Chapter 442: Jonin Inspection
"What is going on? The clan head actually…" Hyuga Hisui could barely believe what he was seeing.
A Hyuga without the Byakugan was like a blade without an edge. Yet Kakashi had not used any obvious trick, and Hiashi still got suppressed in a basic taijutsu exchange. It did not make sense.
"As expected of a genius who fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist on the battlefield," Mimurabe Ketsu thought as he watched the training ground. "Hiashi was too careless at the start."
The head of the Hyuga Clan being pressed back in taijutsu by a ten year old chunin would sound like a bad joke if it spread. No one would believe it.
"Use Gentle Fist. Give Kakashi a good beating," Obito silently cheered in his heart.
As if he heard that ridiculous wish, Hiashi gathered chakra around his eyes. The veins at his temples rose as the Byakugan opened, and his presence sharpened.
One exchange could be luck. Several in a row made it clear. If he did not activate the Byakugan now, the one losing face would be the examinee.
But even after the Byakugan opened, ordinary taijutsu still could not touch Kakashi.
Kakashi moved like a veteran who had survived countless battles, reading every angle, every shift of weight, every tiny intention before it became an attack. Hiashi could see Kakashi's movements clearly, and yet Kakashi was still avoiding them with uncanny precision. For a moment, the two locked into a stalemate.
In Hiashi's mind, Kakashi's taijutsu already deserved full marks. It was even cleaner than Hisui's, a Hyuga with the Byakugan. That was rare.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!"
Hiashi made his decision. Chakra surged. He took the stance of the main family's secret technique.
His juniors were watching. He had to take back the ground he had lost.
Gentle Fist was the Hyuga's thousand year inheritance, and every Hyuga learned its basics. But the branch family only touched the foundation. The deeper techniques belonged to the main family, and Sixty Four Palms was one of them.
"Flash."
The instant Hiashi committed, Kakashi did not hesitate.
Chakra gathered in his legs and converted into Lightning Release chakra, activating his cells and pushing his body into a higher gear. As Hiashi's palm swept out, Kakashi became a streak of lightning and slipped out of the Sixty Four Palms range, leaving Hiashi striking empty air.
"Such a fast Lightning Body Flicker," Hiashi thought, forcing down the surprise.
He burst forward in pursuit.
The distance closed.
Then Kakashi, still running, suddenly stopped. In one smooth motion, he drew the White Fang short blade and turned, slashing at the Hyuga pursuing him.
Hiashi's expression did not change. He braked and halted at a point just outside the blade's reach. With the Byakugan, he had read the muscle shift in Kakashi's body before the swing even completed.
Zzzzt. Zzzzt. Zzzzt.
Lightning Release chakra flowed from Kakashi's palm into the blade, extending outward and forming a crackling lightning edge.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven!"
Danger flared in Hiashi's instincts. He released chakra and spun, forming a rotating chakra sphere that deflected the incoming lightning blade.
Kakashi was blocked again, and he did not look disappointed. His opponent was Hiashi. It would be strange if things went smoothly.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness."
Kakashi leaped back, gathered chakra, and fired a condensed lightning spear straight at Hiashi.
False Darkness consumed a lot of chakra. In real combat, Kakashi rarely chose it, because it was often less efficient than his Lightning Release blade techniques.
But this was a simulation. The goal was not the cleanest kill. The goal was to show everything he could do.
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm Wall!"
Hiashi responded instantly. Chakra exploded from his palms.
Empty Palm Wall was normally a combined technique. Two Hyuga releasing Empty Palm together formed the wall. But Hiashi's mastery and chakra were refined enough that he could perform it alone.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Boom!
A violent shockwave burst outward. Trees around Hiashi flattened under the impact, and the wind ripped through the training ground, making the remaining branches shudder and roar.
Whoosh!
Kakashi vanished in a Body Flicker the moment the shockwave formed.
The next instant, the shockwave smashed into the spot where he had stood, carving a crater into the earth.
"It is still hard for me to defeat a jonin of this level alone right now," Kakashi thought as he took in the destruction. "If Guy were here, he would probably have a real chance."
Hiashi was troublesome in the worst way. A pure, practiced Byakugan. Gentle Fist that attacked and defended without obvious gaps. It felt like there was nowhere to bite.
So Kakashi gave up on ending the fight by defeating the examiner.
He fought like an examinee should, deliberately showing everything he had.
Taijutsu. Lightning Release ninjutsu. Lightning blade techniques. Earth Release. Genjutsu.
Within fifteen minutes, Kakashi unfolded his toolkit piece by piece, cleanly and without hesitation.
"If it is him, he might even surpass White Fang," Mimurabe Ketsu praised silently.
He was a veteran jonin, promoted during the Second Shinobi World War. He had seen White Fang on a battlefield, short blade in hand, cutting through enemy forces like a storm. That image had never left his mind.
Back then, Ketsu had been called a genius too. After witnessing White Fang, he decided he was only talented, nothing more.
Yet even White Fang had not done something like this at ten years old, fighting an excellent Konoha jonin head on with this level of control and composure.
"Uchiha Obito."
The referee called the last examinee.
Ketsu stepped forward and entered the combat area, pushing aside his thoughts.
Hiashi had already given him a quiet warning. Do not treat these abnormal kids like normal chunin, or you will lose face before you lose the match.
"Finally, my turn." Obito rolled his shoulders as he walked in.
He was anxious in a different way than usual. He wanted this done fast so he could go back and cram. With the Sharingan, cheating would not be hard, but he still wanted to rely on himself first. Cheating was a last resort.
Even if it was late, Obito felt like his practice tests gave him some foundation. Maybe last minute studying could still save him.
"If the examinee loses combat capability before fifteen minutes, points are deducted," Obito said quickly. "But if the examinee defeats the examiner before fifteen minutes, does that count as a normal end, or how is it scored?"
Logically, beating the examiner should be a bonus. Still, he asked. If he passed theory but failed practical, Obito might actually explode.
"It will be a high score," Ketsu replied with a calm smile.
In recent jonin assessments, no one had defeated the examiner early. The examiners were not ordinary jonin. If someone could beat them, they usually should have already been promoted.
"Then, uncle, you should be careful," Obito said with surprising politeness. "My flames are really strong."
"Because you are a genius," Ketsu replied, not dismissing it at all.
"Begin combat!" the referee shouted.
"Flame Breathing, Full Concentration!"
Obito snapped into rhythm, then retreated while gathering chakra in his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A roaring torrent of flame burst out, forming a massive fireball nearly five meters tall as it slammed toward Ketsu.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Obito's three tomoe Sharingan spun as he hurled shuriken in rapid succession, sealing escape lanes and trying to force Ketsu to take the Great Fireball head on.
Ketsu moved like a man who had spent decades surviving mistakes. He knocked aside some shuriken with a kunai, used nearby trees to intercept others, and slipped out through a narrow gap with agile footwork.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Ketsu kicked off the ground, landed on a tree, and rebounded between trunks while spitting fist sized fireballs downward.
The angles overlapped, forming a net of flame from above. Even with the Sharingan, Obito could not dodge it cleanly.
So he did not.
Compared to defending and retreating, Obito trusted his offense more.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Chakra surged, converted instantly, and poured out as a continuous stream of flame. The spreading fire formed a small sea of flame, and under Obito's control, it split into three fire dragons that rose like a burning wall, swallowing the incoming fireballs.
"This Fire Release control really is impressive," Ketsu noted.
Controlling an advanced offensive Fire Release like that was not simple.
"And the heat is abnormal," he added inwardly as the fire dragons pressed forward.
"But if that is all, it is not enough."
Ketsu released the chakra he had been gathering.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A thick wall of earth surged up in front of him, cutting off the flames. Its surface charred, but it held firm.
Ketsu was skilled in Earth Release as well. In real combat, he preferred Fire Release for offense and Earth Release for defense.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Ketsu leaped onto the Earth Flow Wall, formed hand signs, and expelled a fire dragon straight at Obito.
Obito recognized it immediately. It was the first Fire Release he learned under Mugetsu.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Obito answered with the same technique, choosing a direct clash to test Ketsu's Fire Release level.
When the same nature and the same ninjutsu collided, there were no excuses. If you lost, you were simply weaker.
Boom. Boom.
The twin fire dragons crashed together and detonated. A fierce red glare bloomed, and both dragons dispersed into heat and smoke, leaving scorched ground behind.
"These two really are the geniuses who helped kill Suikazan Fuguki," Sakata Genji blurted out, unable to hold it back.
That clash alone almost proved it. Obito's Fire Release was not inferior to Ketsu's.
Ketsu was not famous for brute strength, but he was still a veteran jonin. Genji felt Obito had already secured a passing score, and probably a high one.
"Uncle's Fire Release is not weak," Obito thought, pleased. "But I still have my final trump card."
If Ketsu matched him in Full Concentration, then Ketsu would fall behind once Obito raised the ceiling.
Obito pushed Flame Breathing to its limit.
Flame Breathing Chakra Mode ignited through his body. Chakra burned continuously, converting into raw physical power that reinforced his muscles and limbs.
Then Obito charged straight in, full of openings.
Ketsu's eyes narrowed. Something felt wrong. Obito had been careful until now. He would not suddenly become reckless for no reason.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Obito did not form hand signs. With a thought, chakra in his throat turned into flame and burst out.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
At the same time, his hands never stopped. Shuriken flew at twisted, precise angles.
"No hand signs, using ninjutsu while throwing shuriken?" Ketsu was genuinely shocked.
In more than twenty years as a shinobi, he had never seen something that flashy. Ninjutsu demanded focus to control chakra. Shuriken technique demanded its own calculation and rhythm.
Yet Obito was doing both, and he was not even throwing casually. He was using a specialized Uchiha shuriken technique that also demanded attention and precision.
Caught off guard, Ketsu was forced into a messy defense. He adjusted fast, relying on experience, and avoided serious damage, but he still took shallow wounds.
"He is using Flame Breathing Chakra Mode now," Kakashi recognized instantly.
If Kakashi had mastered a Lightning Release chakra mode, he would not use it in a jonin assessment. Once used, there were only two outcomes: either you drop before fifteen minutes, or you overwhelm the examiner.
A steady performance passed more reliably.
But their opponents were different. Kakashi believed Obito had a real chance.
Ketsu might be older than Hiashi, but his strength was clearly below Hiashi's.
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