Under Konoha’s Shadow

Chapter 30: Instant Defeat

The blink of an eye, and it was the start of the new school year. Yamamoto Ryusei had been promoted to the second grade. Today was the entrance day for the new first-year students. Ryusei entered the classroom carrying the clothes he had promised his classmates. The moment they saw the large bundle on his back, the classroom erupted.

"Finally!"

"Yeah! I can finally give my little sister a surprise!"

"I finally get to see my little brother in a dress! I'm so excited!"

Hyuga Natsuki took his package and walked up to Ryusei, saying with a confident expression, "Ryusei, let's spar again. I have a new move this time; I definitely won't lose."

Ryusei replied with a distinct lack of interest, "Maybe next time. It's not good to fight on the first day of school. With this time, we might as well go check out the cute first-year girls."

The number of new students this year had increased significantly. Both ninja clans and civilians were now willing to send their school-aged children to the Ninja Academy. Whether they could learn ninjutsu or not was one thing, but having someone look after the kids was a real bonus.

Ryusei asked Natsuki, "There are a lot more people this year. How many did your clan send?"

Natsuki replied, "The clan elders feel that learning the basics at school is more effective than at home, and it's less trouble. So all the eligible children came this year, about a dozen or so. Unlike our year, where there was only me."

Ryusei noticed that all the Hyuga children wore headbands, which meant they were all from the branch family. He looked at Natsuki, also from a branch family, and thought, It seems the Hyuga clan doesn't really value the position of Hokage's disciple. No wonder none of Tobirama's future disciples were from the Hyuga clan.

Ryusei saw the Uchiha children being surrounded and admired and couldn't help but say, "The Uchiha clan's looks are really top-tier, but they all seem so cold and unapproachable."

"They're probably just not used to it," Uchiha Kagami interjected, looking at his silent younger clan members. "They don't know how to express themselves."

Ryusei thought for a moment. "It's better to be sociable. We're all from the same village; there's no need for that kind of 'great clan' mentality."

Kagami nodded. "I'll do my best to guide them."

Nara Shikagen came in to start the class, and everyone returned to their seats.

The lessons he taught were so boring that Ryusei was about to fall asleep. When he finally made it to the lunch break, he planned to use a shadow clone for the afternoon classes, just like before.

At noon, Ryusei, Yuki, So, Hiruzen, Kagami, and Natsuki were all eating their bento boxes together.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes turned red with envy when he saw Ryusei's heart-shaped bento.

Uchiha Kagami asked, "It seems the Hokage-sama is going to choose his disciples this year. We can probably graduate this year."

So asked with confusion, "Don't we have to study for six years?"

Hiruzen smiled confidently. "That's for ordinary civilians and those without talent. Geniuses like us can of course graduate early."

"That's right," Kagami nodded. "The things the school is teaching now are useless to us. If it weren't for the Hokage selecting disciples, our families wouldn't have even sent us here."

Ryusei, Yuki, and So looked at these arrogant children from prestigious families and could only silently eat their lunches.

Yuki asked, "Ryusei, are you also going to graduate early this year?"

Ryusei nodded. "Yes. Since Teacher Hashirama is taking on disciples, it wouldn't be right if I didn't take a spot."

Yuki made up her mind. She had to work even harder, graduate this year, and become the Hokage's disciple so she could stay with Ryusei.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a determined gaze, "Ryusei, I will definitely defeat you in front of the Hokage-sama and show them that I am the most suitable person to be his disciple!"

It wasn't just Hiruzen; other students were also dissatisfied that Ryusei was already considered the Hokage's disciple. This was one of the reasons why Natsuki and Kagami had challenged him to a spar.

Ryusei responded forcefully, "Some people just have unrealistic fantasies. It's fine; a good beating will fix that."

Hiruzen put down his bento. "Then let's have a fight right now. Let's see who's stronger."

Ryusei's fighting spirit was also ignited. "Alright. It's good to let you understand the gap between us."

On the school's training ground, Ryusei and Hiruzen faced each other from a distance. Beside them, their classmates and the new first-year students were chattering amongst themselves.

"So lucky! We get to see a ninja battle on the first day of school!"

"They're not ninjas yet. They're students, just like us."

"So exciting! I wonder what kind of amazing fight it will be!"

Compared to the excitement of the first-years, the second-year students were much calmer.

"Hiruzen versus Ryusei, who are you betting on?" Inuzuka Rō asked, holding Rōmaru.

Akimichi Torifu said while eating, "They've never fought before. I don't know."

Rō went to ask Nara Shikamei. "Shikamei, what's your take?"

Shikamei thought for a long time before replying, "It's really hard to judge based on the current information. Hiruzen's ninjutsu is strong, but Ryusei's taijutsu is strong. If Hiruzen can maintain distance and not let Ryusei get close, then he should win. Otherwise, Ryusei will win."

Rō asked the others, "What do you guys think?"

"Ryusei," said Shimura Danzo, Hyuga Natsuki, and Uchiha Kagami—all of whom had been defeated by him—in unison.

Rō looked at them strangely. "Kagami, Natsuki, I heard you two lost when you sparred with Ryusei?"

Kagami nodded. "Yes, we lost."

"Then Hiruzen is in for it. But..." Rō looked eager. "Then I want to try my hand against Ryusei. After all, my ninjutsu is a pretty good counter to taijutsu."

Hyuga Natsuki rolled his eyes at him. "You should just forget it. I reckon you won't even be able to touch him."

Rō frowned but didn't retort. After all, his Fang Over Fang technique didn't have a speed advantage over Ryusei's, and it wasn't as flexible.

On a tree overlooking the training ground, several teachers were chatting.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" asked the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A.

Nara Shikagen replied lazily, "No need. If I stop them once, I can't stop them a second time. If there's any real danger, I'll have to trouble you all to help me out."

The homeroom teacher of Class 1-B was confused. "Even you can't stop them in time?"

"Mm. Don't underestimate them. They are the elites of their respective clans. And danger can happen in an instant. We can't be careless."

"Well, this is getting interesting."

"Hiruzen, don't worry. This will be over quickly." Yamamoto Ryusei stomped his feet on the ground and used Soru to appear directly in front of Hiruzen, slashing at his arm with a kunai.

Thump... The Hiruzen that was hit turned into a log, split in two.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Two Hiruzens spat out fire and wind respectively. The fire, fueled by the wind, rushed towards Ryusei like a tidal wave. Hiruzen continued to form hand seals, intending to finish Ryusei off with ninjutsu.

"Rankyaku!"

Instead of retreating, Ryusei advanced, cutting the sea of fire in half with a single kick. He passed through the middle of the flames and delivered a whip kick towards Hiruzen.

The split sea of fire continued its momentum, rushing towards the watching crowd.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" The teachers, not expecting such a large-scale jutsu right at the beginning, quickly appeared at the edge of the stands and erected a mud wall, blocking the flames.

Seeing Ryusei, Hiruzen abandoned the jutsu he was about to use and hurriedly used a Body Flicker to barely dodge the whip kick. Ryusei's foot shattered Hiruzen's shadow clone. He then stomped his feet again and used Soru to appear in front of the still-recovering Hiruzen, kicking him in the face. Hiruzen flew into the air, spun a few times, and crashed into a tree, unmoving.

"Amazing! That sea of fire was so powerful!"

"No, the jutsu that cut through the fire was the amazing one!"

"But it's a good thing the teachers were here, otherwise we would have been in trouble," the first-years chattered, discussing the fight with the relief of having survived a close call.

Kagami and Natsuki brought Hiruzen over. Looking at the swollen left cheek of the unconscious Hiruzen, they felt a strange sense of... familiarity.

Inuzuka Rō looked at Hiruzen's swollen face and said, somewhat speechless, "Although I expected Hiruzen to lose, this was way too fast."

Nara Shikamei analyzed, "This is a lack of intelligence. Hiruzen didn't expect Ryusei to cut through the flames and attack directly, nor did he expect his speed to be so fast. Natsuki, that high-speed movement of Ryusei's wasn't the Body Flicker, was it?"

Natsuki nodded. "That's right. It's a taijutsu technique. It can be used continuously without any interval, and the strain on the body is much smaller than the Body Flicker."