Despite taking a devastating blow to the stomach, Hanabi clearly had no intention of giving up so easily—the honor of the great Uchiha Clan was at stake. While in free fall, he fought through the pain and began frantically weaving hand seals.
It worked! Who would have thought that a sequence of seals he normally struggled to perform would come out so flawlessly in such a critical situation? His chakra flowed through his pathways surprisingly smoothly and obediently!
"You bastard! Now I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha Clan!" the boy screamed in a frenzy. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
What?!
The spectators in the stands widened their eyes in shock. None of them could have ever imagined that a student who hadn't even graduated from the Academy yet would already be capable of wielding such a destructive elemental ninjutsu. Kushina anxiously gripped the edge of Minato's jacket. Genuine concern for Shiki's life was evident in her eyes.
Crimson reflections of the flames illuminated the faces of everyone present.
"Don't worry, an attack like that won't do Shiki any harm," Namikaze Minato said confidently, not doubting his friend's strength for a single second.
Standing nearby, members of the Uchiha Clan merely scoffed disdainfully upon hearing his words.
"There's no way that brat can deflect the Great Fireball Technique."
"He's just a pathetic, arrogant upstart."
The faces of the two senior clan representatives beamed with smug pride. This was exactly how things were supposed to be. Let this pup learn his lesson the hard way and understand that the Uchiha Clan was unconditionally the strongest in Konoha!
The Third Hokage watched the unfolding spectacle with equal attention. A gigantic, blazing sphere had formed in the air. The heat radiating from it was so unbearable that the surrounding space began to distort slightly. Carrying monstrous, destructive energy, the mass of flames hurtled straight toward the arena like a falling comet. And right beneath it, standing perfectly still, was Hanao Shiki!
Haruta Ichiro, the instructor on duty at the edge of the platform, had already tensed up, ready to rush in and help at a moment's notice. All it would take was a single sign of surrender from Shiki, and he would immediately pull him out of harm's way. However, the crimson reflections of the flames danced wildly across the boy's face, yet he continued to stand there with a look of absolute apathy.
"Did that idiot freeze up from fear?" a mocking voice rang out from the stands.
And only at the exact moment the fireball was about to crash down on him did Shiki lazily drop the words: "Definitely a monster..."
The roaring fireball plummeted from the heavens, and a deafening explosion, coupled with a sea of flames, instantly engulfed the entire arena. A powerful shockwave surged straight toward the spectator stands but was stopped just in time by a protective barrier erected by the shinobi on duty responsible for the exam's security.
"What about Shiki?!" Kushina peered frantically into the smoke billowing over the platform. Even though they constantly bickered on a normal day, she wished him absolutely no harm and was terrified that something irreversible might have happened to him.
Meanwhile, high up in the air, Hanabi—sincerely convinced of his unconditional victory—smugly wiped the corner of his mouth. Yielding to the laws of gravity, he began his smooth descent. And at the very moment he was mentally preparing to bask in the crowd's ovations, a painfully familiar, mocking voice sounded right by his ear:
"How terrifying... a boy from the Uchiha Clan."
Before the eyes of the astounded audience, Shiki inexplicably materialized right behind Uchiha Hanabi's back.
"How is that even possible?!" the senior representatives of the Uchiha Clan gasped in bewilderment.
As battle-hardened shinobi—even if only Chunin rank—they had been watching the arena with all their might, yet they still hadn't been able to catch even the slightest trace of the boy's movement.
Hanabi's face turned deathly pale. Hovering in the air, Shiki leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Did you know that speed is true power?"
His long leg came crashing down from above with monstrous force, slamming the dumbfounded Uchiha straight into the smoking crater left by his very own fireball!
Clouds of dust billowed over the arena, and a dead silence fell over the stands. Who could have ever thought that this lazy slacker, who was always just loitering around, had been hiding such terrifying power? Faced with a recognized genius of the Uchiha Clan, he had dispatched him so easily and effortlessly, as if it were mere child's play.
"The match is over!" Haruta Ichiro hastily shouted, finally coming to his senses. "The winner is Hanao Shiki!"
The proctor immediately rushed onto the arena to carry the battered Hanabi off to the medics.
"Since when did Shiki get so strong?" Kushina muttered in undisguised amazement.
She had, of course, guessed that Shiki was far from weak, but to this extent?! He had spent the entire duel with absolute ease, as if he were just playing around. Moreover, his techniques were so bizarre and incomprehensible that no one could figure out exactly how he was doing it.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Shiki," Minato said, keeping his burning gaze fixed on his friend standing in the arena. The thrill of rivalry flared brightly in his eyes.
Despite his peace-loving nature, seeing Shiki's staggering talent made it impossible for Minato to suppress a burning desire to fight him. He was especially impressed by the speed demonstrated in that final strike. Even he, renowned for his incredible swiftness, couldn't help but feel like he was lagging behind in that moment.
"And this boy... His taijutsu techniques are quite intriguing," Shimura Danzo—the man known in the village as the Shinobi of Darkness—rasped from the shadows. A predatory note crept into his voice, like a hunter who had just spotted a tantalizing prey.
The Third Hokage instantly wiped the faint smile from his face and, with utmost seriousness and a hint of a threat in his voice, warned, "Without my personal permission, don't even think about making plans for this child."
Danzo did not openly defy the Hokage's will, merely tossing out a meaningful remark: "Time will tell."
Only after a long, drawn-out pause did the stands finally erupt in deafening ovations. However, these were simply enthusiastic shouts of approval. Unlike with Minato, there was no mob of crazed fangirls in the crowd ready to birth him a "Naruto" right on the spot. After all, Shiki's peculiar, to put it mildly, off-putting image did its job—admiring him as a man was rather problematic.
Shiki himself didn't care about this in the slightest. Standing in the middle of the ruined arena, still casually keeping his hands in his pockets, he shouted loudly, "Hokage-sama, does this mean I took first place today? If not, I can go beat up someone else!"