Tayuya was completely stunned.
She'd lost so fast she hadn't even processed what happened.
Hyūga Hinata was a little stunned too.
Why was it this easy?
Because Tayuya had always come off as impressive—about as self-assured as Uchiha Sasuke. Every word she said dripped with confidence.
Hinata had just assumed that meant Tayuya was really strong.
She never expected to beat her the moment they touched gloves.
"Winner: Hyūga Hinata," Kitazawa announced with a smile.
Tayuya snapped out of it, face full of frustration.
She hadn't even gotten serious before she was already down. She never used her genjutsu or her summoning.
Ninja battles are intelligence battles.
Running through the whole exchange in her head, she realized she'd been on the back foot from the start.
The reason? She didn't know Gentle Fist had a long-range form.
If she'd known, she wouldn't have pulled out her bamboo flute right away.
She would've either avoided the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm first and then taken it out, or she would've opened with a summoning.
Tayuya bit her lip and clenched her fists.
She'd already lost this first bout—there was no way she could ask Kitazawa for a rematch. That would only make it even more embarrassing.
"That was… a clean, decisive match," Inuzuka Kiba said after a beat.
Naruto scratched his head.
"Looks like Tayuya's got Sasuke's confidence but not his power."
"Hinata's too serious," Yamanaka Ino sighed. "She could've gone easy on the new transfer student."
"Hinata's always serious," Nara Shikamaru said, shaking his head.
"You can't blame Hinata for that," Tenten coughed lightly.
She didn't spell it out, but everyone got what she was implying.
Sasuke threw a glance at Kaguya Kimimaro.
Hopefully he wouldn't fold as easily as Tayuya.
Kimimaro didn't notice the look; he was thinking through how to beat Hinata.
The only way was to use Shikotsumyaku so she couldn't block off his tenketsu.
He'd never looked down on the Advanced Class, but after that first bout, he felt the pressure.
"Tayuya, are you okay?" Ino went over to her.
"I'm fine," Tayuya said stiffly. "I just underestimated her. I definitely won't lose the next match."
"First round, second match—Yamanaka Ino versus Haruno Sakura," Kitazawa called once Hinata had left the stage.
"Ino!" Sakura arched a brow and cracked her knuckles. "Watch me put you down with one punch!"
"Hmph!" Ino shot back. "The only one going down is you!"
Their eyes met, sparks flew, and the air practically smelled like gunpowder.
But Tayuya wasn't expecting much from their spar.
Neither had a kekkei genkai, and they were still young—how strong could they be?
Not like Hinata, whose Byakugan plus Gentle Fist were terrifying.
Clearly that first fight had shifted Tayuya's mindset a little—though not by much.
The two stepped into the ring.
As soon as Kitazawa called start, Ino struck first with Ninja Art: Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion.
She hurled a flurry of petals that whirled in the air—and her body vanished.
But Sakura had been ready. The instant she saw the petals, she dispelled the genjutsu.
Ino snapped back into view.
It was the Genjutsu Release she'd learned from Kosuke Maruboshi.
Ino met Sakura's eyes and felt a jolt.
Her illusion hadn't taken—pushing a sneak attack now would just be asking for it.
She reacted fast instead, flicking six shuriken.
Sakura hopped back to evade and flashed through hand signs.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!
Chakra gathered in her mouth; a surge of water roared out and twisted into a dragon midair.
The water dragon bellowed and lunged straight at Ino.
Ino vaulted up, trying to clear it from above.
"As if it were that easy," Sakura murmured, lip quirking as she showed off razor-fine chakra control.
The dragon surged upward, leveling on Ino.
The damp rush of water hit her face.
She could see the distinct ripples along the dragon's body.
At the last split second, she hurled a custom ninja flower.
Boom!
The dragon burst apart, water spraying everywhere.
"No way," Tayuya blurted, shocked.
That Sasuke-struck daydreamer Haruno Sakura was using a B-rank Water Style? And so fluently?
The blast sent both Sakura and Ino skidding back to avoid the spray.
They locked eyes and wove hand signs at once.
Ino was a hair faster—her technique was simpler.
Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!
Sakura's vision swam; Ino turned into Uchiha Sasuke.
Genjutsu Release!
Sakura broke it instantly.
Ino had already vanished; only petals drifted down.
"More genjutsu?" Sakura dispelled again on reflex.
A tearing sound cut the air.
Ino dropped from above, knees aimed squarely at Sakura, slamming down hard.
A thud—smoke puffed.
Sakura had used Substitution, leaving a log behind.
Ino's eyes tightened. With no target, she flipped away to open distance and snapped four more shuriken at where Sakura reappeared.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
Water surged up in an instant, swirling around Sakura to form a circular wall.
The shuriken thudded against it and bounced away.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death!
Drawing a deep breath, Ino forced out a B-rank genjutsu she wasn't yet comfortable with.
Sakura was suddenly bound to a tree.
She glanced around, calm.
Her Water Formation Wall was a ring—Ino had only one viable attack vector: straight down.
Genjutsu Release!
The instant Sakura broke free, she whipped six shuriken into the sky.
Ino reappeared like she'd walked into a moving target, right along their flight paths.
Her face changed; she could only swing her kunai on instinct.
But the six shuriken weren't in a straight line—they came from different angles.
In her rush, Ino only batted aside three.
The other three were about to hit when her body lurched—Kitazawa had plucked her up out of the air.
"Winner: Haruno Sakura," he said, setting her down.
"Yes! I finally won!" Sakura whooped.
Back when she was studying medical ninjutsu, she hadn't been able to touch Ino.
After being held down for so long, she'd finally turned the tables and beaten her best friend.
Seeing Sakura that excited, Ino bit her lip.
It stung, but she'd lost fair and square—no excuses to hide behind.
"Ino," Kitazawa said, ruffling her hair, "you two are about even. Work a bit more and you'll get her next time."
He wasn't just comforting her.
If Sakura had been even a little slower dispelling the genjutsu, she would've lost.
In other words, if Ino sped up her execution a notch, odds are she'd win.
"Got it, Kitazawa-sensei," Ino said, and his warm smile took a lot of the sting out of her chest.
[Current Mission: Help Yamanaka Ino defeat Haruno Sakura once.]
[Mission Reward: Ninja Art: Mind Body Transmission.]
[Accept?]
Just as he expected, Kitazawa thought.
Judging by how these things had gone before, the moment he saw Ino lose he'd figured a system task would pop.
Nothing special about the objective—the reward was the good part.
Ninja Art: Mind Body Transmission was also a Yamanaka secret technique; in the original story, Yamanaka Inoichi used it.
Effect: without any device, you can project your voice straight into someone else's mind.
Kitazawa's first thought was that it would make teaching students a lot easier.
No need to speak out loud—just send thoughts directly and save a ton of time.
Besides that, it'd be great on missions too—no conversation sounds to alert enemy shinobi.
"What is even happening?" Tayuya muttered after watching that bout, feeling like she was stuck in a genjutsu.
Sakura had just pulled a B-rank Water Style, and Ino a B-rank genjutsu.
She felt like she'd mistaken cats for tigers—and next to them she looked terrible.
She'd not only lost to Hinata, she'd been one-shot. She hadn't even lasted a second.
Tayuya glanced at Naruto and the others, only to find their reactions calm—none of them were as shocked as she was.
Was Kitazawa telling the truth? She couldn't even make top five in the Advanced Class?
Her face flushed scarlet at the thought.
No. I don't buy it!
"Sakura's Water Style is coming along fast," Kiba said, feeling a huge sense of threat.
At this rate, could he still beat Sakura?
"Ino's not bad either," Shikamaru mused. "Anyone else wouldn't break those illusions that fast."
The speed of a release mostly comes down to chakra control.
Dispelling genjutsu is essentially about disrupting your chakra flow as fast as possible.
No exaggeration—Sakura's chakra control was the best among them.
"If you slack off a little, you'll be left behind," Tenten rubbed her brow, feeling the pressure.
"Chasing each other to improve—that's youth!" Rock Lee gave a thumbs-up.
"Lee's right!" Naruto grinned. "I can't wait to show off my youth!"
"They're stronger than me," Jūgo said after two seconds of silence.
He meant in his normal state.
Kimimaro nodded wordlessly.
He wasn't afraid of Water Style, but genjutsu worried him a bit.
Luckily, Ino's taijutsu wasn't strong—if he avoided looking into her eyes and relied on speed plus Shikotsumyaku, he should be fine.
"First round, third match—Kiba Inuzuka versus Aburame Shino," Kitazawa announced.
"Why Shino?" Kiba groaned.
Shino was too well-rounded; Kiba had no real confidence against him. To be exact, his odds of losing were higher.
If Kitazawa hadn't taught him a secret art, he'd probably have forfeited on the spot.
"How about I give you Sasuke or Naruto instead?" Inuzuka Hana asked with a smile.
"Shino's fine," Kiba said quickly, immediately chickening out.
"I don't think I've ever fought Kiba," Naruto scratched his head. "Guess our bonds of youth aren't strong enough."
"Wish me a triumphant return!" Kiba waved grandly.
"Go get 'em, Kiba!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up, then turned to Shino. "You too, Shino!"
"…"
Kiba's mouth twitched.
That kind of cheer might as well be no cheer at all.
Kiba and Shino stepped into the ring.
Tayuya watched them, unconsciously clenching her fists.
Time to see how strong they really were.
"Three-Headed Hellhound!"
The moment the fight started, Kiba brought out the big guns.
He knew Shino too well, so he skipped the feeling-out phase entirely.
A massive hound with three heads appeared on the field.
Tayuya was full of question marks.
What kind of ninjutsu was that?
How did two shadow clones and a main body turn into a three-headed hellhound?
Shino stood where he was, making no move to stop him.
But kikaichū already crawled across his face, making him look downright eerie.
Tayuya glanced once and quickly looked away.
"War Stomp!"
The three-headed hound reared and slammed its forelegs down.
The ground split; chunks of stone shot toward Shino.
"Secret Technique: Kikaichū!"
Unruffled, Shino released his insects.
At the same time, he stepped back off the fractured ground.
The insects swarmed out, wrapped the flying stones, and ate them clean.
Then, with a turn midair, they flooded toward the hellhound.
Kiba slapped down with a paw.
The sheer mass let him crush a good chunk of the kikaichū.
"Arf!" Kiba yelped suddenly.
The survivors bit into his foreleg, sending sharp pain up his limbs.
"Fang Bullet!"
Kiba knew the real problem wasn't the bugs—it was Shino.
All three heads gaped open.
Chakra churned out like spiraling water, condensing into three spinning projectiles.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"
Shino narrowed his eyes as a denser wave of kikaichū poured from him.
They formed a black wall in front of him.
The first chakra bullet smashed into it and held.
The second struck the first and detonated—blasting the wall apart.
The third whistled straight at Shino.
"Secret Technique: Insect Orb!"
Shino still didn't budge.
A special breed of kikaichū shot from his sleeves, wrapped the third projectile, and smothered it.
The visible mass of the chakra bullet shrank away as the insects devoured it.
"What?" Kiba's heart lurched.
It was his first time seeing kikaichū that could absorb chakra like that.
He didn't have time to mull it over—because the insects were already surging toward him like a black tide.
Kiba hesitated, then dispelled the hellhound.
"Triple Fang Over Fang!"
He and his two clones spun into three tornadoes and slammed into the swarm.
"Secret Technique: Cocoon!"
Seeing that, Shino flared his chakra to the limit.
In an instant, he produced an enormous number of insects.
They threw themselves forward, grinding against the three twisters in a deadlock.
Tayuya felt her composure slipping.
How were Kiba and Shino not a step behind Sakura and Ino?
Was every single member of the Advanced Class built like this?
A wave of discouragement rolled through her—but she hadn't lost all hope.
Her three summons still had a fight in them.
Kimimaro's face had tightened as well.
Kiba and Shino were no pushovers—especially the latter.
He didn't have absolute confidence against him.
With a bang, one of Kiba's clones finally gave out and vanished in smoke.
With the clones gone, the remaining insects could focus.
"I surrender!" Kiba said decisively as he felt the bugs closing in from all sides.
He let the Fang Over Fang spin wind down and flopped to the ground, panting.
Just holding out against the kikaichū that long had burned through a lot of chakra.
"Winner: Aburame Shino," Kitazawa declared.
The Advanced Class took it as a matter of course; no one even bothered to discuss it.
Kiba trudged off, looking glum.
Running into Shino—just bad luck.
"First round, fourth match—Rock Lee versus Jūgo," Kitazawa said after drawing lots.
"Lee, time to unleash your youth!" Naruto grinned, teeth sparkling.
"Yeah!" Rock Lee beamed. "Just watch my youth shine!"
"Jūgo, don't you lose to that weirdo," Tayuya muttered, watching Naruto and Lee banter.
"I'll try," Jūgo answered and headed in.
"Wonder how strong the transfer student is," Tenten said, curious.
"Probably about Tayuya's level," Ino guessed.
"Jūgo is—" Tayuya started to say he was stronger than her, then stopped. No point undercutting herself.
What she meant was Jūgo in Sage Transformation—not his normal state.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee opened with a kick.
Jūgo raised both forearms to block the spinning strike.
The impact numbed his arms.
One exchange told him everything: without transforming, he couldn't beat Rock Lee.
But he didn't want to kill—Kitazawa had given him hope.
Jūgo used the Konoha Flowing Fist Kitazawa had taught him and traded blows with Lee.
Fists thudded into flesh—brutal, heavy, and nonstop.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Catching an opening, Lee kicked him in the gut and booted him across the arena.
"I forfeit," Jūgo said, sitting there a few seconds to catch his breath before standing and stepping down.
"Why didn't you use that?" Tayuya asked, baffled.
"I think the Advanced Class is pretty great," Jūgo said, shaking his head.
Tayuya wanted to call him a traitor, but the words stuck.
Because a tiny part of her felt the same way.
She swore—only a tiny part.
"First round, fifth bout—Uzumaki Naruto versus Kaguya Kimimaro!" Kitazawa called out.
"Kimimaro, you have to beat him!" Tayuya clenched her fists.
She and Jūgo had already lost. If Kimimaro lost too, Otogakure would have no face left at all.
Besides, Naruto didn't look strong. Who goes around shouting about youth all day?
"I won't lose," Kimimaro said expressionlessly, stepping onto the field.
"Naruto, watch out for his kekkei genkai—Shikotsumyaku," Hyūga Neji said after a moment's thought. "Try not to fight him up close."
"I don't think he needs the reminder," Shikamaru said, shaking his head.
"Yeah," Kiba agreed.
"Close or long range, Naruto's not scared," Akimichi Chōji said around a mouthful of chips.
"...?" Tayuya stared at them.
Do you guys even understand what Shikotsumyaku is?
How could anyone his age beat Kimimaro?
~~~
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