It Seems I Underestimated You

Jiraiya lay on the ground, clutching his face. Hikaru's strike had sent him face-first into the dirt, leaving his brain buzzing with the impact. One could only imagine how miserable Jiraiya's face looked.

Following the shock came a wave of intense pain.

The agony caused Jiraiya to curl up on the ground, clutching his face and crying out. Tsunade held her arm, enduring her own pain; that last hit was, for the most part, something she had brought upon herself.

I didn't even see through him!!!

Beyond the shock that Hikaru had already awakened the Sharingan, Orochimaru was stunned that he had failed to discern when Hikaru had used the Substitution Technique.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!!"

One step ahead, every step ahead. Hikaru quickly formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and condensed a massive amount of Chakra into his throat. He exhaled, releasing countless flames that swirled together to form a gigantic fireball, hurtling toward the trio.

If they were hit, it would be more than enough for Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya to handle—especially Jiraiya, who was still sprawled on the ground and would be the first to take the impact.

Over the past six months, Hikaru had mastered both the Great Fireball Technique and the Fire Dragon Technique. Perhaps due to the God-tier Evolution Potion, aside from some initial awkwardness, Hikaru's speed in learning ninjutsu and forming hand seals was incredibly fast. Among his peers, it would be hard to find anyone faster than him.

Could this be considered a pleasant surprise?

The Third Hokage was momentarily dazed. He had intended to test Hikaru to see if he had the potential to be a squad leader. He had expected an excellent confrontation, but who knew that once Hikaru revealed all his trump cards, it would devolve into this.

For children at their stage, or even for those who had already become Genin or Chunin, combat relied mostly on taijutsu. The idea of throwing multiple ninjutsu back and forth was nothing but a dream.

At this current stage, especially for five or six-year-olds, how many could actually use ninjutsu with such flexibility?

Let alone a technique like the Great Fireball, which required a significant consumption of Chakra.

Of course, the Earth Style ninjutsu Jiraiya liked to use didn't count; he had specifically studied those just to peek at others bathing.

He struggled to learn other ninjutsu, yet he practiced certain Earth Style techniques with great enthusiasm just to spy on people. One had to admit, Jiraiya was a rare specimen—a truly bizarre one at that.

In taijutsu combat, with the Sharingan activated, Hikaru held an absolute advantage. The insight provided by the Sharingan was no joke.

If someone like Rock Lee appeared, that would be an exception. Sasuke had used the Sharingan and still got beaten up, but one must not forget that Rock Lee was thirteen or fourteen at the time. Although Sasuke wasn't bad, to a taijutsu specialist like Rock Lee, the Sasuke of that time wasn't enough.

Right now, Hikaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were only six years old!!!

At the age of six, how many could compare to the Rock Lee of that era?

Furthermore, Hikaru was not Sasuke, who foolishly thought that using the Sharingan made him invincible. That was a naive and silly idea. Besides, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were not the thirteen or fourteen-year-old Rock Lee!!

Their talent was indeed strong, but the age gap was not so easily overcome.

If both sides were in the same age bracket, whether it was Tsunade, Orochimaru, or Jiraiya, any of them could have thrashed Rock Lee!

Right now, the future legendary Sannin were only six-year-old children. Even if they were heaven-defying, how far could they go? Unless they were all possessed by the spirit of Indra!!!

In the eyes of the Third Hokage, both sides should have been engaged in a lively back-and-forth battle. Who knew it would turn into a one-sided affair?

This little guy, to be able to use the Great Fireball Technique so skillfully at only six years old, is truly impressive.

Feeling a slight shock in his heart, the Third Hokage's figure flashed in place, leaving behind an afterimage as he vanished.

"BOOM!!!"

The fireball surged forward, triggering a violent explosion. For a moment, dirt splattered and debris rained down. The figures of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru appeared on the other side, all staring at Hikaru in astonishment.

Is he even human?

"Cough, cough!!!"

The Third Hokage gave a light cough, bringing the three of them back to their senses. He looked at Hikaru and sighed, "I didn't expect you to have awakened the Sharingan at only six. Looking at your proficiency with it, you must have awakened it even earlier, right?"

Having once been teammates with Kagami Uchiha and both being students of the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage was very familiar with the Sharingan, the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan. He could tell that Hikaru's skilled use of the eye meant he had awakened it long ago.

"The Sharingan, and Chakra levels far exceeding your peers... It seems I underestimated you. Everyone underestimated you."

The Third Hokage was blunt about his misjudgment, but inwardly, he was thrilled. Given Hikaru's current talent, his future achievements would surely be immense, which was an absolute blessing for the village.

When his teacher had once requested that he place Hikaru on the same level as Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, the Third Hokage had been hesitant. Now, it seemed he had been the one with poor judgment.

At this moment, the Third Hokage felt fortunate that he had changed his mind; otherwise, he truly would have missed out.

"What?!"

The Third Hokage's words drew three gasps of surprise. This time, even Orochimaru couldn't remain calm. Hikaru's Sharingan had been awakened even earlier? And he was only six years old!!!

[Libao is here to request: please don't get hung up on the timeline, as the source material is full of conflicting information and the original work itself has many bugs. Libao cannot reconcile all the different data, and since even Kishimoto couldn't fix those bugs, Libao certainly can't either. Therefore, Libao can only write according to the timeline chosen and try to make it reasonable~ However, if you brothers still feel the timeline is a major issue, Libao apologizes here. But to the brothers who support Libao, thank you for being here and walking this path with me~ Thank you~~].