The news of the duel between Uchiha Roku and Uchiha Fūka quickly spread through the various classes. During the lunch break, with nothing better to do after eating, the students eagerly signed up to watch the fight.
Word spread fast, and soon, when Fūka and Roku arrived at the training ground, having warmed up and exchanged fierce glares, they were greeted by a massive crowd.
It was a sea of people, flags waving, and the air was filled with loud murmurs.
At a young age, kids love to watch drama and conflict. They were practically buzzing with excitement, eager to see a real fight with all the action.
Roku seemed to revel in the attention, standing taller and prouder, his eyes burning with a fierce desire for victory.
"Uchiha Fūka," Roku said with a smirk, "I'm so sorry to make you embarrass yourself again in front of the whole school. Haha, the shame you carry will follow you for the rest of your life!"
With a flick of his wrists, Roku launched two shurikens, spinning rapidly towards Fūka's left and right hands.
Fūka's eyelids flickered as he drew his kunai, deftly blocking both shurikens.
The crowd of children gasped in amazement.
"Wow, he's amazing!"
"He managed to block those shurikens that were moving so fast. Who is this guy?"
"What? You don't know him? He's from the Uchiha clan. Last semester, he challenged Senior Kakashi and got knocked out in one kick, becoming a joke."
"Hmph, how could he be so arrogant to challenge Kakashi-senpai."
"But he's improved a lot, he looks like a completely different person now."
The crowd buzzed with chatter, but it didn't distract the two combatants.
Roku continued to dart around, throwing shuriken after shuriken at Fūka.
Fūka, with a kunai in hand, defended perfectly, not letting a single shuriken through. Roku was getting increasingly frustrated.
"Uchiha Fūka, is that all you've got? Use your Fire Style jutsu already!" Roku roared. Over the past six months, he had been training hard and finally mastered Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu. He intended to use it to teach Fūka a harsh lesson.
"Jutsu? Haha, don't joke around. With your level, I don't even need to use jutsu," Fūka responded lazily.
The tension grew as the crowd fell silent. All eyes were now on Roku as if they were watching a child misbehave in front of adults, expecting him to do something outrageous.
"You bastard!" Roku gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red with anger.
Unable to control himself any longer, he began forming hand seals.
Serpent – Horse – Monkey – Boar – Rat – Tiger!
One second, two seconds… five seconds… nine seconds!
After nine seconds, Roku completed the six hand seals, placing his fingers together in front of his mouth and shouting, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!!"
Boom!
A fireball the size of a human head erupted from his mouth, growing larger as it met the wind, rolling toward Fūka with increasing intensity, its scorching heat spreading outward.
The crowd erupted.
Most of the students at the ninja school had never seen real jutsu before, and their eyes went wide in amazement.
Kurenai, Rin, Asuma, and others tensed up, feeling nervous for Fūka.
Even Kakashi, who appeared indifferent, had sweaty palms.
Only Guy, with his thick eyebrows, showed confident eyes: Fūka is incredibly strong!
Boom!
The fireball struck Fūka directly, causing a massive explosion that ignited the surrounding onlookers.
"He's killing him, he's killing him!"
"Why isn't he dodging?"
"Because he's an idiot, a disgrace to the Uchiha clan!"
But as the explosion settled, what fell to the ground was a piece of burning wood.
"It's a substitution technique!"
"Awesome, that was incredible!"
Roku, shocked, stared in disbelief: "You bastard Fūka, you were using kunai to block my shuriken earlier. Why didn't you block this time? You're a fraud!"
He looked around, but besides the noisy crowd of students, he couldn't see Fūka anywhere!
A chill ran down his spine as he suddenly saw his father, Uchiha Yuxing, approaching with a wooden stick bound with rope, a cold, menacing glare in his eyes. Yuxing said, "Roku, you've disappointed me. You don't deserve to be my son, nor to bear the Uchiha name. You're a disgrace to our clan. I regret ever having you; it would have been better if you had died in the crib!"
"No, no, that's not true! I—I'm not a disgrace, Father! I've worked so hard; look, I've even learned Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu. I'm a genius, I'm a genius!!!"
Roku's eyes were frantic, sweat pouring down his forehead, trembling as if he were having a seizure.
The crowd was confused.
"Hey, what's wrong with him? Is he talking to someone?"
"Has he gone crazy?"
"This is so strange."
Only a few could see through the illusion.
"It's an illusion technique—Hell Viewing Technique. It makes you see your worst fears. Fūka has been training in Taijutsu with Guy, when did he learn illusion techniques?" Asuma said, frowning slightly.
In the corner, a slightly older boy, chewing on a bamboo stick with his hands in his pockets, watched the fight with a detached expression. "Naraka Path Technique, huh? These two are no ordinary opponents."
His name was Shiranui Genma, a character who, in the original series, was a Chunin examiner during Naruto's Chunin Exams.
He was two years older than Fūka, had average talent, and was still studying at the ninja school, but had considerable experience.
At that moment, Fūka's figure suddenly appeared behind Roku, delivering a powerful kick.
"Ah!!!"
Roku screamed, hitting the ground hard.
The intense pain brought Roku back to his senses.
"Damn it! You damn bastard!" Roku roared, seeing the strange looks from the surrounding students, his teeth clenched in fury. "I'll kill you, I swear I'll kill you!"
Roku began forming hand seals again, this time with noticeably quicker speed, completing them in eight seconds.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Boom!
A massive fireball erupted once more, hurtling towards Fūka.
"Kid, you're too young," Fūka said as he sheathed his kunai and, instead of retreating, charged straight at the fireball.
"Fūka!!!" Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.
"Be careful!" Kurenai exclaimed, surprised at Fūka's decision to confront the fireball head-on despite the advantage.
"Another substitution technique?" Asuma frowned.
Shiranui Genma chewed on his stick, "That kind of momentum… is he planning to use some Taijutsu?"
Indeed.
"Leaf Village Great Whirlwind!!!"
Fūka leaped into the air, his right leg sweeping forward like a tornado.
Boom!!!
The enormous fireball was shattered before it could even reach Fūka, exploding into countless sparks that scattered everywhere. The residual force from the kick hit the students on the side, leaving a bit of residual heat.
"What?!" Roku stared in disbelief, his eyes bulging, unable to accept the fact that his Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu had been so easily extinguished.
Impossible!
The onlookers were equally stunned by Fūka's powerful kick.
"What's with that unstoppable, aggressive momentum?" Hyūga Shinzo gaped in disbelief, "What kind of Taijutsu is this?!"