In a room within the examination venue, Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Shūichi Hoshita and Yūjin Uchiha's battle through the surveillance screen.
"To be able to fully execute the Dance of the Crescent Moon in such a short time, it seems that Shūichi has quite a talent for kenjutsu," Hiruzen Sarutobi praised.
Minato Namikaze nodded with a smile, "Yes, Third Hokage-sama. Shūichi has indeed made great progress in kenjutsu, and his natural reflexes give him a significant advantage in close combat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "If he also has sensitivity to sensory and spatial techniques, he could be an ideal candidate for learning the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Minato nodded again, "Indeed, I've considered that as well, but it's still too early for Shūichi at the moment."
Although Shūichi's chakra reserves had recently seen a significant increase, they were still not at the level required to practice the Flying Thunder God Technique.
...
After the second round of exams, Shūichi and his teammates continued their training.
At noon, Shūichi returned to Konoha Hospital to have lunch with Yakushi Nono. In the afternoon, it was time to endure another round of Tsunade's brutal training.
Seeing the exhausted Shūichi panting heavily, Tsunade teased him with a mischievous grin, "Hey, kid, are you done for?"
Woman, you've picked the wrong person to mess with!
Shūichi gritted his teeth in frustration, pulling out a soldier pill and swallowing it.
Feeling his energy quickly returning, Shūichi took a deep breath and launched himself at Tsunade with the speed of a rabbit.
"Finally taking the initiative?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, not particularly concerned.
But in the next moment, she was caught off guard as Shūichi unleashed the Fireball Jutsu without forming any hand seals.
A fireball came rushing at her, and Tsunade quickly leaped back to dodge it, "Seems like I haven't gathered enough intel on you!"
"Of course, Lady Tsunade, there's a lot about me that's worth exploring."
"Now it's my turn to attack."
"In real combat, you can't always be on the defensive, constantly thinking about how to prepare medical ninjutsu in advance."
As Shūichi spoke, he leaped into the air, spitting out a barrage of fireballs that engulfed Tsunade.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Tsunade dodged repeatedly, but in the chaos, she lost sight of Shūichi.
"He's behind me…"
Tsunade turned in midair and threw a punch, but it hit nothing but air.
"Not good!"
She realized something was wrong behind her, but it was too late.
Shūichi had wrapped his legs around Tsunade's waist, his arms encircling her, locking her arms in place. His hands inadvertently landed on her prominent chest.
Tsunade's body immediately stiffened, and Shūichi seized the opportunity to twist her body, flipping her upside down as they plummeted toward the ground at high speed.
"Hah!"
Tsunade's chakra flared as she forcefully broke free from Shūichi's grip. As she hit the ground, she used her hands to push herself back onto her feet, lunging at Shūichi with a rapid series of punches.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Shūichi raised his arms to block, but Tsunade's strength was overwhelming. After just a few punches, his defenses started to falter, his arms growing numb, leaving an opening.
Tsunade took advantage of the moment and landed a punch squarely on his abdomen.
Fortunately, Shūichi had anticipated this and used the Yin Healing Wound Destruction technique, although he wasn't very skilled at it.
The impact bent him like a shrimp, and Tsunade followed up with another punch, this time striking his cheek, and then a powerful uppercut aimed at his chin.
200% focus!
His mind raced!
Shūichi Hoshita pushed everything else out of his mind, twisting his body to avoid the blow, and kicked Tsunade in the chest, using the rebound to propel himself away.
Flipping in mid-air, Shūichi launched a fireball straight at Tsunade's face.
The distance was short, and the speed was fast—Tsunade couldn't dodge in time. Chakra flared around her arms as she crossed them in front of her to shield herself.
Boom!
The explosion sent Tsunade flying, flipping several times before landing. Her bare arms were covered in burns, but they began healing rapidly, clearly the result of the Yin Healing Wound Destruction technique.
"This kid… he didn't even need hand seals for that Fire Release!"
Panting heavily, Tsunade glared at Shūichi, who was also gasping for breath across from her. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath, clearly winded.
Shūichi's left cheek was already swollen.
He had managed to use the Yin Healing Wound Destruction on his abdomen after taking that punch, but there hadn't been time to do the same for his face.
Luckily, Tsunade had held back. If she hadn't, that punch would have left his head ringing, making it impossible for him to concentrate enough to use any jutsu.
Just like when Shisui Uchiha was ambushed by Danzo with Izanagi—taking several hits to the head before he could even react, leading to his eyes being stolen.
Shūichi popped another soldier pill, formed hand seals, and used a healing technique to reduce the swelling on his face before walking over to Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, we agreed—no hitting the face."
Tsunade blushed, remembering that she had indeed promised, but she quickly huffed and defended herself, "In a real fight, any part of the body is a target."
"Especially the head—it's the easiest way to disrupt an enemy's thinking and attack capabilities."
Shūichi had no response to that. He then glanced at the two footprints on Tsunade's chest and pointed at them.
Tsunade looked down, then casually brushed off the dust, causing a noticeable jiggle.
Shūichi kept his gaze straight ahead, not daring to look.
"That's enough for today!"
Tsunade concluded the day's training, saying, "Your reactions are quick, but your techniques still need more refinement. We'll continue tomorrow!"
She had nearly been bested by a mere genin today. It was a sign that she needed to get back into training herself. Her speed and reaction time had clearly declined from lack of practice.
As Tsunade walked away, Shūichi couldn't help but reflect on what had just happened.
It seemed… she wasn't wearing anything?
His hand twitched instinctively, but Shūichi quickly suppressed the urge.
Pervert!
Such a pervert!
Shūichi shook off the thought and left the training ground to find Kakashi.
With no missions to distract him, he needed to get as many sparring matches in with Kakashi as possible. The sooner he could unlock the Taijutsu Expert tag, the sooner he could further enhance his physical abilities.
Physical strength is the foundation of everything!
Before sunset, Shūichi had not only scored another taijutsu victory over Kakashi, but he had also made progress toward unlocking the Kenjutsu Expert tag.
However, his victories weren't due to superior swordsmanship or kenjutsu techniques, but rather his exceptional reaction speed.
But a win is a win, and the tag system recognized it as such.
Now, all Shūichi needed was to fully master the Dance of the Crescent Moon, and he would unlock the Kenjutsu Expert tag.
On July 8th, in the 39th year of Konoha, at 10:00 AM.
The third round of the Chūnin Exams began, with Shūichi's team facing off against another squad.
By sheer coincidence, the opposing team included Yūjin Uchiha, who had lost to Shūichi in the second round.
While they weren't exactly enemies, Yūjin glared at Shūichi and Shisui Uchiha with intense hatred.
"I'll take care of Shisui Uchiha and that Kurama Sanyō. You two need to be cautious of Shūichi Hoshita—he's incredibly fast!" Yūjin warned his two teammates.
They both nodded in agreement. "Don't worry!"
They had watched Shūichi's battle with Yūjin yesterday and knew just how strong he was.
On the other side, Shisui said, "I'll handle Yūjin."
Shūichi and Kurama Sanyō had no objections.
Sharingan against Sharingan—it couldn't be more fitting.
(End of Chapter)
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