"A bit interesting."
Although Sora appeared to look down on Uchiha Ryota, it had to be said that this display of shurikenjutsu was top-notch in the entire class.
Such an attack would be very difficult for others to completely dodge.
But Sora was different. Having been in this world for a year and a half now, he had spent most of that time training his body and practicing taijutsu. His physical reactions had long surpassed those of children his age, reaching the level of a Chunin.
Sora's right leg forcefully pushed off the ground, propelling his whole body diagonally into the air. Three shuriken whistled past, grazing the edge of his clothes. Simultaneously, his left hand shot out with precision, actually catching the shuriken aimed at his throat between his fingers.
"What?!" Uchiha Ryota's eyes widened. "This guy..."
The sidelines immediately erupted in an uproar.
"Caught a shuriken bare-handed?!"
"His reaction speed is too freakish!"
"So the top rank in taijutsu class wasn't just boasting..."
Kurenai's tightly clenched fist loosened slightly, but her small face was still etched with worry. "Sora..."
Beside her, Asuma, chewing on a blade of grass, snorted upon seeing this. "All flash, no substance."
Sora rolled upon landing, causing the remaining four shuriken meant to restrict his movement to all miss. He chuckled inwardly, 'Is that all? It's far worse than Nonō's special training.'
Seeing his shuriken easily neutralized, a flicker of anger flashed in Uchiha Ryota's eyes. His body charged forward, his right fist shooting straight for Sora's face.
"Taijutsu? Are you serious?" Sora let out a light laugh. He didn't dodge or evade, instead meeting the punch with one of his own.
"Thud!"
The moment their fists collided, Uchiha Ryota's expression changed drastically. He felt as if he had struck an iron plate, intense pain shooting through his knuckles. The recoil force pushed him stumbling backward. In contrast, Sora stood perfectly still.
Gritting his teeth, Uchiha Ryota steadied himself. He suddenly changed tactics, a sweeping leg aiming for Sora's lower body.
Sora retreated half a step, his right leg lashing out like a whip. It was faster and carried more power, directly suppressing Ryota's attack. The tip of his foot lightly tapped Ryota's knee.
"Ah!" Uchiha Ryota cried out in pain, dropping to one knee.
"Hey, hey, are you kidding? An Uchiha is being suppressed in taijutsu?!"
"Sora, that guy is a monster! That kick was so fast I couldn't even see it clearly!"
"Hmph, he's just taking advantage of being a few months older..."
Exclamations rose from the sidelines. No one expected the taijutsu confrontation to be such a one-sided crush.
Looking down at Uchiha Ryota, Sora shrugged. "Want to continue?"
"You..." Uchiha Ryota looked up, panting heavily, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Bastard!"
"You asked for this."
Uchiha Ryota's face flushed red. Suddenly, his hands flew through a series of hand seals.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom!
A fireball two meters in diameter erupted from Uchiha Ryota's mouth. The scorching flames made the air itself seem to warp. This was the signature C-rank Fire Release technique of the Uchiha clan. Normally, at least a Genin would be required to perform it!
"Stop!" The referee teacher's face turned pale. But Sora and Ryota were too close, and the teacher, having only recently been promoted to Chunin, couldn't react in time!
"Ryota actually mastered this?!"
"Someone could die!"
Students at the sidelines screamed and backed away, a few girls even covering their eyes.
"Sora!!"
Kurenai shot to her feet, clear tension in her eyes.
If hit by a ninjutsu like that, it wouldn't just be a matter of injury. It could easily be fatal!
Sora's pupils constricted sharply. In the original story, Uchiha Itachi could use this technique at age four, but Uchiha Ryota obviously didn't have that level of talent. Judging by the awkward, stiff movements of his hand seals, this was likely an incomplete version, performed with great difficulty.
Sure enough, in the distance, a bead of cold sweat was visible on Uchiha Ryota's forehead. Clearly, performing this ninjutsu was a heavy burden for him, almost depleting his chakra completely.
But it was still a C-rank ninjutsu!
It was important to know that in the Naruto world, ninjutsu was divided into multiple ranks: S, A, B, C, D, E, and more.
E-rank was the level taught at the Ninja Academy. D-rank ninjutsu were commonly used by Genin. And C-rank, that was ninjutsu commonly used by Chunin!
'Chakra flow is disordered, flame concentration uneven...' Sora instantly judged there was a weak point on the right side of the fireball. But with the defensive capability of a human body, even a glancing blow would cause severe burns.
'No choice...' He pretended to stumble backward. The moment the firelight illuminated his vision, beneath the sleeve of his right arm, his skin subtly transformed, taking on the appearance of azure dragon scales.
Thump!
The dragonized arm, concealed by the sleeve, blocked the fireball, erupting in a shower of sparks.
Seizing the chance, Sora performed a sideways roll to escape the sea of flames. During the roll, before his sleeve could completely burn away, he quickly dispelled the transformation of his arm.
"How is that possible?!" Uchiha Ryota slumped to the ground, his face, drained of chakra, full of disbelief. "Blocking the Great Fireball with taijutsu?"
The entire arena fell silent.
Kurenai was the first to rush onto the field. "Sora! Are you okay?"
She suddenly froze. Aside from his charred sleeve, the exposed skin on Sora's arm was only slightly reddened.
"A little trick of wrapping chakra around the body, that's all," Sora said, blinking and lowering his voice. "It actually hurt a lot, though. Keep it a secret for me?"
Kurenai's eyes reddened as she nodded.
At that moment, the referee teacher announced with a dark expression, "Uchiha Ryota is disqualified for unauthorized use of a high-risk ninjutsu! Sora wins!"
"Wait!" Ryota struggled to his feet. "He must have cheated!"
"Silence!" the teacher barked sternly. "Go to the infirmary immediately, and then write a three-thousand-word reflection!"
...
Evening, by the riverside where the Azure Dragon Fruit was found.
Sora examined his completely ruined jacket.
'The defense in hybrid form is stronger than expected, but using clothes to hide it is ultimately a weak point.'
Remembering the Great Fireball Uchiha Ryota released during the day, although the Azure Dragon Fruit gave Sora a higher resistance to fire-based ninjutsu, the feeling of intense heat was still very real. It felt like he could still sense it even now. 'Ninja from the Uchiha clan really can't be underestimated.'
"Sora!" Kurenai came running, holding a first-aid kit. "I brought you some burn ointment!"
Looking at Kurenai's breathless state, Sora suddenly smiled. In the original story, Kurenai at this age should have been training with Asuma on a team. But now...
"Thank you." Sora looked down at Kurenai as she applied the ointment for him, a trace of gentleness appearing in his eyes.
The sun was setting in the west. At this quiet little riverside in Konoha, only Sora and Kurenai remained.
Kurenai carefully applied the burn ointment to Sora, asking softly, "Does it hurt?"
"It's fine. A small injury like this is nothing," Sora said with a smile.
After finishing with the ointment, Kurenai put away the first-aid kit and sat down beside Sora, resting her chin in her hands.
"Sora, how did you block that fireball today? I saw your arm was only a little red, not even the skin was broken."
Sora had already prepared an explanation. "A little trick of wrapping chakra around the body. Sister Nonō taught me. But it uses up a lot of chakra, and it still hurts quite a bit."
Kurenai blinked her eyes, a look of admiration on her face. "You're really amazing! You even blocked an Uchiha clan ninjutsu."
"Just lucky," Sora shrugged. "That guy's Great Fireball wasn't very skilled yet. If it had been a bit stronger, I wouldn't have been able to block it."
Kurenai shook her head, speaking earnestly. "It wasn't luck at all! You train desperately every day. Even the teacher in taijutsu class praises you as a genius. Uchiha Ryota just bullies people relying on his clan's ninjutsu. If we're really talking about strength, he's far worse than you!"
Sora was amused by Kurenai's words. "You sound more confident in me than I am."
Kurenai's cheeks flushed slightly pink. She mumbled quietly, "Because... you're the hardest working person I've ever seen."