"These six students are basically the future of Konoha."
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile when Iruka announced the names.
He was clearly very pleased.
It reminded him of his own generation. Back then, under the guidance of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, his class was packed with talent—aside from himself, there was Shimura Danzō, Uchiha Kagami, Akimichi Torifu, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.
Now, those same people were the very foundation of the village. No exaggeration—Konoha was standing on their shoulders.
And now, kids like Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyūga… they were starting to show that same potential.
Most importantly, Hiruzen was the one in the Hokage seat during this new era.
Sensei, he thought, I've spent my whole life walking on thin ice. Will I ever reach the shore you believed in?
As a student, Hiruzen still dreamed of measuring up to—maybe even surpassing—Tobirama.
Danzō was always bitter about losing the Hokage position, thinking he missed it by a single decision.
But Hiruzen felt the current state of Konoha proved that Tobirama made the right call.
His eyes drifted over to Kitazawa.
Now that's a rare kind of talent.
Out of the six students who made it to the third round, five had been trained by Kitazawa—everyone except Shino Aburame.
Yes, their natural talent mattered, but without a great teacher, there's no way they'd have gotten this far.
Hiruzen had seen all kinds of instructors—academy teachers, squad leaders, the works. Plenty were stronger than Kitazawa. But when it came to teaching? No one came close.
Luckily, Kitazawa was just a regular special jōnin. He was loyal, grounded, and a true believer in the Will of Fire.
If someone like Danzō had Kitazawa's influence—high-ranking and full of ambition—the village would be a mess by now. Especially since Kitazawa's students were future heirs to nearly every major clan.
We really need to take him more seriously, Hiruzen thought, remembering Terai.
Root operatives like him had no business teaching at the academy.
He'd only allowed it because of Danzō's pressure—but that needed to stop.
Kitazawa's time should be spent mentoring students, not monitoring Root members.
And more than that, the man deserved a proper reward.
"All right, students who made it to round three, step up and draw your lots!" Kitazawa announced as break ended.
"I better draw Sasuke!" Naruto slapped his hands together like he was praying.
Sasuke twitched at the mouth.
If he could choose, Naruto would be the last person he'd pick.
That damn Shadow Clone Jutsu and unpredictable fighting style were way harder to deal with than Hinata or Shino.
"I feel like it doesn't even matter who I draw," Ino said, glancing around. "I probably can't beat any of them."
At least she was realistic. Making it to the third round was already beyond expectations.
She'd secured a top-six spot—anything else was just bonus XP.
"What a pain," Shikamaru muttered.
He felt like a husky that accidentally wandered into a pack of wolves.
Everyone aside from Ino completely countered his Shadow Imitation Jutsu—Hinata's Byakugan, Shino's bugs, Naruto's clones...
As for Sasuke? They'd already fought once, and Sasuke's raw power made winning next to impossible.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto muttering his little prayers, then stepped up and pulled a slip of paper.
Number 3.
With six students, that meant three matches.
Number 3 meant the final match.
"Damn. Was hoping I'd get number 1," Naruto said, looking at his own slip. "But nope, got number 3 this time."
Sasuke's face immediately went stiff.
No way… it actually worked?!
"Hey Sasuke, what number did you get?" Naruto peeked. "Whoa! We're both number 3!"
Shikamaru, Ino, and the rest all exhaled in relief.
The two most dangerous fighters would be busy knocking each other out. That took the heat off them.
"This has to be fate! Youthful fate!"
Naruto flashed a thumbs-up, teeth sparkling. "Sasuke, let's have an epic showdown!"
Sasuke didn't even react. Just stood there, deadpan.
"I'm number 1," Shino said calmly, revealing his slip.
"I got number 2!" Shikamaru grinned.
That meant his opponent would be either Hinata or Ino—both way better options than Shino or Sasuke.
"Hinata, what'd you get?"
Honestly, he didn't mind losing to her. It was expected, and even Kitazawa wouldn't complain.
But if it was Ino, he'd actually have to try—because he could win.
But if he got lazy and Kitazawa docked his points, goodbye summer break.
And if he did beat Ino… well, that came with its own problems.
Knowing her, she'd demand days of free meals as payback. And that meant feeding Choji too.
"Number 1," Hinata said seriously.
She'd improved a lot under Kitazawa's training, but Shino's bugs weren't any joke either.
This was going to be a tough one. But she was determined not to let her teacher down.
Hinata clenched her fists. Her face showed nothing but resolve.
Shino narrowed his eyes.
She was going to be a pain.
His bugs had two main attacks: bite the target or drain their chakra.
But against the Byakugan? Both methods got nerfed hard.
"Ino, huh," Shikamaru sighed.
"What, not happy to see me?" Ino glared.
"No! I'm good, I swear!" he quickly said.
"Number 1 students, please take the field," Kitazawa announced, putting the lot box away.
Shino and Hinata stepped into the ring and faced each other, performing the traditional seal of respect.
Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others stepped back into the Class 1-A lineup.
"Let's begin," Shino said, raising both hands.
Secret Technique: Parasitic Insects!
A black cloud of bugs swarmed out of his sleeves.
Byakugan—Activate!
The veins around Hinata's eyes bulged.
Suddenly the entire world became clear.
She looked straight into the swarm—saw right through their bodies—and pinpointed the chakra flowing within.
Shino moved mentally.
The swarm split and turned into thick clouds, rushing Hinata from all directions.
A regular ninja would've been overwhelmed.
But the Byakugan gave her a 360-degree view.
She could see every angle.
She didn't hesitate.
Chakra surged into her hands.
And with rapid, fluid strikes, she smacked down wave after wave of insects.
"Man, the Byakugan's scary," Ino whispered.
Shino's bugs were practically untouchable in early fights.
Even other clan kids usually surrendered.
But against Hinata, they looked like nothing.
"Wonder who's gonna run out first—Shino's bugs or Hinata's chakra," Shikamaru muttered.
Bug count depended on Shino's chakra, and at his age, that was limited.
Same went for Hinata—Gentle Fist wasn't exactly energy-efficient.
"Man, I'm so glad I didn't make the third round," Kiba said, patting his chest.
Sasuke frowned.
Hinata was way stronger than he expected.
If he were fighting Shino, he'd have to use Fire Release.
But with bugs coming from every direction, even that might not be enough.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized how dangerous Shino was.
And yet… Shino wasn't even putting up a good fight here.
That's the Byakugan for you…
Sasuke was honestly jealous.
When the hell am I gonna unlock my Sharingan?
…
"Hinata's Gentle Fist is really polished," Hiruzen nodded.
He could tell this girl had been putting in serious work.
As more and more bugs disappeared, Hinata only grew more relaxed.
Shino's face grew tense.
He thought for a second, then formed a hand seal.
Secret Technique: Insect Clone!
A ton of bugs poured out of his body and quickly took shape—forming a second version of himself.
Not quite a Shadow Clone, but fully capable.
He didn't attack right away. He waited.
Then, a second later, his entire body became coated in bugs.
With this bug armor, Hinata's chakra strikes wouldn't be as effective.
The two Shinos charged in—one from each side.
Along with the leftover bugs, Hinata suddenly found herself surrounded.
Close combat was the Hyūga clan's forte…
But Shino only knew two clan techniques.
With his long-range strategy shut down, he had no choice but to take a risk.
Class 1‑A gasped.
The attack looked seriously dangerous.
And it showed how powerful Shino had become.
He was always overshadowed by Sasuke and Naruto—but not today.
Hinata locked onto the real Shino and bit her lip.
Then she charged.
"What?!" Shino didn't expect her to go in like that—and her speed was ridiculous.
BAM!
She landed a solid hit.
But his bug armor absorbed most of it, and he only staggered back a little.
Just then, the clone came charging from behind—slamming into her with a full-body tackle.
It was clearly the insect clone—its movement wasn't human-smooth.
Still, the good thing about a clone made of bugs?
Even if it gets wrecked, the real you is totally fine.
Hinata spun around in a flash.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms!
First strike—direct hit to the chest.
The clone's body shivered, turning into a mass of falling insects.
Second strike—crushed more bugs.
She scanned the clone with her Byakugan, found the weak point, and hit the heart area with the third strike.
Thud.
The clone collapsed into a lifeless pile of insects.
"No way…" Shino's eyes widened.
His clone didn't even last a full second?
He didn't even have time to react—Hinata's fourth strike was already coming.
He quickly sent more bugs to block—
WHAM!
The impact tore through them and hit him directly.
His body trembled.
Hinata's chakra had gone straight through.
She wasn't done.
She pressed two fingers together, struck three more pressure points in rapid succession.
And just like that—his chakra stopped flowing.
"Was that the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?" Hiruzen blinked.
That was supposed to be a Main House only secret. And definitely A-rank in difficulty.
Hinata had just pulled off four strikes in a row—at her age?
That was insane.
He remembered her being shy and soft-spoken… but now?
Her entire fighting style had become sharp, confident, and precise.
Kitazawa really was incredible.
If only Asuma had met a teacher like that, Hiruzen thought, he might not have gone down such a rebellious path.
"Winner: Hinata Hyūga," Kitazawa announced.
Hinata's performance was flawless.
She executed four strikes of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms without hesitation, switched targets on the fly, and wiped out both Shino and his clone in one go.
"Hinata's gotten so strong!" Ino said in awe.
The Byakugan gave her an edge, sure—but it was the Sixty-Four Palms that ended the match.
That wasn't talent.
That was training.
Ino sighed.
They'd both trained under Kitazawa… but the gap between them was huge.
"So this is Hinata's real strength," Shikamaru murmured, remembering his match with her.
He never even got her to pull out that move—and lost instantly.
Sasuke stayed quiet.
He still remembered getting destroyed by Neji's Gentle Fist Four Palms.
And now Hinata could use a version that looked even more intense.
After all, Neji's strikes were just the regular Gentle Fist.
If Hinata got in close… he wasn't sure he could beat her either.
Frustration crept in.
He almost lost to Shikamaru.
He wasn't confident against Hinata.
And next? He was fighting Naruto.
What's going to happen...?
Sasuke took a deep breath and forced the emotions down.
I'm an Uchiha, he told himself.
I'll win.
~~~
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