Knowing there was no time to dodge, Asuma shouted in a panic,
"I surrender, I surre—ugh!"
Just before Chidori struck Asuma, Mitsuki dispersed the lightning arcing around his hand. But his motion didn't stop — he followed through with a light punch to Asuma's stomach. Not too hard, not too soft.
He and Asuma were on good terms, after all. No way he'd go all out on him.
"Mitsuki, that move of yours was insane!" Asuma winced, clutching his gut, still marveling at the attack.
In his mind, the image replayed vividly: dazzling lightning crackling across Mitsuki's arm like a living storm, radiating raw power and overwhelming pressure.
In the ninja world, most shinobi rely primarily on taijutsu in battle. For ordinary genin, chakra is a limited resource — not everyone has the luxury of using high-cost techniques freely.
That's exactly what made Mitsuki's jutsu so intimidating.
It wasn't just flashy — it was a lethal deterrent in close-quarters combat. Anyone trying to get near him would be struck by the lightning, likely fatally.
Thinking about that, Asuma silently thanked himself for not charging in recklessly. If he had, the consequences would've been… grim.
On the sidelines, Kato wiped sweat from his forehead.
"What the hell...? Is this really Konoha? Are genin fighting like this now?"
After Asuma's surrender, Kato raised his flag.
"First match: Sarutobi Asuma vs. Shimizu Mitsuki. Winner: Shimizu Mitsuki. Both parties, perform the Seal of Reconciliation."
After the formalities, Asuma and Mitsuki returned to the observation area.
"Next match: Aoba Yamashiro vs. Raidou Namiashi."
...
No sooner had he sat down than Kakashi turned to him.
"Mitsuki, that Chidori just now… You only used one hand sign, right?"
"Yup. I removed the early hand seals used to activate chakra flow and stimulate the nervous system."
Kakashi looked stunned.
"Unbelievable. Your chakra control must be off the charts."
Mitsuki had actually reverse-engineered Chidori a year ago. After all, once you know the chakra nature, flow method, and hand sign sequence, recreating the jutsu is just a matter of time.
Of course, he had made sure to include Kakashi in the "development process", using it as an excuse to teach the jutsu to him.
And it wasn't just the standard Chidori either — it was an optimized version.
Mitsuki had added a new step: a tweak that specifically enhanced visual nerve stimulation. Technically, that meant one extra hand sign — the Bird seal — but it solved Chidori's biggest flaw: the tunnel vision effect during the high-speed thrust.
Kakashi, for his part, always felt he hadn't contributed much in the process and ended up feeling indebted to Mitsuki.
Good-natured as always, Mitsuki didn't want his bro to feel guilty — so he let Kakashi treat him to grilled meat at Yakiniku Q several times.
A noble soul, truly.
"Mitsuki, how did you get behind me like that just now?" Asuma asked.
He remembered how Mitsuki's had blocked his vision, but had no idea how Mitsuki had closed the distance.
"He used Earth Release to tunnel underground, dummy" Obito cut in, having seen everything from the sidelines.
"Why do I have to hear that from you, dead-last?"
"Oho? Sounds like someone's mad."
Fuming. That was the only word to describe Asuma now. If Obito lost his match later, Asuma swore he'd roast him for days.
As for Obito winning? Asuma wasn't the least bit worried.
"If he beats me, I'll eat my headband" he thought.
"Next match: Uchiha Ruri vs. Uchiha Obito" announced Nobita, reading from the pairing list.
"Huh??" Obito turned pale when he heard the name."No way… Her?"
"HAHAHAHAHA! You're fighting her?! Oh man, you're screwed!" Asuma laughed wildly.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Obito snarled, practically turning red.
"Obito, Ruri's already on the field" Kakashi reminded him calmly.
Obito snapped out of it, shot Asuma a death glare, and leapt down from the stands to prepare.
Earlier, it was mentioned that Asuma hadn't even placed in the top three of their class.
The three who consistently held those spots were: Shimizu Mitsuki, Uchiha Ruri, and Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi had only fallen behind Ruri because, well… his father never died. Without becoming a grief-driven mission-obsessed machine like in the original timeline, he hadn't been hardened the same way and remained a bit more grounded — thus giving Ruri a slight edge.
To Mitsuki, Uchiha Ruri was a total anomaly — someone who never appeared in the original plot. Naturally, he did his homework.
Using Six Eyes, he basically turned into a high-level intel ninja for a while. And what he found was surprising:
Ruri was the daughter of Uchiha En, a once-famous shinobi who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But instead of rising in ambition or notoriety, En had spiraled into alcoholism and obscurity. His house reeked of despair, and the memorial tablet for Ruri's mother stood quietly in the corner.
Mitsuki couldn't tell whether she had died in war or under other circumstances, but what he could see was clear:
There was zero communication between father and daughter. They treated each other like ghosts — mutually invisible, completely disconnected.
Despite that, one thing was certain: Ruri was strong.
Putting aside Mitsuki himself — who was on a whole different tier — no other genin in Konoha could match her.
Once both contestants stood on the field, Kato signaled the match.
"Both parties, form the seal of opposition. Begin!"
The fight kicked off immediately—but there wasn't much to describe.
Obito was widely regarded as the class clown, while Ruri had long since awakened her Sharingan.
Her taijutsu was fluid and precise, every motion seamless, like she'd practiced each movement a thousand times.
Obito, on the other hand, was clearly struggling. He gave it everything he had, trying to fight back, but couldn't find an opening — not even a chance to use ninjutsu.
It didn't take long before the outcome was obvious.
Ruri won with overwhelming dominance. The match ended clean, efficient, and totally one-sided.
As her final blow landed, Obito crashed to the ground, frustration written all over his face.
Ruri remained still, calm and unimpressed.To her, beating someone like Obito wasn't even worth celebrating.
In the end, Obito bore the humiliation in silence.
"Seal of Reconciliation."