Evening arrived, and the freshness brought by the School Festival gradually faded away. Yet everyone still lingered around the small forest, unwilling to leave.
"Hehe, although I've already forgiven that guy Shuunen, it doesn't mean I won't enjoy watching him get beaten up."
"Odds are out! Odds are out! Place your bets—how long can Shuunen last against Seiki this time?"
"I bet five shuriken he'll survive for five minutes."
"I put an explosive tag on three minutes..."
Beside them, Obito muttered angrily, "Damn it, how could those bastards do this!"
Shuunen himself didn't seem to care much. "Well, I'm not Seiki's match anyway."
Suddenly, as if just realizing something, Shuunen said, "Wait... You didn't place a bet too, did you?"
Hearing that, Obito nodded shyly.
Touched, Shuunen patted Obito's shoulder. "You're a true bro, but please don't do this again next time."
At that moment, Might Guy walked over, clearly annoyed. "I offered my spot in the Passionate Youth Club as betting stakes, but they wouldn't take it!"
Obito glanced sideways. Bro, not even if you paid people to take it!
"Hey, Obito," Haku suddenly asked, "I saw you bet that Shuunen-senpai would only last one minute. Isn't that kinda risky… Oh? What's wrong with your eyes? Why are you blinking so fast? Could it be—you're about to awaken the Sharingan too?"
"Why do I even know this idiot?" In his heart, Obito cried out in anguish. Unexpectedly feeling the pressure on his shoulders suddenly intensify, he stiffly turned his head, right into his cousin's gentle gaze.
Yao wan! (We're toast!)
...
"Huh. For some reason, this guy seems like one of those underdogs—the kind that somehow always pull through." Seiki had no idea what kind of emotional trauma had just occurred. Seeing Shuunen's heavy footsteps, he couldn't help muttering.
"Seiki, this time, I'll definitely hold out for five..." Shuunen's fierce declaration hadn't finished when he abruptly changed his mind. If he boasted and then failed, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing? At that thought, his momentum instantly deflated. "...At least five and a half minutes!"
"Is that so? I look forward to it."
After forming the Mark of Opposition, Shuunen immediately leapt back and began rapidly forming Hand Seals.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]!
Remaining expressionless, Seiki simply punched through the fireball, dispersing it effortlessly.
Sparks scattered through the air. Seizing the opportunity, Shuunen slipped into the woods.
Compared to fighting inside the school compound, the forest offered plenty of cover behind trees and shrubs. Facing a straightforward Taijutsu user like Seiki, those terrain advantages had to be used wisely.
Seiki didn't seem surprised—he simply stood silently within the jungle.
Suddenly, several bursts of flames erupted unexpectedly from behind him, flying straight toward his back.
At the same time, Shuunen actively jumped out from hiding, following closely behind the flames as if planning a joint assault alongside them.
Detecting movement, Seiki turned around, but this time instead of punching as usual, he pulled out several shuriken from his Tool Pouch and flung them at the incoming flames.
Before the crowd could even begin to understand why Seiki would do something so seemingly foolish as shooting shuriken at flames, they heard several *clinking* sounds as the hidden shuriken within the sparks fell to the ground.
The flames that had clung to the shuriken instantly dissipated.
"How is that possible? How did you see through it?" Shuunen exclaimed in disbelief. This was a battle technique he had spent a long time thinking up.
"The sound of plain flames is different from that of flames hiding shuriken," Seiki replied calmly, his voice steady and composed as if nothing could shake his calm.
"Is that even possible?" Confused, Shuunen suddenly realized, "Wait, I've already lost the initiative. If I keep charging forward now, am I really challenging Seiki head-on in taijutsu?"
Realizing this, Shuunen slammed on the brakes, hurled another handful of shuriken toward Seiki, then quickly fled into the nearby woods.
"Huff, temporarily safe..." Listening to the *clinking* sounds behind him, Shuunen, hiding behind a large tree, looked relieved.
Then, accompanied by an explosive sound, a pale white arm punched through the tree from behind him and came to a halt right beside his ear.
*Gulp!*
Shuunen glanced sideways with wide eyes, struggling to swallow.
Next, amidst cracking sounds, the giant tree collapsed with a thunderous crash.
For the new students just entering the academy, such an intense fight naturally drew wave after wave of astonished exclamations.
"Incredible! Senior Seiki is truly amazing!"
"More than amazing—maybe 'terrifying' fits better! Such terrifying power contained in a body no different in size from ours!"
Obito, with two panda-like dark circles under his eyes, was equally astonished. "So strong! My cousin Shuunen stands no chance at all!"
Kakashi's young face turned serious. "His vision, hearing, and control over strength—all unexpectedly formidable! Could this be the person Father mentioned, someone stronger than me?"
In the arena, Shuunen continuously darted between trees while booming noises signaled more trunks being severed midsection.
Within mere dozens of seconds, Shuunen faced near-constant life-threatening situations.
Shuunen was starting to feel completely desperate.
His greatest edge had been the hidden blade within fire—he'd hoped to exploit Seiki's predictable thinking and catch him off guard.
But who knew—Seiki simply refused to follow conventional logic!
"Stay calm, there's still a chance!" Taking a deep breath, Shuunen fled while observing his surroundings, looking for opportunities.
"Can I utilize these stacked logs? If I ignite them all at once... Wait, what is that?" As Shuunen thought coolly, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of transparent, thin threads connected throughout the forest.
Or rather—[It's a web]!
"This is... Chakra Threads forming a web?"
"It seems you've noticed. Then, let's end this battle here."
As soon as the words dropped, Shuunen found himself bound midair.
Though the position was embarrassing, Shuunen didn't care—he just stared down at Seiki in shock. "While fighting me, you could still focus enough to manipulate Chakra Threads?"
Smiling, Seiki gently lowered Shuunen down. "Maybe because taijutsu doesn't take much effort for me."
Shuunen reluctantly accepted this answer. Well, wasn't Taijutsu just throwing a few punches? Anyone with hands could pull that off.
Meanwhile, the young gamblers had already begun wailing in despair.
"Too fast! We lost in just fifty seconds!"
"That shouldn't be right! Shuunen Uchiha clearly lasted two minutes last time!"
Shuunen blushed slightly upon hearing this. He didn't want it either, but that's just how it was when fighting Seiki—any tiny mistake got blown completely out of proportion.
"Haha, Rin was definitely right. Cousin Shuunen really couldn't even last one—"
Shuunen, already feeling embarrassed, heard the cheer and immediately turned furious.
Meanwhile, Asuma approached. "Seiki, ready to go?"
Seiki responded affirmatively, but hadn't gone far when a little white-haired punk blocked their path.
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