Watching Uchiha Shinji's leisurely departing figure, Sasuke and Neji were clenching their teeth in frustration.
To be completely surpassed by an opponent in a field they considered their strength was unbearable for geniuses like them!
As a result, they both turned back at the same time, glaring furiously at the last standing older student in the middle of the clearing.
"W-what are you going to do? I give up! Don't kill me!"
The older student, who had never experienced anything like this before, was scared out of his wits, crying and screaming as he bolted out of the small forest.
With the last standing older student gone, only Sasuke and Neji were left standing in the clearing.
As for the other older students, they were either unconscious or groaning in pain on the ground.
Despite their victory, both Sasuke and Neji felt extremely dissatisfied, with expressions on their faces as if they had lost the battle.
At the same time, they were inwardly shocked by Uchiha Shinji's taijutsu skills.
Of course.
In front of so many classmates and teachers, neither of them openly admitted this unease.
Sasuke stuck his hands back into his pockets and said, "I was just messing around, didn't expect Uchiha Shinji to take it so seriously."
Neji, initially not intending to hide anything, hesitated for a moment after hearing Sasuke, then said, "I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't put in much effort either."
After speaking, the two exchanged a glance.
They could see a hint of insecurity in each other's eyes.
And seeing what was supposed to be a case of bullying turn into a farce, the classmates rushed over, bombarding them with questions.
Outside the forest.
The teachers of the Ninja Academy wore complex expressions.
The gap in physical ability, strength, and agility between a seven or eight-year-old student and an eleven or twelve-year-old one was something they understood better than anyone.
Under normal circumstances.
Even a genius would need to meet many conditions to defeat an eleven or twelve-year-old student as a seven or eight-year-old.
They had seen students who could sweep through others like Uchiha Shinji just did.
But the last student who could do that was named Uchiha Itachi!
Mizuki, with a half-smile, said, "The Uchiha clan really does produce genius after genius!"
The ANBU operative guarding Sasuke nodded in agreement and added, "I didn't expect Uchiha Shinji to be this good at taijutsu even without awakening the Sharingan. His speed…"
Halfway through his sentence, even the ANBU fell silent.
It was clear that with the enhancement of Water Breathing, Uchiha Shinji's speed had far surpassed that of an ordinary eight-year-old.
Returning to the classroom, Uchiha Shinji paid no attention to the commotion outside.
He sat back in his seat, resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
He had now come to realize that his taijutsu alone was strong enough to crush most of the students at the Ninja Academy.
This also meant that Haku, who could still suppress him in taijutsu, had the ability to sweep through the Academy students as well.
But Haku had simply chosen not to display it!
When scrutinized more closely, taijutsu wasn't even Haku's specialty. His true talent lay in his mastery of ninjutsu.
The ability to perform one-handed seals wasn't something just anyone could do.
This indicated an extremely fine level of control over his own chakra, which meant he had the potential to develop chakra nature transformation.
That was likely the reason why Haku, at such a young age and without any guidance, had inadvertently used Ice Release.
"Haku... well, at least I don't need to worry about exposing my weakness in taijutsu anymore."
Uchiha Shinji sighed.
Now, instead, he had to worry about his taijutsu being too impressive, drawing unwanted attention.
He had gradually become aware that ever since awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, his chakra strength had been steadily increasing.
He had been diligently practicing Water Breathing, and not long ago, he had used the Susanoo Tomoshibi to wield his second pair of Mangekyo eyes.
Setting aside technique, his physical stats had already far exceeded that of his peers.
So, if he wasn't careful, he might accidentally display talent far beyond his age, drawing more scrutiny from others.
At that moment, his classmates started returning to the classroom.
Haku quickly walked up to Uchiha Shinji and said, "Uchiha Shinji, your performance just now was amazing."
"Yeah, you took down so many older students by yourself!"
"Uchiha Shinji, could you teach me some taijutsu?"
Tenten and Lee gathered around, chatting non-stop.
Inwardly, Uchiha Shinji sighed. "Here comes the trouble."
Neji then approached, pushing through the crowd and said to Uchiha Shinji, "I'm looking forward to our next class evaluation."
Looking at Neji's Byakugan, Uchiha Shinji inexplicably thought of the Tenseigan, the evolved form of the Byakugan, and blurted out, "Oh, then you'd better work hard."
Neji's expression froze, and his face immediately flushed red. However, he didn't argue, only clenching his fists tightly.
After all, the recent fight had already proven Uchiha Shinji's strength, so Neji could only resolve to catch up!
Just then, the voice of the Lamp suddenly echoed in Uchiha Shinji's mind.
[Invasion detected.]
[Countdown: 1]
Uchiha Shinji was stunned at first, then his expression changed: "The countdown is only one day—doesn't that mean the invasion will happen tonight after midnight?"
He had expected that after the Lamp's mark anchored the shinobi world, an invasion would become easier, but the fact that there was only half a day left to prepare caught him off guard.
More importantly, he had just recruited Haku and Karin as his servants the previous day and hadn't had the chance to observe whether they were trustworthy. If they had to act tonight, it would feel too rushed in every way.
By evening.
Returning to his apartment, Uchiha Shinji quietly closed the door and then collapsed onto his bed.
Staring at the ceiling, he thought to himself, "Didn't I take the risk of recruiting Haku and Karin to deal with the invasion of demons? So, what's there to hesitate about?"
Whether it happened sooner or later, he would have to face it either way.
The reliability of this newly formed team couldn't be judged through mere observation. It would only become clear after they faced a real demon invasion.
Having figured this out, Uchiha Shinji immediately sat up.
"Now, I need to find a way to notify the two of them so they can be prepared at midnight!"
As the attendants chosen by the Lamp, Haku and Karin, like Uchiha Shinji, would be directly teleported by the Lamp to the area marked for the demon invasion once it was located.
So, Uchiha Shinji needed to notify them quickly, so they could prepare. Otherwise, if they were suddenly teleported to a battlefield miles away without any warning, it would be quite an awkward situation.