Year-end assessment (4)

A quarter of an hour was barely enough time to catch their breath.

The eight children who had won stood at the edge of the field, none looking well. They were exhausted, cold, and still hurting from their fights. Yutian leaned against a wooden post, eyes closed as he steadied his breathing. His half-dried clothes clung to his skin, cold and clammy. Daisuke's words still rang in his head: "Just you wait."

Yinglang sat on a nearby rock, almost twisting the blade of grass in his hand to shreds. He glanced around at the others-Kagami, Honoikazuchi, and four more children whose full names he couldn't recall, but who usually did reasonably well in training. Including him and Yutian, that made eight.

"Listen up." Tetsu Uchiha's voice rang out again, even drier than before. "Eight down to four. Draw lots. Same rules. Draw now."

The wicker basket was brought out again. No one scrambled for it this time. They all slowly stepped forward to pick a token.

Yutian drew a three. He looked up.

Across from him, Kagami had just lowered his wooden token. The number written on it in vermilion was four.

Three against four.

Yutian's heart sank. He was facing him already.

Yinglang saw it too. His token was seven, and his opponent was Uchiha Honoikazuchi, who was good at taijutsu. His brows didn't even twitch, but he clicked his tongue inwardly-Honoikazuchi wouldn't be easy to fool.

"First match, one against two. Enter the field."

Those two were evenly matched and traded blows back and forth, but both were visibly unsteady with exhaustion. In the end, the slightly sturdier boy used brute force to tackle his opponent, pinning him down and landing over a dozen punches. By the time Tetsu Uchiha pulled them apart, both had swollen, bruised faces.

"Number one wins. Next match, three against four. Get ready."

Yutian took a deep breath and walked into the field. Across from him, Kagami stepped forward too, his stride steady and his breathing even. The previous two assessments seemed to have barely tired him. His training clothes were still neat, without so much as a speck of dust.

They stood facing each other and exchanged the combat salute.

Kagami's gaze settled on Yutian, indifferent, as though he were looking at an object. Yutian met his eyes without looking away.

"Begin," Tetsu Uchiha said.

Kagami didn't move. He simply stood there, waiting for Yutian to act first.

Yutian knew he couldn't wait. His stamina was nearly gone; dragging this out would mean certain defeat. He pushed off, charged forward, and drove a fist straight at Kagami's face-the simplest straight punch, but with all his strength behind it.

Kagami turned sideways and raised his hand. Rather than blocking, he lightly brushed the outside of Yutian's wrist with his palm.

The movement was light and casual. Yet it pulled Yutian's whole body off to one side, and he nearly failed to check his forward momentum.

He stumbled two steps before regaining his footing and looking back. Kagami was still in the same spot, his feet unmoved. He merely looked at him impassively, his gaze seeming to say: That's it?

Yutian gritted his teeth and attacked again. This time, he went low, sweeping at Kagami's legs.

Kagami raised a leg and met Yutian's sweep with the outside of his shin.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out. Yutian felt as though his shinbone had struck an iron pillar, numbness and pain shooting through it. Kagami didn't budge. He simply used the force of the collision to press his leg down-

Yutian lost his footing and dropped to one knee.

Silence fell around the field. The gap was too obvious. Kagami hadn't even truly attacked. He had merely countered casually, and Yutian was already in a sorry state.

"Give up," Kagami said, his voice calm and emotionless. "You're out of stamina. There's no point continuing."

Yutian rose from the ground, his left leg still trembling. He said nothing, only stared at Kagami, that stubborn look returning to his eyes.

He charged a third time. This time, he abandoned set techniques and simply lunged like a wild child in a street fight, trying to grapple at close range.

Kagami's brow creased almost imperceptibly, as though he found this way of fighting unsightly. He stepped back half a pace and struck his right palm toward Yutian's chest.

The palm strike wasn't fast, but its angle was tricky, catching Yutian just as the force of his lunge ran out, before he could muster more.

Unable to dodge, Yutian could only cross his arms and take it head-on.

Smack!

Palm met arms. Yutian slid backward several steps from the blow, his chest tightening and a sweet, metallic taste rising in his throat.

"Enough." Kagami withdrew his hand, a trace of impatience in his voice. "You're no match for me. Keep fighting, and you'll get hurt."

Yutian braced his hands on his knees, gasping, his vision darkening in waves. He knew Kagami was right. The gap was too great, like an adult fighting a child. But he didn't want to surrender just like that. Giving up felt like admitting he would always be beneath him, like admitting that a "servant's son" deserved to be trampled underfoot.

He straightened, wanting to attack again.

Just then, a faint voice that only he could hear slipped straight into his ear:

"Yutian! If you can't beat him, give up!"

It was Yinglang's voice, using that Sound-to-Thread method.

Yutian froze.

The voice continued, fast and urgent, with a rare hint of agitation. "Don't be an idiot! Going at him now is just serving yourself up! Let him beat you half to death, and then what? Spend three months in bed recovering, miss three months of training, and give Yuanguang exactly what he wants! What would you gain? A reputation for having 'backbone'? As long as you're still standing, you'll have another chance!"

Yutian pressed his lips together until they turned white.

Inside, Yinglang was practically stamping his feet with anxiety. I'm not Naruto! Why are you acting out Hinata fighting Neji?

Yutian stood where he was, his chest heaving. He looked at Kagami for several seconds, then at Tetsu Uchiha, who stood at the edge of the field with his arms folded and his expression already darkening.

Then he slowly unclenched his fists and lowered his arms.

"...I give up," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but the field was quiet, and everyone heard.

Kagami glanced at him without speaking, gave a slight nod, then turned and left the field.

Tetsu Uchiha made a mark on the roster. "Number four wins. Next match, five against six."

Yutian silently returned to the sidelines. Instead of going back to his original spot, he found a more distant corner and sat down, looking at his still-trembling hands. Surrender tasted bitter, like swallowing a stone whole and having it lodge in his chest. But Yinglang was right. That impulse just now had been foolish.

"Third match, seven against eight. Enter the field."

Yinglang dusted off his backside, stood, and walked onto the field. Opposite him, Uchiha Honoikazuchi stepped forward too. Honoikazuchi was half a head taller, dark-skinned and bright-eyed, clearly someone who trained hard year-round. He watched Yinglang without hostility, but with great seriousness-apparently, he had taken Yinglang's earlier "lucky victory" at face value and considered him an opponent who required caution.

They exchanged salutes.

"Begin."

Honoikazuchi didn't play at ranged combat like Aoki. He charged straight in, his steps heavy and his punches fierce, using solid taijutsu.

Yinglang groaned inwardly. This would be hard to act out. A methodical fighter like Honoikazuchi, who overwhelmed opponents with raw ability, left the fewest openings for "accidents."

He could only dodge. Tumble and scramble out of the way.

Honoikazuchi's fist swept past his ear, the gust stinging his face. His feet stumbled all over the place, nearly tripping him several times as he narrowly escaped the attacks. He looked even more bedraggled than he had against Aoki.

Someone at the sidelines shook their head. "Looks like his luck's run out."

"Honoikazuchi's one of the best in the class at taijutsu. That kid won't last."

Unable to land a hit despite his sustained assault, Honoikazuchi grew a little impatient. Spotting an opening as Yinglang dodged, he gave a low shout and sent a powerful roundhouse kick sweeping toward Yinglang's waist.

The kick was too fast, cutting off any escape to either side. Yinglang stood motionless, seemingly scared witless.

Just as it was about to connect-

Yinglang suddenly "slipped," falling backward. The roundhouse swept just over his stomach and missed.

Missing his kick inevitably tipped Honoikazuchi's weight forward. As Yinglang fell backward, he flailed upward with both hands-

By sheer coincidence, he grabbed the loose trouser leg that had swung up with Honoikazuchi's kick.

Rrrip-

Fabric tore. A large gash opened in Honoikazuchi's trouser leg, and the sudden tug pulled him off balance. He cried out as he pitched forward.

Yinglang landed hard, knocking the back of his head against the ground with a pained "Ow!"

They hit the ground almost simultaneously and tumbled into a heap.

An uproar broke out around the field. What was happening this time?!

Honoikazuchi scrambled to get up, but Yinglang still had his trouser leg. When he pulled, another ripping sound rang out, widening the tear and nearly ripping the entire leg off. His face flushed crimson with shame and anger, and for a moment, he actually forgot to attack.

Yinglang took the opportunity to let go and scrambled several steps away. Sitting on the ground and clutching the back of his head, he looked shaken. He even pointed at Honoikazuchi's torn trouser leg and stammered, "Y-your trousers... I didn't mean to!"

Honoikazuchi looked down at his training trousers, now almost split open at the crotch, then at Yinglang's innocent, frightened face. He trembled with rage, but the situation was so humiliating that he instinctively pressed his legs together and covered the tear first.

Tetsu Uchiha's face was black as soot. He stared at the absurd scene for a long moment before forcing a few words through his teeth. "Number seven wins."

"Instructor Tetsu!" Honoikazuchi protested.

"Your trousers are torn, restricting your movement," Tetsu Uchiha said coldly. "If you keep fighting, do you intend to do it bare-bottomed?"

Honoikazuchi choked. His face went from red to livid. Finally, he stamped his foot hard and rushed off the field clutching his torn trousers, without looking back. He ran straight off-presumably too ashamed to face anyone.

Yinglang got up and called a quiet "Sorry..." after Honoikazuchi, then limped off the field, looking as though that fall really had been quite bad.

The spectators wore all kinds of expressions. Some stifled laughter, some were speechless, and some thought Yinglang was downright uncanny. Even Kagami gave Yinglang a couple of extra looks, his brow faintly furrowed, as though judging whether this was really luck or something else.

The final match, "five against six," ended quickly. A tall, thin child named Uchiha Ken wore his opponent down with agile movements and reasonably good chakra adhesion.

The final four were now decided: Kagami, Yinglang, Uchiha Ken, who had just won, and another child named Uchiha Tomohisa, who had been lucky enough to avoid any tough opponents.

Tetsu Uchiha looked at the four names on the roster and rubbed between his brows, clearly dissatisfied with both the "quality" and the "course" of this assessment. But rules were rules.

"Rest for a quarter of an hour. Then we draw lots for the semifinals," he announced wearily.

The quarter of an hour soon passed.

They drew lots. This time, it was Kagami against Uchiha Tomohisa, and Yinglang against Uchiha Ken.

Kagami's match against Tomohisa held no suspense. Knowing he couldn't win, Tomohisa went through a few token exchanges before Kagami landed a precise knife-hand strike to the side of his neck, holding back his strength. He fell to the ground, dazed, and promptly surrendered.

Kagami advanced easily to the final.

In the other match, Yinglang faced Ken.

Having learned from the previous two "accidents," Ken fought cautiously. He never rushed in or gave Yinglang a chance to get close and "create an accident." He simply used agile footwork to skirmish, occasionally molding chakra to strengthen his punches and kicks for attacks from a distance, hoping to exhaust Yinglang.

This made things miserable for Yinglang. He had to dodge "awkwardly" while "accidentally" creating opportunities. Several times, he deliberately left an opening to lure Ken closer, but Ken refused to take the bait and fought steadily.

The time limit of one incense stick was almost up. If neither won soon, both would be eliminated.

Yinglang was anxious inside, yet had to look even more panicked outwardly. During one dodge, he "just happened" to step on a loose stone at the field's edge and toppled toward Ken.

Ken turned sideways to evade him. But Yinglang fell with such momentum, his hands grabbing wildly, that one hand "accidentally" hooked the cord of Ken's ninja tool pouch-the same trick again!

The cord snapped, and the ninja tool pouch flew off. But this time, there were no smoke bombs inside, only a few training shuriken that clattered to the ground.

Startled, Ken instinctively looked toward the flying ninja tool pouch.

That single moment of distraction was enough.

Yinglang, now on the ground, swung one foot around and swept Ken's supporting ankle.

The sweep had little force, but it struck just the right spot. Ken's distraction had already made his footing slightly unsteady. The sweep immediately threw him off balance, and he pitched forward with a cry.

Meanwhile, the reaction force from Yinglang's own sweep, combined with the momentum of his fall, sent him rolling backward several times. His head struck a wooden post at the edge of the field with a thunk, and he stopped moving.

The field instantly fell silent.

Ken lay facedown, somewhat dazed. Yinglang lay slumped beside the post, seemingly knocked unconscious.

Tetsu Uchiha strode over and checked Ken first. Ken got up on his own. His ankle was slightly twisted, but it wasn't serious. Tetsu then walked over to Yinglang and crouched to examine him.

Yinglang's eyes were closed, and a patch of his forehead was red, but his breathing was steady.

"...Wake up." Tetsu Uchiha patted his face.

Yinglang's eyelids stirred, then slowly opened. His eyes were blank, as though he still hadn't grasped the situation. "I... what happened? Did I win or lose?"

Tetsu Uchiha looked at him with a complicated expression. After a long moment, he stood and announced, "Number seven wins. The final will be number four against number seven. It begins in an hour."

The crowd buzzed with discussion. No one had expected the finalists to be Kagami and this five-year-old Uchiha Yinglang, who had climbed his way up through a string of "accidents" and "luck."

Kagami stood at the sidelines, quietly watching Yinglang being helped up, still rubbing his head and looking confused. For the first time, a trace of scrutiny clearly flashed in those usually placid eyes, along with... an extremely faint, icy glint.

Supported by others, Yinglang headed back to the rest area. As he passed Yutian, he gave him an almost imperceptible look of reassurance, then immediately resumed his dazed expression.

Watching him go, Yutian felt the stone lodged in his chest after surrendering suddenly loosen a little. He looked at Kagami, standing in the field with his hands behind his back as he waited for the final, then back at Yinglang, who could barely walk without swaying.

What would the final... be like?

He didn't know. But suddenly, he felt that perhaps Yinglang... really could win.

At the very least, he wouldn't let Kagami win so easily.