Meeting Tsunade

"Hyuga Hinata vs. Yamanaka Ino," Kitazawa spoke after the break.

In the first round, Hinata faced a student who had no role in the original work. With her strength, she naturally won easily.

"Hinata," Ino said with a smile, "Just stop when you're done."

She believed she was no match for Hinata, so she remained calm and felt no pressure. The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans were collectively known as the Pig, Deer, and Butterfly Trio.

These three clans shared a close bond, and their secret techniques showed the greatest power only when used in unison.

Among them, the Yamanaka clan specialized in control and support and were not known for combat. Ino, being young and not yet proficient in her clan's secret techniques, had little chance of defeating Hinata, who had already learned the Gentle Fist.

After a brief exchange, Ino was defeated.

"The winner is Hyuga Hinata."

Kitazawa thought for a moment, then said, "The next match is Akimichi Choji vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

Although Naruto had lost to Sasuke in the first round, he had already proven his strength. No one objected to him participating in the second round.

"Here I come, Naruto!" Akimichi Choji smiled innocently and charged forward, looking surprisingly agile. He quickly closed the distance and threw a punch.

"Come on!" Naruto shouted,

"Konoha Whirlwind!" He kicked out, colliding directly with Choji's fist.

A visible air wave burst out from the impact. Both of them staggered, surprised by each other's strength.

Within the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Akimichi clan served as front-line attackers capable of taking hits and dishing them out. Their clan's secret technique, the Multi-Size Technique, enlarged parts of the body—or the entire body—for massive attacks.

Unfortunately, Akimichi Choji had yet to learn it.

Naruto, on the other hand, had mastered the Konoha Whirlwind and Great Whirlwind techniques. With similar strength, this gave him a clear edge in taijutsu.

After a short but intense clash, Akimichi Choji voluntarily admitted defeat.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto." Kitazawa glanced at Choji, pondering a question: Could this trigger a system task?

He was quite interested in the Multi-Size Technique. Using Super Multi-Size during critical moments would be incredible.

The Super Multi-Size Technique was rare and could even affect giant beings like Tailed Beasts.

"Is Naruto's taijutsu the strongest in our class?" Inuzuka Kiba suddenly realized a shocking truth.

"Indeed," Ino said in surprise. "Although Sasuke beat him, it wasn't through taijutsu."

"Naruto's changed a lot," Aburame Shino commented. He remembered how Naruto had once been an outcast, loud, and boastful.

Now, in less than two months, he had transformed.

"When I awaken the Sharingan, his taijutsu won't match mine anymore." Uchiha Sasuke suddenly interjected.

Nara Shikamaru and the others fell silent. As children of ninja clans, they knew the Sharingan's power well. Its most direct threat was mimicry—your taijutsu could be copied and turned against you.

"Hyuga Hinata vs. Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa announced after a brief thought.

"Hinata, go for it!" Ino cheered.

"Defeat him!" Inuzuka Kiba and others shouted encouragingly.

They supported Hinata because she was the underdog and, despite being introverted, was well-liked.

"Thank you!" Hinata nodded with determination,

"I'll do my best!" She glanced at Kitazawa, then stepped into the training ground.

Uchiha Sasuke noticed her glance and felt a twinge of tension. He remembered that Hinata often trained with Kitazawa. After seeing Naruto's progress, he knew better than to underestimate her.

Aware of her taijutsu specialty, Sasuke opened with two shurikens.

The whistling sound of the wind echoed.

Hinata recalled Kitazawa's leaf training. These shurikens were barely faster than those flying leaves. She kept her expression calm, evading the projectiles while closing the distance rapidly.

Though she hadn't awakened the Byakugan yet, she had mastered the basics of the Gentle Fist. If she could get in close and strike pressure points, she had a real chance.

"So fast!" Sasuke was startled and decided not to engage in taijutsu.

He formed hand seals and created two clones.

Hinata froze. Without the Byakugan, she couldn't identify the real one.

She gritted her teeth and struck the nearest Sasuke.

Poof!

It vanished—a clone.

At that moment, she sensed a burning heat.

Sasuke had circled to her right and was preparing a fireball. He exhaled it—large and blazing.

Hinata had no choice but to dodge.

Kitazawa frowned, stepped in front of her, and used Water Style: Water Wave to douse the fire.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Kitazawa." Hinata bowed her head in guilt.

"No need to apologize. You're already strong. If you had your Byakugan, you might have won," Kitazawa said with a smile, gently patting her head.

Hinata hadn't lost due to weakness. She was a close-range fighter, while Sasuke kept his distance.

"I..." Hinata looked at his smile, feeling that all her training had gone to waste.

"Alright, step down," Kitazawa reassured her, "This was just sparring. Don't dwell on it—win next time."

"Yeah..." Hinata nodded, feeling more at ease.

But Sasuke fell silent. He had only won because of Fire Style: Great Fireball. His shuriken tactics had failed completely. He felt pressure once again.

Hinata and Naruto were now only one fireball technique away from him. Sasuke sighed inwardly. If only he could awaken his Sharingan, none of this would worry him.

"It's about time. Today's combat sparring ends here." Kitazawa clapped and said, "Now, I announce the five students selected to face the second-year Class A in actual combat: Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, and Akimichi Choji."

"Great!" Naruto shouted with excitement.

Sasuke stood with his hands in his pockets, thinking of Hyuga Neji. As the strongest, he felt he should challenge the strongest. But he lacked confidence against Neji—especially after seeing Naruto and Hinata's strength.

Hinata nervously pursed her lips. Being selected meant she might face Neji. She didn't know how to interact with him anymore.

They had once been close. But after he received the Caged Bird Seal, they had become strangers.

The bell rang, ending the last class of the day, and students began to leave.

Kitazawa had only taken two steps when a figure appeared before him. "Kitazawa."

An Anbu named Haru said, "Please come with me. The Hokage wants to see you."

"Okay," Kitazawa nodded.

As he followed Haru, he wondered why Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to meet him. Did the Hokage watch today's sparring and want to reward him for Naruto's performance?

Kitazawa was still pondering when he entered the Hokage's office—and saw a surprising figure.

She wore a light-green coat. Her golden hair was radiant. Her figure was curvaceous, like a ripe peach glowing with maturity. It was Tsunade, one of the Legendary Three Sannin.

Though Kitazawa had never met her before, he recognized her immediately by her striking features. After all, men's instincts couldn't be auto turned off.

--

--

Show your support with Power Stones, guys!

If we make it into the top 20 rankings at the week's end, I'll drop 2 bonus chapters as a thank-you!

P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)