If Hinata's Byakugan gave her X-Ray vision, then Suzuki had just given himself Predator vision.
Every living thing constantly gives off body heat—infrared radiation. With the Manager running in the background, Suzuki used a tiny, barely noticeable flow of Fire chakra to sensitize the air directly in front of his eyes. He essentially created a filter that translated invisible heat waves into colors he could actually see.
His dark eyes hadn't physically changed like a special bloodline, but absolutely nothing could hide from him now. He instantly spotted Kurenai's glowing, thermal outline crouching behind a tree about three meters away from where she had thrown her last kunai.
He had successfully turned himself into a walking heat detector, like a viper or a python. It made him uncomfortably similar to Hiruzen's rogue student, Orochimaru, but luckily, Suzuki had zero interest in being a creepy snake guy.
He had chosen to specialize in Fire and Wind. And right now, it was time to show off his absolute mastery of Fire.
Why wasn't he using Wind? It was simple logic. If he perfectly mastered the Wind scroll Hiruzen had just given him a few days ago and created many new jutsu from it, it would look too suspicious. But Fire? That was the basic inheritance he had received from his civilian parents. It was his foundation. Even with the Manager's help, he wouldn't have caught the Hokage's eye without his original Fire skills. So today, he was going to debut the ultimate upgrades he had engineered.
Meanwhile, Kurenai—completely unaware that Suzuki was currently staring right at her glowing thermal signature—was trying to figure out how to take down this terrifying kid.
She couldn't actually hurt him. Injuring the Hokage's brand-new, twelve-year-old disciple on their first day would be a career-ending disaster.
But how was she supposed to defeat him without hurting him?
Also, what the heck is that jutsu?! Kurenai thought frantically.
She had been convinced it was a Genjutsu, but no matter how many times she reset her chakra, the illusion didn't break. Suzuki just stood there, completely unbothered, acting totally untouchable while her weapons passed right through him!
Wait... can he physically turn his body into fire?!
The terrifying thought made her heart skip a beat. If that was true, she finally understood exactly why Hiruzen had taken the boy as his apprentice.
"A jutsu that makes him intangible..."
Deep in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen muttered the exact same thought. Watching the spar, he realized Suzuki's talent was even scarier than he had hoped.
Was it a special bloodline? No. Hiruzen was absolutely certain this was pure, unadulterated brainpower. That was why Suzuki was the perfect student.
While the Jonin and the Hokage wildly misunderstood his heat mirage, Suzuki—who was actually standing two meters to the left of his fake copy—decided it was time to wrap things up.
"Kurenai-san, you should probably dodge. I'm going to get serious now."
"....."
Kurenai was stunned. What is this kid talking about? No matter how smart Suzuki was, he was still just twelve years old! Yet, looking at his calm posture, she suddenly realized she was still underestimating him.
Suzuki's hands blurred through a short sequence of seals. Honestly, with the Manager assisting his chakra control, he didn't even need the hand signs anymore. But explaining why he didn't need them sounded exhausting, so he just played along for the audience.
"Katon: Seien no Jutsu (Fire Style: Azure Flame Jutsu)."
At first glance, it looked like he was preparing the standard C-Rank Great Fireball. But this time, he added a massive scientific upgrade.
For everyone watching—Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, and Hiruzen—the sudden, suffocating wave of heat sent a terrifying chill down their spines.
Fire needs three things to exist: Fuel, Oxygen, and Heat.
Instead of just breathing out normal chakra fire, Suzuki used the Manager to drastically increase the oxygen mixture in his lungs right before exhaling, essentially turning his mouth into a blowtorch.
When he released the jutsu, a blinding, feral blue flame erupted onto the training ground.
The heat was instantly unbearable. Everyone nearby had to squeeze their eyes shut against the blinding glare. The jutsu wasn't massive—only a few meters wide—but it felt like a miniature sun had just been born in the clearing.
Kurenai was absolutely frozen in shock as the roaring blue fireball rocketed directly toward the tree she was hiding behind.
Her mind was racing. How did he create blue fire?! How did he know exactly where I was hiding?!
But she was so stunned, she didn't move.
Suddenly, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist, violently yanking her out of the way just as the blue flame swallowed the tree whole.
Normally, a fireball would just scorch the bark and leave it smoking. But this fire was different. Everything the azure flame touched instantly vaporized into brittle, dull black ash. A sharp, metallic smell—like lightning—filled the air, accompanied by a terrifying crackling sound.
When Hinata and Shino finally opened their eyes, they stared at the crater in absolute horror, feeling the intense, dry heat sucking the moisture right out of their skin.
Kurenai was just as stunned. She blinked, realizing she was sitting on the ground, wrapped in someone's arms.
"Are you okay, Kurenai-san?"
"Ah... um... yes."
"Sorry," Suzuki said, panting heavily. "The damage output was way higher than I calculated."
Suzuki felt like his own skin was baking, but luckily, he knew how to use Water chakra. He quickly pulled some moisture from the air to rapidly cool down the temperature around himself, Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino.
"I lose," Suzuki said, his voice exhausted.
"Eh?" Kurenai looked at him like he was crazy. How on earth did he lose? He had completely dominated the fight!
However, Suzuki was genuinely at his limit. Using his Heat Mirage, his Thermal Vision, and finally forcing out the Azure Flame had completely drained his Genin-level chakra reserves. Worse, he had to burn whatever he had left to sprint over and tackle Kurenai out of the way of his own attack!
He honestly thought a Jonin would have dodged. When she just stood there like a deer in headlights, he had panicked. How did this woman even get promoted to Jonin? he wondered tiredly. Or is the Manager's optimization really just that overpowered?
Regardless, he was entirely out of gas. Breathing heavily, he let his body go limp, collapsing perfectly onto Kurenai's soft, warm chest.
Okay, maybe he was being a little petty. Since his new Sensei had almost gotten herself blown up and forced him to waste his energy saving her, he figured it was totally fine to take a tiny bit of advantage of the situation and take a comfortable nap.
Wow, Suzuki thought as his eyes fluttered shut. The softness of a mature woman is definitely on a different level.
"Suzuki!" Kurenai cried, gently holding the exhausted boy as he passed out.