'It's not like I can back out now.'
Muranaka Hikaru slowly walked towards the area opposite Uchiha Takeshi. The surrounding area fell silent as everyone anticipated the impending fight.
The boy must be so special that the Third Hokage allowed him to participate in the contest. Despite the appearance of coercion, no high-ranking ninja in the area could have been so naive as to miss something.
They all focused their attention intensely on the upcoming match.
Hikaru took a deep breath to calm himself down and relieve all the tension around him. Although he didn't want to join the competition, he couldn't help but feel excited about the upcoming match. His body twitched with excitement.
The proctor, Ishikawa Shou, observed the two boys in their respective positions, gaining permission from the Third Hokage before initiating. "Remember the rules; I will reiterate them."
"You can use anything in the fight, except for explosive seals."
He took a quick pause and then added, "You may start!"
Takeshi immediately taunted his opponent and assumed his ready stance, saying, "I hope you're more challenging than the previous boy."
Hikaru chuckled a little at his remark, then quickly pulled out a handful of shurikens from his ninja gear pouch, throwing them toward Takeshi in a set of two while circling him.
After analyzing his opponent's skills from the previous fight, he determined that the only way he could have a chance was to outwit him with a quick fight. Most of his skills and stamina were likely not as good as those of Takeshi, who had been attending the academy for five years already.
Takeshi also came from one of the strongest clans with powerful eyes in Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the Leaves). Hikaru didn't know if the boy had activated his power eye or not, but he would rather be careful.
With his kunai, Takeshi deflected the shurikens, the metallic clinks echoing through the competition venue.
As the shurikens began to fall one by one, the gap between them narrowed as Hikaru targeted the opening in his defense. Once he saw the opportunity, Hikaru launched a high kick aimed at Takeshi's chin from below, at the closed gap.
Takeshi surprised Hikaru by smiling instead of showing a shocked expression when he saw the incoming attack. He ducked the first attack and countered with a powerful uppercut. Hikaru immediately realized that he had fallen into his trap and made a guard with both hands, successfully blocking the surprise fist.
Hikaru flipped back to gain some distance and reposition himself.
Observing his opponent's rapid approach, Hikaru swiftly threw the final two shurikens he had in his hand, followed by a roundhouse kick. Takeshi dodged the shurikens first, then caught Hikaru's foot and tried to twist his leg, forcing Hikaru to fall to his knee.
Hikaru immediately jumped with his other leg and kicked straight toward Takeshi's head before pulling himself away from his grip. In one swift motion, he delivered another kick using the now-available leg. His right foot connected with Takeshi's chest, sending him backward.
"Tsk!" Takeshi exclaimed, quickly regaining his balance after tumbling. He reached for shurikens in his pouch and threw them out quickly in a wide arc, forcing Hikaru to perform a substitution technique to dodge the attack.
A puff of smoke appeared, with a wooden log being hit by several shurikens instead of the real body.
Seeing his opponent dodge the attack easily, Takeshi said in a furious tone, "How about trying to dodge this move?" He quickly jumped high, formed a series of hand seals, kneaded his chakra, and performed his clan technique.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).
Hikaru narrowed his eyes, thinking, 'A rank C ninjutsu skill, seriously?' and swiftly executed a quick hand seal to counter the situation.
Rank C skills are typically performed by a Chūnin-level ninja because of the amount of chakra required to perform them.
Hikaru was surprised that Takeshi could perform the Great Fireball Technique, meaning he had passed the coming-of-age rite, a tradition in his family clan, and had a highly reserved amount of chakra.
He could be considered another genius from the Uchiha family.
Unfortunately, Hikaru didn't recognize his name at all in the story. Perhaps the Uchiha Massacre event claimed his life.
Everyone saw a large fireball erupt in Hikaru's position, and the attack left a significant amount of dust in the area.
'Where is he?' Takeshi pondered as he began to fall toward the ground under the influence of gravity. Suddenly, he saw two kunai, aimed with precision from both sides, flying toward him. Takeshi deflected the approaching attack with a kunai in his hand, but one of the kunai seemed attached with a paper seal.
Takeshi immediately thought there was an explosive seal attached, and he quickly guarded his body, cursing Hikaru in his mind and believing that he had broken the rule.
After a few seconds of waiting, there was no sign of an explosion occurring, as he expected.
Takeshi opened his eyes to take a look, thinking, 'A dud?' before hearing a voice behind him.
"Behind you!" Hikaru spoke quietly as he spun his body and kicked him downward, striking him right in the back. However, before following up with another kick, Takeshi, hurt by his attack, unexpectedly turned around and locked his foot, disabling his movement and trying to attack him with the kunai in his hand.
Hikaru couldn't help but block his attack by grabbing his wrist and shifting his position, trying to free himself. As a result of their movements, their bodies began to spin.
'Should I give up?' Hikaru thought for a moment, before suddenly feeling dizzy from the move, but his unwillingness to lose blossomed inside his heart as he continued to grip his opponent tightly.
"You're crazy!" Takeshi yelled loudly, attempting to free himself from the restriction, but it was futile because they were in a deadlock and unwilling to let each other go.
They spun so fast that in the last moment before hitting the ground, Takeshi himself decided to let go of Hikaru's hand and used the momentum to backflip away. Hikaru also managed to recover before hitting the ground at the last moment.
Their actions captivated all the spectators around the venue. The fight scene was breathtaking, beyond the academy level.
Hikaru was panting as his chakra reserve started to get low. After calculating, he realized he had one more chance to fight before giving up.
In an attempt to avoid giving his opponent too much time, Hikaru threw a smoke bomb onto the floor, causing smoke to emanate from his position, obscuring his opponent's view, and creating a hand seal. A puff of smoke appeared, and three identical clones appeared beside him.
Then, Hikaru hurled a kunai in Takeshi's direction, while another two clones continued to distract his opponent by emerging from the smoke in a distinct direction.
Takeshi gritted his teeth, attempting to defend another wave of kunai while closely monitoring the two identical copies of Hikaru circling him. As he defended what appeared to be the final kunai attack from a distance, one of the identical copies of Hikaru emerged from the smoke to attempt an attack.
He countered the seemingly weak attack with his fist and performed a roundhouse kick towards another two clones who were approaching, only to realize that they were all fakes. Before he could react further, a kick swiftly attacked him from close range, aiming for his head.
This time Takeshi couldn't dodge the attack; he was too exhausted from the earlier fight using high-level jutsu and hadn't fully recovered yet. The kick immediately connected with his chin, pushing him away. In the final moments before he lost consciousness, he instinctively threw the kunai at the boy to retaliate.
After witnessing the attack up close, Hikaru immediately executed another substitution technique using a nearby burned wooden log and soon passed out due to chakra exhaustion. He had exhausted every ounce of his chakra and could no longer sustain himself.
The proctor, Ishikawa Shou, immediately assessed their situation after seeing that they had both been lying on the ground, seemingly knocked out. He felt a bit of relief that both were fine, called for a medical examination for the two, and subsequently declared the battle a tie—an unexpected outcome of the match between the two.
Ryōta, along with Koji and another sensei, quickly approached to confirm Hikaru's and Takeshi's conditions.
'Another young talent in Taijutsu?' Hiruzen pondered as he watched the final outcome of the battle. After everything settled down, he signaled for the proctor to continue the competition, thinking, 'I only came here to take a break but managed to see some amazing fights from the young kids at the academy.'
"When the leaves dance, the fire will burn eternally," whispered Hiruzen after much contemplation. "Our next generation will be in good hands once an old one like me passes away."
"He's indeed a good seedling," said Hiruzen with a smile while considering another question: "I wonder how much Will of Fire he has inherited from his parents."
...
'Aww, my head hurts.'
Hikaru woke up feeling pain all over his head and body. He tried to move his fingers but realized his body was too weak.
Hikaru slowly opened his eyes, revealing a white ceiling above his head and a sea of medical equipment surrounding him.
He had overdone it by exhausting his chakra beyond its limit.
Hikaru sighed in his heart, contemplating the consequences of injuring his body for such a foolish reason. Hikaru could have given up during the fight, but he did not. Though he would have given up in the past, the thrill of winning drove him to give it his all.
He had, for some reason, become addicted to fighting.
Observing his surroundings, Hikaru noticed his sister lying nearby with her eyes closed, sleeping and waiting for him to wake up. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
The fight was extremely tense, so he fought while assessing the situation and relying on his instincts to respond appropriately. The result showed an injury to his body, as he didn't mean for it to happen.
"O-nee Chan," Hikaru said quietly.
Muranaka Ayako immediately awoke as she heard her brother's voice and said with a worried expression, "Hikaru-kun, how are you feeling?"
"Are you feeling better?"
The barrage of questions quickly gave Hikaru a headache. He mustered his strength and said, "Can I get some water?"
Realizing what her brother needed, Ayako wiped some tears from her eyes and quickly took a nearby kettle, poured out some water, and returned, slowly pouring it into Hikaru's mouth.
Hikaru felt much fresher after he had some water. As he took some time to lift himself up with the help of his sister, he asked, "How long was I out?"
"Three days! I was so worried," Ayako replied, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Stunned by the news, Hikaru opened his mouth wide in shock before saying, "Sorry for making you worry, O-nee Chan."
Before he could continue, his sensei, Takayama Koji, unexpectedly arrived in the room. He arrived with an even bigger surprise, as Hikaru could see a VIP walking nearby.
'What does the old man want?' Hikaru thought, seeing the unusual situation.
"I heard you woke up from the medical-nin." Koji-sensei spoke first, greeting both Hikaru and his sister before turning toward Ayako. "Sorry to disturb your time, but Sandaime-sama would like to speak with the boy."
He gestured for Ayako to leave, indicating that the Third Hokage wanted some alone time with him.
Ayako quickly caught on and glanced at Hikaru before quietly exiting the room. Koji sensei did not leave, but he remained still after closing the door.
The old man, still dressed in his Hokage robe, walked slowly toward the window beside Hikaru's bed, took out his pipe, and began to smoke as if it were his room.
Hikaru felt a headache as he witnessed his actions, thinking, 'For crying out loud, this is still a hospital.'
'Shouldn't he be a bit more respectful of this place?'