Victory

However, Gekko Hayate clearly did not underestimate these shuriken, because everyone knew that the Uchiha were people who could turn shuriken into countless tricks. Hayate's first reaction was to dodge.

But after the shuriken flew out, they suddenly split in two midair, changing their trajectories.

This was a technique within Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu called Shadow Shuriken. It was somewhat similar to the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique invented by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but their principles, difficulty, and power were entirely different.

The latter was an A-rank ninjutsu derived from the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique through shuriken, while the former used a sleight-of-hand genjutsu similar to invisibility. Two shuriken were held tightly together before being thrown, causing them to appear to split in two after flying out and achieve unexpected effects.

After Hayate nimbly turned and dodged the shuriken, Uchiha Meikyō tugged at the elastic threads wrapped around his fingers again, pulling the shuriken back.

As they flew back, the shuriken continued colliding with one another and changing course, making them even harder to evade.

"Uchiha Style: Controlled Shuriken!"

However, Hayate clearly had some skill. Seeing the shuriken approaching from such bizarre angles and proving difficult to dodge, he directly drew the ninja blade at his waist. With a burst of strength, he whirled it like a windmill, knocking away every shuriken. Then he took a step forward and charged at Meikyō with his blade raised, like an arrow released from a bow.

Clearly, his swordsmanship fundamentals were exceptionally solid.

Just as Meikyō drew a kunai and prepared himself, Hayate's charging figure suddenly vanished from the field.

"Is that... Obscuring Escape? It seems this Genin from the Hayate Clan is quite outstanding."

Seeing this, Dan Katō could not help but wonder how Meikyō would deal with it.

Among the various Kekkei Genkai of the Ninja World, Obscuring Escape was not particularly remarkable. Any truly capable ninja generally had a way to break through its invisibility effect.

But a Kekkei Genkai was still a Kekkei Genkai. No matter how weak it was, at the Genin and even Chunin stages, it held an overwhelming advantage against ninja who had not awakened other Kekkei Genkai.

Judging from the swordsmanship and Obscuring Escape Hayate had displayed so far, if he possessed one or two more ninjutsu capable of attacking over a longer range, he could already be considered an elite among Genin.

Such strength was clearly a little excessive for a Ninja Academy student.

Fortunately, Uchiha Meikyō was not exactly an ordinary Ninja Academy student either. His eyes swiftly closed and opened, revealing his Single Tomoe Sharingan.

Everything around him seemed to slow down. The flow of Chakra within everyone's bodies became incomparably clear in Meikyō's eyes.

That included the Chakra of Hayate, who was preparing to attack from the side.

At that moment, Hayate was more conspicuous than anyone else around him, because a layer of Chakra capable of producing invisibility was currently covering his body.

"Clang!"

A crisp metallic collision rang out. Relying on the powerful dynamic vision and perception granted by the Sharingan, Meikyō began engaging Hayate in close combat.

The moment Hayate saw Meikyō's Sharingan, he decisively deactivated Obscuring Escape.

Obscuring Escape feared Sensor Ninja and ninja with Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai the most. Since he knew he would be seen through, he might as well turn it off and conserve Chakra.

But Meikyō did not dare deactivate his Sharingan.

His opponent was a Genin who had graduated a year early last year, while he himself had graduated two years early. That made them two years apart in age. At this age, even a single year made a considerable difference in physical development. In terms of physical ability, he truly fell short of Hayate.

Moreover, Hayate's blade techniques were just as solid. Even when Meikyō spotted openings through his Sharingan, Hayate could still defend himself in time.

What a pity. If only I knew some Sharingan genjutsu.

Meikyō sighed inwardly.

If he knew Sharingan genjutsu, all he would need to do upon finding an opening was glare, and he might be able to succeed.

Unless his opponent could fight like Might Guy, watching only his feet.

But ifs were only ifs. He knew very well that he could only remain locked in a stalemate with Hayate through the power of the Sharingan. If this continued, his Chakra would definitely run out.

He knew he had to make a change as soon as possible.

This was precisely when ninjutsu came into play.

Immediately, while using his kunai to block Hayate's ninja blade, Meikyō deliberately exposed a small opening, causing his opponent to raise a leg and kick at him.

Having long prepared for this, he used the opportunity to push off the ground with his left foot and raise his right leg, meeting Hayate's leg with a heavy blow. At the same time, he drove his left leg forward, sending his body swiftly backward.

Taking advantage of the distance he had created, he rapidly formed hand seals with both hands.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Style!"

A massive fireball rapidly burst from Meikyō's mouth and surged fiercely toward Hayate.

Hayate was visibly flustered, but as a Jonin candidate produced by the Hayate Clan only once every several years, he clearly had other means.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gust of wind also erupted from Hayate's mouth, blocking Meikyō's Great Fireball in front of him.

However, he had formed his seals too late. By the time his ninjutsu was successfully released, the fireball had already reached him.

Hayate could only barely maintain his Wind Style, doing everything he could to blow away the Great Fireball before him. Yet the fireball continued pressing steadily toward him.

Wind-natured Chakra was restrained by fire-natured Chakra.

Clearly, his mastery over wind-natured Chakra had not reached a level where he could make up for the disparity. He could only watch as the fireball continued advancing toward him. The scorching heat it gave off, coupled with the tension in his heart, caused sweat to stream down Hayate's forehead.

At that moment, Dan Katō, standing at the edge of the field, knew it was time for him to step in.

Clearly, Hayate had no other means of dealing with the situation.

"Earth Style: Earth Style Wall!"

A Solid earthen wall rose before Hayate, blocking both ninjutsu at once.

"Then this battle will end here for now. The final result is Uchiha Meikyō's victory."

Dan Katō announced it decisively.

Hayate opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the next moment, Uchiha Meikyō before him suddenly turned into a wooden post and fell to the ground.

"I have no objections. The main question is whether he agrees with your judgment, Examiner."

Meikyō's figure suddenly darted out from a corner at the side.

Hayate froze, while Dan Katō suddenly laughed.