Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The Uchiha Guard assessment grounds had by now drawn quite a crowd of clan members who had heard the news and come to watch.
Three Uchiha jonin with heavy, composed presences sat in the examiner positions.
Uchiha Tekka was plainly among them.
Seated at the very center was a stern-faced elder with eyes as sharp as a hawk's: Uchiha Hachidai.
He was one of the clan's hawk faction elders, held in high esteem, and had always been known for his strictness and impartiality.
The last examiner was Uchiha Setsuna, likewise a jonin of formidable strength within the Guard.
"Silence!"
Uchiha Tekka spoke in a low, commanding voice, his gaze sweeping over the three applicants below like a bolt of lightning.
"Today is the Uchiha Guard's special recruitment assessment, three of you have applied, but the Guard does not keep idlers, only true elites may remain!"
"The assessment is divided into three parts: taijutsu, ninjutsu, and combat simulation, each will be scored, and only those with the highest combined score or an exceptionally outstanding performance will be selected."
"Is that understood?"
"Yes!"
Uchiha Shinsuke and the other two boys answered in unison.
The other two were named Uchiha Kyouichi and Uchiha Kaede, both around fifteen or sixteen years old, each holding a modest reputation within the clan and possessing the strength of ordinary chunin.
"First event, taijutsu assessment!"
With Uchiha Tekka's announcement, a lean and fierce-eyed Guard chunin stepped onto the field.
"Who's first?"
Uchiha Kyouichi stepped forward.
The two exchanged a flurry of blows, and though Uchiha Kyouichi's offense was sharp, he still appeared far too inexperienced against the seasoned Guard chunin.
After more than ten exchanges, a gap in his defense was seized upon, and he was pinned to the ground with a shoulder throw.
"Uchiha Kyouichi, score: average," Uchiha Tekka announced evenly.
Next came Uchiha Kaede, whose performance was somewhat better than Uchiha Kyouichi's as he held on for a few more exchanges, but he too was ultimately defeated.
His score was also average.
Finally, it was Uchiha Shinsuke's turn.
"Kid, show us what you've really got, don't waste everyone's time," the Guard chunin said with a grin, a hint of contempt in his eyes.
Uchiha Shinsuke said nothing.
He simply gave a slight bow and settled into the standard Uchiha-style taijutsu opening stance.
"Begin!"
At Tekka's command, the chunin struck first!
His body surged forward and a fierce straight punch, trailing a howl of wind, hurtled toward Uchiha Shinsuke!
He had put seven-tenths of his strength into that punch, enough to throw any ordinary chunin into a panic.
In the instant before the fist was about to connect, Uchiha Shinsuke's body tilted slightly to the side, dodging the blow by the narrowest of margins.
At the same time, Uchiha Shinsuke's right foot drove hard into the back of his opponent's supporting knee!
"Hm?"
The Guard chunin was inwardly startled, not expecting the boy's reaction to be so fast!
He quickly shifted his technique, pulling his punch back to defend, and raised his knee to block.
Thud!
A muffled impact rang out.
A tremendous force surged through from the knee, and the battle-hardened Guard chunin's body actually stumbled back half a step, beyond his own control!
'That strength is extraordinary!' Shaken inwardly, the chunin instantly shed every last trace of contempt.
Uchiha Shinsuke pressed forward without pause after his first strike, his assault rolling in like an unending tide.
The Guard chunin grew more alarmed with every exchange.
He could not gain even the slightest advantage against Uchiha Shinsuke!
Uchiha Kyouichi and Uchiha Kaede, watching from outside the field, were now staring with their mouths hanging open.
They had assumed Uchiha Shinsuke was just a kid riding rumors for attention, but his taijutsu turned out to be this solid!
This was no mere kid.
This was clearly a seasoned taijutsu expert!
At the examiner's table, a faint glimmer of sharp light flashed through the clouded old eyes of Uchiha Hachidai.
An expression of interest also crossed Uchiha Setsuna's face.
"This kid really hasn't let me down," Uchiha Tekka said, watching the fight on the field with a satisfied smile.
On the field, the battle had entered its most intense phase.
Unable to break through after a prolonged assault, the Guard chunin grew agitated and let a small opening slip.
Now!
Uchiha Shinsuke seized the moment and lunged in close!
The Guard chunin was alarmed and tried to evade, but it was already too late!
A heavy, forceful punch landed squarely on the Guard chunin's chest, sending a burst of sharp pain through him as he was blasted backward more than ten steps and nearly collapsed to the ground.
Uchiha Shinsuke pulled back his fist, stepped back, and stood still.
The outcome was decided.
"Uchiha Shinsuke, taijutsu assessment, score: superior!" Uchiha Tekka announced loudly.
A wave of low, astonished murmurs broke out from the watching clan members around them.
Superior!
That was an exceptionally high mark!
The expressions on Uchiha Kyouichi's and Uchiha Kaede's faces turned utterly awful, as though they had swallowed flies.
In this round, they had been completely overwhelmed by Uchiha Shinsuke's performance.
"Second event, ninjutsu assessment!"
Uchiha Tekka continued, "Demonstrate the fire-style ninjutsu you are most skilled with and strike the targets in the distance, we will score based on the technique's power, range, and the precision of your chakra control."
Uchiha Kyouichi and Uchiha Kaede each stepped forward in turn and both performed the Great Fireball Technique.
The power of the fireballs was acceptable, but the accuracy and form control were only ordinary at best.
Both scored average to slightly above average.
At last, it was Uchiha Shinsuke's turn.
He walked to the designated position, drew a deep breath, and the chakra within him began to circulate at a speed unlike anything before.
Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger!
The hand seal speed was so fast it dazzled the eyes!
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The next instant, dozens of fist-sized fireballs came shooting out of Uchiha Shinsuke's mouth!
Boom boom boom!
A rapid succession of dense explosions rang out almost simultaneously!
Every single one of the dozens of fireballs hit without missing, all striking the exact same point on the target!
That solid metal target did not even last a second before it was instantly blasted to smithereens, with countless red-hot metal fragments scattering outward in all directions!
The entire field fell into dead silence!
Everyone was stunned by this Phoenix Sage Fire Technique that could only be called flawless!
The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was merely a C-rank ninjutsu and was not among the most powerful, but its difficulty lay precisely in the precise chakra control and simultaneous command of multiple fireballs!
Yet the Phoenix Sage Fire that Uchiha Shinsuke had performed, whether in the number of fireballs, the trajectory of their flight, or the precision of their impact point, had reached a level that defied comprehension!
This could no longer be described with the simple word "mastery"!
"Is... is this the Phoenix Sage Fire?" Uchiha Kyouichi murmured to himself, his face filled with disbelief.
He also knew the Phoenix Sage Fire, but compared to Uchiha Shinsuke's, the gap was like a child playing with fire!
At the examiner's table, Uchiha Tekka shot to his feet, his eyes filled with undisguised shock and exhilaration!
"A monster! This kid is an absolute monster!"
Even Uchiha Hachidai, who had maintained a blank expression all along, showed a rare flicker of emotion on that perpetually stern face.
He had lived a long life and witnessed countless Uchiha prodigies, but one who had brought a C-rank fire-style ninjutsu to such a transcendent level of mastery at Uchiha Shinsuke's age: Uchiha Shinsuke was the first!
"Uchiha Shinsuke, ninjutsu assessment, score: exceptional!"
Uchiha Hachidai announced it personally.
Exceptional!
Uchiha Shinsuke listened calmly, not a trace of pride on his face.
With his mastery of the complete fire-style ninjutsu system, his understanding and control of fire-style techniques had long since surpassed the vast majority of jonin!
"Final event, combat simulation!"
Uchiha Tekka drew a deep breath, forcibly steadied his excitement, and sat back down.
He looked at Uchiha Shinsuke in the field, and his gaze became fiercely blazing.
"Uchiha Shinsuke, your opponent is me!"
What?!
The words sent the entire field into an uproar!
Uchiha Tekka, the Guard's company commander, a long-renowned jonin!
He was actually going to step onto the field himself for a combat simulation against a twelve-year-old boy?
"Tekka, are you serious?" Even Uchiha Hachidai furrowed his brow.
"Elder, I know what I'm doing."
Uchiha Tekka flashed a grin.
"This kid is exceptional material, and I need to weigh him myself to see just how much capacity he truly has!"
Uchiha Tekka rose to his feet and walked onto the field step by step, a powerful sense of pressure washing over everything in his path.
"Kid, give me everything you've got, let me see just how much potential you hold!"
Uchiha Shinsuke's gaze sharpened slightly as well.
A match against a jonin?
Perfect.
He too wanted to test just what level his current strength had actually reached!
"I look forward to your guidance!"
A crimson light quietly surfaced in the depths of Uchiha Shinsuke's eyes.
The one-tomoe Sharingan awakened!