Time flies. It had already been a year.
In the practical class.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
[Hundred Mountain Rush]! (Seriously, my naming ability is terrible. I originally wanted to follow Sakura's style with "Cherry Blossom Tearing Impact" for a Taijutsu name. Here, looking for suggestions on Taijutsu names that sound like they belong in Naruto.)
The powerful gust shot from Asuma's mouth was shattered by Seiki's punch, sending gusts of wind flying outward.
Amidst the swirling dust, Seiki suddenly leaped forward, his raised arm fiercely hammering downward.
Boom!
The ground violently cracked open, forming a five-meter-wide crater.
Looking at the shattered replacement doll inside the hole, cold sweat dripped down Asuma's back. "Why does it feel like Seiki has gotten even more violent?"
Seeing Seiki rushing toward him again, Asuma didn't dare delay. While throwing shuriken to disrupt Seiki's offense, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
As a fire-breathing dragon blocked his path, Seiki calmly threw a punch directly at it.
An ordinary Taijutsu ninja would never dare play around like this, but for him, it was simply a matter of pre-concentrating Yang Release chakra to heal the wounds. Dodging wasn't necessary at all.
The fierce fire dragon was smashed apart, transforming into splattering sparks.
Even Asuma was momentarily stunned—Seiki hadn't been this reckless last time!
But he had no time for further thought and barely managed to form a few seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum..."
Todoroki-Style Heavenly Foot of Pain!
Mid-charge, Seiki abruptly stamped onto the ground. The earth violently trembled, causing Asuma's body to slightly veer sideways.
Damn, messed up the seal... Asuma widened his eyes as the small ball of compressed air that should have exited his mouth instead shot out from another opening.
Puuuu~~~
Hearing that drawn-out, winding sound, Asuma blushed slightly. As he became distracted, a sudden gust of wind rushed toward his face.
Looking up, Asuma saw nothing but Seiki's fist steadily stopping right in front of him.
Meanwhile, Kei Yamakei had already rendered his decision. "Seiki Shimaseki wins! Both parties form the 'Reconciliation Seal'."
"Seiki-kun is truly amazing; he actually tore apart such a fierce fire dragon!"
"Come to think of it, Asuma is really persistent too."
"Yeah, I thought he'd have given up challenging the class rep long ago!"
"And even though he hasn't won once… hahaha, sorry, but when I think about how his win rate ranks dead last in class, it just feels so tragic!"
As the classmates murmured amongst themselves, Seiki patted Asuma on the shoulder. "How are you feeling? Alright, aren't you?"
"Hmph, I'm fine..."
"Don't worry, he's used to losing anyway." Ibiki, who increasingly showed promise as a sharp-tongued observer, suddenly remarked from the side.
Asuma's eyes flared wide open. "You jerk, stop looking down on me! I've improved a lot lately. Just wait two... three, four years—yes, only four more years—and I'll definitely beat Seiki!"
Just as he was talking, Asuma suddenly noticed Shizune taking notes in a little notebook.
"Shizune, what are you doing?"
"Ah, I'll make sure to remember what you said. If things still go badly in four years..."
Asuma wore a pitiful expression, grumbling, "Shizune, even you've gone bad."
Just then, Kei Yamakei spread his arms and said, "Everyone, quiet down for a moment."
"I'm glad everyone has advanced to the second grade. From today onward, you're officially seniors within the academy."
At that, everyone's faces lit up with excitement—they couldn't wait to flex their newfound "senior" status over the newcomers.
"But don't think this means you can relax. If you stop putting in effort, you might find yourselves overtaken by the newcomers one day."
Several students secretly rolled their eyes—they'd already figured out Teacher Yamakei's taolu (set pattern of behavior). Despite being a first-time teacher, he insisted on copying other instructors by claiming they were the worst batch he'd ever taught (taolu).
Exactly—he's only ever had one class, so of course it's automatically the worst!
Seeing the class looked unconvinced, Kei straightened his expression. "Don't think I'm joking around. Among this year's newcomers are geniuses whose talents rival Seiki and his peers!"
"No way! There are actually rookies who match the Class Rep's level?"
"Oh~ So the newcomers really are all monsters!"
Asuma muttered under his breath, "Teacher Yamakei went too far—now he's grouped me into 'them' as well."
Ibiki couldn't help but comment, "Don't worry, maybe Teacher Yamakei simply forgot to include you at all."
Seeing their reactions, Kei nodded in satisfaction. "Now you understand the pressure our previous seniors faced?"
At this, everyone offered weak smiles.
Indeed, the previous seniors had suffered terribly—bullied by their own upperclassmen while simultaneously pressured by their own incoming freshmen like themselves.
Once he was done with his start-of-term pep talk, Kei finally shifted his gaze toward Seiki.
"Seiki, with your current abilities, you could already apply to graduate early. What are your thoughts about that?"
The previously cheerful atmosphere suddenly froze over as anxious, worried gazes turned toward Seiki. "Wait—does this mean we're already about to separate?"
When Seiki remained silent, Kei continued, "Excluding wartime, the youngest graduation record from the academy is age seven—an unusually early age even by ninja standards. If you graduate now, you'll break that existing record."
In the ninja world (shinobi no sekai), where "geniuses" reigned supreme, breaking various kinds of "records" was something worth boasting about.
So, the classmates' expressions dimmed slightly. They felt reluctant to part with Seiki, yet no one wanted him to give up on an honor that rightfully belonged to him.
As for Seiki himself—he absolutely didn't want to graduate early. Right now, life was easygoing and comfortable; why would he throw away his carefully-laid plans for such a trivial matter?
Besides, Konoha wasn't a charity—once you graduated, you became part of the system and started pulling your weight.
After all, a large portion of Konoha's operating budget came from mission reward commissions.
Unless under exceptional circumstances, ninjas must complete their assigned missions each month before they're allowed to rest.
As for Seiki, who was undergoing rapid improvement, he naturally had no intention of wasting his precious time on such dull assignments.
Of course, intentionally delaying graduation wouldn't look good, so he chose his words carefully—
"The more I learn, the clearer it becomes how much I still don't know. Given how much I have left to study, graduating early just isn't the right path for me." Seiki said with a calm gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Even more importantly, I've promised to stand by all of you through thick and thin!"
A stunned silence swept across the courtyard. Then, a roaring wave of cheers exploded.
"Awesome! I *knew* our class rep wouldn't leave us behind!"
"Waaah, we're the reason Seiki's been holding back! Starting today, I'm doubling my training intensity!"
Standing nearby, Kei Yamakei smirked faintly. "Hmph, did you really think your teacher wouldn't have some new surprises ready?"
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