"Alright."
Kurenai nodded, finally agreeing to Kiyohara's snack request. After all, while he was a commoner, her father was a jonin. So technically, she was a little rich girl.
Seeing that, Kiyohara continued walking into the building.
Inside, he recognized a few familiar faces—but many were strangers.
The crowd had naturally split into two groups. One side consisted of silent Genin in mismatched gear—clearly civilians. The other side was more uniform, subtly proud, composed of clan Genin.
Among them, two stood out: one was Uchiha Tekka, wearing a dark high-collar shirt with the Uchiha fan crest on the back; the other was Hyuga Tetsu, dressed in a loose-fitting white gi, his eyes a pure and pupil-less white.
Naturally, both were surrounded by fellow clansmen or allies, forming tight little cliques.
The proctor—a grim-faced jonin with a scar by his eye—stepped forward and gave a brief rundown of the rules.
The rules were simple: one-on-one duels. Fight until a clear winner is decided. Lethal jutsu were allowed, but the matches would stop before anyone died. Promotions would be judged based on strategy, execution, and overall strength.
"Uchiha Tekka, huh..."
Kiyohara's eyes narrowed as he looked at him.
He remembered that in the coming years, Tekka would become one of Uchiha Fugaku's top aides.
But for now, he hadn't joined the Konoha Police Force yet. After all, only Chunin and up could apply.
"For this test, those two are definitely the toughest opponents."
Kiyohara glanced at both Tekka and Tetsu.
Both came from Konoha's great dōjutsu clans. From birth, they had advantages most commoners could only dream of.
"Time to draw lots."
The proctor signaled several examiners, who brought out a black box.
Each Genin would draw a number to determine their match.
Kiyohara stepped forward when it was his turn.
"Bad luck, huh..."
Looking at the number in his hand—4—he sighed.
His opponent?
Uchiha Tekka.
"I wonder if he's awakened his Sharingan yet..."
He rubbed his chin.
The Sharingan was an infamously overpowered bloodline trait, with a whole evolutionary tree of broken abilities.
One tomoe, then two, then three—each stage unlocked powerful features like enhanced perception, copy ability, genjutsu, and chakra detection. And at the pinnacle lay the Mangekyō Sharingan, with two unique eye techniques plus a bonus Susanoo.
"Honestly, this whole bloodline-rigged world makes no damn sense..."
The entire ninja world was just a family feud between the Otsutsuki clan and their descendants. The rest of the ninja population? Background extras.
No matter how hard civilian-born ninja worked, their endgame rarely matched the starting point of someone with elite lineage.
Even Naruto, once the poster boy for hard work and guts, turned out to be the reincarnation of a literal god and the son of a Hokage. That "underdog" label? Gone in a flash.
"What, getting jealous now?" Rogue Kiyohara teased, floating beside him.
Kiyohara shook his head."Just acknowledging how important your luck after reincarnation is in the ninja world."
But that doesn't mean I've got no shot.
If I can't beat bloodlines… maybe I can collect them.
With the Will Scroll system on his side, who's to say he couldn't eventually gather them all?
The Matches Begin
By now, the first match had already started.
Kiyohara had drawn number 4, meaning he still had three rounds to watch.
He decided to use the time to gather information.
In ninja battles, intel is everything.
The first few matches were either civilian-on-civilian or clan Genin crushing civilian Genin.
The fights were intense—but mostly predictable.
Civilians were frugal with their chakra, carefully managing every jutsu. Most opened with kunai exchanges, some shuriken feints, and then—only when desperate—used ninjutsu as a last resort.
The clan kids, though? Totally different.
They were born with more chakra, so they spammed ninjutsu like candy, putting on flashy shows of power.
Meanwhile, in the stands.
From the spectator seats, there was a large display board showing names, numbers, and matchups.
"First match and he's already up against an Uchiha... talk about bad luck," Kurenai muttered, holding a bag of snacks Kiyohara had requested.
"Yeah, it's not ideal," Genma mumbled around his senbon.
"But give him some credit. We saw how he handled himself at Kannabi Bridge. He's definitely been holding back—we've just never seen his full strength."
Genma sounded almost indignant.
Everyone else was supposed to slack off too, damn it. Turns out I was the only one actually slacking.
Soon, the third match ended, and the proctor called out:
"Match 4: Kiyohara vs. Uchiha Tekka. Step forward!"
Kiyohara took a deep breath and walked into the center of the arena.
Across from him, Tekka stood with arms crossed, wearing that classic Uchiha arrogance.
"I've heard of you. A little action on the Grass Country front, wasn't it?" Tekka sneered.
"But this is as far as you go, commoner. Meeting me? That's just your bad luck."
Kiyohara didn't respond. He focused on his breathing, sharpening his senses.
"Begin!"
The moment the proctor's voice rang out, Tekka's hands blurred into a rapid seal sequence.
His chest puffed.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive flaming sphere—over two meters wide—erupted from Tekka's mouth, scorching the air as it hurtled toward Kiyohara.
The Uchiha's signature move.
"The 'merciful fireball' technique, huh..."
Kiyohara couldn't help remembering the old joke about how fire jutsu in the original story rarely ever killed anyone. Lots of smoke, very few fatalities.
But this one?
It was aimed right at his face.
Kiyohara moved fast, forming hand seals.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust erupted from his mouth.
But instead of colliding head-on, he angled the wind—slamming it into the side of the fireball.
Wind met fire. The trajectory shifted.
The scorching fireball veered off course and roared past Kiyohara, narrowly missing him.
With a deafening crash, it exploded harmlessly against the protective barrier at the arena's edge, scattering a burst of embers into the air.
Tekka's attack was strong—but Kiyohara's wind jutsu?
It was jonin-level, inherited directly from Rogue Kiyohara.