So that was it…
Nawaki clutched his hand, swollen like a pig’s trotter, and understood.
Shingetsu did not hate him because of his identity.
He was just the kind of person who hated everyone!
No way!
With a personality like that, he would never make friends!
I have to change him!
I’ll make him fit into the village community!
…
Fugaku’s frown deepened.
“This isn’t the clan compound.
Stop messing around, Shingetsu!”
“I’m serious.”
Shingetsu forced his emotions down and calmly looked at Orochimaru.
“I want to prove my worth and become your disciple!”
“Disciple…
Shingetsu-kun, do you understand the difference between a student and a disciple?”
Orochimaru’s pupils narrowed slightly, a faint glimmer passing through them.
An Uchiha without chakra.
If he truly had impressive strength, then that would be very interesting.
“We can talk about that after I defeat Fugaku.”
…
“In principle, it shouldn’t be allowed, but…”
Orochimaru turned to Fugaku and smiled faintly.
“Fugaku-kun, could I trouble you to help me complete the test?”
As the direct disciple of the Third Hokage, the most talented and powerful among the three, and a leading candidate for the position of Fourth Hokage…
Orochimaru was Konoha’s principle.
Facing Orochimaru, Fugaku could not bring himself to refuse.
He could only glare at the one responsible.
“Shingetsu!
You can make whatever trouble you want when we get back.
Do you really have to do it here?”
You may not be afraid of embarrassing yourself, but I’m afraid you’ll embarrass yourself!
Do you really think that just because I usually let you get away with things, you can use me to test your limits?
…
“Brother, you…”
Shingetsu said nothing.
He took off his outer robe, handed it to Mikoto, and walked toward Fugaku step by step.
The close-fitting black short-sleeved shirt clung tightly to his body, clearly outlining every inch of the boy’s muscles.
The lines of his shoulders and neck were sharp and firm.
When his arms bent, veins showed faintly beneath the skin, radiating explosive power.
He was not especially tall, but that tempered steel body of his was visibly powerful.
The students of the Ninja Academy realized it in an instant.
This guy…
He was drawn in a completely different style from us!
…
At such a close distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not need an ANBU report to know what had happened.
He chose not to stop it.
He was curious just how far Shingetsu’s so-called natural divine strength could go.
An Uchiha without chakra.
How rare.
…
Sensing Shingetsu’s resolve, Fugaku’s expression changed.
He untied the ninja tool pouch at his waist and drew a kunai.
“Then come.
The moment my kunai reaches your throat, the fight is over.”
Probably…
ten seconds.
…
The Hyūga main house was qualified to receive clan education and then directly take part in the Chūnin Exams.
And every Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan possessed the same privilege.
At thirteen years old, Fugaku Uchiha had already earned the rank of Chūnin, and within the clan, he was considered likely to challenge the rank of Jōnin in the next few years.
A trace of scarlet appeared, and two tomoe began to rotate.
The proof of an Uchiha, the Sharingan!
…
Shingetsu stopped and lifted his head, a faint, indifferent smile curving his lips.
“Then my standard is when your bones are broken.”
…
Two tomoe…
His ocular power is strong.
Perhaps he is not far from three tomoe.
As expected of the Clan Head’s son.
Even within the Uchiha Clan, he could be called a genius.
Orochimaru watched intently.
If Fugaku failed to hold back, he needed to be ready to intervene at any moment.
After all, he was the one presiding over the test.
He had to make sure nothing unexpected happened in this fight.
…
They did not get to see a clash between the Senju and the Uchiha…
but watching bullying within the Uchiha Clan was pretty interesting too.
That was what the children from the ninja clans and the parents who had brought them were thinking.
…
Shingetsu raised his hand and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Fugaku had just started to lift his hand when…
Whoosh!!!
A fierce wind suddenly rose across the cleared field, and a black line tore through his vision.
So fast!!
Fugaku immediately withdrew his hand and retreated.
A side kick had already swept past his cheek.
He had barely dodged it when the second strike followed, the tip of Shingetsu’s foot slicing through the black hair beside his ear like a blade.
Boom—
Fugaku was forced backward.
Holding the severed hair, he looked at Shingetsu in disbelief.
“Speed like that…
How is that possible without chakra supporting it?”
As one of a ninja’s three basic skills, Taijutsu was very important.
It was mainly divided into two types: physical attacks that used chakra as support while relying primarily on the body, and techniques that incorporated chakra.
The representative example of the former was the Eight Inner Gates Formation, which had briefly appeared during the Warring States Period.
But because it had existed for such a short time, it was not even treated as its own category now.
The most representative Taijutsu school of the latter was the Hyūga Clan’s Gentle Fist.
Its core principle was using the Byakugan in combination with Taijutsu to block the opponent’s Chakra Flow.
The core of the Senju Clan’s Superhuman Strength Technique was control over one’s own chakra, pursuing overwhelming power.
It looked like brute force, but in truth, it demanded even finer chakra control than the Hyūga Gentle Fist.
Generally speaking, aside from special cases, Taijutsu had always been seen as an opening probe.
It could not decide the outcome of a battle and was not considered worthy of the main stage.
As for Shingetsu…
This kind of pure physical attack did not even count as Taijutsu.
It belonged to the lowest of the low.
Without chakra, he theoretically could never become a ninja in this lifetime.
Even when the clan sent him to the Ninja Academy this time, they only intended for him to keep Mikoto company.
They had no expectations that he would actually learn anything.
…
Before Fugaku finished speaking, Shingetsu’s face had already appeared in front of him, so close he could see the flames burning in those pitch-black pupils.
“The warning phase is over.
Try not to lose too badly, Fugaku!”
A fist smashed into Fugaku’s chest, followed by a knee, an elbow, and a whip kick.
The attacks were so fast they left afterimages, as if Shingetsu had grown three heads and six arms.
Fugaku’s Sharingan spun wildly as he struggled to block Shingetsu’s violent assault.
When his kunai struck Shingetsu’s fist with a metallic clang, Fugaku’s entire body went numb.
What the hell!
How could a human body be this hard?!
…
Boom!!
Shingetsu’s fist struck Fugaku’s jaw, blasting his body into the air as sunlight stabbed into Fugaku’s eyes.
Then the sunlight was blocked by a black figure.
A body stretched to its limit, fist wind tearing through the air.
Fugaku gritted his teeth.
“You’ve really pissed me off, Shingetsu!!”
He threw away the cracked kunai and formed hand seals rapidly with both hands.
With this brat’s physical toughness…
he probably won’t be hurt too badly.
I have to teach him a lesson!
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!”
A blazing fireball more than five meters in diameter crashed toward the figure falling from the sky, burning away the dampness in the spring air.
The sight made every student widen their eyes and cry out in shock.
Most of them had never even seen ninjutsu before, let alone a Fire Release technique with such visual impact.
…
That was going too far…
Orochimaru stared fixedly at the battlefield.
He had already finished forming seals and was about to cut through the Great Fireball Technique.
The instant he was about to release the Wind Blade, he saw something and stopped.
The strange light in his eyes grew even stronger.
…
“Fire Tempering.”
Shingetsu murmured softly, changing his fist into a palm and thrusting his five fingers straight into the Great Fireball Technique.
Screeeech————!!!
Amid a piercing roar, the fireball split in two and exploded in midair.
…
Wh…
what!!!
The shock in Fugaku’s eyes had no time to fade.
Smack!!
Shingetsu seized the wrists Fugaku had instinctively raised.
Fugaku felt as though he had been bound by iron chains, unable to break free.
It’s over…
No, it isn’t!
I still have Genjutsu!
Fugaku finally came back to himself.
The tomoe in his eyes spun as he tried to cast Genjutsu and stop Shingetsu’s next move.
“Too slow.”
Shingetsu pulled Fugaku’s body closer and drove a vicious knee into his abdomen, then slammed him down into the ground.
BOOM!!!!
“Cough—”
Inside the crater, Fugaku’s body curled upward as he coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.
…
The outcome was decided.