Iruka stood there, frozen in shock.
He never imagined that what was supposed to be a simple assessment could spiral so far out of control. One ridiculous development after another—now even the Hokage himself was stepping in.
At this moment, the Third Hokage walked forward and stopped across from Naruto.
One wore a playful expression.
The other's face was solemn.
If not for Naruto's obvious youth, one might have thought he was the Hokage here.
The Third studied Naruto carefully before speaking in a testing tone.
"Nine-Tails?"
Naruto lazily scratched his ear and drawled,
"Hokage-sama, are you talking to me? My name isn't 'Nine-Tails.' Or are you trying to call me a demon fox?"
The Third's brow furrowed deeply. He was now convinced that Naruto's body had been taken over by the Nine-Tails. If that were true, it would be an enormous disaster for the village.
It also struck him that his arrival might have triggered this incident. After all, this wasn't Naruto's first time in a real combat exercise—so why did things spiral out of control only today?
Naruto's voice broke through the Third's thoughts.
"Can we start already? I've been dying to see just how strong the Hokage really is."
The Third regained focus and gave Naruto a long, searching look. There was no time left to think this through. He had to subdue Naruto first and sort out the rest later.
Judging by the look of things, the Nine-Tails' power was still restrained by the seal.
That was far better than having to face it in a berserk state.
With that thought, the Third nodded.
The instant he did, Naruto's figure blurred and reappeared right in front of him.
This speed was far beyond anything Sasuke had shown earlier.
Even the Third's pupils shrank in surprise.
But decades of combat experience took over, and he instinctively raised an arm to block Naruto's kick.
Crack…
A barely audible sound of splintering bone rang out.
The Third twitched at the corner of his mouth, surged chakra into his arm, and with a single burst of strength, flung Naruto away.
Then, hands folded behind his back, he quietly endured the sharp pain shooting through his arm.
His forearm had actually suffered a minor fracture from that kick.
If word of this got out, Naruto would go from dead last at the Academy to being called the number one prodigy of the entire shinobi world.
At twelve years old, he had fractured the Hokage's arm with a single kick.
...
Naruto landed some distance away, his face still showing dissatisfaction.
He wasn't pretending—he was genuinely displeased with this body's current strength.
Compared to his original body, this one was far too weak.
Even though the Uzumaki Clan was known for its vitality, this body still fell short.
Too young, too limited.
All he could do was maximize the body's current potential while barely managing to draw out a trace of haki.
If Carl himself were fighting at full power, the Third Hokage wouldn't stand a chance.
In the entire shinobi world, the only ones who could rival Carl in taijutsu were perhaps the First Hokage with his Sage Body or those terrifying Ōtsutsuki.
...
Suppressing the tremor in his arm, the Third took a deep breath, removed the Hokage hat from his head, and shrugged off his long robe, tossing both to the waiting ANBU behind him.
The two ANBU stood there stunned, holding the hat and robe, staring at the Hokage as he assumed his combat stance.
Naruto suddenly commented,
"That outfit's ugly. A Justice Cloak looks way better."
The Third blinked.
"Justice Cloak?"
Naruto had no interest in explaining.
He stomped down hard, body vanishing as he reappeared in front of the Third once again.
This time, prepared for Naruto's speed, the Third immediately countered, engaging him in a close-quarters battle with Kage-level taijutsu.
The two of them clashed across the training field, bodies flashing and colliding, fists and feet striking with explosive force.
...
The teachers, students, and even the ANBU watching were all stunned into statues.
Even heirs of noble clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had never witnessed battle on this level before.
...
Suddenly, the Third's voice rang out.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring column of water burst from his mouth, forming into a massive dragon that surged toward Naruto, who had just landed.
The Hokage himself had been forced to use ninjutsu!
For many students, this was the first time they had ever seen ninjutsu—let alone one unleashed by the Hokage.
Even most teachers had never witnessed such a powerful display before.
And all of it was aimed at one Academy student.
Even those who had disliked Naruto now found themselves holding their breath for him.
...
What happened next shattered everyone's understanding once again.
Naruto simply stood there and slowly raised one hand.
In his palm, a swirling black vortex appeared.
The massive water dragon froze mid-charge, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it, then was yanked straight into the vortex and devoured completely—without even a single drop of water left behind.
The Third stared grimly at the spinning darkness in Naruto's palm, wondering what kind of power this was.
The Nine-Tails certainly didn't have such an ability.
...
Naruto finally spoke,
"Well, Hokage-sama, what do you think of my Dark Release?"
"Dark Release!?"
The Third's eyes widened in shock.
Could this power actually be a Kekkei Genkai?
Or even a Kekkei Tōta?
Everyone knew Kekkei Genkai could only be inherited through bloodlines.
But neither Kushina Uzumaki nor Minato Namikaze had anything like this—not even in their family histories.
That meant Kekkei Tōta, an even rarer power achieved through extraordinary skill, might be the answer.
But why had Naruto never shown this ability before?
The Third had kept a close watch over the boy's daily life.
Had Naruto awakened this power by accident one day, too ignorant of its true potential to use it again?
After all, Kekkei Tōta consumed massive amounts of chakra.
Was it only because the Nine-Tails' chakra was boosting him now that he could wield it so perfectly?
If so, then Naruto might truly be a once-in-a-million genius.
Currently, the only known Kekkei Tōta was the Tsuchikage's Dust Release—an ability so deadly that few who had witnessed it ever lived to tell the tale.
The thought that Naruto might have awakened a second Kekkei Tōta made the Third's aged heart pound furiously in his chest.
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+100 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg