Uchiha Shinji's strike was like a signal flare.
Almost simultaneously, Sasuke and Neji also made their moves!
From a distance.
Seeing the three of them dare to attack more than twenty older students first, Iruka was shocked: "How dare they...?"
The ANBU operative and Mizuki, on the other hand, focused intently.
Clearly, this was a test for the geniuses.
Among the three, Sasuke had the most fame due to subduing the rampaging Nine-Tails, but the other two weren't to be underestimated either.
Uchiha Shinji had mastered a C-rank jutsu at the age of eight, and Hyuga Neji was the brightest prodigy of the Hyuga clan in recent years.
So, not only them, but many other Ninja Academy teachers had gathered outside the forest to watch from afar.
Everyone shared a silent understanding, choosing not to intervene in this clash among the students.
With such a big commotion, it wasn't long before some nearby students noticed.
The news quickly spread back to Uchiha Shinji and Sasuke's class.
"What!?"
Upon hearing this, Haku was startled and rushed out of the classroom.
"Wait for us!"
Tenten and Lee followed behind.
Soon, the remaining dozen or so classmates in the classroom also rushed out, including the usually solitary Karin, who hesitated for a moment before joining the crowd.
In the hallway.
Haku and the others encountered Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, and a group of others who had also heard the news.
Like Haku and his group, Shikamaru and the others had heard that their classmate Sasuke was being surrounded by a group of older students in the forest, so they all rushed out.
The two groups merged and hurried toward the forest—after all, they were shinobi, and no one was afraid of a fight.
In the small forest.
As soon as the fight started, Uchiha Shinji's only thought was to knock down as many people as possible, without being left too far behind by Neji and Sasuke, to avoid raising suspicion.
On top of that, without activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, he lost the heightened awareness and control over the battlefield that came with its superior insight.
As a result, during the fight, he had no time to observe how Neji and Sasuke were doing, focusing solely on dealing with his own opponents.
Boom, boom, boom!
Punch, kick, dodge, punch again!
He executed the techniques he honed from sparring with Haku to the extreme, enhanced further by the strength and agility from Water Breathing.
Almost no one could withstand his chain of attacks.
As he kept fighting, the number of people standing in his way dwindled, and by the time he came back to his senses, there were bodies lying all around him.
"This..."
Without needing to count, he knew at a glance that he had knocked down at least thirteen or fourteen people.
And because he had finished them off so quickly, everyone, including himself, was stunned.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke, who had just managed to take down his second opponent, turned his head to look, and his face turned black.
He had activated his Sharingan, with the two tomoe spinning in his red eyes, yet Uchiha Shinji, who hadn't even awakened his Sharingan, had beaten so many more than him—how could he stand that?
"How is this possible!?"
Neji was both shocked and furious.
Taijutsu was supposed to be the Hyuga clan's specialty, yet he had only managed to take down four people so far. This was a blow to his pride as someone who prided himself on mastering the Gentle Fist.
And so, both Sasuke and Neji went all out, launching fierce attacks on the remaining older students as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
Outside the forest.
The ANBU operative was visibly surprised.
He had expected to see Sasuke, the genius who subdued the rampaging Nine-Tails, show off his skills.
But unexpectedly, Uchiha Shinji, who hadn't even awakened his Sharingan, had swiftly and efficiently taken down a large number of older students.
Iruka and Mizuki were also stunned.
They knew Uchiha Shinji, Neji, and Sasuke were geniuses, but they hadn't expected them to handle nearly ten times their number of older students as if they were cutting through butter.
Especially Uchiha Shinji—his taijutsu was unbelievably sharp, not something an eight-year-old should be capable of!
In the clearing.
Uchiha Shinji appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was feeling increasingly uneasy.
Particularly when he noticed the surrounding older students looking at him like he was some kind of monster, and even saw a few of them wet themselves in fear after just meeting his gaze, he realized the situation had escalated too much.
"Damn you, Haku! You set me up!"
He cursed inwardly.
The only people he had sparred with were Haku and the demons.
Against the demons, he always relied on his Mangekyo Sharingan to crush them, so the only gauge he had for his taijutsu strength was Haku.
And since he couldn't even handle Haku, who ranked around twenty-something in their class at taijutsu, he hadn't dared to hold back when facing a group of older students aged eleven or twelve.
But he hadn't expected these older students to be as stiff as wooden dummies. The tough battle he had imagined never materialized.
At that moment.
There was a commotion outside the forest, and soon after, Haku and a large group of classmates hurried over.
Many of them were ready to jump in and help.
Even though everyone knew they couldn't beat the older students, they weren't going to back down. At worst, they'd just take a beating.
But the sight in the forest left them all slack-jawed.
There stood Uchiha Shinji, alone, calmly in the center of the clearing.
At his feet lay more than a dozen older students, strewn about in all directions. Many of them were unconscious, while the rest were groaning in pain, unable to get up.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Shinji seemed completely unscathed and hadn't even broken a sweat.
The scene was nothing short of shocking!
Sasuke and Neji had also each taken down several older students, but since their fight was still ongoing, they didn't create nearly the same sense of awe as Uchiha Shinji, who was standing still in the center.
"This is insane!"
Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
They were all so shocked by the scene that they momentarily forgot they had come to help, and instead stood on the sidelines, watching the spectacle unfold.
Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers—both students and teachers—and realizing that all eyes were now on him, Uchiha Shinji felt more and more uncomfortable.
His current situation wasn't one where he could afford to stand out.
So, without turning back, he began walking out of the forest, casually waving his hand. "Too slow, I'm leaving first!"
As Uchiha Shinji approached, the crowd parted to make way for him, silently watching as he left.