"Even… even a Hyūga jonin lost?"
"What the hell was that metallic ability just now? The Gentle Fist couldn't even scratch it? That's insane!"
"His taijutsu, strength, speed, and those endless dirty tricks… is this guy really a samurai?"
"Terrifying power and completely shameless methods with no bottom line. There probably aren't many jonin in the village who could reliably take him down."
"Does this mean we have to call in the big guns? Lord Jiraiya? Lord Orochimaru? Or Lady Tsunade?"
The suggestion barely left someone's mouth before it got shot down. "Did you forget the mission requirements? Thirty and under! The Sannin are all way past that age limit!"
"Exactly! That age restriction was deliberate! He knew he couldn't beat the real veteran heavyweights, so he set it up this way. What a sneaky bastard!"
"What about Lord Hiashi? He's the Hyūga clan head—with his strength…"
Before the sentence finished, someone cut in. "What are you thinking? He's the Hyūga clan head. There's no way he'd step in lightly."
"Then… what about Lord Minato Namikaze? If it's him, he could definitely do it!"
The name sparked fresh hope in many eyes.
Namikaze Minato, Konoha's genius jonin. Word was he'd mastered top-tier Body Flicker and learned the Rasengan last year—the perfect counter to this brute force and weird defense.
But another cold splash of reality hit immediately. "Forget it. Lord Minato left the village two days ago with Team 7 for a long-term escort mission. He won't be back anytime soon."
"What?!"
"Damn it! This guy must have planned it! He timed it perfectly knowing Minato was gone! Too underhanded! Too calculating!"
"No way…"
"Hmph! Why not? Minato just left, and here he comes. Too convenient to be a coincidence."
The chatter grew louder, but anxiety and helplessness spread through the crowd.
People looked around and suddenly realized that, under the thirty-and-under limit, the top-tier fighters Konoha could field who had a real shot at suppressing the monster in the arena… were surprisingly thin on the ground right now.
Why isn't anyone thinking of me?
I'm still under thirty.
In one section of the stands, Uchiha Fugaku sat with his arms crossed, silently listening to the noisy discussion around him.
As the head of Konoha's largest clan, he knew the strength of the younger generation in his clan perfectly well. He and several elite clan members all met the age requirement, yet not a single villager had mentioned the Uchiha.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku also noticed the Third Hokage's seemingly casual gaze sweeping the arena had landed, more than once, faintly on the Uchiha seating area—on him.
He let out a quiet sigh. He understood what it meant. This was an opportunity to strengthen ties between the Uchiha and the village while showing their power.
Though not the way he would have preferred…
With that thought, he slowly uncrossed his arms, leaned forward slightly, and prepared to stand.
Whoosh!
A figure moved faster than him, dropping lightly into the arena like a falling leaf. It landed steadily in the center, directly facing Isshin, who stood with his blade sheathed.
Short black hair stirred gently in the arena breeze. His face wore its usual gentle expression, but with an added layer of calm sharpness.
"Shinichi?!"
"Higashino Shinichi? What's he doing stepping in?!"
"He's only a chunin! Even the jonin lost…"
"No way—he's way too young!"
The unexpected entrant triggered an even bigger uproar than any before.
Many recognized the boy—Konoha's brightest rising genius in recent years, Chunin Exam champion from Sunagakure, creator of the Rasengan, Master Chef, bestselling manga artist. His list of accomplishments was endless.
But right now, after two veteran jonin had been defeated in succession, his chunin rank and youthful face left most people stunned and confused.
After landing, Shinichi ignored the wave of chatter. He walked quickly over to Hyūga Hizashi, who was still kneeling on one knee with his right arm hanging limply.
He crouched down. Soft green medical chakra immediately glowed around both hands as he placed them over Hizashi's swollen, painful right arm. With practiced skill he checked the meridian damage, stopped the bleeding, eased the pain, and guided the misaligned bone fragments back into place.
Seeing this, many spectators finally understood and breathed sighs of relief, starting to chatter again.
"Oh, he was just coming down to treat Jonin Hizashi. Scared me for a second."
"I knew it. Shinichi's a genius, but he's still too young. Give him a few more years and he'll definitely be able to…"
"Yeah, his medical ninjutsu is really skilled too. No wonder all the doctors at the hospital praise him as a prodigy."
Hyūga Hizashi felt the warmth spreading through his arm and the easing of the pain. He lifted his pale face and looked at the focused young man treating him, speaking quietly, "Thank you for your help, Shinichi."
Though he'd heard all the stories about this genius, this was his first time interacting with him personally.
The way the boy had immediately stepped forward to treat a comrade after the fight—without hesitation, even though they weren't acquainted—gave him a more direct sense of the rumors about Shinichi valuing his comrades and having a gentle character.
"No need to be polite, senior." Shinichi's hands kept working steadily as he advised, "Your arm has significant damage to the meridians and bones, especially the finger bones and elbow joint. For the next month, please avoid using your right hand for high-intensity chakra circulation or taijutsu training. Come to the hospital for regular check-ups, and follow the medication and physical therapy. Once the bones and meridians heal properly, there shouldn't be any lasting impact on your Gentle Fist precision or power."
Hyūga Hizashi nodded, committing the instructions to memory.
Once the initial treatment was done, Shinichi withdrew his medical chakra and slowly stood up.
He didn't leave the arena. Instead, he turned to face the towering samurai Isshin standing there with his blade, looking bored.
Then he turned toward the VIP platform, took a deep breath, and spoke in a clear, firm voice that carried across the entire arena: "Lord Third! Konoha Chunin, Higashino Shinichi, requesting to fight!"
BOOM!
After a brief stunned silence, an even more explosive wave of noise erupted!
"What?!"
"He's requesting to fight?! He's actually going to do it?!"
"Are you kidding? The opponent just beat two jonin in a row!"
"Shinichi! Don't be reckless! You're still young!"
"Even if he's a genius, this is too much!"
"The Hokage won't approve this, right?"
Shock, confusion, worry, and even criticism that he was young and overreaching crashed in from every direction.
Even the few who had been somewhat hopeful now wavered. There seemed to be an insurmountable gap between a chunin and that monstrous samurai.
Uchiha Fugaku sat up straighter, his scrutinizing gaze growing more intense.
Hyūga Hizashi's head snapped up as well. He stared at the back of the boy who had just treated him and was now standing tall, challenging the powerful samurai. His pale face filled with shock and disbelief.
In the Team 10 section, Yūhi Kurenai clenched her fists tightly, and Tsunade frowned.
Though the brat was quite strong and his talent had shocked her time and again, against the power this samurai had displayed, he had almost no chance of winning.
Shizune's expression, however, was completely different. After the initial surprise, a strange look—mixing memories and firm belief—replaced her worry.
Looking at the boy's back in the arena, she couldn't help recalling the Academy final practical exam from several years ago.
Back then, when almost no one believed in him, Shinichi had completely and overwhelmingly defeated Kakashi, who had been hailed as a genius at the time.
"If it's Shinichi, he'll definitely win!"
Shizune suddenly spoke up, echoing the same words someone had said four years earlier.
"Hm?"
Tsunade and Kurenai both turned to look at her in surprise, not understanding where this sudden, almost blind confidence was coming from.
"Shinichi… he really…" Kurenai asked softly, even though her teammate had repeatedly surpassed her expectations and was recognized as an absolute genius.
But standing across from him was the monster who had just defeated her respected father and a Hyūga jonin!
"Will he win?"
"He will!"
Shizune nodded firmly.
Up on the VIP platform, Advisor Utatane Koharu's brows were twisted into a tight knot. She was barely holding back from scolding the boy for this nonsense.
Mitokado Homura also looked disapproving as he turned toward the Third.
Faced with this overwhelmingly negative wave of doubt, Higashino Shinichi in the arena remained unmoved. He simply looked calmly up at the Third Hokage on the platform, waiting for an answer.
"Approved!"
A moment later, a single word rang out—clear and decisive.