"This… this can't be!"
"How could an ordinary punch block a flurry of shuriken? No, wait—Leo must've used a ninjutsu. But what kind? I didn't see him form a single hand sign!"
The entire training ground erupted in disbelief. Every student's eyes were bulging, mouths hanging open in stunned silence.
Even the ninja instructor stood frozen, utterly dumbfounded.
Those shuriken might not have been sharpened, but thrown with human strength, they could still cut through flesh easily. Blocking them barehanded—especially with a child's tender skin—should've meant blood everywhere!
Yet Leo didn't have so much as a scratch. It was simply impossible.
Of course, the truth was that he had activated Armament Haki—and he'd done it in an instant. Few, if any, could have noticed.
Among the few who might, Minato Namikaze's sharp eyes did catch something. The brief flash of change at the moment You're struck, the cracks spiderwebbing along the shuriken afterward—it all hinted at a terrifying force behind that fist.
Hard to imagine what would happen if that punch had hit a person instead.
A Hyūga student in the crowd, using his Byakugan, could see even more clearly:
the sudden surge of chakra flow, the explosive tightening of muscles, the instantaneous, terrifying burst of power that flared through Leo's body at the moment of impact.
"What kind of power was that…?" the Hyūga boy murmured to himself.
Even Uchiha Tsuki stared wide-eyed, face pale with disbelief.
"Awesome!"
"Kushina cheered loudly, clapping her hands. "Leo-kun, teach that arrogant jerk a lesson!"
Uchiha Tsuki's face twisted in anger. "You think some strange little trick makes you strong? I'll show you the true might of the Uchiha Clan!"
Snarling, he pulled out a kunai, holding it in a reverse grip. His scarlet pupils shimmered—within each eye, a single black tomoe appeared.
The One-Tomoe Sharingan!
Awakening it at his age meant he was a genuine prodigy.
"Sharingan, huh?" You didn't dare underestimate him. He reached into his ninja pouch and drew his own kunai.
"In front of these eyes, your taijutsu and ninjutsu are nothing but a joke!"
Tsuki lunged forward like an arrow loose from a bow, kunai slashing down in a vicious, precise strike.
The One-Tomoe Sharingan could already read the flow of movement—predicting taijutsu and exposing weaknesses. He was confident he'd utterly dominate Leo and grind him into the dirt.
Leo charged as well—but this time, he coated not his fist, but the blade of his kunai with Armament Haki.
"Die!" Tsuki roared inwardly, expression twisted and frenzied.
Leo remained calm amid the storm. He can rage all he wants—
Observation Haki, activate!
Time itself seemed to slow. Space still. Every motion in the world crawled to a halt.
Under the insight of Observation Haki, Tsuki's flawless attack became riddled with openings.
Leo moved as if guided by instinct—effortlessly sidestepping the strike—and countered in the same motion. His Haki-coated kunai flashed!
Clang!
The sheer force of the impact traveled up Tsuki's arm. His kunai flew from his hand, his body following suit, flung backward by the blow.
In raw strength, Leo—empowered by Armament Haki—was untouchable among his peers.
Tsuki hit the ground hard, face-first in a spectacular "dog-eating-dirt" fall. One round—and he was down.
The once-proud Uchiha heir now lay humiliated. No one had expected Leo's combat instinct and power to be this overwhelming—able to match even the fabled eyes of the Uchiha Clan.
Even the instructor was stunned. In his mind, Leo had always been an average student—decent but unremarkable. To see such explosive talent today… it was beyond belief.
"Well done!" Kushina whooped, clapping excitedly, completely ignoring Tsuki's miserable scowl.
"That dodge looked accidental, but it was actually perfect—pure instinct. His battle intuition is incredible," Minato murmured, face serious.
He didn't believe for a second that Leo's movements were luck.
"Uchiha Clan… cannot be humiliated!"
Tsuki staggered to his feet, his arm trembling from the shock. His fingers ached—the vibrations from Leo's Haki still lingering—but rage drowned out the pain.
Forming hand signs rapidly, he shouted: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
He inhaled sharply, his chest swelling, cheeks puffing like a toad's—
Whoosh!
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, spanning nearly three meters across! The entire training field's temperature spiked, the air itself shimmering in the heat.
Gasps filled the crowd.
"The Great Fireball Jutsu… that's a C-rank technique!"
"That's for chūnin! He's still an Academy student!"
Indeed, the basic jutsu ranking went S, A, B, C, D, E.
E-rank covered the Transformation and Clone Techniques—Academy level.
D-rank belonged to genin.
C-rank was the realm of full-fledged chūnin.
And Uchiha Tsuki, a mere student, had managed to perform one!
Of course, that didn't mean he had chūnin-level strength. After unleashing such a jutsu, he'd be drained of chakra—useless on a real battlefield.
But here, within the Academy grounds, he had no fear.
As for Leo? Just some refugee from another village. If he got burned alive—so what? The Uchiha Clan feared no one.
"Damn it, this brat!" The instructor's face turned pale. He hadn't expected Tsuki to actually use a C-rank jutsu. Even if he moved now, it was too late.
"Leo-kun!" Kushina's eyes shimmered with tears, hands trembling in panic.
If Leo got hurt—she'd definitely make them pay.
The roaring fireball surged forward, its heatwaves distorting the air. Anyone struck by it would be lucky to escape with their life.
Should I dodge? You thought, but his face stayed calm, expression unchanging even as the inferno raced toward him.
He could avoid it easily—but he chose not to.
C-rank ninjutsu? So what?
Before everyone's stunned eyes, Leo did something no one expected.
He bent his knees slightly, drawing back like a bowstring, fist clenched tight.
"What's he doing?"
"He's not… he's not really going to—"
"He's going to take it head-on?!"
"He's insane!"
The crowd murmured in disbelief.
Leo took a deep breath. His pupils flared with light.
Armament Haki—full power!
"HAAAH!!"
He roared—and charged straight at the incoming Great Fireball!
"Hah! Fool! You think your body can withstand a Great Fireball Jutsu? That's beyond stupid!" Tsuki sneered.
But his laughter froze the next instant.
The flames engulfed Leo's small figure—then, from within the inferno, a blazing fist tore through the fire!
BOOM!
The fireball shattered apart like a broken wave, scattered by the sheer force of his punch.
"Uchiha Tsuki!"
Leo's roar echoed through the training ground. Bathed in firelight, he looked like a war god descending from the blaze. His iron fist slammed forward—
CRACK!
The sound of breaking ribs rang clear and sharp.
Tsuki's body folded around the blow. He gagged, spittle flying from his mouth as his eyes rolled back, consciousness fading.
And then—silence.
The entire training field fell utterly still.
No one dared to breathe.
Leo stood amidst the smoldering air, his Haki flickering faintly, eyes calm as ever.
The boy who had just shattered fire with his bare hands looked less like a student—and more like a legend in the making.
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