The terrifying fireball burned for several seconds before gradually dissipating.
"Wow, that's huge!"
Sakura Haruno snapped back to reality and shouted, "Amazing, Sasuke-kun!"
Her excitement was contagious, and the first-year Class A students erupted in cheers.
They all understood clearly: a Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique of that magnitude could dominate the competition.
The gap in skill was immense—there was no suspense at all.
Second-year Class A fell silent, recognizing the reality of the situation.
"This is a formidable opponent,"
Neji Hyuga said, his expression tightening.
He had treated Sasuke Uchiha as a genuine sparring partner, and now he faced a difficult challenge.
Against such a Fire Release technique, he had no options besides dodging.
"This is what youthful passion is all about!"
Rock Lee clenched his fists and said.
"…"
Tenten silently stepped closer to Neji.
Somehow, Lee seemed obsessed with throwing around the concept of "youth" every day.
"This is impossible!"
Mizuki widened his eyes, unable to believe it.
He had only seen fireballs this large in the hands of jonin-level ninja.
Damn it!
Another prodigy!
Mizuki's jealousy boiled over.
"Another peerless genius,"
Shikaku Nara said in disbelief. "He's only six years old and already surpasses many chunin in strength."
This explained why the Three Great Clans of Ino-Shika-Cho had united—their individual strengths were comparatively weak.
The Uchiha clan was different: prodigies and powerful ninjas emerged continuously, inspiring envy in others.
"Whether it's chakra, chakra control, or mastery of chakra forms, it's all astonishing,"
Hiruzen Sarutobi commented. "His future accomplishments won't be far behind Itachi Uchiha's."
Shikaku Nara paused briefly, recalling Sarutobi's evaluation of Itachi Uchiha:
That by age seven, Itachi could think from the perspective of the Hokage.
Could the Uchiha produce a Hokage?
He quickly dismissed the thought.
Shikaku knew Konoha's leadership well: Sarutobi's encouragement balanced by Danzo Shimura's suppression.
The aim seemed to be keeping Konoha stable while preventing the Uchiha from becoming too dominant.
Sasuke Uchiha was clearly receiving hero-like treatment.
"Sasuke, well done!"
Kiba Inuzuka said in admiration.
Though he usually disliked Sasuke's personality, the fireball was undeniably impressive.
Sasuke nodded slightly, maintaining his cold, aloof demeanor.
The only regret: his father and older brother weren't here to witness this glorious moment.
"Sasuke, you truly are my lifelong rival!"
Naruto Uzumaki immediately leaped forward and grabbed his shoulders.
"Naruto, let go of him!"
Sakura shouted anxiously, seeing Naruto taking advantage of the moment.
How dare he!
"…"
Sasuke tried to escape but couldn't match Naruto's strength.
His expression was noticed by everyone in first-year Class A.
The atmosphere instantly filled with joy.
Seeing Sasuke struggle was undeniably entertaining.
"What a delightful scene,"
Sarutobi watched with satisfaction.
This was exactly what he wanted to see: a thriving, vibrant future for Konoha.
"Quiet down."
Kitazawa noticed Sarutobi approaching and quickly addressed the students.
"You all performed very well."
Sarutobi met their eyes and announced, "But first-year Class A surpasses the others."
"Yay!"
Naruto and the others shouted excitedly.
"It's only the first event,"
Mizuki took a deep breath. "As long as you win the remaining events, our class will still come out on top!"
Second-year Class A regained some of their momentum.
"Well done, all of you are energetic,"
Sarutobi nodded. "Take a ten-minute break, then start the second event."
During the break, two ANBU helped prepare the field.
The second event was a test of chakra control.
Kitazawa requested Sarutobi to assign two ANBU skilled in Earth Release and Water Release.
Earth-style pillars replaced moving trees, and water was added by combining the two ninja types to create the challenge.
Once the field was set up, Kitazawa felt like he was hosting a co-ed variety show—despite only having two competitive events.
"The rules for the second event are simple,"
Kitazawa explained after the break. "Use chakra in your feet to traverse the obstacles. The first to reach the finish wins."
"Stand at the starting line in order,"
Iruka organized first-year Class A.
Soon, students from both classes were at the starting line.
In front of them was a large water pool, followed by cylindrical pillars resembling moved trees.
Climb to the top, jump off, and reach the finish line.
"Neji will definitely take first place!"
Tenten cheered.
"Hmm."
Neji nodded calmly, confident in Tenten's prediction.
The Hyuga valued chakra control highly—both for Byakugan and Gentle Fist techniques.
Without exceptional chakra control, one could hardly incapacitate an enemy with pressure points.
"Do your best, Neji,"
Mizuki patted his shoulder. Losing one event was fine, but losing two, especially in front of the Hokage, would be too embarrassing.
"Let's see who reaches the finish first, Sakura,"
Ino warmed up, smiling.
"Sure! Whoever loses doubles tonight's homework,"
Sakura smiled.
"…!"
Naruto's face dropped at the mention of extra homework, abandoning his playful intentions.
Kitazawa's special training had instilled a deep fear of assignments.
"Naruto!"
Lee gave a thumbs-up. "Let's have a youthful showdown!"
"Bring it on!"
Naruto grinned, flashing his teeth. "For the sake of youth!"
"Ready!"
Kitazawa interrupted. "Three… two… one… go!"
The students stepped onto the water.
Naruto and Lee exchanged glances, then started together.
A few steps in, a splash echoed.
Lee fell into the water.
"Lee?"
Naruto froze.
"This is as far as I go!"
Lee shouted. "Naruto, carry our youth forward!"
"Lee!"
Tears welled in Naruto's eyes as he trembled.
"Good luck!"
Lee gave a thumbs-up.
"Youth!"
Naruto wiped his tears and continued forward.
But his chakra control was poor—he soon fell into the water too.
Thanks to Kitazawa's training, he wasn't much worse than Lee in chakra control.
"I kind of regret it, Shikaku,"
Sarutobi sighed.
"Regret what?"
Shikaku stifled a laugh, careful not to smile in front of the Hokage.
"When Naruto went to see Guy, I should've stopped him,"
Sarutobi rubbed his forehead. "But it's too late now; Naruto's already been influenced by Guy."
"This version of Naruto doesn't harm Konoha,"
Shikaku reflected.
"Still, I feel Minato and Kushina would blame me,"
Sarutobi shook his head.
Kitazawa twitched his lips, watching the adults' serious discussion.
Are they trying to be funny?
"That's Guy's style,"
Kurenai laughed. "Too bad Kakashi isn't here."
Kitazawa suddenly thought: if Naruto became Kakashi's student as in the original story… good luck to him.
Facing a student with Guy-style antics, Kakashi's head would probably explode.
"Lucky that Guy isn't here,"
Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Indeed,"
Kurenai shuddered, imagining Guy, Lee, and Naruto crying together.
"Neji is in first place?"
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
Within a minute, most students had been eliminated; only a few persevered.
Water-walking and tree-climbing exercises were usually reserved for post-graduation training, so the early students struggled.
"Truly a Hyuga genius,"
Kurenai paused in surprise. "But your four students are keeping up closely."
She referred to Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Sasuke.
Because Neji was famous, their close pursuit surprised many.
"Damn it! Am I under an illusion?"
Mizuki felt disbelief.
Neji, such a genius, had four first-year Class A students keeping up?
Impossible!
Mizuki was convinced Neji would ultimately win.
Minutes later, five students reached the second stage: climbing the pillars.
Neji glanced around, frowning.
He hadn't expected four students to follow his pace—including Hinata.
Clenching his teeth, Neji suddenly accelerated.
Hinata and Sasuke couldn't keep up, leaving only Sakura and Ino clinging behind.
Halfway up, Ino slowed down.
Simultaneously, Neji felt fatigued, unknowingly reducing his speed.
At that moment of hesitation, Sakura leaped ahead, reaching the top first.
"What?"
Neji's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't stop her, helplessly watching Sakura race to the finish.
He felt as if struck by lightning.
In the previous event, losing could be rationalized—Gentle Fist wasn't flashy, so losing to a fireball was understandable.
But in this chakra control competition, he was utterly defeated.