The reason Asuma and Nara Zhenyuan had joined forces was not because they believed they could not handle Mikami Yu one-on-one.
Rather, considering the exam's objective, Kaimon Hyuga's Byakugan, with its 360-degree field of vision, held greater value for the team. They could not let him waste his time on meaningless fights, so the three of them had simply joined forces to eliminate Mikami Yu first, then attack the platform together and secure victory in advance.
Of course...
Asuma and Nara Zhenyuan also had their own selfish motives. They wanted to prove that Mikami Yu's first-place ranking had been inflated. He had only gotten lucky because he had not encountered them—the historically strongest and second-strongest students—in the previous exam.
But now...
What was with that Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu?
Wasn't Mikami Yu only supposed to know the Three Techniques?
"...The intelligence was wrong. Stick to the original plan and take him down quickly! He's already used one C-Rank Ninjutsu, so he shouldn't have much chakra left!"
Nara Zhenyuan spoke rapidly.
Asuma immediately understood and lunged forward again.
Nara Zhenyuan split his shadow into several strands, spreading them out to force Mikami Yu's movements, while Asuma looked for opportunities to engage him in close combat. The three figures darted back and forth across the dirt slope, their fists and feet colliding with sharp, frequent impacts.
Finally...
Mikami Yu was forced into a dead end.
"Got him!"
Asuma's hands flew through a series of seals. "Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A scorching fireball howled through the air!
The moment Asuma attacked, Nara Zhenyuan shifted his gaze elsewhere, locking onto several positions and extending his shadow toward them. He intended to restrain Mikami Yu the instant he used the Substitution Technique to evade the Flame Bullet and end the battle.
However...
Mikami Yu did not use the Substitution Technique as Nara Zhenyuan expected. Instead, he used another Ninjutsu. "Water Style: Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Whoosh—!
A mass of clear water surged into existence in midair and crashed head-on into Asuma's Fire Style. The blazing flames were extinguished, producing a huge cloud of steam that spread in every direction and obscured everyone's vision.
White mist filled the area.
Nara Zhenyuan heard footsteps. He hurriedly drew a wooden kunai and stared tensely at the hazy figure in the fog. The instant someone lunged at him, he charged forward and thrust his kunai ahead, piercing the opponent's chest.
However—
Splash—!
The "Mikami Yu" he had stabbed dissolved into a phantom.
"The Clone Technique?!"
Nara Zhenyuan's eyelid twitched.
Just as he turned to search for Mikami Yu's real body, a white figure had already appeared behind him. Before he could turn and counterattack, a swift, decisive chop struck the back of his neck. Nara grunted and collapsed, falling asleep on the ground.
"Ha..."
Mikami Yu let out a long breath.
He truly did not have much chakra left.
Even normal Genin, including children from Ninja Clans, could generally only cast two or three C-Rank Ninjutsu in succession at this age. That was why Mikami Yu had not used a Water Clone, which consumed ten percent of his chakra to start, and had instead used the most basic E-Rank Phantom Clone before taking the guy down with Taijutsu.
After doing all that,
Mikami Yu looked at Asuma as his figure gradually emerged from the dispersing fog and took a deep breath. "Come on. We've both used two C-Rank Ninjutsu already. Next... we'll settle this with Taijutsu."
"...Fine. Let's go!"
Sarutobi Asuma also pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch. After briefly steadying his breath, he charged forward!
A piercing clash rang out.
Even the wooden kunai threw off sparks as they collided!
On the rooftop of the school building,
Namikaze Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost count of how many times they had been surprised.
"...This is truly astonishing."
Namikaze Minato said, "That child named Mikami Yu is only nine this year, isn't he? Yet he's already learned multiple Ninjutsu—the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu and Wild Water Wave—and can use them skillfully... It wouldn't be strange for Asuma to manage that, but for him to do so as well..."
"He probably learned them from his father."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and spoke slowly.
The children who could enter the Ninja Academy had basically all been screened for two or three generations of family history. Thus, Hiruzen Sarutobi had long known that Mikami Yu's father was Mikami Tajima, the man who had volunteered to guard the border two and a half years ago.
The latter was a Fire Style ninja. The Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu was one of the few C-Rank Ninjutsu he had mastered, so teaching it to his son was perfectly reasonable.
As for Wild Water Wave and Water Clone...
Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent Anbu to investigate and confirmed that they had come from Nohara Rin's father, Nohara Hiroshi.
However, Nohara Hiroshi had only given him the scrolls, while Mikami Tajima had learned the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu only after applying for border duty. He had also spent most of the past two years at the border and rarely returned to the village. Thus, Mikami Yu had most likely taught himself, which was especially rare.
Besides...
"Not only is his Ninjutsu impressive, but his Taijutsu also has great explosive power. He was able to defeat Kaimon Hyuga head-on, and he still has enough stamina to fight Asuma. Even more remarkable is his tactical thinking..."
Namikaze Minato continued his assessment. "The instant he noticed the Shadow Imitation Technique, he used the Substitution Technique. He used Fire Style to counter Wind Style, Water Style to counter Fire Style, then created a foggy environment to eliminate the more immediate threat, Nara Zhenyuan, before dealing with Asuma... It's as though he had planned everything in advance.
"Even if..."
Even if Mikami Yu lost to Asuma and was eliminated here, no one else had performed better in this match.
Not to mention that Namikaze Minato believed Mikami Yu had a strong chance of defeating Asuma and accomplishing the feat of taking down all three opponents alone.
For a child of civilian birth, such a record was exceptionally impressive. Even if he lacked the talent to learn the Flying Thunder God, he at least possessed the aptitude and potential to become a Jonin.
"It seems this class has produced another genius like Kakashi."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke, his gaze deepening. "Born a civilian, yet possessing such cultivation talent, and with such an unusually profound understanding of the Will of Fire... Perhaps this child has the potential to become one of Konoha's pillars."
On the training field,
The battle between Mikami Yu and Asuma continued.
To be honest, Asuma's overall abilities were quite strong. Whether it was Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or combat intelligence, he ranked among the best for his age. He had no especially outstanding strength, but he had no weaknesses either.
Mikami Yu had tried seizing the initiative twice, but he had failed to defeat him and instead wasted some stamina. So he stopped rushing, choosing to trade moves with him in order to hone his Taijutsu as he waited for an opening to appear.
With both of them nearly exhausted, victory or defeat might be decided in a single move.
Asuma also knew this was the critical moment. Gritting his teeth, he wanted to defend the dignity of being the Hokage's son.
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