Asuma and Nara Mayumi teamed up not because they thought they couldn't handle Mikami Yuu in a one-on-one.
From the exam's objective standpoint, Hyūga Kamon's Byakugan—with its near-360-degree vision—was highly valuable to the team. They couldn't let him waste time on meaningless duels. So they decided to gang up, eliminate Mikami Yuu first, then move together to attack the platform and lock in victory early.
Of course…
Asuma and Mayumi also had a bit of selfishness. They wanted to prove that Mikami Yuu's "first place" had some water in it—that last time, he'd only gotten lucky because he hadn't met the two historically "strongest" and "second-strongest" scorers in practical combat.
But now…
What was this Great Fireball?
Wasn't Mikami Yuu only supposed to know the Three Basic Jutsu?
"…Our intel was wrong. Stick to the original plan—take him down fast! He's already cast a C-rank jutsu once. He can't have much chakra left!"
Mayumi spoke rapidly.
Asuma understood at once and surged in again.
So Mayumi split his shadow into several strands, spreading them out to force Mikami Yuu's movement; Asuma looked for chances to close in and fight him at close range. The three figures traded positions back and forth over the dirt slope—so fast it was blink-and-you-miss-it—while the sound of fists and feet colliding kept ringing out, intense and sharp.
Finally…
Mikami Yuu was forced into a dead corner.
"Got him!"
Asuma's hands flashed through seals. "Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A scorching fire projectile shot out with a howl!
At the same moment Asuma attacked, Mayumi shifted his attention elsewhere, locking in several angles and dragging his shadow over—planning that once Mikami Yuu used Substitution to dodge the Flame Bullet, he'd bind him instantly and end the fight.
However…
Mikami Yuu didn't use Substitution as Mayumi expected. Instead he used a different jutsu:
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu!"
Whooo—!
A clear, cold surge of water erupted into existence in midair and slammed head-on into Asuma's fire. The blazing flames were doused, and massive steam billowed outward, completely blocking everyone's vision.
White mist flooded the area.
Mayumi heard footsteps. He hurriedly drew a wooden kunai and stared tensely at the blurred silhouette in the fog. The moment someone lunged at him, he rushed forward and thrust the kunai straight out, stabbing into the attacker's chest.
And then—
Splash!
The "Mikami Yuu" he stabbed dissolved into an illusion and vanished.
"Clone Technique?!"
Mayumi's eyelid twitched.
Just as he turned to search for the real body, a white figure was already behind him. Before Mayumi could turn and counter, a clean, crisp knife-hand chopped into his neck. He let out a muffled groan and dropped on the spot, out cold.
"Haa…"
Mikami Yuu let out a long breath.
His chakra really didn't have much left.
A normal genin—even a clan-born one—at this age could usually only cast two or three C-rank jutsu in a row. That was why Mikami Yuu hadn't used Water Clone, which cost at least 10% chakra per cast. Instead he used a plain E-rank illusion clone and finished Mayumi with taijutsu.
After doing that,
Mikami Yuu looked through the dispersing mist at Asuma, whose figure was gradually becoming clear again. He took a deep breath.
"Come on. We've both cast two C-rank jutsu already. Next…"
"Let's settle it with taijutsu."
"…Fine. Come!"
Asuma also pulled a kunai from his tool pouch. After a short pause to steady his breath, he charged!
A screeching clash rang out.
Even though the kunai were wooden, sparks flew from the impact!
…
On the teaching building rooftop,
Minato and Hiruzen had already lost count of how many times they'd been surprised.
"…This is incredible."
Minato spoke. "That child Mikami Yuu—he's only nine this year, right? And he already knows multiple jutsu—Great Fireball and Wild Water Wave—and can use them proficiently… It wouldn't be strange if Asuma could do that, but he can too…"
"He probably learned them from his father."
Hiruzen drew on his pipe and said slowly.
Any child allowed into the Ninja Academy had their family background checked two or three generations back, so Hiruzen already knew Mikami Yuu's father was Mikami Tajima—the man who had volunteered to garrison the border two and a half years ago.
Tajima was a Fire-nature ninja. Great Fireball was one of the few C-rank techniques he knew, so passing it to his son made sense.
As for Wild Water Wave and Water Clone…
Hiruzen had Anbu investigate and confirm they came from Rin's father, Nohara Hiroshi.
But Hiroshi had only provided scrolls. And Tajima had only learned Great Fireball after he applied for border duty—and had spent most of the last two years at the border, rarely returning home. So Mikami Yuu was very likely self-taught. That was rare.
And beyond that…
"It's not just ninjutsu. His taijutsu burst power is strong too. He can defeat Hyūga Kamon head-on, and even now still has enough stamina to fight Asuma. Even rarer is his tactical thinking…"
Minato continued evaluating. "He used Substitution the moment he detected Shadow Imitation. He used Fire to counter Wind, Water to counter Fire. Then he created a mist environment, eliminated the more immediate threat—Nara Mayumi—first, then fought Asuma… It's like he planned everything in advance.
"Even if…"
Even if Mikami Yuu lost to Asuma and was eliminated, no one would have performed better in this match.
Not to mention, Minato felt Mikami Yuu had a very high chance of beating Asuma and completing a one-versus-three miracle!
For a civilian-born child, that record would be dazzling. Even if he lacked the talent for Flying Thunder God, he at least had the potential to grow into a jōnin.
"Looks like this batch has produced another genius like Kakashi."
Hiruzen took a pull of his pipe, exhaled thick white smoke, and his gaze grew deep. "Civilian-born, yet with such talent—and an unusually profound understanding of the Will of Fire… Perhaps this child has hope of becoming a pillar of Konoha."
…
On the field,
the fight between Mikami Yuu and Asuma continued.
To be honest, Asuma's overall qualities were strong. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, combat IQ—he was top-tier for his age, the kind of balanced "all-arounder" who wasn't especially flashy but also had no obvious weak points.
Mikami Yuu tried pressing the attack twice and couldn't finish him, wasting some stamina instead. So he stopped rushing. He shifted into a "sharpen taijutsu" mindset, exchanging moves and waiting for an opening.
With both sides nearing exhaustion, the outcome might come down to a single move.
Asuma knew it too. Teeth clenched, he fought to defend the pride of being the Hokage's son.