Police Force Assessment, Showing His Edge

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Uchiha Police Force assessment grounds had already drawn quite a few clan members who had come to watch.

Three Uchiha jonin sat in the chief examiners' seats.

Uchiha Tekka was among them. Seated in the middle was an elderly man with a stern face and eyes as sharp as an eagle's—Uchiha Yashiro, a hawkish elder of high standing within the clan, known for his severity and impartiality.

The other was Uchiha Setsuna, a rather formidable Uchiha jonin.

"Silence!"

Uchiha Tekka spoke in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the three applicants below.

"Today is the special recruitment assessment for the Uchiha Police Force. The three of you have applied, but the Police Force does not keep idlers. Only true elites may remain!"

"The assessment consists of three parts: taijutsu, ninjutsu, and combat simulation. Each part will be scored. Only the one with the highest overall score, or someone with an exceptionally outstanding performance, may be selected."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Uchiha Yao and the other two boys answered in unison.

The other two, Uchiha Kyoichi and Uchiha Kaede, were both fifteen or sixteen years old. They had some reputation within the clan and possessed the strength of ordinary chunin.

When they looked at Uchiha Yao, their eyes carried dismissive contempt.

After all, Uchiha Yao was too young. He had only just reached graduation age. Even though there had been rumors about him, they did not believe a twelve-year-old brat could be all that strong.

"First assessment: taijutsu!"

A lean Uchiha chunin stepped onto the field.

Uchiha Kyoichi went up first.

The two exchanged punches and kicks. Although Uchiha Kyoichi's attacks were fierce, he still seemed somewhat green before the experienced Uchiha chunin. After more than a dozen exchanges, his flaw was caught, and he was pinned to the ground.

"Uchiha Kyoichi, score: average," Uchiha Tekka announced calmly.

Next came Uchiha Kaede. His performance was slightly better than Uchiha Kyoichi's, but he was still unable to gain any advantage. His final score was also average.

Finally, it was Uchiha Yao's turn.

"Kid, show me what you can really do. Don't waste everyone's time." The Uchiha chunin grinned, his expression carrying a hint of disdain.

Uchiha Yao said nothing. He merely bent slightly at the waist and assumed a standard opening stance of Uchiha Style Taijutsu.

"Begin!"

At Tekka's command, the Uchiha chunin made the first move. A swift straight punch, accompanied by the howl of wind, shot directly toward Yao's face!

He had put seventy percent of his strength into that punch—enough to leave an ordinary chunin scrambling.

Yet in Uchiha Yao's eyes, the punch's trajectory was crystal clear.

He did not even need to activate his Sharingan.

His body shifted slightly, dodging the fist by an unbelievably narrow margin.

At the same time, his right foot shot out like a venomous snake, fast, precise, and ruthless as it kicked toward the back of his opponent's supporting knee!

"Hm?" The Uchiha chunin was startled. He had not expected Yao's reaction to be so fast. He hurriedly changed moves, retracting his fist to defend while raising his knee to block.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

An overwhelming force surged through his knee, forcing the Uchiha chunin to take half a step back.

Such strength! he thought, casting aside his disdain.

Uchiha Yao's strike missed, but he did not pause in the slightest. His assault rolled forward in an endless tide.

The more the Uchiha chunin fought, the more alarmed he became.

He discovered that his prized experience and strength gave him no advantage whatsoever against Uchiha Yao!

Uchiha Yao's movements did not appear particularly fast, yet at the very last instant before each attack landed, he could always evade or block with the smallest possible cost, then launch a counterattack from an even trickier angle.

It felt as if every single one of his movements had been completely seen through!

Outside the field, Uchiha Kyoichi and Uchiha Kaede were staring in stunned disbelief.

They had thought Uchiha Yao was merely a brat using rumors to attract attention. They had never expected his taijutsu foundation to be so solid—he was even faintly suppressing that Police Force chunin!

At the chief examiners' seats.

A barely noticeable gleam flashed through Uchiha Yashiro's cloudy old eyes.

"This kid hasn't disappointed me after all." Uchiha Tekka watched the two fighting in the field, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The battle had already reached a fever pitch.

Uchiha Yao caught the gap when his opponent paused to breathe and suddenly closed in. A hand chop slashed precisely toward the side of his opponent's neck!

The Uchiha chunin was horrified. He tried to dodge, but it was already too late!

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out.

He let out a muffled groan, his body going limp as he nearly toppled to the ground.

Uchiha Yao withdrew his hand and took a step back.

The victor had been decided.

"Uchiha Yao, taijutsu assessment, score: excellent!" Uchiha Tekka announced loudly.

A low wave of shocked cries rose from the surroundings.

Excellent!

That was an extremely high evaluation!

Uchiha Kyoichi and Uchiha Kaede's expressions turned somewhat ugly.

They had been completely crushed by Uchiha Yao's performance.

"Second assessment: ninjutsu!"

Uchiha Tekka continued, "Use the Fire Release Ninjutsu you are best at to attack the target in the distance. We will score you based on the ninjutsu's power, range, and precision of Chakra control."

Uchiha Kyoichi and Uchiha Kaede stepped forward in turn and performed the Great Fireball Technique.

The power was acceptable, and both received scores slightly above average.

It was Uchiha Yao's turn.

He walked to the designated position and took a deep breath.

The Chakra within his body began circulating at an unprecedented speed.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of fist-sized fireballs shot from Uchiha Yao's mouth!

Rather than scattering in all directions like ordinary Phoenix Sage Fire, these fireballs traced precise arcs through the air and, like a dense downpour, all slammed into a target a hundred meters away that was only the size of a washbasin!

Boom! Boom! Boom—!

A string of dense explosions erupted. The target was instantly blasted to pieces, sending wood chips flying everywhere!

Silence!

The entire field fell silent!

Everyone had been stunned by this practically perfect Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was not among the most powerful techniques, but its difficulty lay in precise Chakra control and simultaneously controlling multiple fireballs!

Yet the Phoenix Sage Fire Uchiha Yao had performed—whether in the number of fireballs, their flight paths, or the accuracy of their landing points—had reached an utterly inconceivable level!

This could no longer be described by the simple word "proficient"!

He had practically turned the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique into an art form!

"Th-this... is Phoenix Sage Fire?" Uchiha Kyoichi muttered, his face full of disbelief.

He could use Phoenix Sage Fire as well, but compared to Uchiha Yao, the gap was enormous.

Uchiha Tekka abruptly rose from his seat, his eyes filled with shock and wild delight!

"A monster! This kid is a complete monster!"

Even Uchiha Yashiro's eternally stern face showed a rare trace of emotion.

He had lived for so many years and seen countless Uchiha geniuses, but Uchiha Yao was the first he had seen who could use a C-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu with such masterful skill at the age of twelve!

"Uchiha Yao, ninjutsu assessment, score: exceptional!"

Exceptional!

Uchiha Yao listened calmly, without the slightest hint of pride on his face.

To him, this was nothing more than a casual test of his skills.

With "Complete Mastery of Fire Release Ninjutsu (Beginner)," his understanding and control of Fire Release had long surpassed that of most jonin!

"Final assessment: combat simulation!"

Uchiha Tekka took a deep breath, calming his excited emotions.

"Uchiha Yao, your opponent is me!"

What?!

The entire field erupted in uproar at those words!

Uchiha Tekka was the captain of the Police Force, a jonin famous for many years!

He was actually going to personally take the field for a combat simulation against a twelve-year-old boy?

This was no longer an assessment. It was simply a one-sided beating!

"Tekka, are you serious?" Uchiha Yashiro frowned.

"Vice Captain, I know what I'm doing." Uchiha Tekka grinned, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "This kid is promising material. I need to personally weigh his abilities!"

He looked at Uchiha Yao, his fighting spirit blazing. "Kid, use all your strength. Let me see just how much potential you truly have!"

Uchiha Yao's gaze narrowed slightly.

Fight a jonin?

Perfect. He also wanted to see just what level his current strength had reached!

"Please guide me!"

A powerful aura surged toward the sky from Uchiha Yao's body!

A blood-red glow quietly emerged in his eyes.

One-Tomoe Sharingan, activated!