Around 4 p.m., Shūichi Hoshita limped away from the training ground beside Konoha Hospital, grimacing in pain.
It hurts! It hurts so much!
He had taken more than a dozen hits from Tsunade.
That woman could really hit hard, and she was downright ruthless. She waited until his mental and physical stamina were drained, his reactions slowed, and then she went all out on him.
Aside from his face, he had bruises and welts all over his body.
"When I grow up, I'll definitely get even!" Shūichi vowed silently as he popped a soldier pill into his mouth.
Back at the training ground, Tsunade watched Shūichi limp away and couldn't help but smile, feeling completely refreshed.
"Beating someone up is actually pretty satisfying?"
"But was I too harsh?"
"No way. I'm helping this brat with his training."
Tsunade muttered to herself, then decided, "We'll continue tomorrow!"
…
By the time Shūichi arrived at his usual training spot near the Ninja Academy, most of the bruises and welts on his body had already faded. This was thanks to a combination of medical ninjutsu and his own enhanced recovery abilities from the tags he unlocked.
"Huh, Kakashi!"
Shūichi spotted Kakashi standing on the edge of a cliff, gazing at the sun as it slowly sank toward the western horizon. He immediately walked over.
"Kakashi, why didn't you sign up for the Chūnin Exams?"
Shūichi asked as he sat down beside him.
Without turning his head, Kakashi replied, "Our squad leader, Akiyama Sensei, thinks we've only just graduated, so he didn't recommend us."
Sarutobi Akiyama, a Jōnin from the Sarutobi clan and Kakashi's team leader—Shūichi had met him a couple of times before.
"Well, since we can't face off during the exams, how about we have a taijutsu match right now, Kakashi?"
Shūichi suggested with a grin.
Before today, he had already beaten Kakashi in taijutsu 12 times.
Kakashi turned to him, "Instead of just taijutsu, I'd prefer a full-scale match!"
Shūichi chuckled, "Of course, but let's warm up with a taijutsu match first!"
"Then let's not waste any time. Let's begin!"
With that, Kakashi leaped up, and the fight began.
With his superior strength, stamina, battle experience, and quicker reflexes, Shūichi easily won the taijutsu match again.
After recovering their strength, the two started a second battle.
This time, there were no restrictions—everything was allowed.
Taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu—Kakashi used every technique he had, but he still found himself at a disadvantage.
"Shūichi's kenjutsu has improved so much since last time…"
As their swords clashed repeatedly, Kakashi's relentless attacks were completely countered by Shūichi. Every counterattack from Shūichi disrupted Kakashi's rhythm, putting him in dangerous situations.
Just over a month ago, when Kakashi had been Shūichi's sparring partner, Shūichi's kenjutsu hadn't been nearly this advanced.
The amount of progress he'd made in just one month was incredible!
...
Suddenly, Shūichi Hoshita retreated a short distance and then raised one hand, creating two shadow clones. The three Shūichi's then simultaneously attacked Kakashi from three different directions.
"Shadow Clones, Konoha-style Kenjutsu: Secret Technique, Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
As Kakashi watched the three Shūichi's charge at him, he quickly assessed the situation, immediately pulling out a kunai with his left hand.
But Shūichi's speed was too fast; Kakashi didn't have time to use shadow clones to distribute the attacks.
Clang!
Kakashi managed to block the attacks coming from the left and right, but the Shūichi attacking from the center effortlessly avoided his kick and placed his blade against Kakashi's neck.
The battle was over.
As they sheathed their weapons and sat down to rest, Kakashi couldn't help but remark, "Your kenjutsu has improved so quickly."
Shūichi shook his head, "It's because my reactions are faster, and I'm quicker overall. Pure kenjutsu skill-wise, I'm still behind you."
His kenjutsu had indeed improved rapidly, largely thanks to the "Ninja Tool Expert" tag, which enhanced his talent with ninja tools, and swords were a type of ninja tool.
However, he hadn't surpassed Kakashi in just a few months; it was primarily due to his focus and faster neural responses.
But Kakashi countered, "Speed is part of kenjutsu too."
Hearing this, Shūichi didn't offer any further reassurances.
Instead, he said, "I've heard that the Cloud Ninja have a Lightning Release secret technique that activates their muscles and nerves, making them faster and improving their reaction time."
"I wonder if we have such a secret technique in Konoha."
Kakashi pondered this for a moment.
Shūichi then smiled and said, "Kakashi, I've thought of a relatively safe way to train our speed and reaction time."
Kakashi quickly asked, "What method?"
"You'll find out soon!"
With that, Shūichi descended from the cliff.
At that moment, Shizune, Guy, and the others arrived. Shūichi greeted them with a smile, "Perfect timing! The more people, the better this will work."
Soon, Shūichi led Shizune and the others to the riverbank, where they started rolling mud balls.
After everyone had made a dozen or so mud balls, Shūichi finally explained, "From now on, these mud balls are shuriken and kunai. Kakashi, your task is to dodge the mud ball attacks."
Everyone immediately understood.
Sarutobi Asuma commented, "It's actually a great training method. Using mud balls instead of kunai and shuriken reduces the danger of training."
Shizune and the others nodded in agreement.
This training method was actually quite common.
For example, Minato Namikaze had set up traps in the forest to ambush Shūichi and the others with shuriken and other hidden weapons. One of the goals was to train their speed and reaction time.
Now, Shūichi was simply replacing the kunai and shuriken with mud balls and the traps with people.
And so, the mud ball training began.
Starting with Kakashi, Shizune, Kurenai, and Guy all took turns dodging the mud ball attacks, getting splattered with mud spots, while laughter echoed in the setting sun.
...
The next day.
At 9 a.m., in the indoor examination hall, the Genin participating in the Chūnin Exams gathered together, a total of 36 people.
At 9:10, the second round officially began.
After watching four matches in a row, Shūichi had a good grasp of the situation.
Most of the Genin relied primarily on taijutsu, with ninjutsu being used only at critical moments.
Of course, anyone who made it to the exams wasn't weak, but compared to Uchiha Shisui, they still had a long way to go.
In the sixth match, Uchiha Shisui took the stage. His opponent was a Genin from the Sarutobi clan, whom Shisui defeated effortlessly.
In the tenth match, Kurama Sanyō stepped up but had bad luck; his opponent was a Genin from the Hyūga clan, and he lost.
In the eleventh match, the examiner announced, "Shūichi Hoshita versus Yūjin Uchiha!"
An Uchiha!
Shūichi was slightly surprised, but then he heard Shisui and Sanyō cheering him on.
Nodding to them, Shūichi stepped into the arena.
Across from him stood a boy about ten years old, carrying a sword on his back.
The examiner glanced at both of them and then retreated, "Begin!"
Shūichi immediately raised one hand and created two shadow clones, then all three of them drew their swords and charged at full speed.
"So fast!"
Yūjin Uchiha was startled, his initial disdain vanishing instantly. His black eyes quickly turned crimson, revealing the Sharingan, and he swiftly threw three shuriken with his left hand.
Shūichi easily deflected them.
But Yūjin soon realized he couldn't use his Sharingan to cast genjutsu, as Shūichi had avoided making eye contact with him the entire time.
"This guy learned that from Shisui…"
Yūjin was furious, but before he could react, Shūichi's attack was upon him.
Clang!
Yūjin blocked two of Shūichi's strikes with his sword and kunai, but he couldn't stop Shūichi's real body, and could only watch as the sword was placed against his neck.
Defeated in one move!
The examiner immediately announced, "Shūichi Hoshita wins!"
As the shadow clones dissipated, Shūichi sheathed his sword.
Yūjin Uchiha snorted, glancing at Shisui in the stands before leaving with a scowl.
Being defeated by a kid so much younger than himself in a single move was utterly humiliating!
(End of Chapter)
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