Shin-chan stood where he was, watching Seiji's fingers fly up and down.
Boar, Monkey, Bird, Dragon...
"Are you not done yet?" Shin-chan scratched his head. "So slow."
A vein popped at Seiji's temple, but his fingers did not stop.
Kirigakure's Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu was the orthodox forty-four-seal version.
As the hand seals neared their end, the Kirigakure envoys at the side of the field were already smiling. This brat's taijutsu reactions were indeed unexpected, but in a ninjutsu duel, what mattered was chakra volume and the power of the technique.
Seiji's hands finally stopped. Chakra surged wildly around him, and the moisture in the air condensed at a visible speed. A huge water dragon poked its head out from the mist.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
From the direction of the Kirigakure delegation, suppressed murmurs of admiration sounded.
"To use a Water Dragon Bullet of this scale at his age..."
"Seiji's Water Style skill is already at a high level."
"Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu—not to mention a five-year-old child, even an ordinary chūnin might not be able to take it head-on."
"This match is secure."
At the side of the field, Namikaze Minato stood where he was, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The water dragon opened its huge mouth and lunged at Shin-chan, wrapped in mist.
"Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu?" Shin-chan stood there, tilting his head. "Does it have that many seals?"
He remembered that night. Uncle Kosuke had only formed four seals before using it. There definitely weren't forty-four.
Rat, Dragon, Hare, Tiger.
Shin-chan's fingers moved, completing the four seals in an instant.
"The Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu I learned doesn't seem to be like that."
Chakra surged out from Shin-chan's body. With Shin-chan at the center, moisture from all directions contracted toward him, forming a huge whirlpool by his feet.
Immediately afterward, a water dragon abruptly rose from the whirlpool. Carrying an incomparably violent momentum, it struck second yet arrived first, crashing into the incoming water dragon.
Boom!
The roars of the two water dragons collided, erupting with a deafening blast.
The water dragon Seiji had created by consuming a huge amount of chakra shattered into spray the instant it touched Shin-chan's water dragon.
But Shin-chan's water dragon did not lose momentum. With an unstoppable force, it charged straight toward the pale-faced Seiji.
The side of the field instantly fell silent.
The smiles on the Kirigakure delegation's faces froze. They could hardly believe the scene before them.
A faint, knowing smile flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes, then quickly returned to calm.
Seiji rolled backward in a sorry state, narrowly dodging the direct impact of the water dragon. Even so, he was still knocked off balance by the shockwave and fell to the ground, staring blankly at the five-year-old child still standing in the middle of the field.
"First match, Konoha genin, Nohara Shinnosuke, wins!"
The referee's voice broke the silence.
At the side of the field, Ao's expression sank completely. The slight contempt from earlier had vanished without a trace.
Four-seal Water Dragon Bullet...
That was a simplified ninjutsu of the Second Hokage. Even in Konoha, only a very small number of elite ninja could master it.
A five-year-old child not only knew how to use it, but had crushed Kirigakure's orthodox forty-four-seal Water Dragon Bullet with overwhelming chakra.
This was no ordinary genius. This was clearly a monster Konoha had been hiding.
He finally understood. From beginning to end, the Third Hokage had not been joking.
Ao's gaze fell on Shin-chan. "Lord Hokage, I was blind."
"It is only a sparring match between young people. Winning and losing are minor matters." The Third Hokage waved his hand, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening slightly.
The second to enter the field was Hatake Kakashi.
The Kirigakure genin opposite him did not dare be careless in the slightest. From the start, he used everything he had, alternating between Water Style and taijutsu, but Kakashi defeated him easily with swordsmanship honed to absolute precision.
The entire match lasted less than half a minute. It was clean and decisive, fully displaying the bearing of a genius.
"Second match, Konoha genin, Hatake Kakashi, wins!"
For the third match, Uchiha Che stepped forward.
Facing the Water Style technique coming from the Kirigakure genin, his hands quickly formed seals, and scorching chakra surged out.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A huge fireball rose into the air and collided with the Water Style, filling the area with a great amount of steam.
The Kirigakure genin had just been about to move under the cover of the mist, but Uchiha Che discovered him first and easily secured victory.
"Third match, Konoha genin, Uchiha Che, wins!"
Three complete victories.
Konoha's three little genin cubs had crushed the elite genin brought by the Kirigakure delegation with absolute strength.
At the edge of the training ground, Konoha's ninja burst into waves of cheers, their morale rising to its peak.
On the Kirigakure delegation's side, Ao's face was so dark it looked like water might drip from it.
Trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it—this was exactly that situation.
They had lost all three matches. Not only had they failed to accomplish any objective, they had instead allowed Konoha's genius youths to gain a massive boost in prestige.
"Jōnin Ao, sparring between the younger generation is meant for mutual learning and shared progress." The Third Hokage wore a gentle smile. "Konoha's three children were fortunate that your side held back, giving them such a valuable opportunity to train."
Ao's mouth twitched at those polite words, but he could only brace himself and bow. "Lord Hokage jests. Konoha's geniuses truly live up to their reputation."
At some point, Shin-chan had sidled up beside one of Kirigakure's young female ninja.
"Big sister, are you from Kirigakure?"
The female ninja lowered her head and glanced at him, then nodded.
"Does it rain in your village all day?"
"Not all day..." The female ninja shook her head. "There's just more moisture in the air."
"Then your skin is still so fair." Shin-chan leaned closer. "It must be because you don't get sunburned."
The female ninja froze for a moment, then couldn't help laughing.
Seiji stood a few steps away, still soaked all over. "Um..."
Shin-chan turned away from the female ninja.
"Your Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu." Seiji hesitated, but still asked, "Why does it only have four seals?"
"When I was taught, it only had four seals. Isn't yours the same?"
Seiji's voice was a little dry. "The orthodox Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu has forty-four seals. That's how the teachers in our village teach it."
"Forty-four?" Shin-chan raised both hands in front of himself, spreading and closing his ten fingers. "I can't even count that many. There are that many?"
Seiji nodded.
"That's so strange." Shin-chan tilted his head. "Why do you use forty-four?"
Seiji opened his mouth, unsure what to say.
"Did your teachers teach it wrong?" Shin-chan asked.
Standing a little farther away, Ao heard this conversation, and his hand unconsciously clenched tighter.
Taught it wrong?
The Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu passed down through generations in Kirigakure had been blown apart by a brat who had only been weaned a few years ago using four seals, and now that same brat was innocently asking, "Did your teachers teach it wrong?"
The worst part was, he had no way to refute it.
Ao lowered his head, a trace of exhaustion appearing on his face.
More importantly, after this trip, how was he supposed to explain this to Lord Mizukage?
~~~
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