The shuriken contest officially began!
Sasuke went first.
His hands moved at lightning speed as he threw two shuriken in quick succession!
The second flew faster and struck the back of the first. With two crisp clangs, their paths split left and right, and both hit the centers of their targets!
This was a technique Itachi excelled at. Sasuke had only scratched the surface, but he could already put it to use!
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Sasuke declared firmly, "This is our Uchiha Style Wind-Chasing Shuriken Technique!"
The girls screamed, "Wow~ Sasuke-kun!! So cool ❤~!!!"
"Hmph..."
Sasuke looked disdainful, but he was secretly pleased. He turned to Yu and said, "The rules say you can't repeat a move, but since that was only a demonstration earlier, you can use your so-called 'High-Arc Shuriken' again!"
But Yu said, "Nah~ That's just one of my many techniques!"
A shuriken spun on Yu's fingertip like a fidget spinner!
I know a lot of you are thinking of Danzo, but this really was different...
Once it spun too fast to see clearly, Yu nudged his finger forward!
Clang!
The shuriken flew toward the side of the target at an angle that looked nowhere close to hitting it!
Seeing this, everyone thought, Heh, no question about it. If that doesn't miss, I'll eat shit right here!!
Whoosh...! But something bizarre happened again. The shuriken that looked certain to miss curved inward, skimmed almost flush along the target's edge, and buried itself in the bull's-eye!
Yu smiled. "Hey, Side-Spin Shuriken!"
Everyone: "???"
Thankfully, Newton didn't exist in this world. Otherwise, someone would definitely have posted, "Newton's spinning so hard in his grave that we can't keep the coffin lid down!!"
Up on the utility pole, Itachi smiled. "I see. Unlike us, who specialize in changing a shuriken's trajectory through collisions, he focuses on its 'spin'!"
Actually, Itachi knew similar shuriken-spinning techniques too. But as he advanced, he found that he preferred kunai to the standard four-pointed shuriken.
Kunai were heavier and better suited to straight-line attacks. Itachi had developed his collision techniques from his kunai-based Shurikenjutsu.
On the field.
"Hmph!!!"
Refusing to be outdone, Sasuke flipped in place and used that momentum to hurl two shuriken forward with all his strength!!
Clang! Clang!
There was no collision this time. Both shuriken flew straight into the bull's-eyes of two side-by-side targets!!
The force was so great that more than half of each shuriken sank into the targets!!
Watching this, Itachi smiled. "I never taught Sasuke that move. Is he improvising using his fundamentals...?"
Tap! After landing, Sasuke looked at Yu. "If my shuriken collided head-on with yours, I'm certain yours would be knocked down first!"
"Heh."
Yu smiled, tossed a shuriken above his head, and flicked its edge with his thumb as though flipping a coin!
"That's not necessarily true...!"
-Explosive-Charge Shuriken!!!!
Clang...!!!
With an explosive crack, Yu incorporated the Gentle Fist's Flicking Force, instantly imparting an explosive forward thrust and spin to the shuriken...!
Crunch...!!!
The shuriken punched straight through two targets placed one behind the other... then buried more than half of itself in a third!!
"!!??" The children were utterly stunned.
What kind of force was that? It could punch through a person's skull with ease!!
The power of a plain shuriken throw is almost on par with one coated in chakra. Just what kind of monster has the Hyuga Clan produced??
As Iruka thought this, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind. You're the monster, Master of Talk-no-Jutsu Iruka!
Iruka was dumbfounded. What just happened...? Am I... am I hearing things?????
Up on the utility pole, Itachi thought, It's still spin. Did he use the Hyuga Clan's Force-Redirecting Technique this time? But is his fingernail all right?
Scrape!
The "white bone" covering the thumbnail Yu had used to flick the shuriken quietly disappeared.
Sasuke could no longer hide his shock. Just how many bizarre tricks did this guy come up with in these three days!!!
At this point, Sasuke could no longer worry about all that!
Swish! Swish!
Still holding his shuriken, Sasuke began forming hand seals!
Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly. "That move... it's the one I taught Sasuke last night..."
-Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!!
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh...!
Shuriken wrapped in flames spread outward like the crimson claws of phoenix flowers!!
Clang, clang, clang...!
The shuriken hit the bull's-eyes and set the targets alight!!
The children's jaws dropped!!
"What was that move!!"
"Fire Release Ninjutsu!!"
"Amazing! He can use Fire Release so freely at his age~~!!!"
"No, is he combining Fire Release Ninjutsu with Shurikenjutsu?"
"A genius!! A true genius!!"
"Huff, huff..." Sasuke panted lightly after using Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson.
Itachi murmured, "Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson requires very precise control over Fire Release chakra. Fortunately, there weren't many shuriken. Even without awakening his Sharingan, Sasuke's eagerness to win let him surpass his usual performance and avoid mistakes. But this is already the limit of what he can do right now..."
While everyone else cheered mindlessly, Neji stepped forward and challenged him. "Sasuke, isn't that against the rules? We agreed this was a Shurikenjutsu contest, but you mixed in ninjutsu!"
Though Sasuke felt a little guilty, he still said, "Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson is both ninjutsu and Shurikenjutsu!"
Neji was displeased. "You know perfectly well that my little brother only just enrolled and hasn't learned any Chakra Release Ninjutsu yet. Deliberately exploiting a loophole like this is hardly fair."
"..." Sasuke's gaze wandered.
Sakura argued, "Is it Sasuke-kun's fault he doesn't know how? Sasuke-kun only showed off what he's good at. What's wrong with that!!!"
"..." Neji frowned at Sakura.
Sakura shuddered, but she forced herself to continue. "Y-you can look at me all you want. I'll still say it! Just because someone's weaker d-doesn't mean they're right!"
At that moment, Yu said, "It's all right, Neji. It's fine. The rules never said we couldn't combine it with ninjutsu~!"
Neji said, "All right..."
The rules were right there: as long as they threw a shuriken using an unconventional method and hit the bull's-eye, it counted.
In practice, however, the atmosphere of the contest had already established another unspoken rule!
It was... a competition in flair and spectacle!
It wasn't enough to win on paper. They had to make the other side concede wholeheartedly!
Since Sasuke had brought out Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson...
Yu had to move toward ninjutsu too.
Yu said, "Still, it's true that I don't know any elemental ninjutsu yet. Sasuke, could you give me some time to figure it out?"
Sasuke knew he wasn't entirely in the right. To make Yu accept his defeat wholeheartedly, he said, "How about this? I won't take advantage of you. I'll demonstrate the Uchiha's basic Fire Release, the Great Fireball Technique. How much you can manage will be up to you..."
Yu gladly accepted. "Okay, go ahead..."
Sasuke solemnly formed hand seals with his little hands, his chest swelling!
-Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Whooom...!
An enormous fireball burst from his mouth and dispersed into dancing flames!
Outside the field, a chorus of mindless admiration rose.
"Amazing...!!"
"With Fire Release like that, Sasuke-kun definitely has the strength of a genin!!"
"And he actually helped his opponent when he had the advantage! That effortless confidence is so cool!!!"
"The question is, can that kid learn it??"
"Honestly, after his performance last time, I wouldn't be surprised if he could. What really matters is how well he can use it."
Everyone watched closely!
Yu formed hand seals with both hands, gathering chakra in his throat!
-Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Whooom...!!
A fireball... erupted from Yu's mouth!!
This was the first time Yu had truly used elemental ninjutsu!!!
Yu tilted his head back and breathed fire!!
After swelling, the fireball showed no sign of dispersing. Instead, it became a pillar of flame that stretched into the sky!!!
Everyone's eyes rose blankly with the soaring flames!
"?????????"
Huge question marks were written all over their young faces!
When it came to using ninjutsu, Yu was a complete beginner too!!
Yu panicked. Oh no... I can't stop the chakra!!
Before you continue