The ever-dutiful "filial son" easily defeated his Chūnin opponent, successfully completing the graduation exam. Technically, he was now a certified Konoha shinobi.
Next up was Tahara Rokuro.
His opponent arrived shortly after—a massive, round-bellied man with a waistline that looked to be at least two meters around. Just one glance was enough to tell—he was from the Akimichi Clan.
Facing a Chūnin from one of the Four Great Ninja Clans was a much bigger challenge than the last match. Even Daikōshi, who usually looked down on Rokuro, decided to stay and watch, curious to see how he'd handle it.
"Rokuro, it's a Chūnin from the Akimichi Clan… are you sure you can take him on?"
Uchiha Kei tugged nervously at Rokuro's sleeve, nearly tearing it off in her panic.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Rokuro replied with a confident grin. "We're the Uchiha—the strongest clan in Konoha! A mere Akimichi fatty is nothing. Watch and learn."
He strode forward to take his place. Once both sides had formed their hand seals, the proctor called out their names. That's when Rokuro finally learned his opponent's name—Akimichi Teimon, just another background character.
At the signal to begin, Teimon lunged first.
He raised his iron staff and brought it down toward Rokuro with brutal force. Rokuro twisted to the side, narrowly dodging the blow as the ground cracked beneath it, leaving a crater half a meter wide. The Akimichi's strength was no joke.
Seeing his first strike miss, Teimon immediately swung again, this time sweeping sideways. The iron staff blurred in motion, producing overlapping shadows like shuriken clones—the speed was astonishing.
Rokuro dodged ten strikes in a row, but on the eleventh, he found all routes of escape cut off. He had no choice but to take it head-on.
His ninja pouch snapped open.
Hooking his left pinky through a kunai ring, he flicked it into his palm, gripping it in reverse as he deflected the incoming iron staff with a sharp clang. Then, using the rebound, he ran the kunai up along the staff's length, slashing toward Teimon's hands.
Teimon quickly pulled back, channeling a surge of chakra through his body. His right foot stomped down hard.
Boom!
The ground split beneath him, and a wave of dust erupted, clouding Rokuro's vision and ruining his chance to press the attack.
Then came the whoosh of air—Teimon, relying on battle instinct, predicted Rokuro's position and swung blindly downward.
Rokuro, less experienced, hadn't moved fast enough when the dust rose. By the time he saw the iron staff descending, it was already too late to dodge.
In that instant of crisis, he pulled out another kunai, crossing both above his head just in time to block the crushing blow.
CRAAACK!
The impact split the ground beneath his feet, sending another plume of dust into the air—thick as a smoke bomb.
"Rokuro!"
Uchiha Kei screamed, fear gripping her voice. Daikōshi, meanwhile, kept his usual cold look.
"Caught in a direct clash against an Akimichi… Rokuro's done for. Big talk and nothing else."
Even the proctor sighed, shaking his head. In his eyes, Rokuro might not die from that hit, but being knocked out and failing the exam was all but certain.
But when the dust settled, what everyone saw stunned them silent.
Akimichi Teimon stood in a downward stance, both hands gripping his staff. But instead of triumph, his face was strained, sweat beading on his forehead.
Because Tahara Rokuro hadn't fallen.
He was standing tall, kunai crossed above his head, firmly holding off the full weight of Teimon's strike. His arms didn't even tremble.
Sparks flew where metal ground against metal, filling the air with the screech of friction. Both were locked in a raw contest of strength.
Chakra flared violently around Teimon, the veins on his forearms bulging—he was giving it everything he had.
Rokuro, by contrast, looked almost relaxed. Then, in one fluid motion, he tossed away his kunai and gripped the iron staff with both hands.
"Wait… he's grappling with an Akimichi?!"
"Isn't the Uchiha Clan supposed to specialize in Genjutsu? I've never heard of one with brute strength! Is that some kind of secret technique?"
The gathered students whispered in disbelief. Unlike Naruto's generation, this was before the Uchiha massacre—many of them actually had Uchiha classmates, so the clan wasn't shrouded in mystery. They knew enough to realize that this wasn't normal.
Even Daikōshi, the clan's young heir, was shaken.
His father, Uchiha Fugaku, couldn't overpower an Akimichi in raw strength—none of their techniques leaned that way.
"Don't tell me Rokuro's got… natural super strength?"
Almost as if responding to his thought, Rokuro suddenly tightened his grip and wrenched the staff clean out of Teimon's hands. Then, with a powerful swing, he smashed it straight into the Akimichi.
Teimon barely managed to cross his arms in front of him before the blow sent him rolling several meters across the ground like a giant meatball.
Enraged and humiliated, Teimon roared and formed hand seals.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
His body expanded rapidly until he became a massive, spinning sphere of flesh. With all his weight and momentum, he hurtled toward Rokuro like a runaway boulder.
"Oh? Ninjutsu now? Then I guess I'll show you some of mine."
"Earth Release: Overpass Technique!"
Having studied all chakra natures through his sealing formulas, Rokuro could already use multi-element ninjutsu, even without ninja tools. He was practically a young Sarutobi Hiruzen—and if he awakened his Sharingan someday, he might just become the next Copy Ninja.
As he pressed both palms to the ground, the earth erupted upward, forming a twisting overpass structure like a Möbius loop. Teimon's Human Bullet Tank raced into it but failed to destroy it on contact. Instead, he found himself spinning endlessly inside it—like someone stuck on a toll road with no exit, forced to pay extra every time he missed his turn.
"Damn it!"
After several dizzying rotations, Teimon finally stopped spinning, panting heavily. His right arm bulged grotesquely as he channeled chakra into it.
"Multi-Size Jutsu!"
He smashed the overpass to rubble.
Seeing him go all out, Rokuro scratched his head in mild annoyance.
"So many ways to end this fight… Lightning Chakra Mode, the Nine-Tails' power, Shinra Tensei—ugh, too flashy. Better use something simple that won't raise suspicion."
He pulled out a scroll, unrolling it to reveal intricate sealing script.
Teimon roared and leapt high, raising his enormous arm for a final strike.
"Sealing Technique: Vajra Bind!"