Kiyohane leapt straight over the massive fireball.
He spun and jumped.
Upside down in midair, he raised the water-coated kunai and swung forward.
The water blade sliced open a white steam-filled gap along the edge of the Great Fireball, letting out a sharp hiss.
Tekka Uchiha’s pupils contracted.
Water Release?
But Tekka no longer had time to think.
All he could see was Kiyohane attacking from above.
There was no time to dodge!
Tekka could only pull a kunai from his ninja tool pouch while flinging two shuriken with his left hand.
But Kiyohane was faster.
The powerful dynamic vision granted by the Sharingan had long since seen through the trajectory of Tekka’s wrist.
It was as if everything had been slowed down, cut into frame after frame.
From the movement of Tekka’s wrist alone, Kiyohane could tell exactly where the shuriken would land.
He knocked the two shuriken away with his water-coated kunai.
Immediately after, the water blade slashed horizontally.
Water flowed at high speed across the metal edge of the kunai, producing a low hum.
Tekka hurriedly raised his kunai to block.
Clang!
The sound of metal collision rang across the training field.
Tekka felt the webbing between his thumb and index finger go numb.
His entire body was forced back three or four steps by the impact, his soles scraping two black marks across the white line.
So much force.
The weight of the water blade combined with Kiyohane’s downward momentum was not something a rushed block could properly disperse.
Before Tekka could steady himself, Kiyohane had already stepped forward, stopping the tip of his kunai in front of Tekka’s throat.
Even though it did not touch him, Tekka could feel the icy chill coming from the blade.
If Kiyohane’s hand trembled even slightly, he really would die.
Then the water around the kunai dispersed, leaving only a single clear droplet sliding down from the tip.
The training field fell silent.
“Winner, Kiyohane.”
Umino Shika was the first to react, breaking the silence.
He had not expected Kiyohane to be so fast.
And the ninjutsu Kiyohane had just used felt strangely familiar.
Could it be a Water Release technique passed down from the Second Hokage, Tobirama?
Hearing Umino Shika announce the result, Kiyohane withdrew his kunai and formed the Seal of Reconciliation.
Tekka stood where he was, the hand gripping his kunai trembling slightly.
There was great terror between life and death.
Looking at Tekka, who remained frozen in place, Kiyohane said calmly, “Whether it’s the Uchiha clan or the Senju clan, everyone is part of the same family.
There’s no need to keep fighting.
The Will of Fire lies in bonds.”
Only after saying that did Kiyohane turn and prepare to leave the field.
After this, Kiyohane estimated that Tekka would behave himself for a while.
According to the Uchiha clan’s rules, strength was respected above all else.
A typical survival-of-the-fittest mindset.
Kiyohane was stronger than Tekka, so Tekka would not dare provoke him casually.
And besides, while dramatization was one thing, Kiyohane was not simply making things up.
A thousand years ago, the Uchiha and Senju really had been one family.
They had only split apart later.
[Collectible trait detected: E-rank trait.]
[E-rank Trait: Young Uchiha’s Fire Release.]
[Effect: After defeating a young Uchiha, your Fire Release talent increases by 10%.]
Fire Release talent?
Kiyohane carefully examined the trait and confirmed that he had not seen wrong.
So defeating someone also has a chance of dropping traits?
Kiyohane thought to himself.
Does that mean farming points is possible?
For example, would rock-paper-scissors count as defeating someone?
Or does it have to be judged by the method of victory?
A pile of questions filled Kiyohane’s mind, but in the end, his expression remained unchanged as he closed the trait panel.
This was his greatest trump card.
Naturally, he could not show anything unusual under so many watching eyes.
But his steps suddenly paused.
He turned and looked back at Tekka Uchiha.
Tekka looked at Kiyohane in confusion, not understanding why he had stopped halfway.
“If you ever want to spar again in the future, Tekka, you can come find me,” Kiyohane said.
“Improving alone isn’t as good as everyone improving together.”
Kiyohane truly wanted to improve.
At this stage, Obito probably did not have many excellent traits on him.
But Kiyohane believed Tekka Uchiha had plenty.
And if he beat the younger one, the older ones might come too.
He remembered that Tekka Uchiha had another clanmate he was close to, named Inabi Uchiha.
Inabi was just one year older and not in the same class.
These people were all living, breathing fields of leeks.
If there were leeks and he did not harvest them, would that not be a waste?
“…All right.”
Tekka froze for a moment.
Could it be that Kiyohane really could repay resentment with virtue?
What a broad-minded heart.
Was this… truly the Will of Fire?
At that moment, Tekka fell into deep doubt.
He began wondering whether he had failed to properly learn the true meaning of the Will of Fire back then. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Hearing Tekka’s reply, Kiyohane continued walking out and returned to the crowd.
He waited for Umino Shika to call the next student.
Today was the monthly exam day.
Once they finished the test, they could leave directly.
There were no more classes.
“Kiyohane actually won?”
Obito stood at the back, eyes wide.
He had just been saying Kiyohane was finished.
Now, he felt the one who was finished was himself.
Because Obito sadly realized that if he swapped places with Tekka Uchiha, he probably would not even be able to dodge that Great Fireball.
“Kiyohane-kun was always strong,” Rin Nohara said.
On the first day she met Kiyohane, she had already seen him spar with Kakashi.
Although Kiyohane had lost, that level of strength clearly meant his foundation was not weak.
“See?
I told you I wasn’t wrong.”
Shizune looked at Kurenai, her tone carrying a little pride.
Kurenai nodded and looked at Kiyohane with growing curiosity.
There seemed to be many things about Kiyohane that he had yet to show.
Asuma Sarutobi stood at the side and whistled as if nothing had happened, pretending he had never said anything earlier.
But his eyes kept drifting toward Kurenai, silently praying that his words had not lowered her opinion of him.
“No wonder Father said Kiyohane would be my rival in the future.” Kakashi nodded.
…
Watching the battle end, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help lighting his pipe.
In an instant, smoke filled the office.
Danzo Shimura frowned and moved a little farther away from Hiruzen.
He did not want to inhale too much secondhand smoke and lose the chance to one day become Hokage.
“Do you see?
This is why I insist on promoting the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy,” Hiruzen said.
What could feel better than seeing one’s own efforts produce such excellent influence?
The Second Hokage had founded the Ninja Academy, but by Hiruzen’s generation, many materials about the Will of Fire had been added to its curriculum.
In particular, The Third Hokage and the Will of Fire described his magnificent life in great detail.
Hearing Hiruzen’s words, Danzo almost could not keep a straight face.
Hiruzen really did love giving himself credit.
Still, Danzo did not openly embarrass him.
Hiruzen was the Hokage, and Danzo was the leader of Root.
There were certain matters that still required Hiruzen’s endorsement to proceed smoothly.
The two of them argued all the time, but they had not truly developed any major conflict.
“I didn’t expect Kiyohane to be able to use Tobirama-sensei’s technique.”