Chapter 16 — Sasuke's Challenge
Inside the Hokage's office, the crystal ball emitted a faint glow, revealing the scene of the battle unfolding at the training ground.
"This is the child you were talking about?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively reached for his pipe to light it, but seeing Asuma and Kurenai—the childhood sweethearts—standing side by side, a gratified smile appeared on his lips, and he gave up the idea.
"That's right. Tetsuya's talent in both Fire Release and genjutsu is exceptionally high. Fortunately, we discovered it in time. With a bit of polishing, he'll become a pillar of Konoha."
Hearing Kurenai's evaluation, interest flickered in Hiruzen's eyes.
Then let's take a look.
---
At the adjacent training ground, Naruto and Sasuke were engaged in their routine ninja practice. When they heard Akamaru's familiar barking, the ever-curious Naruto stepped onto a tree trunk and skillfully made his way up to the treetop, peering over the wall into the neighboring field.
"It's Kiba fighting!"
Hearing Naruto shout excitedly from the tree, Sasuke initially turned his head away, intending to continue practicing the Uchiha clan's shuriken techniques. But catching a glimpse of Naruto's animated gestures out of the corner of his eye, his youthful curiosity ultimately got the better of him, and he too ascended to the treetop.
It's him!
When Sasuke recognized Tetsuya's face, his expression shifted slightly. What had been a passing glance became something he could no longer ignore.
---
Seeing his ninken recklessly charging toward Tetsuya, Kiba—who had just rolled back onto his feet while clutching his shoulder—shouted urgently,
"Akamaru, come back!"
The ninken were the Inuzuka clan's most loyal and indispensable partners. Most of the clan's secret techniques and battle strategies revolved around them. However, Akamaru was still too young; he could only participate in combat after taking a soldier pill.
"Woof! Woof!"
At Akamaru's urging, Kiba swiftly drew a soldier pill from his ninja pouch and flicked it forward. It landed precisely in Akamaru's open mouth.
After only a few chews, Akamaru underwent a dramatic transformation. His two rows of canine teeth lengthened noticeably, his body doubled in size, and his once snow-white fur turned blood red—true to the origin of his name.
"Go, Akamaru!"
A satisfied grin spread across Kiba's face as he dropped to all fours. Akamaru leapt onto Kiba's back, barking repeatedly. The aura they emitted together was already comparable to that of most genin.
By now, the purple smoke that had obscured the field had dissipated, revealing Tetsuya's figure. He made no move to interrupt their synchronization.
"Beast Mimicry Ninja Art: Man-Beast Clone!"
At Kiba's shout, chakra surged outward, and thick white smoke enveloped the area, blocking everyone's vision.
When the smoke cleared, the chakra of man and hound had completely merged. Akamaru, who had been perched on Kiba's back, finished transforming. In appearance and aura, he now looked identical to Kiba—save for the sharper claws on his hands and feet, subtle differences betraying the disguise.
"Four Legs Technique!"
The two figures split apart in an instant, charging at Tetsuya simultaneously from left and right. Their pace and speed were nearly identical—enough to force opponents of equal rank into panic under the double assault.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Facing the pincer attack, Tetsuya remained utterly composed. Within a confined space, he dodged left and right with precision. No matter how Kiba and Akamaru slashed with their claws, every strike narrowly missed, as though all attack trajectories had been foreseen in advance.
Planning to stall by dodging, waiting for the soldier pill's effects to wear off?
After repeatedly attacking in vain, Kiba believed he had figured out Tetsuya's strategy.
If that's the case, take my final blow!
"Beast Human Taijutsu Secret Technique: Fang Over Fang!"
Without needing to communicate, man and hound acted in perfect sync. Their speed surged again. About three meters from Tetsuya, they began spinning at high velocity, transforming into two whirling tornadoes that shot toward him from both sides, sealing off all possible escape routes.
This was one of the Inuzuka clan's well-honed tactics. If one didn't want to take Fang Over Fang head-on, the only option was to leap high into the air. But once airborne, without the burst of chakra-enhanced speed, how could one evade the relentless follow-up attacks?
To everyone watching, Tetsuya did something entirely unexpected.
Instead of continuing to dodge, he raised both arms and spread his fingers, facing the incoming vortexes as if intending to withstand the attack with his bare body.
Has he lost his mind?
The two high-speed tornadoes crossed paths, passing straight through Tetsuya's body—yet not a single drop of blood spilled. Instead, his figure burst into a cloud of white smoke, enveloping Kiba and Akamaru.
"It's a Clone Technique! He used a clone to entangle two genin-level opponents for that long?"
From atop the tree, Sasuke Uchiha's expression shifted.
As classmates from the same academy year, Sasuke had fought Kiba multiple times. Purely in taijutsu, he was only slightly superior. If their positions were reversed, Sasuke wasn't confident he could evade Kiba and Akamaru's combined assault using only a clone.
More crucially, as a spectator, Sasuke had never once detected when Tetsuya had swapped places with a clone.
"He had already used a Clone Technique when he walked out of the purple smoke Kiba created."
Thanks to the insects within his body, Shino Aburame was the first to sense it. However, since this was a fair spar, he naturally didn't warn Kiba.
When the white smoke cleared, Kiba and Akamaru were lying on the ground fast asleep. As more smoke rose, Akamaru reverted to his original form.
In truth, even without the Sharingan's visual prowess enhancing his genjutsu, Tetsuya could have subdued either Kiba or Akamaru with ease. However, since man and hound had stayed close during their assault, it was obvious Kiba had prepared countermeasures—if one fell into genjutsu, the other would immediately inject chakra to break it. That was why Tetsuya had deliberately feigned weakness, waiting for the right moment to detonate his illusion clone and capture both targets at once.
"He's really taken the Illusion Clone I taught him and elevated it to another level."
Back in the Hokage's office, Kurenai's eyes shone with admiration. She was thoroughly pleased with Tetsuya's genjutsu talent.
It was clear from the battle that Tetsuya wasn't rigidly copying techniques. Each genjutsu had been refined and adapted to suit his own combat style.
"Kurenai, your judgment was indeed correct. You've found an unpolished gem. With some refinement, his future achievements may not be inferior to yours. I will give serious consideration to your suggestion."
Hiruzen nodded, his words carrying approval.
In truth, his evaluation was already extremely high. Among Konoha's nearly twenty thousand ninja—including Special Jōnin—there were barely over a hundred full-fledged Jōnin. Each was a precious asset to the village.
Tetsuya had once been an expendable genin, barely worth noting. Now, however, he possessed the potential to rise to Jōnin. Many matters would need to be reassessed.
"Old man, we're off…"
Asuma waved a hand and left the office with Kurenai.
Hiruzen gazed at the scene within the crystal ball, his eyes lingering on Naruto for a brief second.
"These are Konoha's future hopes…"
Just as he was about to stop channeling chakra, he saw Sasuke Uchiha leap down, landing in front of Tetsuya.
"For the next match, how about you spar with me?"
On the training ground, Sasuke slightly lifted his chin, battle intent burning in his eyes.