Chapter 26: Display of Strength

As Obito Uchiha charged straight toward him, Veigar Koshima remained unfazed. Already prepared for early graduation, his strength was more than enough to utterly overwhelm Obito.

The moment Obito closed the distance, he threw a punch directly at Veigar's face.

Veigar swiftly tilted his head to the side, effortlessly dodging the attack while simultaneously reaching out his right hand to seize Obito's wrist.

Obito struggled twice.

Yet, he quickly realized that Veigar's grip was like an iron vice—unyielding and inescapable.

Accepting the futility of resistance, Obito abandoned his attempts to break free. Instead, he raised his right leg, preparing to deliver a powerful kick to Veigar's midsection.

But before he could strike, Veigar had already seen through his movements. With a perfectly timed counter, Veigar landed a kick first, sending Obito flying.

"Veigar is incredible…!"

The spectators gasped in amazement as Veigar dispatched Obito in just a few effortless moves.

Watching Obito clutch his stomach—clearly in pain but not seriously injured—Kaoru Iwabe knew that Veigar had held back.

If this had been a real battle, Obito would have likely perished on the spot.

"Reckless. Arrogant."

Kaoru Iwabe silently assessed Obito, already labeling him as unfit for combat.

"You bastard, Veigar!"

Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain in his abdomen, Obito let out a furious roar and charged once more.

This time, however, he was more cautious.

Now aware that his raw strength was inferior to Veigar's, Obito adjusted his approach. Instead of relying solely on punches, he shifted to kicking—after all, the legs naturally generate more power than the arms.

Even so, Veigar didn't bother dodging. Instead, he advanced directly toward Obito.

A flurry of fists and kicks ensued. Though Veigar wasn't using his full strength, he engaged Obito in close combat, matching him blow for blow.

If anyone thought Veigar was simply toying with or humiliating Obito, they would be mistaken.

In reality, he was putting on a demonstration—a deliberate showcase of his superior taijutsu ability for Kaoru Iwabe to witness. After all, if he wanted to graduate early, he still needed Kaoru's approval.

Sure, he could appeal directly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but having Kaoru submit the recommendation on his behalf would be the best approach.

As he observed the fight, Kaoru quickly picked up on Veigar's intentions.

Every one of Obito's attacks was effortlessly blocked—always after he had fully committed to the strike.

At Veigar's current level of taijutsu, he could have ended the fight in an instant.

At the same time, Iwabe also noticed a glimmer of potential in Obito. While impulsive and overconfident, the boy displayed a solid foundation in taijutsu.

As the exchange continued, Veigar decided he had demonstrated enough. With a single punch, he forced Obito to stagger back a few steps before subtly forming a hand seal.

"Tiger?"

While Veigar's hand seal went unnoticed by the rest of the class, it didn't escape Kaoru Iwabe's keen eyes.

However, what puzzled Kaoru was that Veigar's seal wasn't a full sequence—he had only formed a single sign.

A moment later, realization dawned.

Obito's fist struck Veigar squarely in the chest—only for his opponent to vanish in a puff of smoke.

"A simplified Clone Jutsu… What a terrifying talent."

Kaoru's gaze locked onto Veigar, who had now reappeared behind Obito.

At that moment, Kaoru couldn't help but reflect on himself at Veigar's age.

At seven years old, he had struggled just to perform the standard Clone Jutsu with a fifty percent success rate. Forget about simplifying hand seals—he couldn't even dream of it.

Veigar, meanwhile, was keenly aware of the impression he was making. By revealing his ability to simplify Clone Jutsu's seals, he knew he had undoubtedly caught Kaoru's attention.

That was precisely his goal.

In truth, Veigar's ability to reduce the hand seals required for jutsu wasn't solely due to natural talent. Rather, it was the result of mastering the Human Body Enhancement Technique, which had refined his chakra control to an extraordinary degree.

That was the real reason he could simplify the Clone Jutsu.

Meanwhile, Obito had no time to bask in his fleeting moment of triumph. The instant he realized he had only struck a clone, he spun around and spotted Veigar behind him—without hesitation, he launched another punch.

But once again, it was only a clone.

"Obito, I'm over here."

The real Veigar had discreetly hidden himself among the spectators. Now, he stepped forward toward the edge of the training grounds—having already transformed himself into a perfect copy of Obito using the Transformation Jutsu.

Seeing his own face staring back at him, Obito's anger exploded.

"Veigar, you bastard! Why the hell did you turn into me?!"

Veigar's response nearly made Obito cough up blood.

Mimicking Obito's tone and mannerisms perfectly, he declared, "I'm the real Obito! You should be the one explaining who you are!"

The entire class erupted into laughter at Veigar's shameless deception.

Yet, none of them could deny it—Veigar's Transformation Jutsu was flawless. If they hadn't personally witnessed him transform, they might have started questioning whether the real Obito was actually an imposter.

"You…!"

"Hmph! I'll show you my true strength!"

With that, Obito rapidly formed a series of hand seals.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Watching Obito execute the technique, Veigar was momentarily intrigued.

Still, he remained calm and countered with his own set of hand seals.

"Ram—Ox—Tiger."

It was the Substitution Jutsu, one of the three basic shinobi techniques. Originally requiring five hand seals, Veigar had simplified it to just three.

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