"Violent — Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind!"
Naruto went straight for the strongest move in the Leaf Whirlwind series. Blue chakra surged into his right leg, and he shot at Hyūga Neji like a horse off its reins.
He snapped a kick out with a howl of wind from his speed.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji brought both palms up, left and right, catching Naruto's right leg. A terrifying force slammed into him—pain spiked through his arms. Gritting his teeth, he steadied himself and in the same instant struck four times.
Naruto immediately felt the chakra in his right leg cut off.
Same problem as last time.
"Leaf Double Whirlwind!"
Two of Naruto's shadow clones whipped in from left and right with spinning kicks. Neji flicked a glance aside. His two clones were already bogged down—surrounded by Naruto's clones. Outnumbered, they'd still done their job, holding off half of the enemy clones.
Neji didn't dodge the incoming double whirlwind—he knew it was a feint, not the real hit. He raised his hands and blocked the spinning kicks from the two clones flanking him.
"Rasengan!"
Right then, another Naruto clone's voice sounded behind him.
Just as expected, Neji thought. His body blurred—he sprang straight up.
"What?!"
The Rasengan lost its target and slammed into the ground. The two Naruto clones nearby couldn't get clear; the blast swallowed them and they poofed away.
Neji closed the distance to the real Naruto in a flash. Naruto hurried backward. With the tenketsu in his right leg sealed, a few more hits and he wouldn't be able to use chakra at all.
"Leaf Rock-Destroying Rise!"
A Naruto clone darted in from the left with a driving elbow.
"Dynamic Entry!"
Another clone threw a flying kick head-on to shield the original.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji slipped past the elbow and fired six palms in a row, blasting the clone in front of him away. But that brief pause let more Naruto clones flood in.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji rattled off twenty-two strikes in one breath—his limit. In a blink, the Naruto clones around him were sent flying.
"Rasengan!"
The real Naruto seized the opening and drove a Rasengan at Neji's back through the gap—only for Neji to accelerate at the last split second and slip clear.
Eyes wide, Naruto had no choice but to drive the Rasengan into the ground to dump the energy. Because he was holding a Rasengan, his clones had instinctively kept their distance.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Neji spun, both hands thrusting out. Compressed chakra turned into an invisible shockwave that smashed into Naruto before he could react, blasting him backward into the dirt in a cloud of dust.
"What happened?!"
"What was that?!"
"Help him!"
Naruto's clones hadn't expected the original to be blown away and froze. Two seconds of chaos later, they rushed him en masse.
Neji, of course, didn't give them the chance.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
He clapped again from where he stood. The air shockwave caught Naruto just as he was getting up and launched him a second time.
Kitazawa lunged in and caught Naruto.
"K-Kitazawa-sensei, I'm fine," Naruto said, shaking the cobwebs from his head.
"Neji's already won," Kitazawa said, setting him down. "Both Vacuum Palms avoided your vitals. Dispense your clones."
Naruto blinked, then complied. The remaining clones on the field vanished in puffs of smoke.
"Winner: Hyūga Neji," Kitazawa announced.
"Neji, what was that just now?" Naruto asked, gesturing with his hands.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm," Neji answered. "A ranged Gentle Fist."
"So cool!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Youth comes with failure, but next time I won't lose!"
Kitazawa gave a tiny nod. Training under Might Guy had taught Naruto plenty—like not making excuses, only planning his comeback. This mindset was close to his late-series self in the original story.
"I'll be waiting," Neji said, taking a steadying breath. He wasn't smug; he'd won with strategy, not raw power. Next time, he had no guarantees.
"A clever game plan," Hiruzen murmured, stroking his white beard. With his eye, he could see the key—similar to Sasuke earlier: Neji had read Naruto's attack patterns, clones and Rasengan included. Without inside analysis, Hiruzen would simply say Neji's future was bright—maybe a lighter version of Minato in fighting style.
"Yes! Neji won!" Tenten cheered, fists clenched.
"Didn't see that coming," Kiba whistled. He'd half-believed Naruto would be untouchable till graduation with Multiple Shadow Clones and the Rasengan—only to lose in the very first bout of the term.
"The Advanced Class really is packed with geniuses," Shikamaru sighed. "I never should've snuck in."
"Neji truly is my eternal rival!" Rock Lee beamed. "If only I could face him next round!"
"You and Naruto are hopeless," Ino deadpanned.
Sasuke fell into thought. Neji's approach was a refined version of his own earlier plan. He felt he could copy it—and beat Naruto. He'd yet to face Naruto since awakening his two-tomoe Sharingan, and after watching Neji, he was sure of victory.
[Current Mission: Help Hyūga Neji defeat Uzumaki Naruto in the next monthly exam.]
[Reward: +10% Byakugan purity.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa perked up at the three lines that flashed before his eyes. After two months of effort, he finally had a reward.
The most immediate change was a boost in ocular power. Wrong time to test, but based on past upgrades, it meant sharper clarity and longer range—wider field of view.
Added to the previous +20%, his Byakugan purity was now +30%. The increase wasn't large enough to trigger any new special function or mutation, though.
"Second match of Round One: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Aburame Shino," Kitazawa called, snapping back to the present.
"Rough luck for you this month, Shino," Kiba said, shaking his head. Shino was well-rounded, but still outclassed by Sasuke.
"Not necessarily," Shino replied without changing expression. He used to fear Sasuke's Fire Style the most. Thanks to his kikaichū, genjutsu wasn't a concern—but Fire Style hard-countered his bugs. Times had changed. He had Firebugs now; five seconds was enough to flip a fight.
"So confident?" Kiba stared.
"Did Kitazawa-sensei give you a secret weapon?" Ino mused. "You haven't trained with us lately."
"Yes," Shino admitted.
Sasuke's face tightened. He hadn't cared at first, but "secret weapon from Kitazawa" made him wary. Kitazawa was too versatile. Neji had just beaten the stronger Naruto off Kitazawa's special training. For Uchiha pride, Sasuke couldn't stumble.
His hand drifted to the hilt at his waist. After he learned Leaf-Style kenjutsu, Itachi had given him a fine ninja blade. Not a chakra blade, but quality steel.
"Feels like Kitazawa-sensei's pulling every string," Shikamaru muttered.
"Don't talk nonsense," Ino shot back. "Kitazawa-sensei does everything for us!"
Hinata nodded in agreement.
"Exactly," Sakura—rarely—sided with Ino. She'd gotten much stronger. Without Kitazawa, she wouldn't have touched medical ninjutsu or Water Release—she wasn't clan-born, after all.
"A-ahem, just saying," Shikamaru shrank his neck. He'd always found girls troublesome—especially strong, pretty ones. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata checked all the boxes.
Even the usually dense Chōji edged away from him; offending all three at once was terrifying to contemplate.
Sasuke and Shino stepped to center.
"Begin," Kitazawa said once they formed the seal of confrontation.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
As usual, Sasuke opened with a massive fireball.
"Secret Technique: Parasitic Insects!"
Shino stood his ground as a flood of kikaichū poured forth.
Sasuke blinked—something was different. Shino's bugs were normally black; these were red.
A new species?
He hesitated—and in that instant, the Five-Second Firebugs accelerated, shot through the fireball, and streaked for him.
"What?!"
The sudden twist rattled Sasuke. In the split second he had, he flared his two-tomoe Sharingan and drew his blade.
"Leaf-Style Kenjutsu!"
The Firebugs were tiny, but under the two-tomoe Sharingan their paths were clear. Steel flashed; in moments, more than half the Firebugs were cut down.
Shino slipped aside from the fireball and swept his arms.
"Spindle Formation!"
Black kikaichū whirled together like a cyclone, drilling toward Sasuke. Preoccupied with the Firebugs, Sasuke looked momentarily imperiled. Cold sweat beaded—he'd been wary, but still hadn't expected Firebugs and had walked into danger.
Fortunately, his raw power was high; he pivoted instantly.
"Body Flicker!"
He slashed forward—blade light arcing in a bright half-moon. The Firebugs parted. Sasuke sprang back, resheathed, and flashed through seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The big fireball roared out again. The black kikaichū hit the flames and melted at once, releasing an oddly meaty scent.
Sasuke exhaled. He'd guessed right—only the red bugs ignored Fire Style; the black were the same old kikaichū.
Shino frowned. His best window had closed. With Sasuke now alert to Firebugs, further surprise attacks would be tough. Even so, the Firebugs' debut had stunned the onlookers.
"Bugs that don't fear Fire Style?" Hiruzen was openly surprised. As Hokage, he knew the Aburame clan's techniques well; these Firebugs were new to him. A hidden trump? If so, why reveal them in a school exam? That left one likely answer: Shino had cultivated a new variant—more likely, with Kitazawa's help.
"So that's Kitazawa-sensei's secret weapon?" Kiba gaped. "If Sasuke were any weaker, he'd have lost right there."
"Wild," Shikamaru clicked his tongue. Kitazawa made it hard to slack off, but you couldn't deny how much he'd boosted everyone.
"Besides fireproof bugs, are there others?" Ino shivered. "Please don't let there be bugs that ignore Yin Release!"
Her clan's techniques—and her two new ninjutsu—were Yin-based. If kikaichū bypassed them, that'd be terrifying.
"But the winner's still Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with conviction. Neji nodded. On the field, Sasuke held the advantage: Firebugs? He used Leaf-Style swordwork. Regular kikaichū? He switched to Fire Style. Back and forth, Shino was stuck. Anyone else couldn't swat Firebugs with kenjutsu—they're fast and tiny—but Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan tracked them perfectly.
Two minutes later, Shino conceded. He'd burned through most of his Firebugs; keeping at it would end the same way.
Sasuke halted his assault and sheathed his blade. He glanced at Kitazawa, resolving to treat anything connected to him with extra caution—the opening exchange had nearly cost him the match.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa said with a nod. Shino had done very well; he'd only lost because Sasuke was too strong.
"Third match of Round One: Yamanaka Ino versus Nara Shikamaru," Kitazawa announced after drawing lots.
"No dodging this hassle, huh," Shikamaru muttered as his eyelids twitched.
"Time to try the ninjutsu Kitazawa-sensei taught me," Ino said, lips curving.
Shikamaru's face fell. Neji and Shino's showings had already proved how effective Kitazawa's special training was—plain to the naked eye. Facing Ino's new technique would not be fun. He'd learned another clan secret himself, but still wasn't confident.
"You two, do your best," Chōji said around a chip.
"Hang in there, Shikamaru—let us see what Kitazawa-sensei taught Ino," Kiba added, clapping his shoulder. Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, and the others all looked intrigued.
"…," Shikamaru's mouth twitched as he trudged onto the field.
"Let's go!" Ino said, suddenly all business.
"Shadow Imitation Shuriken!"
Shikamaru's expression turned razor-serious as he opened with his new secret technique. Compared with Shadow Possession and Shadow Gathering, the shuriken version had simple conditions. He flicked his wrists and sent two shuriken spinning—
—and Ino vanished.
"What?" Shikamaru's heart jolted as his eyes darted, searching. Beautiful petals bloomed from thin air, circling him as they drifted. He backed up quickly—but the attack he expected didn't come. The flowers wafted lazily, like set dressing.
"A feint?" he blinked.
A tearing whistle answered him—he looked up just in time to see Ino—and then her heel crashed down on his head from above. He plopped onto his butt, vision swimming.
"You lose, Shikamaru." Ino leveled a kunai at him, smug. "This is what Kitazawa-sensei taught me—Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty."
"Winner: Yamanaka Ino," Kitazawa announced promptly.
"Another new jutsu?" Surprise flickered across Hiruzen's face. "Moonlight Beauty" clearly wasn't a Yamanaka secret—or any known shinobi technique. As a ninjutsu instructor, he knew most jutsu in the world; this wasn't among them. Another Kitazawa original, then?
Beyond Ino's strong showing, Shikamaru had done well too—at his age, wielding three Nara clan secrets was true genius.
Watching the three bouts, Hiruzen noted that aside from Naruto, all five of the others had improved. He found himself even more eager to see the rest of the practical exam.