"Not bad."
The words should've sounded encouraging—yet from Seiji's lips, they landed like mockery.
Inside the swirling water sphere, Uchiha Obito's eyes bulged, rage mixing with panic. He thrashed stubbornly, but his movements slowed with every passing second, the water dragging him down into stillness.
The training field was dead silent.
Umino Ikkaku and Kakashi both stared wide-eyed, unable to process what they were seeing.
This was supposed to be a normal academy exam.But in just a few minutes, they'd seen a double-tomoe Sharingan awaken and a water-style technique that didn't even need hand seals.
So this was the true face of the academy's "nobodies"? Hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
One was the class clown, the other always smiling quietly in the back row. And yet, when they finally cut loose, both turned into monsters.
"Chūnin Hatake," Ikkaku said in a low voice, never once moving to interfere, "that jutsu looked like Water Colliding Wave, didn't it?"
So long as Obito didn't yield, the fight wasn't over. And truthfully, Ikkaku didn't believe Seiji would lose control enough to kill his classmate.
Kakashi frowned, analyzing carefully."The base looks like Colliding Wave, but the way he shaped it… that's more like Water Prison. And that locking chain of water—" he exhaled, unsettled. "That's a very advanced chakra nature transformation.
And more than that… this was cast in a dry field. No water source. Look at the scale of it…"
Kakashi's voice trailed, rare hesitation creeping in. He was half explaining to Ikkaku, half convincing himself."Just off his chakra control and mastery of water release… Uchiha Seiji has at least tokubetsu jōnin-level power."
His chest felt tight.
He'd always been the prodigy, the six-year-old graduate, the genius everyone whispered about. Son of the White Fang. A shinobi destined to surpass his peers.
Even if Seiji was four years older, Kakashi had assumed he'd long since outpaced every "normal" classmate.
Yet here Seiji stood, already beyond him—yet still in the academy, sitting through boring lessons as if power meant nothing.
The realization tasted like shame. Kakashi's gaze sharpened on Seiji, a flicker of challenge sparking in his eyes.
"Not going to surrender, Obito?" Seiji asked lightly, watching his classmate flail. "Keep this up and you'll drown."
His voice stayed calm, almost kind."Just nod three times. I'll let you out."
Obito grit his teeth, lungs burning, chest tight with water and desperation. He forced his eyes wide, Sharingan spinning furiously—
—and locked gazes with Seiji.
"Damn it!" Ikkaku's sharp intake broke the silence. "Too careless, Seiji-kun…"
Obito's face twisted into a feral grin as his genjutsu surged out, blanketing Seiji's vision.
But—nothing happened.
Seiji just stood there, smiling, eyes clear as ever."Obito, I may not have the Sharingan. But I do have something stronger: an unshakable faith in the Will of Fire."
His voice rang with conviction."No genjutsu of yours can shake my heart."
The field exploded in whispers.
Wait, what?That boring Will of Fire lecture Sarutobi-sensei always droned on about—Seiji had actually turned it into genjutsu resistance?!
So that was the difference between an upperclassman and everyone else…
If that was true, maybe those tedious classes were worth listening to after all…
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen puffed happily on his pipe, smoke curling from his lips.
"And Danzō calls my Will of Fire curriculum useless," he muttered with a chuckle. "Look at this—an Uchiha boy who actually understands. What a fine child. Get me every scrap of information on Uchiha Seiji. Immediately."
Obito, meanwhile, was utterly bewildered.
Why hadn't his double-tomoe Sharingan worked? Why couldn't he drag Seiji under?
The answer was simple: Seiji's ocular power was stronger.
Shisui, watching nearby, twitched his lips. He already knew. Seiji had told him—he possessed a double-tomoe Sharingan of his own.
Tobirama Senju finally lost patience, exploding at Seiji inside his mind."Brat, are you trying to poison these kids?! The Will of Fire resisting genjutsu?! That's absurd!
Yes, conviction matters, but if you don't purge foreign chakra, that conviction only feeds paranoia, trapping the victim deeper in the illusion!"
Seiji raised an eyebrow, still grinning as Obito thrashed helplessly."Really, Second? Who's destroying Konoha's foundations now? Look at them—all my classmates are inspired, dreaming of the Will of Fire. And me? I literally just resisted Obito's genjutsu with it. Where's the problem?"
"You resisted because of your damn Sharingan!" Tobirama snapped, voice cracking with exasperation.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot I had one of those." Seiji slapped his forehead in mock realization. "Here I was, thinking it was just my indomitable spirit."
[Duel Target: Senju Tobirama. Reward Acquired—Ninjutsu: Palm Sage Jutsu]
"Tch. Not bad. Better than nothing."
Seiji clapped his hands and dissolved the water sphere."Alright, Obito. Come out before you suffocate."
But the moment he stumbled free, Obito whipped out a kunai, stabbing for Seiji's throat with feral desperation.
Seiji's body blurred, effortlessly sidestepping. The stolen taijutsu insight from Tobirama, combined with his Sharingan's dynamic vision, made the attack look childish.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Obito roared, flailing.
Seiji caught him easily, clamping an arm around his neck and hoisting him up like a sack of rice, the crook of his elbow pinching his carotid like an iron vice.
Calmly, he turned to face the class, Obito dangling helplessly from his grip like some roasted duck hanging in a shop window.
Obito's vision swam. Through the haze, he caught sight of Rin. She stood only a few meters away—frowning at him.
"Rin…" he whispered hoarsely, before his body finally went limp, crumpling to the ground like a heap of mud when Seiji let go.
[Duel Target: Uchiha Obito. Reward Acquired—Talent: Spatial Affinity (Obito Version)]
Seiji turned politely to Ikkaku with a smile."Sorry, sensei. My water technique got out of hand. I might've ruined the ballot box."
After being publicly mouthed off by Obito earlier, Ikkaku was stunned by the contrast in Seiji's manners. He waved both hands quickly."Don't worry, Seiji-kun. With your performance, there's no need for a third round."
But Seiji shook his head."Rules are rules, sensei. I'll take the third round."
He turned back to his classmates, his voice soft yet magnetic."Anyone else want to spar with me?"
Silence. Not a soul dared. Who would challenge the boy who'd just crushed a double-tomoe Uchiha?
Then a single, booming voice cut through the quiet.
"Seiji-kun, my eternal rival on the path of youth! Please accept my challenge!"
Might Guy's face was already wet with tears, eyes blazing with passion."This—this is youth itself, Seiji-kun!"
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay—got stuck mid-draft. I'll aim for two chapters tomorrow, posted by midnight sharp.