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After the talk with Jiryoku, Hiruzen left, and Jiryoku also went home.
Nothing changed in Jiryoku's life after the talk with the Hokage; he continued his training.
Finally, the day of the Ninja Academy's opening arrived. Jiryoku was also going today, as on the first day, there would be a competition among the students. This competition would help in finding a genius among the civilians and ninjas who could potentially become the backbone of the Konoha village.
When Jiryoku reached the Ninja Academy, he could feel that there were many people present today. It was obvious, as it was the first day of school, and the students must have come with their parents. He stood silently in a corner, waiting for the assessment.
When the time for the assessment was almost upon him, he suddenly felt sharp gazes directed towards him, filled with hostility.
Jiryoku wasn't able to determine who the person was, so he just let it be and didn't bother with it.
Finally, a ninja came and spoke, "Every student here to enroll in the Ninja Academy, please follow me."
After hearing the words of the ninja teacher, all the students started following him to the starting point of a racing court. Parents also stood on the sidelines, cheering for their children.
Jiryoku was also standing at the frontline. Suddenly, the person who had shown hostility towards him came near him and spoke, "Although you escaped the 'Curse Mark Cage Bird,' for your whole life, you will remain an inferior ninja destined to achieve nothing."
"Oh, Mr. Hizashi's son, Hyuga Neji, correct?" said Jiryoku with a smile.
"Hmph," Neji snorted in response to Jiryoku's words.
"And as for me being an inferior ninja my whole life, we will see that in the actual combat session," said Jiryoku calmly.
Finally, the academy teacher announced the start of the race. As the race began, Neji took an early lead with a confident expression on his face. However, before he could feel proud of his achievement, Jiryoku swiftly surpassed him. Without even giving Neji a chance to react, Jiryoku left him far behind. A one-mile race was like child's play to Jiryoku, who had a habit of running 10 miles per day.
Without a doubt, Jiryoku secured first place in the race, leaving Neji in disbelief. Neji snorted while looking at Jiryoku, but Jiryoku simply shook his head at Neji's reaction.
The academy teacher announced the results: "First place, Jiryoku; second place, Hyuga Neji; and third place, Rock Lee."
The academy teacher didn't mention Jiryoku's title, only his first name, as he was aware of Jiryoku's condition.
Next, the academy teacher announced the next round of competition: the Throwing Tool competition.
Each student took turns throwing shurikens and kunai, and when it was Jiryoku's turn, everyone was perplexed to see his eyes closed. Some children who knew about Jiryoku's situation whispered to the person next to them, spreading the information among the students.
Jiryoku picked up the shurikens, threw them one by one, and hit the bullseye with each throw. Everyone present was shocked to witness someone who was blind outperforming Hyuga Neji who is member of Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Neji hit two bullseyes and one just outside the bullseye. Seeing Jiryoku outperform him again, Neji clenched his fist with unwillingness in his eyes.
Finally, the second round was over, and the academy teacher announced the results: "First place, Jiryoku; second place, Hyuga Neji; and third place, Tenten."
"Now, if any of you want to challenge someone, you can challenge that person, and if they agree to your challenge, you fight them."
As soon as the academy teacher's words fell, Neji immediately shouted, "I want to challenge Jiryoku."
The academy teacher then looked towards Jiryoku and spoke, "Do you accept his challenge?"
Jiryoku replied calmly, "I have no problem accepting his challenge."
The academy teacher then took both of them to a temporary stage created for the battle.
Jiryoku and Neji stood opposite each other on the stage.
In the crowd, people were discussing who would win, and everyone believed that Neji would win. Even though Jiryoku had come first in both rounds of the competition, no one believed that he would win. They thought that Jiryoku was only able to perform well because he had practiced on immobile objects and became perfect at it. However, since this was a combat situation, it was believed to be impossible for Jiryoku to win.
Hyuga Neji drew his kunai and attacked Jiryoku with great speed. However, Jiryoku effortlessly parried each of Neji's attacks with his sword sheath. Neji attempted to increase his speed and launch attacks on Jiryoku from different directions in order to put pressure on him, but he was unable to do so. Neji quickly created a clone to attack Jiryoku from one direction while using the clone to confuse Jiryoku's senses. However, Jiryoku paid no attention to the clone and could easily discern the real Neji from the avatar. He took out a kunai and threw it towards the avatar, causing it to immediately explode in a cloud of white smoke. Meanwhile, he effortlessly parried Neji's attacks.
Neji was slightly panting and decided to use a particular move, even though he hadn't mastered it completely. He believed that he could never lose to someone he despised.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Eight Palms."
Jiryoku was within Neji's range, and a trigram formed beneath both of them. Neji attacked Jiryoku with his Gentle Fist technique at an incredibly fast speed, but Jiryoku skillfully slapped away Neji's hand every time it approached his body. In this way, Neji's trump card failed to inflict even the slightest injury on Jiryoku, leaving him in shock as he looked at Jiryoku.