Although Shiki had never truly agreed with Sasuke's views—he sacrificed far too much for his so-called revenge—he definitely acknowledged Sasuke's current strength. After all, he was someone who mastered the C-ranked [Great Fireball Technique] by age six.
At this age, most children still struggled with the basic Three Body Techniques. Even Naruto, at twelve, had trouble with the [Clone Jutsu].
So surely this match is a guaranteed victory?
Even though Shiki wasn't willing to admit it, he would still be happy if Sasuke could win decisively.
After all, those other kids were clearly being too excessive.
Unexpectedly, Iruka shook his head and said, "Sasuke, it's not your turn yet. You can't fight now."
But as soon as Sasuke stepped forward from the crowd, there was no sign he intended to retreat. The wind gently blew strands of his hair by his ears, slightly chilling.
His expression remained as cold as ice—charms that made him popular with girls meant nothing to him now.
All his happiness and innocence stopped on that night. All he had in his heart now was finding that man—and killing him!
Suddenly, Shiki noticed a faint smile forming on Mizuki's face, which sharply raised his alertness.
Why was Mizuki still smiling even though Sasuke had stepped up to fight?
There must be something wrong here!
Mizuki said kindly, "Iruka, since Sasuke wants an early spar, that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, this also reflects the competitive spirit of students."
Seeing that Sasuke refused to step back and hearing Mizuki's words, Iruka finally said, "Alright then. Let Sasuke go first. His opponent is—"
"Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei, since Sasuke volunteered to fight early, may I also have such an opportunity?"
Shiki looked over and saw a familiar figure standing before him—[Hyuga Ao]!
The very boy who once claimed he'd teach Shiki a good lesson!
Why did it have to be him?
Shiki knew well that this character didn't appear anywhere in the original *Naruto* storyline. Even if he was a prodigy at the Ninja Academy, he shouldn't be stronger than Sasuke.
Then why were both Mizuki and Ao showing such confident expressions?
A flood of questions surged through Shiki's mind, confusing him greatly. "Looks like I'll just have to wait and see what happens next."
Before the battle began, Sasuke already said, "If you're just a dead last, I suggest you surrender quickly. Otherwise, you'll suffer a humiliating defeat."
Shiki helplessly shook his head, thinking how arrogant Sasuke still was.
He couldn't read the situation. If only Ao looked confident, that might just be arrogance.
But why did even his teacher Mizuki show the same look?
Hyuga Ao didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Since that's the case, allow me to test how strong a genius of the [Uchiha] clan truly is."
Chapter 13: The Powerful Hyuga Ao
As soon as Mizuki shouted "Begin!", Sasuke rushed toward Hyuga Ao at top speed.
But to Shiki, this was the most reckless move. When facing an opponent whose strength remains unknown—especially a member of the Hyuga clan—one should first keep their distance and cautiously test the waters.
Sasuke clearly wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible with minimal effort.
If his opponent had been much weaker, this tactic would've worked perfectly—just a quick intimidation and finish. But under current circumstances, it was obviously unwise.
Once he got close to Hyuga Ao, Sasuke immediately launched into a furious assault—an elegant series of punches and kicks delivered with thunderous force.
To Shiki, though, the movements looked painfully slow.
"Could my sensing ability really have grown this strong?" He felt delighted. He always got excited whenever he noticed any increase in power.
After all, there was still so much left for him to do—and Danzo had already marked him. If he didn't work hard enough or fell behind in progress, even Shiki himself wouldn't know what awaited him.
As he thought this, his eyes stayed locked on the fight. In fact, just like everyone else, he was watching the genius Sasuke, trying to see just how strong he really was.
But then something unexpected happened.
As Sasuke's fist flew toward him, Ao briefly closed his eyes and loudly announced, "Byakugan!"
When he opened them again, thick veins bulged across his otherwise delicate face, and the Byakugan activated.
Moments ago, everyone had been amazed by the incredible speed and combat awareness shown by the seven-year-old Sasuke. In that next instant, though, the stage completely belonged to Ao.
Through his Byakugan's 360-degree vision, Sasuke's punches looked like nothing more than childish flailing—each trajectory clearly visible and utterly predictable.
Ao did not even need to launch a counterattack; simply dodging with precise body movement allowed him to evade every strike.
"Heh, isn't that the Uchiha genius? What's wrong—going easy on me?" Seeing that Sasuke couldn't land any damage, Ao mocked him aloud.
So there was a trick after all!
Shiki finally understood why Ao had the confidence to challenge Sasuke Uchiha.
What truly surprised Shiki, however, wasn't specifically Ao's Byakugan.
Even from his previous memories, Shiki never could figure out whether the Byakugan required some sort of awakening process.
After all, Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi had all been able to use their Byakugan at a very young age.
In the original story, no mention was ever made of any specific activation phase for the Byakugan. Instead, only various transformations of the Sharingan were highlighted—including how Sasuke hadn't awakened his until age twelve.
He couldn't just go up to a random Hyuga clan member and ask, "Hey, does your Byakugan require an awakening ceremony?"
Even if someone could answer him, he wouldn't be in the mood to ask.
What truly surprised Shiki was Hyuga Ao's sheer speed. He still remembered clearly—it was three or four months ago—
Hyuga Ao had been a child who knew practically nothing when he used to bully others.
But now, his Chakra Reserves Amount were actually sufficient to support the consumption of Byakugan. What's more, his Taijutsu had somehow become shockingly powerful too.
Was Hyuga Ao some hidden genius never shown in the original manga? Or had the butterfly effect kicked in because he came here?
Either way, both fighters on the stage undoubtedly demanded more attention from Shiki.
"Sasuke, please don't lose!"
"Come on, Sasuke! Teach Hyuga Ao a real lesson!"
"Ao, you big idiot! Just surrender already!"
With so many girl fans in the crowd, almost all the cheers went to Sasuke Uchiha.
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