"Next Match! Rin Nohara vs Shiro Nara!"
At the instructor's call, Rin raised her fists with a spark of determination in her eyes.
Beside her, Obito patted her shoulder, flashing a bright, reassuring grin.
"Don't worry! You got this!"
Lumian nodded calmly.
"His taijutsu should be about the same level as yours. The Nara clan's not exactly famous for hand-to-hand combat."
Rin gave a nervous nod, glanced toward the field, and shook her head to refocus.
"Right," she muttered in thanks, before hurrying forward with slightly unsure steps.
On the other side, Shiro Nara let out a heavy sigh and dragged himself toward the field like a man walking to his own funeral, hands buried deep in his pockets.
They met at the center.
Shiro gave Rin a dull glance, then tilted his head back to stare at the clouds.
"Man… what a drag. Should I just give up too?"
Toka immediately shot him a warning glare.
"Don't even think about it. Pull the same stunt as Gekko, and I'll have you redoing this match till you get it right."
Shiro groaned and scratched the back of his head.
"Eh... guess I'll put in the bare minimum, then."
Rin watched him, sweat forming on her brow. She quickly blinked it away and snapped into a ready stance, her nerves replaced by focus.
Shiro lazily mimicked her with the most uninspired version of the standard academy stance.
Toka stepped back, eyeing the two carefully. Then he raised his hand.
"On my mark…"
He paused for a breath, then sharply dropped it.
"Hajime!"
. . .
Rin, rather than charging in, cautiously approached Shiro with steady steps, eyes locked on his movements.
The Nara boy raised an eyebrow, watching her with mild curiosity, then lazily mirrored her approach.
Then, Rin burst forward with a sudden acceleration, throwing a straightforward punch aimed directly at Shiro's face. Shiro's eyes widened slightly as he blocked the strike with a quick elbow lift, redirecting the force. He immediately countered with a right hook aimed at her shoulder. Rin narrowly twisted out of the way, the strike grazing past her sleeve. She jumped into the air, spinning slightly to send a sharp kick toward the side of Shiro's head.
Shiro leaned back with just enough movement for the kick to slice harmlessly through the air. He then stepped in, arms out, trying to grapple her and use her lighter frame to force her off balance and to the ground. But Rin was already a step ahead. Anticipating his tactic, she drove a sharp jab aiming for his neck—not enough to harm, but enough to make him reconsider coming any closer.
Their exchange turned into a drawn-out battle of wits and endurance. Shiro constantly tried to disable her—attempting sweeps, shoulder grabs, and pins—while Rin responded with well-timed dodges and light counterstrikes that threw off his rhythm. Each time he closed the distance, she found a way to break free.
Finally, Shiro's patience began to fray. His movements grew slightly more aggressive, more forceful. After another failed attempt to sweep her legs, this one a quick arc aimed at her ankles like Yugao's earlier move, he lunged forward again, aiming to grapple her at close range.
But Rin had anticipated it.
As Shiro extended his arms, she ducked under them in one fluid motion, her body moving with practiced instinct. Her foot shot out in a low arc, sweeping under Shiro's legs just as he passed overhead.
"Oof!"
He stumbled forward, caught off guard, barely managing to catch himself from falling completely. But before he could turn or recover, Rin had already dashed in, closing the gap behind him.
She raised her hand in a knife-hand motion and firmly pressed it to the side of his neck: a strike signaling the end of the match.
On the sidelines, Toka raised his arm, his voice calm but firm.
"Winner! Rin Nohara!"
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Obito immediately let out the loudest cheer in the entire field, practically jumping into the air as he pumped his fists with enthusiasm.
"YES!!! GOOD JOB, RIN!" he shouted, loud enough for even Hiruzen at the Hokage Tower to probably hear.
Rin's face instantly turned a shade of red to match the tips of her ears. She hurriedly jogged to the sidelines, waving her hands in embarrassment.
"Not so loud, Obito!" she said, her voice flustered but touched.
Lumian, standing calmly beside Obito, gave her an amused glance from the corner of his eye. A faint smile played at his lips as he gave a short nod.
"Good job," he said simply, his tone relaxed yet genuine.
Rin smiled softly at that, thankful for the support.
Meanwhile, Shiro Nara dusted himself off with the energy of someone clocking out of work. He sighed and began making his way back to the crowd, hands in his pockets and eyes half-closed again.
"This is such a drag..." he muttered under his breath, as if his loss was just another inevitable bump in the day.
Toka let out a small sigh himself, brushing his hair back before stepping forward with his clipboard.
Then, raising his voice once more, he called out to the field:
"Next match! Kurenai Yuhi vs Kurisu Kurama!"
. . .
Lumian shifted his eyes toward the two girls walking slowly toward the center of the field, their footsteps light but determined. A curious glint flickered in his gaze.
"Kurama clan, huh..." he murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The Naruto series didn't exactly go into much detail about them—aside from a few filler episodes, they were practically a mystery."
Kurisu Kurenai wasn't the kind of girl who immediately drew attention, at least not compared to the more traditionally "pretty" girls at the Academy. Her features were modest and understated: slightly brown, shoulder-length hair and a calm face that didn't radiate intensity, but something quieter. Her most notable trait, however, was her eyes—distant and lightly glazed, almost unfocused.
In his previous world, Lumian would've assumed she was visually impaired. But here, in this world of chakra and clans, he recognized the trait instantly.
Kurama Clan's kekkei genkai.
The glazed sheen wasn't weakness—it was a subtle sign of their inherited strength in Genjutsu, illusions so powerful they could alter a person's reality.
As both Kurenai and her opponent took their positions across from each other, their postures spoke volumes. Both girls eased into the basic Academy taijutsu stance, the standard form drilled into every student. Nothing fancy. Nothing impressive.
And it was immediately obvious why.
They're Genjutsu users... not fighters, Lumian thought, watching the stiffness in their arms and the awkward weight distribution in their legs. "This is going to be painful to watch...."
From the sideline, Toka raised his arm once more. His tone had shifted subtly to one of resignation, as if he knew what kind of match was about to unfold.
"Hajime!" he called out.
The two girls didn't move immediately. A bead of sweat rolled down one of their brows.
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(Author's note here: The next set of fights are going to be brief summarizations without making them too long. After all.... I'm not going to write over 3000 word Academy fights for side characters lol...)
The fight between Kurenai and Kurisu wasn't exactly spectacular. Then again….. neither was Izumo vs. Kotetsu or Gekko vs. Yugao, so maybe this was just another one for the "meh" column.
The girls had what could only be described as a painful, awkward taijutsu slugfest. Since both of them were equally matched, and equally terrible at hand-to-hand combat, they basically ended up tanking each other's strikes.
Punch. Kick. Oof. Repeat.
Soon enough, red bruises and scrapes began forming across their bodies, blood seeping from elbows and knees. Neither one was backing down, but neither one was really winning either.
Eventually, Toka, who looked about two minutes away from a migraine, was forced to call the match off entirely.
Match Result: [Tie]
. . .
Next Match: [Gintoki Aburame vs. Zoro Akimichi]
{Gintoki flexed his muscles and Zoro activated his Armament Haki—(Yeah buddy… we're not doing this again… And Zoro? What are you even doing here????)}
On paper, a match between an Aburame and an Akimichi should've been incredible. Insects versus raw, unstoppable mass? That's shinobi cinema right there.
Unfortunately… this was the Academy. Not the battlefield.
Neither boy had truly learned to master his clan's techniques yet. No insects, no size-enhancing pills, no cool powers. Just plain, boring Academy-style taijutsu.
And well, let's just say weight class mattered. Truly the Akimichi's weight problem was superior.
Zoro's size and sheer bulk gave him the edge—and the win.
Match Result: [Zoro Akimichi]
. . .
Next Match: [Ken Yamanaka vs. Joseph Joestar]
{Ken Kaneki activates his Kagune and Joseph Joestar channels his Hamon—(Okay, now it's a JoJo reference? Seriously??)}
. . .
Lumian blinked.
The boy with yellow-blonde hair and sharp blue eyes stepped onto the field, and something about him triggered a memory.
Audrey...?
Lumian tilted his head, frowning.
Come to think of it, why did Audrey have brown hair?
She had blue eyes, sure, but in Lord of the Mysteries, Audrey always had blonde hair. That was, like, canon. Had he never questioned it until now?
Note to self: Ask Audrey about this next time we meet.
Back on the field, the match had already started.
And much like the last few bouts, both kids were shackled by their lack of access to clan-specific abilities. Just like the previous match, they were limited to Academy based Taijutsu.
Unsurprisingly, the Joestar kid—with his superior physique and natural brawler energy—won the fight.
(Surprisingly lol)
Match Result: [Joseph Joestar]
. . .
Next Match: [Fodder vs. Fodder]
Match Result: [Fodder]
(And no one remembered their names. Probably not even their parents.)
. . .
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The match's went on again and again, even ended in either a tie, or a victor. Until finally, the last match was upon them.
Toka raised his voice over the murmurs of the crowd.
"Final Round! Obito Uchiha vs. Amon Tsuchi!"
At once, Obito, who had spent the last few matches nearly dozing off, sprang to his feet. His eyes lit up with excitement as he cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms over his head.
Then, with a confident grin, he turned to Lumian and shot him a look full of fire.
He raised his fist and pointed it at him like a challenge.
"Like I said—don't hold back on me! I want you to give it everything you've got!"
But instead of the expected hype or snark, Lumian gave Obito a hesitant look.
"Are you sure?" he asked with a worried tone.
Obito blinked, caught off guard by the unusually serious response. His confident smile faltered for just a moment as confusion set in.
"Huh? What do you mean are you sure?" he scoffed, waving a hand. "I know you suck at fighting!"
Lumian smiled.
"Yeah? Then I guess you've got nothing to worry about."
Lumian stood up before strolling toward the field with the kind of unbothered calm that contrasted the weight of the moment.
Reaching his designated spot, Lumian turned around, his eyes scanning the crowd briefly before settling on Obito. Then, as if this were all routine, he slipped his hands into his pockets and waited.
Obito raised an eyebrow at Lumian's posture. He approached with brisk steps, stopping just across from him and slipping into a standard academy battle stance—arms raised, knees slightly bent, focus forward.
Lumian, meanwhile, remained relaxed. His stance was loose, almost lazy. One hand stayed tucked in his pocket, while the other hung at his side, fingers twitching with unreadable intention.
Toka's eyes narrowed slightly.
He raised his hand, watching both boys closely.
"On my mark..."
A beat passed. The air felt heavy with anticipation.
"Hajime!"
. . .
And in that instant, Lumian posture changed.
Before Obito could even push off his back foot to charge, Lumian's free hand lifted, fingers spreading wide as his palm extended toward his opponent.
He smiled. Not a taunt. Not a sneer.
Just a quiet, composed smile.
His palm extended gently, fingers steady.
Then he spoke.
. . .
"Come."
. . .
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(Author's note:
Thanks for reading!
Please feel free to leave a comment and leave a review! There are currently none!
Thank you..... AND POWER STONES!!!!!)