After Sasuke was knocked out, the training ground fell into an eerie silence.
The little girls stared in disbelief.
"How is this possible? Sasuke-kun, defeated?"
"No way! Sasuke-kun can't lose!"
Sakura clenched her fists, glaring at Nanaya.
"Damn it! This... uncle! Bullying Sasuke-kun just because he's older."
Ino, on the other hand, looked at Nanaya with newfound admiration, her cheeks flushed.
"Why didn't I notice before? Nanaya is so handsome!"
Her perspective on good-looking guys had shifted. Compared to Sasuke's youthful charm, Nanaya exuded the allure of a mature and refined man.
Looking at Sasuke, now lying on the ground, she felt a pang of secondhand embarrassment.
Even Hinata, blushing furiously, whispered under her breath, "Congratulations, Nanaya-kun... on winning the match."
Naruto, meanwhile, pumped his fist in excitement.
"Big brother Nanaya, you're so cool! That jerk Sasuke deserved to be put in his place!"
Naruto had always disliked Sasuke's arrogance.
Shino adjusted his glasses. "Nanaya-kun, as expected of the strongest repeater."
Since Sasuke was unconscious, the Seal of Reconciliation couldn't be formed. Paramedics arrived to carry him off the field on a stretcher.
Iruka was surprised by the match's outcome.
He had thought that Sasuke—proficient in the Three Basic Techniques and possessing the Sharingan—might turn the tide. But Sasuke had been thoroughly defeated.
From start to finish, Nanaya hadn't taken a single step. Sasuke, on the other hand, had been leaping all over.
To the spectators, it had seemed more like a skirmish between a man and a child, with a clear and predictable outcome.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage took a deep puff from his pipe.
"Looks like that boy, Uchiha Nanaya, won," he said, exhaling smoke.
To the students at the academy, this might have seemed a shocking result. But to the seasoned shinobi in the Hokage's office—Jōnin, Anbu elites—it wasn't surprising at all.
While Sasuke's mastery of the Three Body Techniques and activation of the Sharingan were impressive, his physical abilities were still no match for Nanaya's.
Nanaya, despite his lack of talent in ninjutsu or genjutsu, had honed his skills in taijutsu over many years. His combat experience gave him an overwhelming edge.
Even so, the seasoned shinobi didn't find Nanaya particularly remarkable. His upper limit was all too clear. At 17, he still hadn't awakened his Sharingan. His failure to graduate wasn't due to lack of effort—it was simply that he lacked the talent in ninjutsu or genjutsu to pass the academy's rigorous exams.
The Hokage and Kakashi both shared the same thought: Nanaya's potential was limited.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had a bright future. At such a young age, he had already activated the Sharingan and demonstrated remarkable talent.
Yugao, standing quietly in her Anbu mask, couldn't help but smirk. "Good job, Nanaya-kun. Maybe this year you'll finally graduate and become a ninja."
The Third Hokage dismissed the crowd, closing the crystal ball.
From the match, it was evident that while Nanaya was competent, he wasn't extraordinary. He had been lucky to survive the Uchiha clan massacre.
Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered to himself, "It's remarkable that Uchiha Nanaya managed to escape last night. A stroke of luck, indeed."
Even so, as Hokage, he knew an interrogation was in order.
Later that Day
Nanaya stood by the riverbank, gazing at his reflection in the water.
At 17, he'd spent 11 years in the academy. He had mastered everything taught there—the Three Basic Techniques, among other things. If he'd wanted to graduate, he could have done so long ago.
But he couldn't afford to. The academy was his safest refuge.
Graduating would mean becoming a Genin, and Genin were sent on missions—missions that could be life-threatening.
He thought about Naruto and Sasuke, who had been tasked with protecting Tazuna not long after becoming Genin. If not for the plot armor afforded to protagonists, they would have perished.
"I don't have plot armor," Nanaya muttered to himself. "I can't take risks until I'm strong enough."
Years of calm and self-discipline had prevented him from awakening the Sharingan. Even when his beloved caretaker had passed away, telling him to stay strong and smile through his pain, it hadn't been enough.
Nanaya had cried. He had mourned. Yet, the Sharingan never manifested.
"This is nonsense," he thought bitterly. "If every Uchiha awakened Sharingan after losing someone, we'd all have them."
Since then, Nanaya had trained himself to suppress his emotions entirely.
But today, things had changed.
He stared into the water again, eyes wide. The reflection staring back at him bore three tomoe.
"Is it normal to unlock the Three Tomoe Sharingan at 17?" he wondered.
Then another thought struck him: "Shouldn't I at least have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan by now?"
After all, Sasuke had unlocked the Rinnegan at 17.
Nanaya sighed, shaking his head. Comparisons were maddening.
Thankfully, he had another ability besides the Sharingan: Frozen Fruit.
Diving into the river, Nanaya tested its power.
"Ice Time!" he called, imitating Aokiji's tone.
The entire river froze solid. Nanaya's body turned into ice, then reassembled moments later as his elementalized form restored itself.
Exhaling cold air, Nanaya smirked.
"Tsk. Maybe being a ninja isn't for me."
For now, he was content with his new abilities—and a good night's sleep.