"What are your rules for selecting team members?" Uchiha Mai asked.
Minato paused slightly, then replied, "There are no rules."
Testing the Will of Fire—what rules did that need?
Wasn't it simply about seeing who was willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others?
Mai nodded faintly.
Got it.
Then, without hesitation, he spun around, drew chakra into his leg, and whipped out a high roundhouse kick straight toward Asuma's face.
I like games with no rules.
—
Inside the office, Fugaku saw the group freeze for a moment. After Mai exchanged a few words with Minato, he suddenly moved.
Fugaku's heart leapt with joy.
Well done. Very well done indeed.
At a moment like this, stepping forward and saying I'll withdraw would carry no loss other than missing out on Minato's team. It would also greatly reduce the Uchiha's perceived threat in the Third Hokage's eyes.
Afterward, the one who "voluntarily withdrew" would surely be arranged into another elite squad.
Fugaku had seen this routine countless times.
But Mai's sudden whip kick toward Asuma instantly told Fugaku—
You celebrated too early.
Fugaku's heart nearly stopped.
What the hell?!
Wasn't this supposed to be about who understood the Will of Fire?!
Why are you throwing hands?!
And fine—if you're going to fight, why Asuma again?!
Eat, sleep, beat up Asuma—have you built muscle memory already?!
Mai had his reasons.
Asuma was simply the closest one standing near him.
Obito was from the same clan—awkward to take him out first.
Kurenai and Rin were both weaklings; one kick and they'd cry for half a day. No threat at all. They could be dealt with later.
As for Guy…
That lunatic opened the Eight Gates at the drop of a hat—troublesome.
But eliminating the other four would be enough.
Advancing together with Guy wouldn't be bad at all.
Asuma, meanwhile, had been pondering whether he should voluntarily withdraw—perhaps to fulfill Kurenai and Mai—
When suddenly, a familiar leg shadow lashed toward him.
Pure reflex kicked in.
He leaned back and took a step away, narrowly avoiding the whip kick.
Experience gained from repeated beatings paid off.
But before he could recover—
Mai stepped forward.
Left foot planted. Center of gravity stabilized.
Every muscle in his body tightened like a fully drawn bowstring.
His right leg lifted high above his head, flexibility stretched to its limit. Chakra surged harder than ever before, exploding forward with greater speed and sharper intent.
Mai-Style Ancient Martial Arts · Outer Form · Crushing Axe!
This was a newly developed technique after a full month of brutal training—its visual impact and destructive power pushed to the extreme.
A move Asuma had never seen before.
He had perfectly avoided the first kick, and never imagined that Mai could unleash a second heavy strike so quickly.
He wasn't this fast before!
Of course not.
Why would Mai go all-out just to beat up Asuma on a daily basis?
Asuma twisted his body desperately, barely avoiding a direct hit to the head.
Crack!
A crisp, horrifying sound rang out.
The bone in Asuma's shoulder shattered instantly, and the overwhelming force slammed him flat into the ground.
"AAAAAAAH—!"
Dust exploded upward.
Only then did the pain register.
Asuma let out a soul-piercing scream, filled with grievance.
Uchiha Mai, you have no ninja ethics!
Before, at least you fought fair—ten exchanges before beating me black and blue!
Today you ambushed me and didn't care whether I could take it—straight to this kind of force!
Disgusting!
Absolutely disgusting!
Asuma was miserable.
But inside the office, Fugaku and Sarutobi's expressions were even more twisted—like severe constipation.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
"This Uchiha Mai… not bad. Very not bad," Sarutobi said with a stiff smile, forcing out a dry comment to mask the awkwardness.
"He is the strongest among our clan's younger generation," Fugaku could only add, doing his best to help the Hokage save face.
At this moment, pretending humility—saying Mai was just an ordinary Uchiha—would only make things worse.
What would that imply?
That the Hokage's son had been flattened in two kicks by an ordinary Uchiha?
And truth be told, Mai's strength really was terrifying.
Fugaku knew Mai often fought Asuma—and always won—but he had never imagined it would be this one-sided.
Each time Asuma returned home with a bruised face, he always claimed it was a close fight decided by a single mistake.
No one proudly admits to being completely crushed.
The sudden kneeling of the Ninja Academy's top delinquent left everyone completely unprepared.
Only after Asuma went down did Minato finally react.
Wasn't the Hokage's idea to test their willingness to sacrifice?
Why did it turn into a brawl?!
Now what was he supposed to do?
Intervene?
But he had just said there were no rules.
Wouldn't that be slapping his own face?
Namikaze Minato was deeply conflicted.
Mai, however, didn't care about the awkwardness in the office—or Minato's hesitation.
After flooring Asuma, he immediately redirected his momentum toward Obito.
Sorry, Obito.
If I want to join Minato-sensei's team, I have to knock you down.
True, this means you won't be teamed with Kakashi.
But I'll knock out Rin too later.
Look on the bright side—Rin won't be on Kakashi's team either. That's actually good for you.
"M-Mai… what are you doing?!" Obito stammered.
Even with his thick nerves, he couldn't keep up with Mai's tempo.
"This is for your own good," Mai replied calmly, driving a flying knee toward Obito's chest.
Obito finally reacted, channeling chakra and raising both elbows to guard.
Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
His arms screamed in pain.
Though he protected his chest, the impact wasn't fully dispersed, and he staggered backward several steps.
Mai closed in instantly.
His single-tomoe Sharingan activated, analyzing Obito's posture and movement.
Both hands shot forward like specters, clamping onto Obito's head.
After long practice with Lightning Fivefold Whip, Mai's arms, hands, and fingers had reached a completely different level of speed and dexterity.
If the one holding Obito's head were Rin, he might have enjoyed it.
Unfortunately—it wasn't.
Mai yanked Obito's head downward and drove his knee upward with brutal force.
Obito dropped unconscious on the spot.
Mai had always fought brutally—aiming straight for vital points.
Minimum damage: broken bones or mild concussion.
Maximum damage: uncapped.
It was ruthless—especially for a school test between classmates.
But up until now, no one had corrected him for it.
Not the academy teachers.
Not Fugaku.
Not anyone.
Because this was the ninja world.
This was a world less than ten years removed from the Second Great Ninja War.
If you didn't strike hard enough, you posed no threat.
And if you posed no threat—
You would be killed.
Holding back too much in peacetime would become fatal instinct on the battlefield.
This wasn't a playground.
This wasn't peace.
This was the shinobi world.
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