"Admit defeat? It's far too early for that."
Behind Qing Yezhen, the crackling sound of a sealing jutsu echoed.
"Nani?!" Kiyono was stunned, thrusting his kunai forward—but the figure of 'Fenghuo' before him suddenly vanished into a wisp of smoke.
A doppelgänger? When did he—
Kiyono rolled aside to dodge a scorching fireball launched from behind. He threw another kunai and swiftly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release—Escape: Crack the Earth and Turn the Palm!"
Qing Yezhen's palms glowed as he pressed them against the ground. The earth split open instantly, fissures spreading rapidly toward the sealing fire.
"Teacher Qing Yezhen, don't get distracted in a real ninja fight! Using that kind of ninjutsu won't affect me at all!" Fenghuo's muscles tensed. Pushing off with powerful strides, he sprinted along the edge of the fissure.
Kiyono grit his teeth. "This is my strongest technique—seal the fire and prepare to die!"
"Earth Release: Dungeon—Earth Dragon Bullet!"
With a thunderous roar, a ferocious stone dragon burst through the cracked earth, its snout emerging from rubble as it spewed a barrage of mud bombs.
"Hey, is this really a ninja school graduation exam?!"
"No way. If this is the fight, we're dead before we even start."
"What do we do? I don't think we can graduate."
Sato and his teammates huddled nervously in a corner, watching Qing Yezhen and Fenghuo's battle with wide eyes—too intimidated to move.
Boom!
Mud bombs exploded against Fenghuo, sending debris flying.
This jutsu... definitely a third-generation Earth Release Dungeon technique. But no matter how powerful a ninjutsu is, it depends on who wields it.
Fenghuo's eyes suddenly changed. His Sharingan flickered open with two tomoe, sharpening his vision.
Through the spinning wheel of writing beneath his eyes, the trajectories of the mud bombs in midair became crystal clear.
A confident smile crossed Fenghuo's face as he advanced, dodging dozens of mud bombs with a blur of movement. Sky-blue chakra poured from his right palm.
Dust swirled, obscuring vision. Even Qing Yezhen struggled to spot Fenghuo's Sharingan.
"Screw Pill!"
Fenghuo hurled a spiral-shaped pill at the dragon's head. Simultaneously, he deactivated his Sharingan and leapt high.
Boom!
The earth dragon's head exploded from the pill's detonation, sending soil and firewave flying everywhere.
Kiyono gritted his teeth and escaped using the substitution jutsu.
Though a Chunin, Kiyono wasn't a frontline fighter and had been pushed to his limits by Fenghuo's relentless assault.
But Fenghuo remained energized, crushing spiral pills in both hands, ready to charge at Qing Yezhen again.
"Wait a moment!" Qing Yezhen wiped a cold bead of sweat from his brow.
"What's wrong?" Fenghuo asked, puzzled.
"Well, three minutes are up. Seal the fire—you've passed the test," Kiyono said hurriedly.
"Huh? Already?" Fenghuo hadn't noticed the time.
"Congratulations, Fenghuo, you're officially a genin!" Kiyono hurried to the sidelines and handed the results to the proctor.
The proctor frowned, seeing only a minute and a half had passed—but since Qing Yezhen said so, what else could he do?
"Well, three minutes is three minutes."
The two teachers nodded in unison, deciding the matter without leaving room for dispute.
"Next up, Hyuga Shinmune," Qing Yezhen called another teacher over to assist with the exam.
Fenghuo stood aside blinking, still feeling uneasy—but when he saw Shinmune already facing a Chunin instructor, he didn't intervene.
"Gentle Fist—Gossip—Two Palms!"
"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams—Four Palms!"
"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams—Eight Palms!"
In the arena, Shinmune Hyuga's eyes rolled sharply as he struck pressure points with rapid palm strikes.
His opponent, the Chunin teacher, was gentler—only using C-rank ninjutsu—but their battle was lively and intense.
"Water Release? Seriously?" Fenghuo muttered angrily.
Qing Yezhen had just used an Earth Release Dragon Bullet—likely a B- or even A-rank technique. Compared to that, this fight was like a warm-up match.
Fenghuo's voice wasn't loud, but the Chunin teacher overheard it and flushed with embarrassment, intensifying his attacks.
Shinmune quickly became overwhelmed. His Gentle Fist showed many flaws and he was soon pushed aside by the teacher's Water Release—losing combat effectiveness.
Looking at the timer, only eight seconds remained until three minutes.
The Chunin teacher sighed helplessly—there was nothing more he could do.
Shinmune lay on the ground, embarrassed and trembling with frustration.
"Uchiha Fire Seal! You bastard! I will never forgive you!" Shinmune's voice cracked with fury.
If not for Fenghuo's sarcastic remarks, he might have passed this exam!
Damn it, curse it all!
Fenghuo stood awkwardly beside him. "Blame me?"
The next tests were even simpler. With Fenghuo and Shinmune's performances, the Chunin teachers had to save face—even if they wanted to let others pass.
In the end, Sato and the rest all failed without exception.
They wore mixed expressions—angry, resentful, and wanting to cry. They realized if it weren't for Fenghuo stirring trouble, at least half of them would have passed.
Several teachers exchanged glances, then unconsciously looked at Fenghuo, who just stared innocently up at the sky.
"Alright, Uchiha Fenghuo, Hyuga Shinmune, you're both coming back with me," Kiyono said, scratching his head and saying goodbye awkwardly to the other ninja teachers.
"I'm really sorry—hehe. I'll invite you to dinner sometime, really!" Kiyono added quickly.
"Uchiha Fenghuo, you definitely did that on purpose, you bastard!" Shinmune gritted his teeth.
"Come on, challenge me!"
"You villain! You're afraid I'll graduate, so you're scheming against me with dirty tricks!"
"Come on, challenge me!"
"You troublemaker!"
Fenghuo looked at him with mock surprise and smiled. "I didn't expect you to know yourself so well."
"What?" Shinmune was stunned.
"As you said, well, I am a troublemaker. How about you?"
"..." Shinmune was speechless.
Qing Yezhen stepped forward, holding his forehead. "Okay, stop arguing—students are watching."
Fenghuo glanced up and sure enough, saw Obito, Kai, and others standing nervously outside the boundary.
Fenghuo raised two fingers, and a burst of cheers erupted from their direction.
Shinmune didn't see this, snorting coldly.
"Uchiha Fenghuo, I remember this time last year—you challenged Kakashi and got knocked out cold. I remember it well... nostalgic!"
"Come on, challenge me."
"..." Shinmune's frustration boiled over.
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