A new week meant new missions.
Yakumo got up as usual, though he felt a little exhausted.
After experimenting with the power of Four-Star Volley several times the previous day, he had been too excited to fall asleep.
Drawing on his years of experience as someone familiar with the world of Konoha, he could estimate that Four-Star Volley was already more powerful than an A-rank ninjutsu.
Its spectacle might not match that of most A-rank techniques, but in terms of single-target destructive power, it was undoubtedly a little stronger.
Before going for his morning run, Yakumo opened his weekly mission interface.
『Settle the Score』
Defeat Hiraya Gensho in Tuesday’s in-class assessment!
Mission Rewards: 0.5 Constitution and 150 Gold Coins.
Yakumo immediately understood what this was about.
Hiraya Gensho had once stolen his homework.
Back then, Yakumo had chosen not to fight back because he wanted to keep his abilities hidden for the time being.
But now…
He had been training with Kakashi for roughly two months.
Revealing a little of his strength shouldn’t be a problem anymore.
In that case, he might as well take a little revenge.
According to the rules for first-year in-class assessments, the winner could challenge a student ranked above them.
Yakumo’s challenge against Hiraya Gensho would therefore be perfectly legitimate.
Tuesday arrived.
During the afternoon’s in-class assessment, Yakumo effortlessly threw Komoto Kenta off the training platform, much to the latter’s frustration.
Everyone in the class had witnessed Yakumo’s steady improvement over the past few months.
Of course, they all assumed that his progress was thanks to Kakashi.
After the two exchanged the Seal of Reconciliation, Komoto Kenta turned and left the platform.
Yakumo, however, remained where he was.
First, he bowed respectfully to Keisuke Shimizu.
Then he pointed toward Hiraya Gensho, who was laughing from below the platform.
“Teacher, I’d like to challenge Hiraya Gensho.”
Keisuke Shimizu paused for a moment before immediately replying.
“Very well.”
“Iori Yakumo challenges Hiraya Gensho.
This will be a ranking match.”
There were no additional rewards for winning a ranking match within the class.
However, the rankings would influence the teammates and team leader assigned to each student after graduation.
In other words, the higher one’s ranking, the better one’s chances of securing a promising future.
Of course, most shinobi still ended up as cannon fodder…
But even cannon fodder had dreams.
Every aspiring shinobi wanted a powerful team leader and hoped to become a slightly stronger piece of cannon fodder.
The moment a ranking challenge was announced, the students below the platform became noticeably more alert.
The challenge was Yakumo’s right to make.
If he won, the two students would exchange rankings.
If he lost, he would be unable to challenge anyone for the next two months—and would have to endure a little ridicule from his classmates.
“Has he gone crazy?
Hiraya Gensho is unquestionably the strongest among the civilian students!” someone whispered.
“Maybe he simply wants to get himself killed,” another sneered.
Facing the bewilderment of the crowd, Yakumo remained calm.
He slowly adjusted his breathing, feeling the blood surging through his body.
Hiraya Gensho’s expression darkened.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he gradually rose to his feet.
The muscles throughout his body began to tremble rhythmically, a sign of chakra circulating rapidly.
If I don’t want every Tom, Dick, and Harry challenging me whenever they feel like it, I have to crush Yakumo decisively this time, he thought.
Gensho walked toward the training ground with a relaxed, confident air.
Secretly, however, he was already considering how to injure Yakumo severely.
Killing him was probably out of the question, but making him spend several days in bed shouldn’t be difficult.
“Form the Seal of Confrontation,” Keisuke Shimizu instructed.
The two students formed the required hand seal.
“You’ll have plenty of time to regret this stupid decision while lying in bed for the next few days,” Gensho said with a sinister grin.
“Are you planning to go all out against me?” Yakumo asked curiously.
At the same time, he mobilized one-third of his chakra and circulated it rapidly throughout his body.
“Of course.
Are you scared?”
“…That way, I won’t feel guilty.”
“Guilty?” Gensho repeated, looking slightly confused.
“Sorry.”
BOOM!
Chakra surged around Yakumo’s body, entering its chakra-enhanced state.
The chakra that had previously flowed calmly through him suddenly became violent and turbulent.
At the same time, Yakumo pushed off the ground with both legs.
Waves of air rippled outward.
In the blink of an eye, Yakumo had vanished from his original position.
He shot toward Gensho like a swift leopard.
“How is that possible?
Damn it!”
The moment Yakumo moved, expressions of shock spread across the faces of the watching students.
This wasn’t the kind of strength anyone would have expected from someone they had regarded as timid and cowardly.
The shock was even greater for Hiraya Gensho, who was facing him directly.
Gensho managed to block Yakumo’s first punch with his forearm, but the tremendous pain immediately jolted his mind.
“What incredible strength…” Gensho groaned through clenched teeth.
At that moment, he finally abandoned his contempt for Yakumo and activated his own chakra-enhanced state.
There’s still a chance.
A rain of straight punches followed.
For a while, Gensho could do nothing but defend himself.
He pushed off the ground and retreated, trying to create some distance.
Yakumo, however, quickly closed in again, giving him no opportunity to catch his breath.
“Damn it!”
Gensho endured three punches before abruptly lifting his leg and kicking toward Yakumo’s abdomen.
The pain was making his expression increasingly ferocious.
Yakumo shifted his upper body to the side, evading Gensho’s full-force kick.
He immediately stepped forward again, sticking close to his opponent and refusing to give him even a moment to recover his breathing.
Another relentless barrage of straight punches crashed down.
Gensho was completely suppressed.
Defeat now seemed inevitable.
“Huff… huff…”
Yakumo’s breathing grew slightly labored.
So this was what it felt like to hit someone with his fists…
It was genuinely satisfying.
Yakumo turned his body slightly and, at the last possible moment, concentrated his strength into a powerful elbow strike aimed at Gensho’s abdomen.
THUD!
Gensho was sent flying.
He crashed heavily onto the ground, landing completely outside the training area.
“The battle is over!
The winner is Iori Yakumo!”
Silence descended.
Everyone stared at Yakumo’s slender figure in disbelief.
His sudden burst of strength had shocked them, but they still hadn’t expected Hiraya Gensho to lose.
Gensho hadn’t earned the title of strongest civilian student by accident.
His position had been secured through countless battles.
Yet Yakumo’s ranking had consistently hovered near the bottom of the class.
And now, this inconspicuous student had suddenly erupted with astonishing strength, defeating the strongest civilian student in a decisive display of power.
At that moment, Yakumo became the center of attention on the training ground.
His face was somewhat pale, making him look as though he had exhausted his chakra completely.
Nevertheless, he had undeniably defeated Hiraya Gensho.
He had reached the top of the civilian students’ rankings.
Beyond that point, the remaining positions were dominated by members of the major ninja clans.
Meanwhile, Hiraya Gensho lay on the ground, reduced to little more than a backdrop for Yakumo’s victory.
Even his usual followers didn’t come forward to help him up.
The imposing reputation he had painstakingly built had been shattered before the eyes of the entire class.
“Cough, cough…”
Gensho spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yakumo’s final elbow strike had been vicious, but it hadn’t robbed him of the ability to move.
Struggling to his feet, he looked toward the figure standing at the center of the training ground.
Anger and unwillingness flashed through his eyes.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
He could only stagger back to his seat, looking like a stray dog that had lost its territory.
Yakumo shook his head and slowly stepped down from the training platform.
Although his face remained pale, his steps were steady.
The students on both sides instinctively moved aside to make room for him.
From their expressions, Yakumo could sense their fear.
In the second row, Mori Yasuko smiled.
In her eyes, Yakumo should always have been like this—using his fists to silence everyone who looked down on him or mocked him.
Every last one of them!