Watching twenty-four shuriken fly toward him, Isamu cursed inwardly at the shamelessness of a senior bullying a junior and immediately activated his Sharingan to dodge.
With the insight provided by the Sharingan, Isamu managed to evade the shuriken without any mishaps.
It's impossible for me to last ten minutes against Hiruzen Sarutobi with my current strength. I can only rely on stalling tactics.
Thus, the two entered a cycle of attack and evasion. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not go all out and simply maintained a steady back-and-forth with Isamu.
"Isamu, I can't see your true strength if you keep this up. But the fun is about over. It's time to end this!"
Sarutobi suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique and rushed right in front of Isamu, intending to finish the fight with a single punch.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi appear before him, Isamu immediately pushed off the ground and jumped backward while his hands began forming seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Isamu spat out a massive fireball toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Seeing the fireball rushing toward him, Hiruzen marveled inwardly. The boy's seal-forming speed was fast, and the ninjutsu's power was decent. The kid truly had some skill.
As the Great Fireball drew closer, Hiruzen's hands also began forming seals. Although he started later, his speed was far faster than Isamu's.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of water appeared directly in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, blocking the fireball.
The clash of fire and water instantly produced a large cloud of mist. Taking advantage of the cover, Isamu immediately left Hiruzen's attack range and leapt onto a nearby tree.
Seeing that seven minutes had already passed, he planned to use long-range tactics to stall for the remaining three.
Only three minutes left. I just have to hold on a little longer.
"Your ninjutsu is quite good, but this is as far as you go, Isamu!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly came from behind him. At some point, Hiruzen had already appeared right behind Isamu.
Isamu showed no panic. Instead, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Is that so? I don't think so."
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to attack, he realized he was surrounded by countless thin steel wires. Following the wires, he saw that their ends were held in Isamu's hands.
He immediately understood.
"I see. I was wondering why you suddenly ran up a tree. So there was a trap waiting here. You jumped up just to lure me in?"
"Exactly. I set traps in these trees long ago. Now, let me show you the new ninjutsu I've been working on lately!"
With that, Isamu quickly formed seals.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Isamu spat flames onto the steel wires, and the fire rushed along them toward the trapped Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although it was called the Dragon Fire Technique, it was essentially just channeling the Great Fireball's flames along the wires. It was simple to use and easy to learn.
Isamu watched Hiruzen Sarutobi get engulfed in flames, but he wasn't worried about killing him. Instead, he carefully scanned the surroundings.
What a joke. This man is the future Third Hokage. How could I possibly kill him?
Sure enough, the burning Hiruzen slowly turned into a pile of earth.
"An Earth Clone… Where will he appear from?"
Isamu panted heavily while remaining vigilant. His chakra reserves could only support about three C-rank ninjutsu at most.
Only one minute left. I have to endure!
While Isamu was watching his surroundings, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open.
Hiruzen Sarutobi burst out from the earth and landed a punch directly on Isamu's chin.
"Puh!"
Caught completely off guard, Isamu was sent flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed onto the ground.
"It's over, Isamu. You don't have the strength left to fight. Give up."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked calmly at the bloodied boy.
"You could have focused on taking the bells, but instead you insisted on defeating me. The outcome was destined to be failure."
Isamu slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and spoke firmly.
"I never planned to grab the bells from the beginning."
"I just wanted you to know that even without being trained by the academy, I—Uchiha Isamu—am not inferior to anyone who graduated from it!"
"I, Uchiha Isamu, will fight until the very last moment. You want me to give up? Impossible!"
Thirty seconds left.
This is my final ninjutsu.
Isamu immediately began forming seals again.
Watching him stand back up and continue fighting, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of admiration.
With such indomitable will, the boy would surely have a place in the ninja world in the future.
He wondered whether that would be a blessing or a problem for Konoha.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot toward Hiruzen.
This time, Hiruzen did not defend immediately. Instead, he calmly formed a long sequence of seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon surged forward and instantly dispersed the fireball. Without slowing down, it rushed toward Isamu.
Isamu watched the water dragon coming straight at him. His chakra was finally exhausted, and his vision went dark as he collapsed unconscious.
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's control, the water dragon did not strike the fallen boy and instead crashed harmlessly into the empty ground nearby.
Looking at Isamu lying unconscious on the ground, Hiruzen shook his head and laughed.
"You brat… you really go all out in everything you do."
"It seems I can feel at ease taking you on missions."
He took a Soldier Pill from his pocket and fed it to Isamu.
After a long while, Isamu slowly woke up.
"Congratulations. From today onward, you are a qualified genin."
Hiruzen took out a ninja forehead protector and placed it in front of him.
"Here. This is yours."
Taking the protector, Isamu tied it around his head.
He wasn't particularly excited about receiving it. To him, a headband was only an external symbol.
Strength was the only thing that truly mattered.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you while we take on missions."
"Yes, Sarutobi-sensei!"
"You don't need to call me sensei. Just call me Captain. I'm only about ten years older than you."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Alright, go back and get some rest today. We'll begin missions tomorrow. Meet me at the usual place."
After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi left.
Watching him go, Isamu dragged his exhausted body back home. After eating and taking a bath, he finally collapsed onto his bed.
"Right… completing the mission today should have given me one thousand points and a Sharingan upgrade opportunity. Let's check the system."
He immediately opened the system interface.
"I'll save the one thousand points for now. After all, it takes ten thousand points to upgrade to Three Tomoe. I'm still nine thousand short."
"As for the Sharingan upgrade…"
Isamu suddenly had an idea.
"System, can this Sharingan upgrade be saved for later?" he asked.
He wanted to store it for a breakthrough from Three Tomoe to Mangekyō.
If possible, he would rather use it to reach the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
After all, he had no brothers whose eyes he could transplant—and even if he did, he wouldn't do it unless that brother was truly willing to sacrifice himself.
However, the system immediately shattered his plan.
[Host, this upgrade opportunity can only be used for Sharingan below the Three-Tomoe level. In other words, it can upgrade you to Three Tomoe, but not to Mangekyō. Do not attempt to exploit loopholes in the system.]
Hearing this, Isamu sighed.
"I knew the system wouldn't have bugs to exploit."
"Then I'll upgrade to the Two-Tomoe Sharingan first."
Since there was no workaround, Isamu didn't hesitate and used the upgrade.
A surge of energy flooded his mind. Having already experienced the first awakening, the second evolution was far less painful.
After a short while, the One-Tomoe Sharingan successfully evolved into Two Tomoe.
Isamu walked to the mirror and carefully examined his eyes.
"So this is the Sharingan…"
Scarlet pupils with two black tomoe slowly spinning within them.
"Holy crap… this looks so cool!"
The One-Tomoe Sharingan provided insight, while the Two-Tomoe greatly enhanced observation and allowed him to copy others' ninjutsu.
That ability alone was incredibly useful.
Isamu couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
The world of Naruto truly was a world ruled by bloodlines.
As long as someone was related to the Sage of Six Paths, they were almost guaranteed to become a powerhouse.