Could He Be a Jinchūriki?

Only then did the spectators begin to recover from their terror. They had huddled together, cowering in their seats with their hands over their heads, too afraid to move. Now they all turned fearful eyes toward the boy slowly descending into the Arena.

In the Commoner Spectator Area, several "spectators" who looked unlike the locals were already drenched in sweat.

They were spies from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure. At the unbelievable sight before them, they swallowed hard.

How... How was this possible? How could a child possess such overwhelming power?

The Iwagakure Spy's heart raced as he struggled to find an explanation. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

Could he be the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!?

That had to be it! Mito Uzumaki hadn't appeared at this tournament!

Judging by this boy's performance, could he be the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki's successor?

And from how effortlessly he handled himself, could he already have complete control over the Nine-Tails' power?

The Kumogakure spy reached a similar conclusion. He glanced around, then quietly left the Spectator Area. He had to send this vital intelligence back to his village as soon as possible!

"This... This is a Second Year?"

Jiraiya's mouth had hung open ever since he saw it. What had he just witnessed?

One person had taken on more than eighty opponents without losing ground. No, it had been a one-sided thrashing!

And then there was that enormous Ninjutsu, with enough power to seem capable of destroying heaven and earth!

He admitted the kid was talented, but wasn't this going too far?

Jiraiya finally understood where Tsunade's inexplicable confidence had come from. Even he would have struggled against a boy he couldn't read.

And what was going on with those eyes?

When had such a terrifying Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai appeared in the Shinobi World?

Wait!

Jiraiya suddenly remembered something crucial: the Great Toad Sage's prophecy about the Child of Prophecy.

Those never-before-seen eyes and such extraordinary strength at his age—if this boy wasn't the Child of Prophecy, who was!?

The fact that he had used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal his opponents showed that he was undoubtedly a kindhearted child.

His decision to unleash such a massive Ninjutsu might have been a little extreme, but who hadn't been young once?

If Jiraiya had been that strong at his age, he would have been even wilder than Eiji!

Seeing that Eiji had waited until now to show his true strength, Jiraiya thought the boy might as well become a monk. That restraint was no joke.

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been a real problem if the Child of Prophecy were a bad kid.

He planned to find a suitable chance to approach Eiji. If possible, he wanted to take him to Mount Myōboku to meet the Toad Sage and confirm whether he was the child from the prophecy.

But there was one thing Jiraiya couldn't figure out. Eiji was now Tsunade's student, so how could he convince her to let Eiji become his disciple instead?

He glanced sideways at Tsunade. If he told her Eiji was the Child of Prophecy and asked her to give him up...

Jiraiya shuddered. If he actually said that, he doubted he would make it out alive.

"Damn it!!!"

In the Arena, Uchiha Yo had collapsed to the ground. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the dirt in frustration.

"Damn it all!"

He struck the ground again, and his knuckles reddened and swelled against the hard earth.

He couldn't accept his own weakness.

If he had fallen after being defeated, that would have been one thing. But when he saw Eiji unleash that overwhelming, indiscriminate attack, his legs had started trembling. Unable to stand, he had dropped to the ground.

To him, it was the ultimate humiliation!

If he had even lost his dignity, what right did he have to call himself a proud Uchiha?

But he hadn't even had the strength to fight back. How could anyone withstand an attack like that?

They weren't even in the same league.

A genius of the Uchiha Clan?

What a joke. All his life, he had been taught that the Uchiha were the foremost clan in the Shinobi World. Even among them, he had been hailed as a genius. Yet before Eiji, he was no more than an ant.

Frustration and humiliation piled up in his chest until he could barely breathe!

Was I really cut out to be a Ninja?

When he was little, he had dreamed of becoming a Pastry Chef. But once his talent for Ninjutsu was discovered, he had put that dream out of his mind.

Uchiha Yo looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers.

He could sense the Uchiha Clan's emotions from the Grandstand. Their eyes held regret, anger, frustration, and more.

What was left of me without my pride?

Oh well. It wasn't too late to pick up my old dream. Worst case, I'd change careers and become a Pastry Chef!

"Cursed Technique Lapse?"

Orochimaru lowered his head in thought.

Why had Eiji given such a terrifying Ninjutsu such a strange name?

Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai truly were marvelous powers. First came the Sharingan, which could read an enemy's intentions, and the Byakugan, which could see through the human body. Now an even stranger pair of eyes had appeared.

"Tsunade, do those eyes have a name yet?"

"The higher-ups haven't settled on one, but the kid calls them the Six Eyes. I hope they go with the name he chose," Tsunade said frankly.

"I see. The Six Eyes."

Judging by what Ryuuzaki Eiji had shown so far, he could keep objects from approaching him, pull people to him in an instant, fly, see Meridians and Acupoints, and copy Ninjutsu.

Were those abilities separate, or were they connected somehow?

Orochimaru pondered in silence, then broke into a delighted smile.

Of course. This is fascinating!

Orochimaru was overjoyed. Coming here today had been the right decision.

For now, he set aside the abilities to keep objects at bay, see the body's inner workings, and copy Ninjutsu.

Attraction and flight had to be connected. If Eiji pulled himself up into the air, that would amount to flying.

Then there was the enormous Ninjutsu he had unleashed at the end. That, too, was an attack using gravity, only in a much cruder way.

If he could use gravity, was the defensive Ninjutsu he called Limitless based on repulsion?

Orochimaru didn't think so. Otherwise, Eiji wouldn't have given it that name.

Limitless...

What extraordinary talent. No wonder Danzo wanted those eyes so badly.

In truth, Orochimaru hadn't left his laboratory because he was bored. Danzo had been sending people to contact him frequently of late.

Danzo wanted him to seize Ryuuzaki Eiji's eyes. In exchange, he would provide Orochimaru with vast funding for his research.

Orochimaru hadn't agreed outright. Tsunade was an old friend, after all, and he had no desire to provoke her without good reason.

Even so, Eiji's eyes had stirred his curiosity. What kind of power had made Danzo covet them so fiercely that he was willing to reveal his ambitions to Orochimaru?

Obtaining Eiji's eyes was unrealistic, and Orochimaru had no wish to go to such extremes. Getting a Genetic Sample from Ryuuzaki Eiji, though, should be possible.

Asking for one outright would be rude. Orochimaru had been collecting Kusanagi Swords out of interest, and if he could trade one for Eiji's genes, he wouldn't mind giving him a sword as a favor.

It never hurt to get on good terms with a genius like Ryuuzaki Eiji early. As for Shimura Danzō's proposal?

Orochimaru scoffed. To him, it was a terrible bargain.

It wasn't enough that Danzo had lost his position as Hokage Advisor over the Six Eyes. Now he wanted to drag Orochimaru down with him. Did Orochimaru look like a fool of Jiraiya's caliber?