Of course, Chiye Jun had controlled his strength precisely and had not used the Super Strength Technique.

Even so, Sasuke let out a muffled grunt and was sent flying several meters away.

What just happened?

Everyone was stunned.

Why had Sasuke fallen?

What had Chiye Jun done to him?

The training ground was dead silent.

This result...

Was simply too unexpected.

Who was Uchiha Sasuke?

A legend of the grade!

Yet just now...

This inconspicuous new student had shattered that legend completely!

"Haha, you stuck-up Sasuke! So you finally know what it feels like to get sent flying by one punch, huh?"

The thick-skinned Naruto was the first to react, shouting loudly.

As for why Chiye Jun was so strong?

That was not important!

The important thing was that the attention-seeking show-off had finally gotten punched!

This was amazing!

Naruto jumped up excitedly, then deliberately leaned close to Sakura.

"I told you, didn't I? Chiye Jun would definitely win! Dattebayo!"

Sakura dodged away in disgust. "Idiot, get lost!"

Iruka was equally shocked.

"This new student's taijutsu is quite impressive. Maybe Sasuke was careless..."

Sasuke slowly got to his feet. His head throbbed, and his ears rang.

Thunderous cheers suddenly erupted from the field.

They were overwhelmingly cheering for Sasuke.

Only Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "You idiots, Chiye Jun is obviously going to win!"

Sasuke smiled faintly. He looked calm on the surface, but inwardly he thought,

I underestimated him! If I could awaken the Sharingan, I'd be able to spot his openings and weaknesses.

The corner of his lips curved slightly, revealing a trace of coldness.

Then he raised his hands!

The opening stance for the Great Fireball Technique!

"Is Sasuke going to use his ultimate move?"

Gasps rang out across the field.

Sasuke thought the newcomer definitely did not understand the Uchiha clan, so he could not possibly know what Sasuke was about to do.

But what he did not know was that Chiye Jun was a Naruto fan...

"Sasuke!!!"

Iruka's expression changed drastically when he saw Sasuke's hand signs.

The spar was supposed to focus on taijutsu. If Sasuke suddenly used the Fire Release the Uchiha clan excelled at, Chiye Jun might get hurt!

His expression was tense as he prepared to intervene at any moment.

Hinata, Naruto, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio naturally knew the power of the Great Fireball Technique as well.

Using a C-rank ninjutsu in a practical spar?

Wasn't that too much...

The fangirls led by Sakura and Ino, however, shouted,

"Wow! Look at Sasuke's hand signs, he's so cool!"

"He's insanely cool..."

Sasuke's hands rapidly formed hand seals!

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Then, his cheeks puffed out. He brought his right hand to his mouth, and a fireball burst forth!

Scorching heat swept across the field.

Even the students watching from afar felt the heat wave wash over their faces...

The flames surged toward Chiye Jun.

However!

Just as Iruka was about to rush forward and save Chiye Jun!

He saw Chiye Jun's movements and froze completely.

Because Chiye Jun formed hand seals even faster than Sasuke!

Whoosh...

Fire Release!

Great Fireball Technique!

"What is that guy doing? Did he use Fire Release too? Impossible! He doesn't have the Sharingan, so how could he copy it..."

Sasuke stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.

With a deafening boom!

Two enormous fireballs collided in midair, scattering sparks across the sky.

Instantly!

Flames soared into the sky!

Iruka cried out, "Everyone, move back!"

Just as Sasuke stood there dumbfounded!

Chiye Jun spat out another fireball.

Though it was the same type of ninjutsu, this one was on an entirely different level.

The massive fireball, roughly five meters in diameter, painted the entire training ground crimson.

Afraid of attracting too much attention, Chiye Jun had deliberately controlled his chakra output...

This!

Was the true power of the Great Fireball Technique!

This was a fireball that could actually burn someone to death!

Sasuke finally reacted. He hurriedly retreated, collapsing onto the ground and narrowly avoiding the fireball.

The scene instantly erupted.

"What is going on?"