June 21, Konoha Year 57.
Ninja Academy, sports field.
Jokichi and Sasuke stood in the middle, facing each other a few meters apart.
On the edge of the field, many students were watching.
Besides their classmates, many students from other classes, and even senior grades, had also come.
"Go, go, Jokichi."
Uzumaki Naruto shouted enthusiastically from the sidelines, wishing he could personally go down to the field and fight for him.
Ino stood aside, slightly more reserved, but not by much. Opposite them was Sasuke's fan club cheering for him.
Both sides yelled and shouted, raising their voices against each other, seemingly wanting to have a cheerleader showdown before the main characters fought. Shikamaru, watching from the side, held his head, speechless.
In the field, Jokichi pushed his glasses frame, maintaining a smile.
On the opposite side, Sasuke took out a kunai, staring at him as if facing a formidable enemy.
Having failed countless times in their spars, he had long regarded Jokichi as a formidable enemy. Even though three months had passed since their last battle and he had become stronger through training, he did not dare to be the slightest bit careless.
If he could get stronger, others could too.
However, there was no worry, either.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, with countless clansmen to teach him, even if he was temporarily led by someone else, Sasuke was not worried at all.
And this time, he was confident he could wipe out his past humiliation.
"Sasuke, there is no need to be so nervous, it is just an assessment," Jokichi maintained his smile and said indifferently.
"Nervous?" Sasuke snorted dismissively and said, "I am just taking things seriously."
"Alright, suit yourself."
At this time, Mizuki-sensei stood out. He had silver hair, a handsome face, and looked very much like a protagonist, but in reality, he would not survive a single episode.
He smiled and looked at the two of them, "Are you both ready?"
"Mhm!" The two nodded together.
Mizuki nodded slightly and raised his right hand, "Since you are both ready, then the battle for first place in this grade assessment officially begins."
Swinging down his right hand, Mizuki immediately retreated from the sports field to avoid hindering the two.
But neither Jokichi nor Sasuke made a move.
However, Jokichi just stood there casually, his expression relaxed and at ease.
But Sasuke stared intently at Jokichi, holding a kunai with both hands, leaning forward, his muscles tense, ready to erupt with powerful force at any moment.
At this time, a gentle breeze blew, bringing traces of hot air.
Although it was only early summer, the weather had already heated up.
Sand and dust flew across the sports field, intertwining with the hot air currents, greatly obstructing each other's vision.
Suddenly, a wisp of dust drifted past Jokichi's eyes.
Now!
Sasuke's eyes lit up. He violently hurled the kunai in both hands at Jokichi, while simultaneously pushing off the ground with his right leg, charging forward fiercely.
Midway, he took out three kunai from the ninja tool pouch on his lower back with each hand, aiming at the kunai in front and throwing them in succession.
Jokichi stared at the incoming kunai, his eyes half-squinted, and made no move.
Suddenly, the kunai in the back caught up with the kunai in the front and struck their tails, changing their flight trajectories to fly upwards and to the left and right.
Reaching a certain point, more kunai chased after them, creating collisions and changing trajectories, and then it happened again.
The two kunai that were originally shot at Jokichi from the front turned into attacks from the upper rear, while Sasuke drew a kunai and charged from the front.
A three-pronged pincer attack.
Sasuke used the unique hidden weapon technique of the Uchiha clan to single-handedly create this situation in a head-on confrontation.
This move could not be described as anything but beautiful, causing the crowd of watching students to exclaim in surprise, and even the teachers marveled.
But it was merely marveling; they never thought Sasuke could win.
Because, over these three years, Jokichi had never shown signs of a bitter struggle, nor had he ever shown his full strength.
Being bottomless is what makes people think deeply.
As expected, facing such a situation, Jokichi did not change his expression, even pushing his glasses frame unhurriedly.
It was only when the kunai were about to strike that he fiercely crossed his hands under his ribs.
The kunai were caught steadily and clamped between his index and middle fingers.
Jokichi looked up at Sasuke, who had already rushed close, and suddenly raised his hands.
The kunai flew out at an even faster speed, shooting towards Sasuke.
How is this possible!
Sasuke widened his eyes.
An attack from a blind spot in the rear, knowing the position without turning his head, and even catching it barehanded, what kind of operation is this?
However, although he found it unbelievable, Sasuke was only slightly distracted and quickly turned his attention back to the battle.
His sprinting speed did not decrease. Holding a kunai in his hand, he lightly tapped up and down, knocking the incoming kunai away.
But before he could feel proud, Jokichi aimed a kick straight up the middle.
"I have been waiting for you."
Sasuke smiled confidently, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the sound, Jokichi kicked Sasuke's crossed arms, the powerful force making him stumble backwards.
Jokichi did not let up. Tapping his feet on the ground repeatedly, he rapidly gave chase and delivered another kick.
Sasuke's body had not yet steadied itself, and there was no time to block, so he had to lean back and dodge with the momentum.
Taking advantage of the gap when Jokichi missed his strike and retracted his leg to launch another attack, Sasuke supported himself on the ground with both hands and performed a kip-up, kicking repeatedly with his legs.
Jokichi placed his arms across his chest, easily blocking the attack.
But he also took a few steps back as a result.
Sasuke took the opportunity to stand up and formed hand seals.
"That is!?"
Iruka and Mizuki, who were watching from the sidelines, both changed their expressions, because they recognized that the hand seal sequence was not any ninjutsu taught at the academy.
Iruka was preparing to step forward and stop the match, but was stopped by Mizuki.
He shook his head slightly, "Do not be in a rush, Jokichi is not panicked at all!"
Iruka looked over upon hearing this, only to see Jokichi looking indifferent while stumbling back.
"That is because he hasn't recognized that the jutsu Sasuke is using is different."
Just as Iruka was about to say this, a change had already occurred on the sports field.
Sasuke took a deep breath, his chest puffing out, and then fiercely spewed it out.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
The blazing flames burned fiercely, and the nearby temperature rose rapidly. The already hot sports field became even hotter, and the people watching from the side broke out in hot sweat.
However, they did not mind.
Because Sasuke used a ninjutsu not taught at the Ninja Academy, a jutsu that only official ninjas could learn.
Their mouths were wide open, big enough to stuff an egg in.
The blazing flames condensed into a ball about a meter in diameter, flying toward Jokichi with billowing thick smoke.
Jokichi glanced at the lucky bracelet on his right hand. The originally antique-looking chain was now faintly glowing.
This must be it taking effect!
However...
Exposing a trump card in a place like this was truly unnecessary.
Thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Jokichi also quickly formed hand seals.
"Impossible!"
Noticing Jokichi's actions, Sasuke exclaimed.
That familiar hand seal sequence, that familiar inhaling action...
A ninjutsu that did not belong to the student level, the other party actually knew it too.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
Jokichi gathered enough chakra in his throat and then fiercely spewed it out.
A larger, more solid, and hotter fireball flew out from in front of him, quickly colliding with Sasuke's fireball.
Time seemed to pause for a second here. The flames locked against each other, then fell into a vortex, and exploded with a boom.
Accompanied by a deafening sound, the impact instantly sheared off a chunk of the ground. Intense shockwaves raged everywhere, sweeping up gusts of sand and dust, forcing the bystanders around to cover their eyes.
But, even with sand and dust blowing in their eyes, they all craned their necks to look into the field.
Amidst the shockwaves, Sasuke's young body was sent flying backward.