"Oye, Mango…"
Kaen's voice cut through the noise of the field, light and mischievous.
The silver-haired kid finally looked up — slow, unimpressed, eyes half-lidded like he'd already judged Kaen and filed him under "mid."
Kaen grinned wider.
"Wanna spar?"
Mango tilted his head. "How good are you?"
Kaen paused, glanced over his shoulder toward Itachi — now dealing with three idiots at once — then answered with a casual shrug.
"I spar Itachi twice a week. We're pretty even."
That finally made Mango shift.
"…Bet."
He stood up with zero hesitation, adjusting his stance like someone who'd been fighting long before any academy lesson.
Kaen lit up. "Say less."
He jogged toward the center ring and called out, "Sensei! We want a spar!"
"Alright! Take your positions," the instructor replied.
Both boys stepped four meters apart, lifted their right hands, and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
A brief silence.
"BEGIN!"
They burst forward instantly — no testing, no circling, straight into violence.
Mango opened with a high kick. Kaen hopped back — but it was a trap. Mango slipped forward with a flash of footwork and hammered a side-kick toward Kaen's ribs.
Kaen managed to slip most of it, but the impact still stung.
He dropped levels, reaching for a single-leg takedown.
Mango read it — he went low to defend.
Exactly what Kaen wanted.
Kaen spun on his palms and snapped a double-legged kick into Mango's torso, sending him sliding back across the dirt.
But Mango recovered fast — like really fast.
Kaen closed in again, feinting another low shot. At the last second, he planted both hands on the ground and snapped his heel upward toward Mango's chin.
The kick connected — just not cleanly enough for a knockout.
From the sidelines, Itachi watched in razor-focused silence.
That's Janken Kenpō… he's staggering him on purpose.
Mango, brows knitted now, finally recognized the pattern. His unimpressed mask didn't drop, but that casual air of his… yeah, it cracked just a little.
Before Kaen could chain the next attack, Mango blitzed forward with a body blow — a tight, clean punch right to Kaen's gut.
Kaen hissed and sprang backward to regain distance.
Tenga wiped his nose with his thumb.
Damn… kid's actually good.
Kaen, breathing steady, sized him up again.
As expected… those roughed-up knuckles aren't for show.
Round 1 ended with both kids staring each other down — no words, just two geniuses quietly acknowledging each other
The two little monsters began circling each other — not rushing, not posturing… just calculating. The kind of quiet that only shows up when two kids who shouldn't be this good realize the other one is built just like them.
Kaen stopped first.
He inhaled slow… deep… steady.
Exhaled through his mouth.
Then opened his eyes.
Crimson bloomed across his irises.
Sharingan — fully awake.
Itachi's eyes widened with something between pride and competitive panic.
"He's getting serious now…"
Across the ring, Mango's lips twitched upward.
"About time."
---
Round 2: Begin.
They collided again — the sound of their clash sharper, heavier.
Kaen lifted his leg like he was about to throw a mid kick, but the Sharingan-fed precision came through immediately — he slipped inside and cracked Mango's forehead with a sharp elbow punch.
The crack echoed.
Haruto visibly recoiled from the sidelines.
Oof… yeah that hurt.
Mango staggered half a step, but the kid was a brawler through and through. Kaen shot forward to choke him from behind —
But Mango snapped back into motion, hands rising instinctively. He threw a smooth one–two, boxing-style, sharp enough to force Kaen to retreat an inch.
Haruto blinked.
Now they're kinda even… I think?
Kaen blocked the first punch cleanly. The second skimmed past his cheek — close but not damaging.
Before Kaen could reset, Mango blitzed him with a simple but crazy efficient combo:
Hook.
Kaen guarded — countered with a sharp elbow.
Mango blocked the elbow and threw the hookagain.
Another guard. This time Kaen slipped low, aiming for a gut punch.
Mango's instincts screamed — he snatched Kaen's arm mid-strike and immediately swung into an armbar, both of them crashing to the ground.
The whole class stiffened.
But Kaen's eyes were red, spinning — Sharingan dissecting every micro-movement.
The second Mango tried to lock the arm fully, Kaen countered technically, perfectly:
• He clasped his trapped right hand with his left in an S-grip.
• Tucked his left elbow under Mango's ankle, driving the leg off his face.
• Rotated his hips hard left, slipping Mango's control.
• Trapped Mango's loose leg between his own, peeling it away from the leverage point.
It was a flawless dismantling — mechanical and fast.
Mango tried to extend the arm anyway, but the grip was already gone.
Kaen rolled free and shot back to his feet in one smooth motion.
Mango lay there for a second, staring up at him like:
Bro… who teaches six-year-olds this?
He got up, stretching his arms with a new respect.
Kaen stretched his legs, expression smug.
His ground game's even better than Itachi's… Mango admitted silently.
Kaen tilted his head, Sharingan gleaming.
"That your best, huh?"
Round 2 ended with two monsters staring each other down…
And both thinking the exact same thing:
Next Round is gonna be insane.
Before either of them could rush into Round 3, the sharp line across Tenga's half-healed forehead split all the way open.
Blood streamed instantly.
The instructor freaked.
"STOP!"
Kaen skidded forward, already crouching beside him. "Oi— you good?"
Tenga wiped the blood with his wrist, breathing heavy.
"Not a big deal, Sensei… just— give me a minute."
"Shut up," the instructor snapped, pressing a cloth to the wound. He turned— and nearly had a heart attack again.
Kaen's left cheek was also bleeding.
Oh dear lord…
Hokage-sama fast-tracked both of them and they're already bleeding buckets in MY CLASS?
He opened his mouth—
"I'm calling it off—"
"LET THEM."
A heavy voice boomed from above.
Everyone froze.
At the first-floor window stood Hiruzen Sarutobi with Principal Nara beside him, both watching like judges at a gladiator pit.
"You have fifteen seconds," Hiruzen declared. "Use whatever you want — Ninjutsu, Genjutsu… Instructor-san, give them a pair of kunai."
The instructor internally screamed.
Please no. PLEASE—
But the kids?
They were grinning like demons.
They walked back to the center, kunai in hand. Eyes locked, electricity in the air.
"Alright you squirts," the instructor groaned.
"Round three… begin."
Round 3: Ninjutsu Unleashed
Tenga didn't waste a second.
Before Kaen could even begin the Fireball seals, the older boy launched himself high into the air, hands flashing through signs faster than someone his age should've been able to manage:
TIGER → HORSE → OX → MONKEY → HARE → RAM → SERPENT → HARE → BIRD
"Water Style: TSUNAMI!"
A boulder-sized mass of seawater surged toward Kaen, easily C-rank in size, but with an A-rank's speed. A baby version of the legendary Three Hundred Tsunami.
Kaen shivered—
Not in fear.
In absolute hype.
His own hands flashed:
SNAKE → RAM → MONKEY → BOAR → HORSE → TIGER
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive, scorching orb of flame roared out of his mouth.
Fire and water collided — hissed — crackled — and as Kaen kept pushing through, the water evaporated into a harmless rain.
Tenga smirked.
Good. Step two.
Lightning strikes
With a sharp inhale, Tenga began a new string:
MONKEY → DRAGON → BIRD → TIGER
"Lightning Style: Channeling!"
Humidity from the clash hung in the air — perfect for lightning conduction.
A web of electricity snapped across the field and Kaen jerked, knees buckling from the shock.
Just as Kaen forced himself upright, vision spinning—
Tenga was already in front of him.
Kunai to throat.
The class gasped.
But Kaen exhaled lightly.
"Too slow…"
POOF.
A wooden log replaced him.
Hiruzen puffed from his pipe, eyes narrowing.
The yellow brat got him. Good.
Kaen reappeared behind Tenga, kunai at his neck this time.
"It's over," Kaen smirked.
Tenga grinned right back.
"No… it isn't."
POOF.
A clone vanished.
The real Tenga appeared behind Kaen—
kunai at HIS neck.
"Now… it's over."
Kaen froze… then sighed dramatically as he lifted his hands.
"Alright… fine… you got me."
He fell backward onto the ground, exhausted but smiling. Tenga flopped beside him, equally drained.
Kaen turned his head slightly.
"Mango-san… what's your real name?"
"Soma Tenga…"
"Tenga… yeah well— I don't care what you think about it…"
Kaen grinned.
"You're my best friend now."
"W–WHAT!?" Tenga sputtered.
Kaen nodded decisively.
"Best friend and rivals."
Tenga stared at him… then exhaled and let a tired smile slip.
Yeah.
He could live with that.
The whole class had been dead silent until now. As the instructor finally shouted:
"WINNER — SOMA TENGA!"
The ground exploded — cheers, whistles, stomps, shouts —
Itachi clapped with awe. Kaen looked and shrugged while giving a smile of satisfaction. From now Soma Tenga is on the respect list for all.
Minato's Residence, 9 p.m.
"…and then FFUUUUUU, this VERY big Water Style came at me. I actually got a little overwhelmed—like man, tsunami in the academy—BUT then I remembered I also know a Ninjutsu… so I threw it.
BHHHAAAAA— the Fireball Jutsu!"
Kaen reenacted the blast mid-bite, almost smacking his plate.
Kushina laughed, leaning over to push his bowl closer. "Okay, okay, Fireball Prince… eat first."
Minato smiled as he served him more food. "Tell me, Kaen, how many Ninjutsu do you actually know?"
Kaen answered with rice still in his mouth, "Oh me? I know… one. Well… two if you count Fire Fist. But does that really count as Ninjutsu?"
Minato half-closed his eyes, thinking.
"Well, technically yeah… but if you look at the core definition, Fire Fist is more of a Tai—"
He stopped.
His eyes widened.
"…wait. You know FIRE FIST??"
Kushina shot upright. "Minato—what happened? Is it bad?"
Minato looked both alarmed and impressed. "It's a B-ranked move, Kushina. And he's not even a Genin yet."
Meanwhile, Kaen smiled mischievously and nodded quickly.
"Did Enji-senpai teach you that too?" Minato asked, blinking hard.
"Nope," Kaen said after munching another bite. "Not entirely… Father drilled the stance into me. The actual fire on the fist… I learned that from Fugaku-san."
Minato choked on air. Kushina's hair started floating like angry red flames.
"Fugaku did what to my little boy??" she growled, barely holding it together.
Kaen froze mid-spoonful at the unusual sight. "WOAH—"
Minato chuckled nervously. "Don't worry… Kaen's responsible."
"Even still!" Kushina argued, glaring at Minato.
Kaen sighed like he is Hiruzen right now.
"Bruh… you and my mom are really alike…"
But deep down?
He was absolutely loving the chaos he just caused.
"Now tell me, Minato — how are your Genin?" Kushina asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
Kaen rolled his eyes dramatically, waiting for Minato to brag.
"For starters," Minato said with a proud little grin, "we have a cocky and smart knucklehead named Hatake Kakashi."
"Oh! The kid who graduated at six, right?" Kaen asked, eyebrows lifting.
"Yep. That's the one."
Minato continued, "And then we have a… let's say a nervous and smart knucklehead…"
He paused, looked right at Kaen, and smirked.
"…named Uchiha Obito."
Kaen almost died.
He choked mid-bite, banging the table. Kushina immediately smacked his back and shoved a glass of water into his hands.
"R—REALLY?" he croaked once he could breathe again.
Minato laughed. "Yep. Seems like I'll be mentoring Homura-senpai's kid too."
Kaen zoned out, imagining Obito's joy — his eyes softened, a tiny smile sneaking in.
Baka-ni… lucky idiot.
"And lastly," Minato added, "to balance these two out, we have a calm medical-nin: Nohara Rin."
Kushina's shoulders loosened. "Wow… when are you bringing them over? I wanna meet your students too."
"I will soon," Minato promised.
Kaen perked up. "Umm, Minato-san… you know about my future team, right? Is there gonna be a girl on it too?"
Minato closed his eyes, checking the mental list.
Kushina instantly leaned forward with matchmaking-aunt energy.
"Oh ho, my little boy is already thinking about girls, hm? Tell me, who do you want on the team?"
"No, Oba-chan! Why would I?, Kaen answered bluntly.
Minato finally spoke, "Actually… no. Looks like yours will be an all-boys squad. Kinda like my old team."
Kaen's reaction was immediate.
"YESSSSS!" He punched the air like he won the lottery.
Kushina blinked. "Hold up, I thought you were concerned earlier? Why are you happy now??"
Kaen sighed like a tired old man reincarnated into a 6-year-old's body.
"Oba-chan… girls are too emotional. And they bicker way too much."
Kushina's eyes went wide—
then she softened into that "aww you're still a baby, you'll learn" smile.
"…I'll ask you that again in a few years, kid," she muttered.
Minato absolutely LOST IT.
Laughed so hard he nearly dropped his chopsticks.
"Minato-san, Minato-san… can you teach me a Wind Style Ninjutsu tomorrow pleaaase?"
Kaen leaned forward with sparkly, weaponized puppy eyes.
Minato's eyelid twitched.
"Uh… Kaen, I would love to, but—"
Then he saw the eyes.
The full devastating, cute-jutsu assault.
"…okay, okay, FINE," Minato surrendered instantly. "I'll teach you the Wind Style: Gale-Induced Oscillating Sharp Pressure Current Technique"
Kaen's chopsticks slipped clean out of his hand.
He froze.
His left eye twitched like someone just unplugged his soul.
"Gale… WHAT."
Kushina burst out laughing. "Don't worry. He's terrible at naming things. But trust me — it's a really good jutsu. You'll love it."
Kaen stared down at the remaining soup like a man staring into the abyss.
"…it better be," he muttered, defeated, before chugging it in one go.