Watching from the sidelines, Goppu Sarutobi had a kunai gripped in his right hand, ready to intervene at a moment's notice. This was a test, after all; a few bruises and blunt force injuries were acceptable, but live shuriken were far too dangerous for accidents.
Having already anticipated Tenfu's trick, Tatsuma didn't panic. His left hand blurred toward his waist, plucking a senbon from his pouch and flicking it at the Uchiha before he threw himself into a side roll.
The senbon was a diversion, intended to force Tenfu to stop his barrage. It worked; the Uchiha was forced to abort his third volley of shuriken to avoid being pinned by the needle.
Seizing the opening, Tatsuma kicked off the ground from his crouched position, closing the distance in a sudden burst. He wanted to drag Tenfu into a melee.
"Closing for close-quarters? Hmph! You probably didn't know that while shurikenjutsu is the pride of the Uchiha, hand-to-hand combat is my specialty!"
Tenfu drew a kunai and lunged, thrusting straight at Tatsuma. By now, Tatsuma had finally released his hand seal; the newly kneaded chakra began to flow through his system, dulling the ache in his muscles and washing away the lingering sense of exhaustion.
Tatsuma parried the thrusting kunai with a sweeping motion, redirecting Tenfu's arm. Simultaneously, he stepped deep, planting his lead foot behind Tenfu's heel to set up a trip.
Tenfu seemed to read the move. He lifted his leg to evade the trip and immediately transitioned into a low sweep. Tatsuma was forced to snap his knee up to block.
However, this forced Tatsuma to sacrifice the tension in his upper body. Tenfu capitalized instantly, retracting his hand and spinning the kunai for a reverse-grip strike aimed squarely at Tatsuma's temple.
At the same time, Tenfu brought his sweeping leg up into a high knee, cutting off Tatsuma's path to duck. Seeing the pincer move, Tatsuma spun away, narrowly evading the kunai, and countered with a vicious, low-aimed palm strike—directly toward Tenfu's "ancestral hall."
Tenfu had clearly never encountered such a "shameless" style of fighting. His reflexes were top-tier, though; he snapped his raised knee down to shield his vitals from the incoming strike.
Tatsuma didn't try to force the blow through the Uchiha's guard. Instead, he let his hand land solidly against Tenfu's knee. Just as Tenfu began to smirk, thinking the attack had been neutralized, Tatsuma shoved with explosive force.
Standing on one leg and already mid-motion, Tenfu's balance shattered. Tatsuma followed up with a blistering slap aimed at the boy's face. Terrified, Tenfu jerked his head back to dodge.
With his balance gone and his posture wide open, Tenfu was a sitting duck. Tatsuma seized the opening, pivoted, and delivered a spinning back-kick. He intentionally aimed a bit high, his heel slamming right into the xiphoid process at the center of Tenfu's chest.
Thwack!
In an instant, Tenfu was on the ground. He struggled to even draw a breath, his face flushing a deep, panicked red as he gasped for air.
Tatsuma shot a glance at Goppu Sarutobi, but the teacher made no move to call the match. Gritting his teeth, Tatsuma stayed on his opponent like glue.
Given his current physical state, if he let Tenfu recover, he wasn't entirely sure he could win a second round. Knocking the wind out of the Uchiha was his best chance to end it.
Tatsuma snatched up the kunai Tenfu had dropped, flipped the boy over, and pinned him to the dirt with his body weight, pressing the blunt side of the blade against Tenfu's throat.
Only then did Goppu Sarutobi nod in satisfaction. "Winner: Sakamoto Tatsuma! Form the Seal of Reconciliation!"
The surrounding students were in awe. None of them had expected Tatsuma to dismantle Tenfu Uchiha in under a minute.
Once the victory was called, Tatsuma tossed the kunai aside and reached out to help Tenfu up. The Uchiha, however, looked utterly indignant. "You only won because of a cheap trick!"
Before Tatsuma could respond, Goppu walked over. He placed a heavy hand on Tenfu's chest and pressed his thumb and forefinger against the spot where Tatsuma's final kick had landed.
"AHHH!"
Tenfu's body contorted in a fresh wave of pain. Goppu looked down at him sternly. "Tatsuma held back. If he had actually intended to injure you, your career as a ninja might have ended before it began. Do you understand?"
"Impossible!" Tenfu gasped, refuseing to believe it.
Nearby, Chinto Hyuga narrowed his pale eyes and spoke up. "I didn't expect you to understand the principles of the Gentle Fist. We should spar sometime."
Chinto's comment served as a professional endorsement of Tatsuma's strike. While the other students were clueless, Goppu and Chinto could see that Tatsuma had intentionally avoided vital pressure points, sparing an Uchiha who didn't yet know how to use chakra to protect his internal organs.
Hitting the xiphoid process would knock the wind out of someone and cause immense discomfort, but it wasn't lethal. Had the strike landed even a fraction higher or lower, Tenfu's future as a shinobi truly could have been jeopardized.
"You flatter me. It was just a lucky win," Tatsuma replied.
He didn't agree to the spar with Chinto. Instead, he smiled and extended his hand to Tenfu again. Tenfu, finally regaining his composure, reluctantly hooked his finger around Tatsuma's to form the Seal of Reconciliation, though he couldn't resist a final jab.
"Next time... next time, I'm definitely the one winning!"
[Ding! STR +3, PHY +2]
Hearing the system notification, Tatsuma's smile brightened. He suddenly found the stubborn Tenfu quite endearing. He nodded and said, "With the talent of the Uchiha, I'm sure you'll find a way to beat me soon. However... the 'me' you face next time will be even stronger. The final winner will still be me!"
"Hmph!"
Hearing praise while being the loser made Tenfu incredibly uncomfortable. He looked away from Tatsuma's radiant smile, stood up, and walked to the side in silence.
That brief but intense exchange significantly improved Goppu's opinion of Tatsuma. The boy's personality was a bit eccentric and his actions were sometimes baffling, but there was no denying it—he was one of the top geniuses of this year's intake.
The testing continued, and it was soon Minato's turn against Chinto Hyuga. However, their match lacked the explosive drama of Tatsuma's fight.
Initially, Minato struggled to close in against the Gentle Fist. But once he realized the disadvantage, he immediately backed off. He used the projectile techniques Tatsuma had taught him to maintain a constant, suffocating pressure, eventually forcing Goppu to stop the match and declare Minato the winner.
Had Goppu not stepped in, Chinto truly might have ended up looking like a pincushion. Minato was a sunny, kind-hearted kid, but he seemed naturally suited for the life of a shinobi—he was ruthlessly efficient. If he saw an opening, he took it; if he saw a vital spot, he didn't hesitate.
As the second round concluded and the roster for the third round was posted, Tatsuma felt like the universe was out to get him.
His third opponent was... Minato.
Minato saw the board at the same time. He turned his head to find Tatsuma, and as their gazes met, both boys broke into a wide, competitive grin.