At noon, a large crowd had gathered around the training grounds, with students from both the upper and lower grades!
"Look, it's that kid!"
"The one everyone's been talking about lately-the illegitimate son of the Hyuga Clan head's younger brother."
"On his first day, he befriended the dead last in his class and even beat up other kids to defend him!"
"No way! He's so cute, but he's actually a delinquent?!"
"That's my little brother. You'd better watch what you say!"
At those words, the chatter instantly fell silent!
Neji, the school heartthrob, had arrived!
He was a super genius with outstanding looks, excellent grades, and off-the-charts Taijutsu skills!
Sasuke only became the Ninja Academy's heartthrob after Neji graduated!
Tenten asked, "Neji, why does your little brother have horns on his head?"
Neji said, "Those aren't horns. They're bumps from a fall when he was little. They never went away."
"Five hundred fifty-six, five hundred fifty-seven...!!!" Rock Lee was hanging from the edge of the roof, doing sit-ups.
Yu's classmates had come too.
Sasuke stood right at the front with his hands in his pockets, watching with intense interest!
Sakura wore a hat and stood near Sasuke, staring at Yu on the grounds with resentment in her eyes!
Even standing still, she kept producing resentment bubbles!
She was practically a resentment factory!
Yu was a little speechless. Why are there so many people? Can't we settle this quietly in private?
Ebisu smiled. "With the entire student body here as witnesses, you won't be able to deny it. If you can't learn these techniques, you'll obediently become my pupil and accept your destiny of becoming Hokage!"
The spectators buzzed with discussion.
"Hokage?! What's going on?!"
"That kid seems to have caught that jonin teacher's eye. He wants to train him personally."
"You're kidding, right? Other than knowing a few punches and kicks, what's so special about him?"
A cluster of little resentment bubbles rose over the grounds!
Yu was a little surprised.
There really is strength in numbers!
Fine. For the resentment bubbles, I'll put up with it!
He squatted and bounced, stretched his arms and twisted his waist, doing warm-up exercises in front of everyone!
To finish, he sprang into the air, hugged his knees into a little ball, and spun rapidly!
Tenten giggled. "Pfft! Neji, your little brother doesn't seem all that bright!"
Neji said, "Just watch."
Tap!
Yu landed, shook out his sleeves, and said, "Let's begin."
Ebisu pushed up his glasses and said, "I'll only demonstrate each technique once. First, the Transformation Technique!"
He formed hand seals. Poof!
With a puff of white smoke, he transformed into Iruka!
The spectators began talking.
"Is demonstrating the Transformation Technique really worth making such a fuss over?"
"Apparently, that kid skipped grades when he enrolled and has never had ninjutsu training before. They're betting on whether he can learn them after seeing them once!"
"Learn them in one go? He doesn't even think before bragging!"
"Exactly! Even that second-year genius, Sasuke Uchiha, took a month to learn to use all three techniques at will!"
Intending to make things harder, Ebisu gave Yu no time to think. As soon as he dispelled his Transformation Technique, he immediately performed the Substitution Technique!
Poof!
With another puff of white smoke, Ebisu vanished from his spot, leaving a log that fell to the ground with a clunk, while he appeared elsewhere!
As it turned out, the Substitution Technique didn't have to be activated at the instant an attack struck. It simply couldn't be used repeatedly in quick succession, which made timing especially important!
Ebisu immediately used the Clone Technique.
Poof!
With another cloud of white smoke, an illusory clone identical to him appeared at his side!
Poof! The clone vanished.
Ebisu pushed up his glasses and smiled mysteriously. "Those are a ninja's three basic ninjutsu: the Transformation Technique, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique. Well? Have you learned them?"
"..." Yu said nothing.
"Heh, learned them? More like scrambled his brains!" Many spectators who secretly disliked Yu were already sneering to themselves, waiting for him to make a fool of himself.
Ebisu genuinely wanted Yu to become his pupil, so he immediately offered him a way to save face. "It's all right if you couldn't learn them after seeing them once. Geniuses that rare are few and far between, after all. To become Hokage, what matters more than talent is..."
"Mr. Ebisu, you have to keep your word."
Yu cut him off and raised his hands to form seals.
Poof!
With a puff of white smoke, he transformed into a bald Sakura!!!
Everyone gasped!
The entire crowd fell silent, and Ebisu's expression instantly froze!
Yu remained in the form of a bald Sakura.
"Next is the Substitution Technique."
An observant spectator exclaimed in astonishment, "Wait... he can use other techniques while maintaining the Transformation Technique?"
Poof!
Yu vanished into the white smoke. No log fell, only a gust of dust swirled up!
Still looking like a bald Sakura, Yu appeared out of thin air in another spot.
Ebisu stared in shock. "Y-you... where's the log...?"
Still in the form of a bald Sakura, Yu said, "The log is a dead giveaway. Isn't swapping directly with the air much cleaner?"
"Gah! Ah! Ah! Ah!..." Ebisu's jaw dropped all the way to the ground, piling up in folds!
"Last is the Clone Technique, right...?"
Still looking like a bald Sakura, Yu raised his hands to form seals.
"Wait!!!!" Ebisu hurriedly shouted to stop him.
Still in the form of a bald Sakura, Yu paused his little hands. "What's wrong, sir?"
Pressing a trembling index finger against his glasses, Ebisu forced himself to stay calm. "Haha, I-I understand now. My information was wrong. You already learned these techniques in the Hyuga Clan, didn't you???"
The stunned spectators came to their senses. So that's it! He already knew them. No wonder!!
Neji thought, You've got to be kidding. We never teach anything besides Gentle Fist...
On the grounds, Yu remained in the form of a bald Sakura and tilted his little head. "Sir, are you a sore loser?"
"Ahem..." Ebisu hurriedly said, "How about this? Regardless of whether you've learned them before, I still have a secret ace up my sleeve when it comes to clone techniques. If you can learn this too, I'll admit defeat completely. How's that?!"
"Fine." Still looking like a bald Sakura, Yu patiently asked, "What is it?"
Ebisu held up a finger. "The clone I just created was an illusory clone, used to confuse the enemy, but it has no actual combat ability! What I'm about to demonstrate is an advanced clone technique that creates real, physical bodies!!!!"
"Watch closely, Yu. I'll only demonstrate it once!"
Ebisu went all out, crossing his hands in front of his chest to form that distinctive seal and driving his chakra at full power!
-Ninja art: Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof! Poof!
With two clouds of white smoke, two genuine shadow clones appeared on either side of him!
Ebisu strained to speak. "W-well? This is a B-rank ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage himself. Its enhanced version, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, is a bona fide A-rank ninjutsu. Because of its uncontrollable risks, it was classified as a forbidden technique and locked away in the Scroll of Seals. In the future, I could teach you this..."
Still in the form of a bald Sakura, Yu brought his hands in front of his chest and formed that distinctive seal!
Ebisu's eyes widened. "N-no way. You...!!"
-Ninja art: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof, poof, poof...!!!
Smoke billowed everywhere. When it cleared, the grounds were actually...
Before you continue