After Sakumo's display, the remaining performances inevitably felt less impressive. He had set too high a bar that no one was able to reach.
Murakami wasn't too surprised by this fact but he kept his attention fixed on the field.
Soon, it was the turn of a boy named Fujimoto Sora, his Clone Jutsu produced duplicates that wavered as if doubting their own existence.
His Transformation Jutsu was functional, though he chose the likeness of an elderly instructor for reasons unclear.
Then came Substitution.
Sora formed the seals, focused, and a sudden boom of smoke erupted.
When it cleared, a confused dog sat where he had stood, blinking at the crowd. Sora himself remained rooted in place, staring down at his own hands in disbelief.
The instructor exhaled sharply. "You may return."
Sora nodded, accepting the verdict as the dog trotted after him.
The next student, a girl with slender posture and sharp gaze, executed all three jutsu with textbook precision.
"Pass," the instructor said without pause.
One by one, the line continued. Some performed adequately. Some struggled. A few failed outright.
It made Murakami wonder what they had been doing with their time at the academy.
'Six years…and this?' He thought in disbelief, but quickly caught himself. 'I'm getting arrogant.'
He corrected his thought as he recalled that even the protagonist of this world was the same. 'It's not that they're untalented…they're just poorly instructed.'
The evaluation continued and one unfortunate boy managed to substitute with his own shoe, landing barefoot in the dirt. Even he stared at the abandoned footwear as though unsure how the event had occurred.
The instructor held a long, silent stare at him before shaking his head. "Next."
Eventually, the final student completed their set, and the first phase came to an end.
Out of the entire class, eighteen had performed well and nine were sure to have poor scores on their profile.
Just then, the instructor adjusted his clipboard. "Now we begin the final phase of the exam. Sparring matches."
"You will be paired and evaluated based on combat skills and situational awareness. No lethal force. No weapons unless stated. I will end the match if and when necessary."
A ripple of excitement moved through the onlooking audience.
Even Murakami felt his excitement rise up a notch.
The instructor glanced down at his list.
"First match: Hatake Sakumo versus Yamanaka Shiori."
Murakami's gaze sharpened.
A young lady stepped forward with confident and composed steps as she faced Sakumo. She carried herself like someone who expected to win.
Sakumo simply nodded in acknowledgment.
His expression didn't shift at all, it was calm, respectful and completely unbothered.
The two stood across from each other, a slight tension settling quietly over the field. Then…
The instructor raised his hand. "Begin."
As his hand fell, Shiori moved first.
She shot forward, hands flashing through hand seals as she threw a kunai, not at Sakumo, but behind him.
A distraction.
And an unnecessary one, because Sakumo didn't even acknowledge the kunai nor did he attempt to read her hand seal to prepare.
He just leaned out of the way, dodging her punch like he'd seen it coming ages ago.
As though expecting her trickery to fail, she didn't let up and threw a punch at his face, only to drop low before sweeping for his legs.
Sakumo, as if already anticipating the feint, simply lifted his foot, letting the kick pass under him.
But Shiori didn't stop, using her hand as support, she shot her other leg towards his rib, desperate to catch him.
But Sakumo took a step back, letting her heel glide past his chest by inches.
Shiori pushed off the ground the moment her kick missed, twisting in mid-air to spin behind him.
She landed low and shot forward again, closing the distance with a burst of speed that caught a few students off guard.
Not Sakumo though as he turned smoothly, redirecting her momentum with a gentle tap on her shoulder.
It wasn't even a strike, just enough pressure to throw her off-line.
Shiori stumbled a step but recovered instantly, gritting her teeth.
She lunged again, this time aiming a straight jab for his jaw. Sakumo tilted his head, letting her jab cut past his cheek.
But before he could relax, Shiori's knee followed, angled toward his stomach, he dropped an arm and caught the strike with a firm forearm block, stopping her momentum cold.
The exchange continued, and the longer it went on, the more obvious the gap became.
Sakumo wasn't counterattacking nor was he actively blocking…He simply wasn't getting hit.
And Shiori knew it as her movements grew sharper and more frantic. Her breathing came quicker as she pushed harder and harder for even a single touch.
But Sakumo's expression didn't change, calm, unreadable and almost bored.
Finally, Shiori gritted her teeth and backed off to create a gap between them. She flashed through a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Mind-Body Switch Technique!"
For the first time, Sakumo reacted, his fingers twitched, his foot shifted just slightly, as though he were bracing himself.
And the moment Shiori released the jutsu, Sakumo hand moved.
It was subtle, but he formed a one handed seal in a blur of motion so fast that it was nearly impossible to see.
But the next moment, he was no longer standing where he'd been a second ago.
Even Murakami paused, eyes narrowing. 'He moved? When?'
Shiori's body froze mid-gesture, her technique missing its target by barely an inch.
And Sakumo?
He was already behind her.
She barely had time to gasp before he struck, just a controlled kick to the back of her knee and her leg buckled, her balance collapsing beneath her.
Before she could recover, Sakumo's arm settled around her neck in a clean hold.
Not choking or hurting. Just enough to end the match without question.
The instructor didn't even let it go on for a full second. "Match over!"
Sakumo immediately released her and stepped back, as calm as ever.
Shiori, for her part, just knelt there, breathing hard. Her expression wasn't angry, exactly. More like she was trying to do the math in her head about how she had lost so easily.
And honestly?
Murakami felt the same as the crowd. Shiori wasn't weak, far from it, but Sakumo had made her look like a child in comparison.
"Winner: Hatake Sakumo," the instructor declared.
Murmurs of approval rippled through the spectators.
Murakami let out a low exhale. "Well, that was almost unfair."
Kenji, standing beside him, crossed his arms. "I dunno. I feel like she could've won."
Murakami gave him a flat look. "Could've? How?"
"…If Sakumo spontaneously decided to take a nap mid-fight?" Kenji said with a sarcastic grin.
Murakami snorted inwardly at the poor joke but still rationalized it. 'Even then, I'd bet on him dodging attacks in his sleep.'
Sakumo returned to the lineup, completely unbothered, as if dismantling an opponent without effort was nothing more than a casual morning exercise.
And the best part? There were still many fights left.
'Oh, yes. This was going to be fun.' Murakami thought excitedly and looked toward the instructor expectantly.
The instructor waited for the murmurs to die down before calling the next names.
"Next match; Takahashi Ryuji versus Nakamura Daichi."
A ripple of anticipation ran through the crowd as two boys walked out and stood facing each other.
Murmurs rang out from the group of students.
"Both of them are strong."
"I wonder who's going to win."
''Ryuji is well-rounded, good in both ninjutsu and taijutsu. Daichi, on the other hand, is relentlessly persistent."
"You are right about that, he's not the strongest, but he doesn't back down"
"And sometimes, that alone could decide a match…"
The two exchanged short nods, and assumed their stances.
"Begin!" the instructor called.
Ryuji dashed in first. He threw a jab at Daichi's face which turned into a feint as went low, aiming a kick at his opponent's knee.
Daichi didn't panic and stepped back just enough to let the low kick slide past his leg. Rather than retreat further, he moved forward, closing the distance, throwing a sudden palm strike to Ryuji's chest.
Ryuji staggered as the hit connected to his chest, surprised by the force behind the palm, but recovered quickly.
But Daichi didn't give him time to reset as he lunged for another strike aimed at Ryuji's ribs.
Ryuji saw this and sidestepped, dodging the palm before landing a sharp knee to Daichi's side as he moved past.
"Huh," Murakami murmured, watching intently. This one might actually be close.
Kenji, standing beside him, nodded. "Ryuji's faster, but Daichi's like a wall. If he can turn this into a brawl, he'll win."
Murakami gave the boy a look once again. Was it just him who didn't know anyone in the academy or was Kenji just that informed.
Unfortunately, he couldn't deliberate on that as the fight was more important.
The fight escalated and Ryuji, relying on his speed, chipped away at Daichi's defenses with repeated punches and kicks mixed in with feints.
Any one would've been exhausted after taking that much hit but not Daichi.
He absorbed the hits patiently while searching for the right moment which came when Ryuji overcommitted on a strike in frustration, extending too far.
Daichi seized the opening, lunged, and slammed his shoulder into Ryuji's chest.
Ryuji hit the ground with a grunt causing the crowd to gasp collectively. Although some already anticipated the outcome, it was still surprising in the way it came about.
Before Daichi could press the advantage, the instructor raised a hand. "Match over!"
Ryuji pushed himself up, wincing slightly but otherwise unharmed.
"Winner: Nakamura Daichi!"
The crowd cheered and muttered in approval as Daichi helped Ryuji to his feet.
Kenji crossed his arms. "Well. That was solid."
"Hmm." Murakami nodded, his attention still on the field, but inwardly deciding to keep an eye on Kenji. He could become quite useful in the future.
The instructor checked his scroll before announcing the next match.
"Next match—" He paused, raising an eyebrow, glancing up at the crowd. A smirk tugged at his lips. "Senju Tomoe versus Uchiha Masaru."
Excitement spread through the spectators immediately, Murakami included. A Senju-Uchiha clash?
"This… this was going to be interesting."