When Sarutobi Retsu called his name, Uchiha Yuan stepped forward. Almost immediately, he felt several gazes lock onto him.
A subtle glance was all it took for him to identify their owners—Hyuga Kyo, Uehara Isamu, Hatake Haruka, and, within the crowd, Senju Gen.
As he walked toward the testing pillar, Yuan's mind was already turning.
When Hyuga Kyo and the others had released their chakra earlier, Yuan had observed carefully, feeling out their flows.
To his perception, each person's chakra appeared as a glowing current of varying colors—some faint, some dense. His own, however, was different: a thick, viscous stream of light, almost like a liquid.
To put it metaphorically—others' chakra was like alcohol of varying strengths, but his was high-octane gasoline.
Looks like I'll need to thin my chakra. Otherwise, I'll definitely draw attention.
As Hatake Haruka walked back to the line and passed him, he whispered softly, "Yuan-kun."
Yuan cast him a sidelong glance and replied through sound transmission, "You're wondering why I told you not to use your full strength, aren't you?"
Haruka whispered back, "Yes."
Yuan's calm voice echoed in his mind. "Chakra is born from the refinement of blood and energy. You've been practicing the standing meditation I taught you every day. Through that constant circulation, your vitality has been tempered—so your chakra has already surpassed everyone else's."
"Do you remember our goal? We're still in the growth stage. To protect ourselves, the best thing we can do right now… is to blend in with the crowd."
"If you went all out, people would label you a genius. And since the Hatake Clan already has prodigies like Kakashi-senpai, the village's higher-ups would immediately take notice of you. That kind of attention doesn't suit our plans."
At that thought, Uchiha Yuan's mind briefly flicked to Shimura Danzo—that old snake who always sought to recruit "geniuses" into Root.
Being marked by that man meant endless schemes and manipulation. Yuan knew that someday he'd have to face Danzo and his ilk—but for now, while his wings were still growing, he intended to remain a perfectly ordinary academy student.
Hatake Haruka suddenly understood. "I see. You're right."
"Good." Yuan's mental voice turned firm. "Remember, Haruka—right now, we're nothing more than ordinary students."
When it was his turn, Uchiha Yuan approached the testing pillar, took several deep breaths, and then let out a sharp cry as he threw what appeared to be his full power into a punch.
The display lit up: D-Rank, 30.
Seeing that result, Uehara Isamu smirked, while Hyuga Kyo frowned slightly.
Yuan's brow knitted into a dark scowl as he returned to the line—his performance convincing enough that everyone could sense his "frustration."
After a few more tests, only one name remained on the roster.
"Last one—Senju Gen," Sarutobi Retsu called.
At once, the entire training field fell silent.
All eyes followed Senju Gen as he stepped up to the pillar.
The faces of his clan flashed through his mind—full of hope and expectation.
'Gen, the Senju bloodline has thinned. It's up to you to uphold our family's name.'
He clenched his fists, determination blazing in his eyes, and struck.
Boom!
The display flashed: C-Rank, 17.
Even though Sarutobi Retsu had half-expected it, seeing it firsthand still left him shaken.
As expected of the Senju Clan!
Exhaling slowly, Senju Gen turned to return to the line, his gaze locking briefly with Uchiha Yuan's.
Yuan met his stare for a heartbeat—then turned and walked away.
Deep within the Forest of Death on the outskirts of Konoha, towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight. A massive crimson-and-black serpent slithered down a trunk, its forked tongue flicking as cold eyes fixed on a grazing deer.
But suddenly—boom, boom, boom!—a series of violent clashes echoed through the woods. The deer bolted in terror.
In a clearing deep within the forest, a faintly translucent barrier shimmered. At its four corners stood four identical figures—four Uchiha Yuan clones.
Inside the barrier, two figures blurred back and forth, their weapons clashing with a harsh metallic screech.
The chakra shockwaves rippled across the barrier's surface, unable to escape beyond it.
Moments later, the flashing movements ceased.
Two Uchihas faced each other—one holding a kunai in a forward thrust, the other pinching the blade between two fingers.
Yuan sheathed his weapon and said with a respectful bow, "Sensei, I lost."
The one standing opposite him looked identical—but his eyes carried a different light: calm, cold, and infinitely lonely.
It was none other than Hatake Sakumo, the legendary White Fang—revived through Yuan's experiment.
Sakumo regarded Yuan with approval. "Yuan, you've grown stronger again. You've already woven the Hatake swordsmanship seamlessly into your own fighting style. What you lack now… is battle experience against more powerful foes."
To Sakumo, Uchiha Yuan was the most gifted student he had ever encountered.
When he first accepted Yuan's request to become his teacher, it had been for two reasons: Yuan's words had moved him—and he'd hoped Yuan might one day pass on the Hatake sword style to Haruka.
But as their training began, Sakumo quickly realized how extraordinary Yuan truly was. His intelligence was unmatched; he mastered taijutsu and ninjutsu with astonishing speed.
More importantly, his mind was sharp—always analyzing, questioning, innovating. Their discussions often left Sakumo himself feeling enlightened.
For instance, the man standing before him now was actually a shadow clone—a creative modification of the Shadow Clone Technique that Yuan had developed after deconstructing its inner workings.
Just the day before, Yuan had summoned a clone and allowed Sakumo's lingering spirit to possess it.
For the first time since his death, Hatake Sakumo felt alive again—able to move, breathe, and fight as though reborn.
Even a man who had weathered countless battlefields and assassinations found his heart trembling with emotion.
The Shadow Clone Technique… could be used like this?!
And that wasn't all.
After mastering the Decapitation Earth Technique, Yuan had gone on to develop a new jutsu of his own—a method that allowed him to freely move underground.
It was reminiscent of an Earth Release technique known as "Underground Projection Fish," but Yuan had essentially reinvented it on his own.
In his conversations with Sakumo, Yuan had shared even more astonishing ideas.
He theorized that the so-called Flying Thunder God Technique, one of Konoha's forbidden arts, wasn't truly a space-time ninjutsu at all—but rather an advanced derivative of Summoning Jutsu.
By that same logic, even the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags Technique was likely another branch of the same principle.
Such insight made Hatake Sakumo believe that Yuan already held the key to unlocking these S-rank secrets. It was only a matter of time before he recreated them.
And now, after successfully channeling Sakumo into a clone, Yuan had one more request—for a real battle.
To ensure privacy, he had specifically chosen this secluded spot within the Forest of Death—an area outside the range of Konoha's Barrier Corps surveillance.
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