The shuriken test, led by the various chunin instructors, was completed quickly in batches.
Next up was the part that made everyone the most nervous, yet also the most excited: the practical combat assessment.
During the first semester, students usually weren't very familiar with each other, so opponents were decided by drawing lots. But for the other students, the only thing they could pray for now was to not be matched against Hatake Kusuo.
His strength was just too overwhelming.
He was so strong that many of his peers paled at the mere mention of his name. It had reached a point where the person they once admired and looked up to was now someone they regarded with a degree of fear.
It couldn't be helped. Who would want to sign up for a beating?
So-called geniuses like Sasuke and Neji were still manageable; their power hadn't transcended the level of ordinary people by too much.
But Hatake Kusuo... he was the most monstrous existence of them all.
A legend had even begun to circulate among the upperclassmen at the academy. It was said that while everyone saw Kusuo carry his sword to class every day, no one had ever seen him draw it. It seemed that in the entire school, there wasn't a single person worthy of him unsheathing his blade.
Thus, even though Kusuo always faced everyone with a sunny smile, they now felt a sense of awe and fear.
All except for one person.
"Hey! Sasuke, do you dare accept my challenge?! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage in the future!" Naruto shouted, planting his hands on his hips as he issued his challenge to Sasuke.
Sasuke's mind was completely focused on Hatake Kusuo. Why would he bother with Naruto, an insignificant presence in his eyes?
"Get lost! You dead-last!" Sasuke retorted without hesitation.
Naruto paid no mind to the impatient look on Sasuke's face; in fact, he became even more excited. "Coward! You must be scared of me, otherwise why wouldn't you dare to fight me one-on-one? Hahahaha!"
Hearing Naruto's words, the other students couldn't help but cover their faces, ashamed to even know the guy, let alone be his classmate.
Isn't that taunt a little too childish?
How could anyone possibly fall for that?
"Hah! Fine!"
"I'll accept your challenge!"
To everyone's surprise, Sasuke angrily accepted.
Then, they saw him run over to Iruka, the supervising instructor, and say something to him. Iruka looked at him, then over at Kusuo, seemingly caught in a difficult position.
After a long moment, they finally saw Iruka-sensei nod.
Sasuke pumped his fist in excitement and quickly walked over to Naruto.
"Let's go, dead-last. I'll show you the gap between us." As he walked past Kusuo, he let out another heavy snort, as if making a show of defiance.
Seeing Naruto and Sasuke walk up to the testing platform, the other students gathered around to watch the show. As long as it wasn't their turn, watching someone else's drama was always fun.
"Kusuo... who, who do you think will win?" a voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz asked from beside him.
"Hm?" Kusuo looked down and saw Hinata asking him with her head bowed, her two small, fair hands twisting together nervously.
"Hehe, Sasuke, of course," Kusuo answered quickly. At this stage, the gap between Naruto and Sasuke was still quite large. It would be no problem for Sasuke to completely dominate Naruto.
"Oh, I see," Hinata's voice trailed off, becoming as faint as a whisper again. In her heart, she had actually hoped Naruto would win, partly because of her childhood memories and partly out of sympathy for the underdog. But since Kusuo had said Sasuke would win, then Sasuke would definitely win.
Seeing Hinata's cute and shy appearance, Kusuo couldn't help but smile. He reached out and patted her adorable little head, but this unexpectedly startled her away like a frightened little rabbit.
Just as he predicted, the fight on the platform was decided in under a minute. Relying on the advantages of his early education within a great clan, Sasuke outclassed Naruto in every aspect. He put on a show, completely overwhelming Naruto and beating him so thoroughly that he couldn't get back up from the ground.
"Alright, that's enough!" Iruka stopped the match in time. With extreme reluctance, Naruto unwillingly formed the Seal of Reconciliation with Sasuke.
Having defeated Naruto so easily, Sasuke's confidence skyrocketed. He held his chin so high it almost touched the sky, basking in the attention of the crowd below.
What Sasuke did next, however, shocked everyone.
He stretched out his hand and pointed directly at Hatake Kusuo, who was watching from the sidelines.
"Iruka-sensei, I want to challenge Hatake Kusuo!"
"Huh?"
"No way!"
"Did I hear that right? Sasuke dares to challenge Kusuo?"
"Kusuo is so terrifying. Is Sasuke really a match for him?"
"I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't you see how cleanly Sasuke just dealt with Naruto?"
"Remember, a real fight isn't like throwing shuriken at a stationary target. Reaction speed, insight, battlefield judgment—all of these are essential. Sasuke comes from a great clan like the Uchiha, so he's definitely far ahead of Hatake Kusuo in those areas! My money's on Sasuke!" a boy from the Uchiha clan immediately spoke up in support of Sasuke.
Hearing this, the crowd thought it made sense and nodded in agreement.
Kusuo, however, stood there unconcerned. To him, fighting any of them was like squashing bugs. He even felt that their matches were like children playing house. The monstrous talent of Yoriichi Tsugikuni was no joke.
Their movements, in his eyes, were full of nothing but openings.
It was like a Challenger-tier player laning against a Bronze-league rookie. Their awareness and execution weren't on the same level at all.
Anticipation filled the hearts of the crowd.
A clash between two geniuses—who would win?
Seeing Iruka-sensei give a rare nod of approval, the entire venue erupted in cheers.
Under the watchful gaze of thousands, Hatake Kusuo slowly stepped onto the platform.
--------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (51 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (50 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (50 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (30 Chapter)