What shocked everyone in the arena wasn't merely that Naruto had learned the Rasengan — it was that Ayato had taught him to use it perfectly in just one month.
It normally took years of focused training to master the Rasengan. Yet Ayato, who'd only been leading Team 7 for a month, had somehow turned the village's worst student into someone capable of shaping chakra with exquisite control and even performing summoning techniques. That was absurd.
"Ayato actually taught properly," Mei Terumi murmured, a flicker of surprise passing over her face as she watched Ayato in the second-floor viewing area. She'd mocked him yesterday — given his capricious nature, she'd expected him to neglect his students. She hadn't expected him to hide such a trump card. No wonder he'd been so confident about betting with her: it wasn't sincerity, just a calculated tactic.
Whispers rolled through the crowd. If Naruto could use Rasengan, could Sasuke and Sakura also learn it? Some argued Sakura lacked the chakra reserves, some said Sasuke didn't need it — he was already a prodigy. But everyone agreed: if Ayato could teach three Genin such a difficult technique so fast, his talent for teaching was frighteningly effective. Upper-rank ninjas would be lining up for him as a master.
Ayato heard the murmurs through his chakra sense and nodded to himself. "Good. Doubt leads to a better reaction," he thought. Let them assume Sakura and Sasuke couldn't use Rasengan. Let them be surprised.
He pinched Hinata's small bottom and smiled. "Right, Hinata?"
"H-Hinata doesn't understand what you mean," Hinata stammered, cheeks reddening. "B-but please don't touch—"
"Of course not," Ayato teased, pulling a straight face. "I'm just making sure you don't slip. Be careful."
Hinata blinked up at him with trusting eyes. "R-right… thank you, Ayato… Ayato's so kind."
Yūhi shot him a contemptuous look from the balcony. "Flattery," she said with a cold curl of her lips. She thought Ayato was simply manipulating the naive little girl. Still, she stepped closer, unable to resist.
Ayato inwardly smirked. Of course Yūhi would come closer — he'd learned her little patterns. Target read. Hand on.
Moonlight Gales coughed theatrically and announced, "Next match — Sasuke Uchiha versus Neji Hyūga."
Ayato tilted his head and watched the battlefield below; his tone was bored. "Why is this place full of old and weak people? Men who're too frail get disliked by women."
Yūhi's face betrayed a brief, flustered slip: she'd almost said something rude about Ayato and Mei Terumi. She clamped her mouth shut and reddened.
Hinata, puzzled, tugged at her sleeve and asked quietly, "Red Teacher said… 'satisfy'… what does that mean?"
Ayato opened his mouth to answer, and Yūhi slammed a hand over it with a sharp, "Shut up!" Her eyes were blazing; she didn't want Ayato explaining what she'd nearly blurted in front of Hinata. Hinata pouted and hid behind Ayato like a small, protective cat.
"Don't get too close," Ayato teased. Hinata shoved Yūhi gently and gripped Ayato's sleeve, glaring straight at her. The little girl was possessive in a way that made some nearby adults smile.
Below, Neji stood composed, his white Byakugan pupils fixed on Sasuke. The two genin faced off — a match everyone had been itching to see: Uchiha versus Hyūga, a clash of famed dōjutsu bloodlines.
Neji's tone was cold. "You claim to be an Uchiha genius? Fate fixes people's paths. No matter how you struggle, you can't escape what you were born into."
Sasuke's expression hardened; he hated the word fate. For him, the Uchiha massacre was a wound that would never close. "Don't preach fate at me," he snapped. "Ayato taught me that power changes everything. Power decides everything."
Sasuke's fingers moved — then he spat a torrent of flame from his mouth. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Neji's eyes diverted to the incoming ball of flames and, without flinching, unleashed a revolving wall of chakra. "Afternoon Eight Trigrams — Divine Rotation." His body was surrounded by a spiraling shield that shredded the fireball to pieces.
Everyone watched in stunned silence. Neji, a single genin, was releasing massive chakra and forming high-level defenses. Many jōnin couldn't output that much chakra, yet Neji did it as if it were nothing. The match had just grown far more dangerous.
Sasuke, unfazed, leapt in for close combat. Neji calmly waited, then struck with blinding speed — a torrent of strikes aimed at shutting down Sasuke's chakra points. "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji's onslaught was a blur — he struck the pressure points with a speed most people's eyes couldn't track. The crowd gasped as dozens of precise, devastating hits landed in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke, though, had tricks of his own. As Neji's fists landed, a strange white mist billowed up. In an instant, Sasuke's body shifted — he transformed, taking the form of a massive eagle, and with that transformation his chakra nodes shimmered and then sealed. The beast-form landed hard on the field, and its talons flashed dangerously near Neji's throat.
Neji's Byakugan scanned frantically. "Where did the transformation come from?" he demanded. The Hyūga's Byakugan, for all its reputation, had a fatal blind spot — a single degree where it couldn't see. He'd never expected Sasuke to exploit it.
From above, Sasuke — riding the hawk-form — plunged in at blistering speed. Lightning crackled in his palm: "Chidori—!"
Neji spun to cast his rotation defense, but the hawk's speed outpaced the technique. The talon stopped at Neji's throat, and crimson bled down his neck. He looked up, shocked.
Sasuke lowered his hand, breathing hard. "If I hadn't stopped, you would be dead," he said icily.
Neji tasted blood and grit. He glared, fury and shock warping his features. "I—" he started, then his posture slackened. After a tense beat he took a breath and said, "I—withdraw."
The giant eagle — Sasuke's summoned beast-form — bowed its head toward Ayato in the stands and said simply, "Master Ayato, mission complete."
A hush fell. No one expected that outcome. Neji had been able to release massive chakra and move with lethal precision, but Sasuke… Sasuke had displayed something else: the ability to exploit the faintest weakness and to transform into a hawk-like beast with blinding speed. Whether through technique, training, or sheer talent, Sasuke had neutralized Neji in seconds.
The commentary boxes were full of shocked murmurs. The Hyūga's famed Byakugan had a blind spot, and the Uchiha had exploited it mercilessly. The match was over; the crowd was left reeling.
Sasuke returned to the stands with the same cold, distant expression he always wore. Naruto and Sakura cheered, but the whole arena had registered the truth: under Ayato's guidance, Team 7's students weren't just improving — they were becoming dangerous, precise, and unexpectedly versatile.
And from the balcony, Ayato's eyes flicked once across the field. The corner of his mouth lifted just the tiniest bit. He'd set their stage in motion — and what had happened down there was exactly the kind of spectacle he'd wanted.
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