"Tch! Teacher Mizuki, you're such an idiot!"
"Shiki Uzumaki clearly won by a huge margin. Are you blind or something?"
"Mizuki-sensei, are you really a chunin? You don't even have that level of judgment!"
Before Shiki could say anything, his classmates who stood behind him began defending him.
Damn brats! Mizuki was furious and deeply ashamed that his plan had failed. However, being an extremely hypocritical person, he put on a fake apologetic smile and said, "Oh, right. I was distracted just now and didn't pay proper attention. Since Shiki Uzumaki clearly won, the match goes to him!"
After winning, Shiki stepped back and left the arena instead of staying like Hyuga Ao had. After all, he had no intention of doing anything that would draw too much hatred.
Precisely because of this, the following matches proceeded extremely smoothly. They really felt like training matches, without a single injury.
Iruka clearly let out a sigh of relief. However, the smoother these matches went, the more boring they became. For example, Shino barely released some bugs from his body before the girl opponent started screaming and running away.
This embarrassed Shino for quite some time.
Eventually, the later matches became increasingly uninteresting, and students from the ninja academy began chatting about previous fights.
Sasuke's defeat undoubtedly disappointed and upset many girls. But when they tried to find Sasuke to comfort him, they realized he'd already gone long before.
Even Shiki only realized this afterward. However, Shiki clearly knew that someone as competitive as Sasuke would definitely work harder after this setback, possibly even pushing himself beyond limits.
With this guy gaining strength almost unnaturally every time he faced defeat, Shiki honestly felt uncertain about dealing with his pursuit. He'd need to think again about how to further improve his own strength.
In addition, among the girls' conversations, Shiki's battle was naturally discussed most frequently.
"Shiki-kun has always been handsome, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, I remember since the day he first joined our class, I've liked Shiki-kun. It's just that he was always sleeping, giving me not even one chance to talk to him. Eventually, I gave up."
"We used to think Shiki-kun was just the bottom of the class, but who knew he actually possessed such strong ability."
"Has anyone actually managed to keep track of Shiki-kun's movements?"
"No. Only when Shiki stopped moving to launch attacks could I briefly glimpse his hair that looked like flames."
"Yeah, so cool!!"
Watching the girl beside him openly praising him without hesitation, even though Shiki had developed thick skin across two lifetimes, he found himself somewhat overwhelmed. He decided to leave early; otherwise, just the envious glares from male classmates alone might make him want to vanish.
"Shiki!"
Just as he was about to go, he heard Iruka-sensei calling him from behind. Shiki quickly turned around to face Iruka.
"Iruka-sensei, what is it?"
Iruka's tone was somewhat heavy as he spoke, "Shiki, come with me for a moment."
Shiki didn't understand what Iruka meant. Wasn't a match still in progress?
Looking closer, he realized the match had ended long ago. In the end, Iruka's class had lost more matches than they'd won.
Shiki knew this had much to do with Iruka's teaching style. Because Iruka focused on building a solid foundation, most of his students hadn't learned many combat techniques yet.
Naturally, they couldn't compare with the children from Mizuki's class. But eventually, Shiki knew, Iruka's class would produce many powerful shinobi, far superior to other classes.
Realizing this, he suddenly noticed that Iruka had already walked far ahead. He hurriedly ran to catch up.
Shiki didn't notice, on a rooftop beside him, Danzo had been standing there, observing this carefully designed match.
"So this is the genius of the Uchiha clan? Judging from this performance, it seems rather showy. As the younger brother, Sasuke lags far behind Itachi." Danzo commented. In his eyes, Sasuke's performance had been extremely disappointing.
In truth, at this age, almost no one could truly rival Itachi. Even if someone existed, it might be only Kakashi Hatake. Indeed, Danzo stood at such a position that his perspective had become excessively high.
Unknowingly, the evening glow of the setting sun had already spread across the sky. After the matches concluded, naturally all the children went home. Danzo stared silently at the empty campus, deep in thought.
"Shiki Uzumaki, are you truly someone with potential? Or will you turn out like Might Guy—despite your efforts, ultimately nothing more than an ant?"
Chapter 18: Iruka's Gift
Under the setting sun, shadows stretched unusually long.
Shiki sat on the swing where Naruto often sat, facing Iruka who stood before him with a serious expression.
"Shiki, how long have you practiced the [Dance of the Shadow Leaves] technique you used?" Iruka asked.
[Dance of the Shadow Leaves]?
Thinking about this taijutsu technique—the only one he could use—Shiki felt a wave of emotion. Actually, this technique wasn't particularly difficult as a ninjutsu skill. Even in anime, Shiki had seen this technique before.
Yet he hadn't remembered it at all—until recently. When he saw Lee wearing his green spandex suit attacking specially designed training posts using this move, Shiki finally recalled its existence.
This was exactly the same taijutsu technique Lee used in the anime to defeat Sasuke before the Chunin Exams.
The movements themselves weren't complicated, but learning them proved difficult. This was because executing the technique required extreme speed, which also explained why Sasuke initially couldn't perform the move even after copying it with his Sharingan.
Later though, after special training from Kakashi, Sasuke eventually mastered it under a different name—the [Lightning Flash: Lion Combo].
Taking inspiration from that, Naruto created his own variation—the [Naruto Combo]. Unlike the original, it didn't rely on speed. Instead, it used perfectly timed coordination between shadow clones.
Compared to the [Shadow of the Dancing Leaf], those latter two techniques are significantly more powerful. After all, each has been improved by its respective user. However, even with his current physical condition, Shiki still can't reach that level.
Only Lee might come close to doing that. Every time Shiki thought about how Lee had already trained the same way while wearing weights, he couldn't help but silently admire him.
"If it were just that one move alone, I practiced for three days," Shiki didn't hide anything — there was no need to lie in front of Iruka-sensei.
"But considering how long it took me to build up my speed to this point, I'd say it took around three or four months altogether."
However, Iruka-sensei did not show even a hint of admiration. Instead, he tightly furrowed his brows. "Shiki, are you saying that the reason you've been sleeping so much lately is because you secretly spent so much time training your taijutsu?"
Just as Shiki was about to offer an explanation, Iruka cut him off,
"I know that with techniques like that, there's no substitute for hard work. Your dedication truly impresses me as a teacher. But don't you think you're treating your own body too lightly?"
Shiki didn't know how to respond. The hardest words to argue against are those spoken with true concern for someone's well-being.
"However, Sensei, I need to work harder."
Iruka stared directly into Shiki's eyes, trying to find even a trace of childish naivety within them. But he failed — he found instead that Shiki seemed almost more mature than himself.
Trying another approach, Iruka persuaded, "Right now is a time of peace. I think slowing down a bit might actually benefit you more in the long run."
Shiki replied solemnly, "Iruka-sensei, I've always had this incredible sense about things. Whatever I foresee almost always comes true. But recently, I've sensed many dangers that I cannot yet withstand. That's why I want to grow stronger — faster!"
Knowing about the storyline was something he still couldn't reveal. If the ones pulling the strings behind the curtain ever found out, he'd certainly face life-threatening danger.
Besides, even the Third Hokage wouldn't last against those terrifying figures. Naruto, Lee, Sakura, and the rest of Konoha's Twelve Guardians still haven't grown strong enough yet. If he revealed everything now, the storyline could change drastically — and the villains might succeed for real.
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