Crushing Her Again

"You brat, it seems you have quite an issue with me?"

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Shu with a smile that did not reach her eyes. "If there's a problem, why not clear it up now?"

She had already decided that she would make Uchiha Shu bow his head through her own strength!

For a ninja squad, there could only be one voice within a team. As the squad leader, she had to establish absolute authority.

The Third Hokage had sent her to lead Shu's team, yet she had unexpectedly stumbled over Shu, leaving her authority in tatters. For someone as proud as her, it was simply intolerable.

Although Shu had controlled her in a single exchange earlier, Kurenai firmly believed that she had only lost due to a lack of intelligence. She was desperate to regain some face.

Therefore, Shu's attitude happened to suit her perfectly.

Yet she had not expected that as soon as Shu opened his mouth, the veins on her forehead would throb.

"You misunderstood. Your existence is neither here nor there to me. I had no expectations, so naturally I have no complaints." Shu spoke calmly.

Would this kid really not die from poisoning himself by licking his own lips?

Kurenai could not help mocking him inwardly.

Shu's way of speaking was simply outrageous. Even when looking for a fight, she could not say something like that!

"However, there is indeed a problem... I'm a man of principles. Since the Third Hokage said that four-person squads are the village's rule, then naturally I'll abide by it. At least before someone else breaks the rules, I won't take the initiative to break them. That would be tacky."

Shu continued, "And that is precisely the problem. With Aunt Hazuki and Izumi on the team, I hold the leadership of the squad. I don't care why the Third Hokage dropped you in out of nowhere, but..."

Shu did not continue, but his attitude was already perfectly clear.

"I see. You want to compete for leadership of the team?"

Kurenai immediately smiled. Shu's words were exactly what she wanted to hear. She had been wondering how to regain her lost face anyway.

"The Sharingan has an innate advantage in Genjutsu. I admit that I was careless earlier, but surely you don't think a ninja's battles consist of Genjutsu alone?"

Kurenai sneered. "At your age, it is indeed impressive to possess such skill in Genjutsu, but that is not a reason for you to look down on your seniors!"

At that, Shu could not help smiling. He lightly waved his hand, signaling Izumi, who wanted to smooth things over, to step back.

"Come to think of it, I passed your test, but you still haven't passed mine. Forming a team should be a mutual choice, shouldn't it?"

As he spoke, Shu slowly raised his hand as before and crooked a finger at Kurenai.

"How about this? I won't use Genjutsu. As for you... use whatever methods you want. If you win, you're the captain. If you lose, hand over the leadership and quietly be a vase. How does that sound?"

By the time Shu finished, Kurenai's face was already filled with icy fury.

"Training Ground Three. I'll be waiting for you there."

She practically ground the words out through clenched teeth. The moment she finished speaking, she vanished from the spot in a Body Flicker.

"Shu, wasn't that a little too much?" Izumi walked over, worry in her voice. "I think Teacher Kurenai is actually a very nice person."

Shu gave a dismissive laugh and said nothing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had shamelessly insisted on stuffing Kurenai Yuhi into the team. It was practically certain that she had been sent to monitor him, so naturally he did not need to be polite to her.

Even if he spat in her face, she would have to take it!

Shu placed a hand on Izumi's shoulder. With a thought, a spatial vortex centered on his right eye instantly swallowed them both.

In the blink of an eye, the two had appeared inside Training Ground Three.

"So this is Kamui? It's amazing..."

The sudden spacetime transfer made Izumi feel incredibly curious.

Thinking that this technique was still sealed within her own eyes, warmth welled up in her heart. Shu really did care deeply about her as his older sister!

When Kurenai arrived at Training Ground Three and saw the two of them already waiting there, she froze.

Before she could think further, Shu crooked his finger at her again.

At that sight, she exploded! Without another word, she raised her hand and fired three shuriken at Shu!

Clang! Clang! Clang...

Shu could not even be bothered to dodge. He simply flicked the shuriken away with his fingers.

That relaxed posture made Kurenai's pupils contract slightly.

He had deflected shuriken using only his fingers? How had this brat done it?

No wonder he dared to be so arrogant...

Kurenai frowned deeply, and her fury instantly faded.

A ninja's battle was a battle of intelligence. In this situation, she had to first determine whether Shu's ability to flick away shuriken relied on some Ninjutsu or another method.

With that thought, she did not hesitate. She used the Body Flicker and appeared before Shu in an instant, driving a kunai viciously toward his arm!

Clang!

With a crisp sound, black fragments of the kunai flew high into the air before Kurenai's stunned eyes.

In her vision, Shu remained in a low horse stance, his left fist drawn back at his waist and his right hand raised in a dragon-claw shape. He was completely unharmed. Only a faint red mark remained on the palm that had just collided head-on with her kunai.

One palm strike... had shattered the kunai?

Was this a joke?

Was this kid really human?

Could it be Steel Release?

The utterly unnatural scene made Kurenai's hair stand on end. She abruptly retreated and put some distance between them, staring at Shu warily.

"What was that? Steel Release?"

"What kind of trash is that?"

Shu scoffed and formed a Tiger Seal with one hand.

One-handed hand seals?

And he had even simplified it down to a single seal?

But... a Tiger Seal. Fire Release?

Seeing Shu's unhurried expression, Kurenai rapidly formed hand seals with both hands. "Water Release..."

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

Boom—

A terrifying fireball over thirty meters in diameter came rolling toward her, gouging a deep trench into the ground. Kurenai immediately abandoned her hand seals, her face turning livid as she fled in a panic.

What the hell was this? Could Fireball Jutsu really be made this huge?

With Fire Release of this level, it seemed this brat had already completely mastered fire-nature transformation.

No weaknesses in Ninjutsu, taijutsu, or Genjutsu... was this child really only six years old?

The massive fireball blazed for quite a while. After the flames dispersed, a huge crater dozens of meters wide had appeared where Kurenai had been standing!

Kurenai hid behind a large tree, concealing her presence. When she saw that Shu did not seem to have noticed her, she finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then she could not help shaking her head with a bitter smile.

Before today, even if someone beat her to death, she would not have believed that she would be crushed in a direct battle by a brat who had just graduated early from the Ninja Academy.

Fortunately, the other side had no real combat experience. His tracking ability was basically nonexistent, and that dazed look did not seem fake. That was the only reason she had been able to catch her breath.

In the clearing of the training ground, Shu scratched his head.

Kurenai's judgment was correct. With the forest blocking his view, he had lost track of her.

As for the tracking techniques taught at school, he had not even heard of them!

Tracking was such a hassle, wasn't it?

Look at the Inuzuka clan, sniffing around like dogs. What if someone farted? Wouldn't that be disgusting?

So compared to tracking, Shu preferred another solution.

A method that seemed more reliable to him and gave him a greater sense of security.

As the saying went, when poor, use tactical maneuvers; when rich... use firepower saturation!