Though Satoru didn't have a huge chakra reserve, using the Great Fireball Technique once definitely wouldn't faze him.
At that moment, no one present could imagine such a small child possessed such outstanding combat talent.
"Incredible!" Jiraiya said in admiration. "The ability to analyze the situation so clearly and make the right decisions... This guy isn't just strong; he has very clear combat thinking."
"But Ino-Shika-Cho aren't easy to handle," the Third noted. "Let's see what happens next."
But at that moment, the Yamanaka girl just smiled faintly and charged straight at Satoru.
"Meat Tank!" It turned out the Akimichi Chunin had used the Transformation Technique!
The huge meat ball simply ignored the Fireball attack. Satoru faced such a situation for the first time.
"Not for nothing are they Chunin!" the boy noted in admiration. "But do you really think that's all I've got?"
*Boom!*
The transmigrator hit by the Meat Tank turned into a puff of smoke. It was just another shadow clone!
The Yamanaka and Akimichi Chunin were quite surprised. They had wanted to deceive the opponent, but ended up deceived themselves.
"Looking for me? Ninjutsu: Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique!" the transmigrator burst from underground, hurling countless shuriken. Then he formed seals, multiplying the shuriken several times over.
A dense swarm of deadly blades rushed at the Yamanaka and Akimichi Chunin.
"Meat Tank!" The Akimichi Chunin wasn't giving up. He used his body to attack Satoru again.
But at that very moment, Satoru suddenly laughed:
"You've fallen into the trap! Chunin Teacher!"
To everyone's astonishment, the System's possessor charged straight at the Meat Tank! At the same time, he threw a kunai at the Yamanaka girl.
"There it is! His real target is the Yamanaka," Jiraiya commented from the sidelines. "But that won't be easy."
"He's willing to risk injury just to take out the Yamanaka? But why?" Sakumo couldn't figure out his plan either.
The instant the Akimichi Chunin was about to slam into Satoru, something completely unexpected happened again.
Satoru turned into a puff of smoke with a dull pop.
"What?!" Only then did the Akimichi realize what happened.
Meanwhile, the girl desperately parried the incoming shuriken with her kunai.
And among them was one particularly notable shuriken. At the very last moment, as it approached her, it transformed... into Satoru!
"Amazing! This kid used a shadow clone, sparing no chakra, to create the perfect decoy and distract everyone!"
"Then, using the basic Transformation Technique, he turned into a kunai and, under cover of the shuriken from the shadow clone, got right up close to the enemy before dispelling the Transformation! His combat thinking is truly genius-level!"
Even the Hokage couldn't hold back his admiration. At that moment, Tobirama's student grew more and more sympathetic toward Satoru.
Meanwhile, Namikaze, fighting the Nara Clan Chunin at the other end of the field, performed quite respectably, but compared to Satoru, his actions weren't as impressive.
On the training ground, the Yamanaka girl, now face-to-face with Satoru, could only expect one outcome—defeat.
"Mind Transfer Technique!" She had no choice but to use her clan's secret technique, trying to seize control of Satoru's body.
But the young genius wasn't so simple! He had targeted her from the start because he foresaw this move.
"Armament Haki!" Satoru instantly concentrated Armament Haki on his fist. Without the slightest pity or sympathy for the fair sex, he punched the examiner Chunin in the stomach with full force.
After the powerful gut punch, the girl's expression changed sharply. She collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Yamanaka!" The Akimichi, seeing Satoru take out his teammate, immediately unleashed his strongest attack.
"Meat Tank!" The man was determined and showed no sign of holding back.
"Should we intervene?" Jiraiya asked worriedly. He was concerned not so much for the Akimichi but that in the heat of battle, he might accidentally hurt these talented Konoha kids.
"No need. This guy hasn't shown everything yet," Hatake replied. He watched Satoru closely and clearly sensed his calm and steady breathing. It seemed he really wasn't fighting at full strength.
And indeed, everything was just as the White Fang predicted.
Satoru wasn't scared at all. On the contrary, he smirked and charged straight at the Akimichi's Meat Tank.
"Interesting. Such a powerful attack... I wonder how you're going to block it?" The Third watched Satoru with lively curiosity. He knew the boy would surprise him, but even he couldn't have imagined just how great that surprise would be.
In fact, it was all very simple. To counter such a physical attack, he just needed to use a power from the world of "One Piece"! Armament Haki!
"Armament Haki! Hardening!" Satoru immediately activated Armament Haki: Hardening, and one of his arms turned black.
The durability of the blackened arm exceeded all conceivable expectations. The enhancement that Armament Haki gave Satoru was simply immeasurable.
*Boom!*
The dust and dirt kicked up by the Meat Tank made everyone present feel slightly queasy. However, no one dared close their eyes, because this fight had long since exceeded all their expectations.
At that very moment, a child not yet four years old stopped the Meat Tank's attack—performed by a Chunin from the Akimichi Clan—with a single hand!
And the mighty shinobi from the Akimichi Clan showed no sign of weakening his assault, continuing to press down on his opponent with all his might.
However, no matter how much force the Akimichi applied, he couldn't break through his opponent's defense.
It turned out that the Earth native had used Armament Haki: Hardening not only on his arm but also on some joints. His entire body had become like an iron statue, standing unyieldingly in place.
Everyone present was shocked to the depths of their souls.
"Sorry, Teacher Akimichi, but I need to hurry and help Minato," Satoru declared, firmly grabbing the Chunin by the collar and lifting him into the air.
*Boom!*
Satoru slammed the Akimichi into the ground with force. Suddenly, faint lightning discharges appeared on his hands.
Electricity paralyzed the Chunin's entire body. However, no one but Satoru saw this lightning. It turned out he had discreetly used a tiny bit of his Goro Goro no Mi power.
Both the Akimichi and the Yamanaka now lay unconscious on the ground. In other words, Satoru, being merely a Ninja Academy student, had defeated two Konoha Chunin. Such a feat was truly unprecedented.
At that moment, even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself didn't know whether to rejoice or be horrified.
"Horrifying... This kid defeated three of my village's Chunin..." The Third Hokage said nothing more, silently watching Satoru, lost in deep thought.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan