Around 4 p.m., Hoshita Shūichi limped away from the training ground near Konoha Hospital, grimacing in pain.
It hurts!
It really hurts!
He had taken over a dozen hits from Tsunade.
That woman had no mercy—and she was downright sneaky, exploiting her superior stamina to wait until his mental and physical energy waned before landing brutal strikes.
Aside from his face, his body was covered in over a dozen bruises.
"When I grow up, I'll definitely pay her back for this!"
Hoshita Shūichi swore inwardly as he swallowed a soldier pill.
On the training ground, Tsunade watched his retreating figure with a satisfied grin, feeling refreshed.
"Hitting someone feels this good?"
"But was I too harsh?"
"No way. I was helping that brat train."
She muttered to herself before deciding: "I'll continue tomorrow!"
By the time he arrived at the training spot near the Ninja Academy, most of Hoshita Shūichi's bruises had already faded, thanks to his medical ninjutsu and the enhanced recovery granted by his Skill Tree entries.
"Hey, Kakashi!"
He spotted Kakashi sitting on a cliff, gazing at the setting sun, and immediately approached.
"Kakashi, why didn't you sign up for the Chunin Exams?"
Hoshita Shūichi sat beside him and asked.
Kakashi didn't turn his head. "Our team leader, Sarutobi Genki, thought we hadn't been graduated long enough, so he didn't recommend us."
Sarutobi Genki, a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan and Kakashi's team leader—Hoshita Shūichi had met him a couple of times before.
"Well, since we can't spar during the exams, how about a taijutsu match right now?"
Hoshita Shūichi issued the challenge.
Before today, he had already beaten Kakashi 12 times in taijutsu.
Kakashi finally turned his head. "Instead of taijutsu, I'd prefer an all-out fight!"
Hoshita Shūichi grinned. "No problem, but let's warm up with taijutsu first!"
"Then let's not waste time. Begin!"
With that, Kakashi leaped up, and the battle commenced.
With his superior stamina, strength, accumulated combat experience, and faster reflexes, Hoshita Shūichi won again without any surprises.
After resting, the two began their second match—this time with no restrictions.
Taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu—Kakashi gave it his all but still found himself at a disadvantage.
"Shūichi's swordsmanship has improved way too much since last time..."
Their blades clashed relentlessly, but Kakashi's furious onslaught was completely countered by Hoshita Shūichi, whose counterattacks disrupted his rhythm and left him barely hanging on.
A month ago, when he had acted as a sparring partner, Hoshita Shūichi's swordsmanship hadn't been this sharp.
His progress in just a month was insane!
Suddenly, Hoshita Shūichi retreated and formed a hand sign, creating two shadow clones. All three versions of him charged at Kakashi simultaneously.
"Shadow Clones? The secret Konoha-style technique—Three Crescent Moon Dance!"
Kakashi quickly assessed the situation and drew a kunai in his left hand.
But Hoshita Shūichi was too fast—he had no time to create his own shadow clones to split the attack.
Clang!
Kakashi blocked the strikes from the left and right clones, but the real Hoshita Shūichi easily dodged his kick and pressed his blade against Kakashi's neck.
The fight was over.
As they sat down to rest, Kakashi couldn't help but say, "Your swordsmanship has improved ridiculously fast."
Hoshita Shūichi shook his head. "It's because of my reflexes and speed. Pure technique-wise, I'm still behind you."
His swordsmanship had improved quickly—thanks to the [Tool Mastery] entry boosting his talent with weapons, and blades counted as tools.
But surpassing Kakashi in just a few months? That wasn't the case. The real advantages were his focus and reflexes.
Kakashi, however, countered, "Speed is part of swordsmanship."
Hearing that, Hoshita Shūichi dropped the consolation talk and mused, "I've heard the Cloud Village has Lightning Release secret techniques that electrify muscles and nerves to boost speed and reflexes."
"I wonder if Konoha has anything like that."
Kakashi fell into thought.
After a moment, Hoshita Shūichi grinned. "Kakashi, I just thought of a safe way to train speed and reflexes."
Kakashi immediately asked, "What is it?"
"You'll see in a bit!"
With that, Hoshita Shūichi jumped down from the cliff.
Just then, Shizune, Might Guy, and the others arrived. Hoshita Shūichi smiled. "Perfect. More people means better results."
Soon, he had everyone kneading mud balls by the river.
Once each person had made over a dozen, Hoshita Shūichi announced, "From now on, these mud balls are your shuriken and kunai. Kakashi, your job is to dodge them."
Everyone immediately understood.
Sarutobi Asuma nodded. "This is a great training method. Using mud balls instead of real weapons reduces the risk."
Shizune and the others agreed.
This kind of training wasn't uncommon.
For example, Namikaze Minato had set up traps in the forest, launching shuriken at them to train their speed and reflexes.
Hoshita Shūichi had simply replaced kunai and shuriken with mud balls—and traps with people.
And so, the mud-ball training began.
Starting with Kakashi, Shizune, Yūhi Kurenai, and Might Guy took turns enduring the barrage, their clothes soon dotted with mud stains. Laughter filled the air as the sun dipped below the horizon.
The next day.
At 9 a.m., 36 Genin gathered in the exam hall for the second phase of the Chunin Exams.
By the fourth match, Hoshita Shūichi had already sized up the competition.
Most Genin relied on taijutsu, using ninjutsu only at critical moments.
None of them were weak, but compared to Uchiha Shisui, they fell short.
In the sixth match, Uchiha Shisui faced a Sarutobi clan Genin and won effortlessly.
In the tenth match, Kurama Sanyō had bad luck—his opponent was a Hyūga clan member, and he lost.
In the eleventh match, the proctor announced:
"Hoshita Shūichi vs. Uchiha Yūbito!"
An Uchiha?
Hoshita Shūichi was slightly surprised but quickly heard Uchiha Shisui and Kurama Sanyō cheering him on.
Nodding at them, he stepped into the arena.
Across from him stood a boy around 10 years old, a sword strapped to his back.
The proctor glanced at them and stepped back. "Begin!"
Hoshita Shūichi immediately formed a hand sign, creating two shadow clones. All three drew their blades and charged at top speed.
"So fast!"
Uchiha Yūbito's arrogance vanished in an instant. His dark eyes shifted into crimson Sharingan, tracking Hoshita Shūichi's movements as he hurled three shuriken with his left hand.
Hoshita Shūichi deflected them effortlessly.
By then, Uchiha Yūbito realized he couldn't use his Sharingan's genjutsu—Hoshita Shūichi never made eye contact.
"This guy learned from Shisui...!"
Furious, he barely blocked two strikes with his sword and kunai, but the real Hoshita Shūichi slipped past, resting his blade against Yūbito's neck.
One move—match over!
The proctor announced, "Hoshita Shūichi wins!"
Dispelling his clones, Hoshita Shūichi sheathed his sword.
Uchiha Yūbito snorted, shot a glare at Uchiha Shisui in the stands, and stormed off with a darkened expression.
Losing in one move to a kid years younger?
Too humiliating!
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