Not so lucky

Of course, Kazan would not accept the challenge. His real body was still training on the Back Mountain behind the Hokage Building. The Kazan at the Ninja Academy was his shadow clone.

Given how the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi treated him, he would not be punished even if he was discovered, but it would inevitably cause some trouble.

Kazan knew that today was the academy's practical combat assessment, but with so many classmates, he figured he would not necessarily be matched against one of the strongest.

As long as he did not run into those few, his shadow clone could handle it.

Faced with Jing Uchiha's and Asuka Hyuga's challenges, Kazan's shadow clone ignored them and looked toward the chunin teacher instead, waiting for him to announce the matchups.

His luck had always been pretty good. He believed his shadow clone could get him through today.

The chunin teacher soon interrupted Jing Uchiha and Asuka Hyuga, then read out the matchups for today's practical combat assessment.

"First match, Obito Uchiha versus Might Guy!" the teacher announced.

Hearing this, Kazan's shadow clone turned to look at Obito Uchiha.

This fight had indeed happened in the original story, and it had ended with Might Guy taking Obito Uchiha down in an instant.

The two quickly stepped onto the field and formed the Seal of Confrontation, a Konoha tradition.

Making this hand seal meant that both parties accepted the fight. Once the battle was over, they would form the Seal of Reconciliation, signifying that whatever had just happened would not affect their friendship.

It was the pose those two gay guys struck at the Valley of the End.

Just as Kazan remembered, Obito Uchiha walked out of the crowd, silently psyching himself up.

You can do this, Obito Uchiha. You can definitely do this. Believe in all the hard work you've put in lately.

As Kakashi and Kazan became famous throughout Konoha, Obito Uchiha's hunger for strength only grew.

He wanted to shine just as brightly as Kazan and the others, to catch Rin Nohara's attention and draw her gaze.

He had trained incredibly hard lately. Now it was time to witness a miracle.

"Obito! You can do it!" Rin Nohara cheered from the crowd.

A goofy grin spread across Obito's face at her words. His mind automatically conjured up images of him punching Kakashi, kicking Kazan, and winning the girl.

He was so lost in that fantasy that he did not even hear the chunin teacher shout, "Begin!"

By the time he snapped out of it, Might Guy had already let out a strange "Hiyah!" and rushed up to him, leaping into the air and knocking Obito Uchiha out of the fight with a roundhouse kick.

The crowd immediately erupted in laughter.

Rin Nohara could only press a hand to her forehead.

Standing beside her, Kurenai Yuhi could not quite understand her close friend. Rin clearly liked Kakashi, yet she had no sense of boundaries with Obito Uchiha and was a little too close to him.

The first match ended quickly, and the other students took their turns according to the matchups.

These were children fighting, after all. There were hardly going to be many spectacular clashes.

Besides, highly destructive ninjutsu were forbidden in the practical combat assessment. The fights relied mostly on the Three Techniques and taijutsu.

That gave Asuka Hyuga an advantage. He had always excelled in the practical combat assessments, never dropping out of the top three. It was an innate advantage granted by the Hyuga Clan's kekkei genkai, the Byakugan.

Kazan's shadow clone watched for a long time, and the longer he watched, the more something seemed off.

As more and more students took the field, fewer and fewer remained on the sidelines.

Gradually, Kazan realized something was wrong. Don't tell me I'm actually going to face this guy?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the chunin teacher called out, "Next match, Kazan versus Asuka Hyuga!"

Seriously?

Kazan froze for a moment, but he had no choice but to step forward.

"Kazan..." Kurenai Yuhi called.

She was one of the few who knew this was Kazan's shadow clone, and a barely perceptible note of worry hid in her voice.

Asuka Hyuga's strength was plain for all to see. He was a genius of this generation of the Hyuga Clan, and she also knew about his obsession with getting revenge on Kazan. She feared the shadow clone would give itself away.

"It's fine. Nothing will happen even if they find out," Kazan said casually.

He had connections, after all!

Waving a hand, Kazan walked steadily onto the field, his sturdy, boyish face as relaxed as ever.

After all his hard work over the past several days, he had completely mastered the Six Powers.

Shave, Tekkai, Geppo, Kami-e, Shigan, and Tempest Kick.

Garp's family really was absurdly talented.

Everyone joked that Kaido was a great teacher who had beaten someone up to the level of the Four Emperors with three swings of his club, but ultimately, it was Luffy's own monstrous talent and potential that had made it possible.

Asuka Hyuga was already itching to fight. Chakra stirred faintly around him as he fixed his burning gaze on Kazan and said coldly, "Kazan, this time I'll show the entire village that the Hyuga Clan is the strongest!"

The Hyuga Clan's pride was every bit the equal of the Uchiha's.

Compared with civilians, the greatest advantage of shinobi clans was that their descendants did not have to take any detours.

Later generations only had to follow the paths their forebears had walked to become excellent ninja.

Asuka Hyuga, who had already awakened his Byakugan, was already as strong as a genin. Becoming a chunin was only a matter of time.

On the sidelines, Jing Uchiha clenched his fists, his eyes full of resentment.

During those days in the hospital, he had dreamed of taking revenge on Kazan.

A proud Uchiha, beaten unconscious by a civilian—and in front of the entire village, no less. That was worse than death.

Standing between the two, the chunin teacher raised his hand. "Both sides, form the Seal of Confrontation. Ready—begin!"

The moment he finished speaking, Asuka Hyuga seized the initiative, activating the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan right from the start.

"Byakugan!"

With that fierce shout, chakra—or rather, dōjutsu power—erupted from his eyes and swept across his surroundings.

His figure darted forward. Using the Byakugan's advantage, he precisely tracked the chakra flowing through Kazan's shadow clone and charged straight at him.

Holding his hand like a blade, he drove it toward Kazan's chakra points, carrying gentle yet highly penetrating chakra.

That was the essence of the Hyuga's Gentle Fist. Once a strike landed, it could block an opponent's chakra flow and leave them unable to fight.

Kazan's shadow clone grinned. Without retreating a single step, he met the attack with his iron fists.

"Fist Bone: Impact!"

Even Asuka Hyuga did not dare take that heavy, powerful punch head-on.

The houses he had been sent crashing through were testament to how dangerous that fist was.

He hurriedly channeled his chakra and chopped his hand out like a blade, aiming for Kazan's joint.

Smack! The instant fist met palm, Asuka Hyuga actually knocked Kazan's iron fist aside.

"Oh?" Kazan's clone looked surprised. Asuka Hyuga keenly caught the change in his expression. "I've seen through your technique, Kazan!"

He roared, the desire for revenge surging through every inch of him.

He would personally wash away the stain he had brought upon the Hyuga Clan.

"Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms was the strongest technique Asuka Hyuga had mastered so far.

Opening with his strongest attack showed just how determined he was to get revenge.

Moreover, his Byakugan could clearly see that the chakra in Kazan's body was flowing especially fast today.

Clearly, Kazan was taking him seriously too, combining his physical strength and chakra to face him at full power.

For some reason, the sight even sent a thrill of excitement through him.

It meant that Kazan, hailed as one of Konoha's "twin prodigies" of their generation, had acknowledged his strength.

On the sidelines, Kurenai Yuhi was a little nervous. Unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, she muttered, "If they find out Kazan's been using a shadow clone to attend school all this time, the teacher's bound to punish him again."