"The assessment begins!"
Sarutobi Chokawa announced loudly from outside the barrier.
Though he didn't understand why such special treatment was being given to Takashi, he had no choice but to follow the orders from above.
Swish! Kakashi charged forward.
He understood what this order represented.
But to prevent the Hatake clan from being shamed again, he decided to execute the order, no matter how unreasonable it seemed, to avoid repeating 'that person's' mistakes.
Watching Kakashi rush towards him, Takashi cursed inwardly.
Damn it!
Facing someone who wouldn't listen to reason, he truly felt like crying.
Wasn't it said that the world of Naruto was all about talking your way out? Why didn't it work for him?
It seemed that talking your way out only worked with the protagonist's halo, and for a nobody like him, it was better not to think too much.
But Takashi didn't have time to think.
Even if the opponent was Kakashi, the '50-50' legend, he wasn't going to just wait for death.
So, he retreated while forming hand seals.
Even though his speed was nowhere near that of a certain Uchiha prodigy who could form seals with one hand and perform eight seals in a second, he could still manage a few seals per second.
"Boar-Dog-Bird..."
A few seals were quickly formed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a soft shout, Takashi slammed his right hand onto the ground.
Whether he could survive against Kakashi, who hadn't yet become the '50-50' legend, depended entirely on this technique.
The Summoning Jutsu drained his chakra.
Fortunately, the technique didn't consume much, allowing the other party to bear most of the cost; otherwise, with his chakra levels, he wouldn't have been able to use it.
Even for a Genin, a C-rank jutsu would deplete all their chakra (on average).
That's why Genin on the battlefield usually relied on shuriken and kunai for combat, rarely using chakra for jutsu.
Not to mention whether they could use it, the consumption alone would drain them.
Bang! A puff of white smoke exploded.
Kakashi instinctively stopped and retreated, murmuring to himself.
'Isn't he supposed to be a dead last...?'
After receiving the order, he had gathered intelligence and found that Uchiha Takashi was a complete dead last, yet he had hidden so deeply.
The smoke quickly dispersed!
Between the two stood a large crow, nearly human-sized.
Its feathers were a mix of gold and black, with five golden plumes on its head forming a crown-like shape, and it had an extra claw compared to a normal crow.
It looked somewhat bizarre!
But no one would mistake it for an ordinary crow.
"A ninja crow?"
Uchiha Fugaku, perched on a tree at the edge of the training ground, murmured to himself.
As the young head of the Uchiha clan, he was here to observe, not expecting to witness this scene.
However, he was certain of one thing.
This ninja crow was definitely not bred by the Uchiha clan.
After all, the clan focused on breeding ninja cats, and ninja crows were only cultivated on a small scale, so it was impossible for such a strong ninja crow to exist.
After summoning his trump card, Takashi did something unexpected.
He suddenly shouted towards the edge of the training ground, outside the barrier, to Sarutobi Chokawa: "I surrender!"
Yes, he surrendered directly.
Summoning the beast was to buy time for surrender, not to fight to the death.
Unfortunately.
Takashi realized that his homeroom teacher only looked at him with confusion, without any intention of intervening.
Though the teacher had a slippery personality, he wouldn't ignore a student in danger.
So there was only one possibility.
The barrier! It not only prevented the spread of battle remnants but also blocked sound, giving no chance to surrender verbally.
Damn it! Takashi was furious—Danzo, that old fox, clearly wanted him dead!
But no matter how angry he was, it was useless; he first had to get past the immediate threat.
Because Kakashi charged again, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Hmph! If you want me dead, I'll make sure you die first.
Takashi's long-held fears and anxieties erupted completely.
He wanted to lay low because he knew how dangerous the ninja world was, but he didn't truly want to die. Now that someone had crossed his line, it wasn't surprising that he exploded.
No matter the concerns or fears, they were insignificant in the face of a life-threatening situation.
"Taiichi, kill him!"
Takashi ordered as he pulled back.
In terms of combat ability, he was indeed weak, so his dead-last performance wasn't entirely fake.
Otherwise, did people really think those strong individuals couldn't see through the level of an academy student?
Caw! Taiichi, the ninja crow, received the order, and its eyes turned a striking gold-red, locking onto the rapidly approaching Kakashi.
Swish, swish!
Several shuriken were thrown towards Takashi first.
Whoosh! Taiichi spread its wings wide, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew away the shuriken. Size equals strength!
This formula holds true in the ninja world.
While the size of a summoned beast doesn't mean everything, a large size certainly provides a significant advantage.
Kakashi vanished in the wind.
Taiichi suddenly lifted its right claw, enveloped in intense flames, and slammed it down.
Boom! The ground shattered around the impact point, and flames erupted like a fountain.
Seeing Taiichi's display of power, the other students were utterly shocked.
"So strong!"
"Am I under a genjutsu?"
"How could Takashi have such a powerful summoning beast? If it were mine..."
They were not only shocked but also filled with envy and jealousy, wishing such a powerful summoning beast belonged to them.
A strong summoning beast can indeed elevate a ninja to the peak of their career.
The "Three Legendary Sannin" of Konoha are the best example of this.
If others were so shocked, his two best friends were even more so.
Honda Owashi and Yamashiro Koji exchanged glances, wondering if the friend they usually saw was just an illusion, as he was always either skipping class or laying low.
While everyone was in shock.
Swish! A figure burst from the shattered ground, attacking Taiichi.
It was Kakashi.
Clang! His short sword was blocked by Taiichi's sharp beak.
Beak thrusts, claw strikes, wing sweeps! Taiichi forcefully defended against Kakashi's swift and fierce attacks.
And not just that.
Whenever Kakashi tried to maneuver around, the nearly human-sized Taiichi would go on the offensive, forcing him to defend himself.
Despite being a ninja crow, with the aid of its wings, its short-distance pounce was no slower than Kakashi.
After a few exchanges, Kakashi was left frustrated.
Realizing that taijutsu was ineffective against Taiichi, Kakashi leaped back to create some distance, then formed seals while taking a deep breath.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A fireball the size of a wheel was launched.
Note that the Great Fireball Technique is an Uchiha secret technique, more powerful and less consuming than the Flame Bullet. There are many such fire-based secret techniques, which is why they claim to be the "strongest fire style clan."
Caw! Facing the incoming Flame Bullet, Taiichi spread its wings and inhaled, causing the surrounding air to heat up rapidly.
Seeing this.
The surrounding ninjas who came to watch the battle were alarmed.
"This is!"
"Stop it quickly!"
"Too late!"
...
Judging by the momentum, the upcoming attack was not weak. While it posed no threat to them, it was extremely lethal to a student who wasn't even a Genin.
But with the sealing barrier in place, it was too late to intervene.
Boom!
A violent wave of fire erupted from Taiichi, engulfing the area several meters ahead.
Boom! "Kakashi!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi forcibly shattered the barrier and rushed into the training ground. He only relaxed after finding Kakashi merely passed out from the heat.
On the other side.
Having just unleashed its full attack, Taiichi's chakra was depleted, and it forcibly ended the summoning, disappearing.
Swish! Takashi was quickly surrounded.
"Uchiha Takashi, we suspect you are a spy from another village. Come with us to the ANBU for investigation!"
The lead ANBU ninja commanded coldly.
Takashi didn't argue upon hearing this, as he had no grounds to.
In terms of status, he was just an academy student, not even a Genin.
In terms of strength, even at full power, he was below Genin level, and Taiichi could only threaten a Chunin if the opponent was unaware of its abilities.
So, in terms of both status and strength, he had no room to argue.
As for reasoning?
Sorry, being a ninja isn't about reasoning.
However, he didn't regret his actions.
Kakashi had attacked with the intent to kill.
To have the resolve to kill, one must be prepared to be killed!
Kakashi surely understood this principle as well.
Surviving Taiichi's attack was entirely due to his abilities, not because of any deliberate restraint.
If someone is trying to kill you, holding back would be utterly foolish.
Yet Takashi didn't harbor hatred for Kakashi.
The real threat to his life wasn't Kakashi, but that old fox Danzo.
He never expected that despite laying low for so long, he couldn't avoid this fate.
As Takashi contemplated whether to take a risky gamble.