37. Stay Away From Me!

Hanekawa felt very satisfied.

The effect of the D-level trait " Ninja Tools Expert" was truly overwhelming in the first year.

Although Obito Uchiha wasn't a complete underachiever, apart from his Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, his basic skills were weak.

Coupled with the lack of the Sharingan, he couldn't evade kunai thrown with 30% increased arm strength.

At that moment, three lines of text appeared before Hanekawa eyes:

[E-Level Talent Trait: Little Firestarter]

[Trigger Condition: Defeat Young Obito Uchiha.]

[Effect: Fire Release proficiency increased by 10%.]

Double the rewards!

Like Asuma Sarutobi, Obito Uchiha had triggered a new trait as well.

The difference was that his was tied to Fire Release.

"Asuma," Hanekawa called out, waving his hand.

"Come here."

Now, he eagerly anticipated Asuma Sarutobi bringing more rewards to the table.

"..."

Asuma Sarutobi had lost the arrogance he showed earlier.

He wasn't a fool.

Those two kunai throws earlier had made him feel a strong sense of danger.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Aren't you supposed to be an illusion ninja? Why are your kunai skills getting scarier?"

However, he couldn't back down at this point.

With a serious expression, Asuma Sarutobi walked to stand across from Hanekawa.

After completing the Seal of Confrontation, Asuma's hands rapidly formed seals.

Wind Release: Gale Palm!

Chakra transformed into wind. With a clap of his hands, a compressed blast of wind surged forward violently.

He aimed for a swift attack.

But in the next moment, Hanekawa simply sidestepped to the left, effortlessly avoiding the gale as if he had anticipated it.

"What?"

Asuma Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock.

"Could it be that I've fallen into a genjutsu again? But when?"

Panicking, Asuma reflexively began forming seals.

Genjutsu Release!

The chakra flow in his body wavered slightly, but nothing changed—he wasn't under an illusion.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Asuma suddenly found Hanekawa's face inches away from his.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Oh no, stay away from me!"

Fox's Mind Disturbance Jutsu!

Caught off guard, Asuma Sarutobi froze on the spot, unable to react.

"..."

Watching from the sidelines, Hiruzen Sarutobi facepalmed.

"A complete mess! Everything's a mess! The whole battle has devolved into chaos."

Asuma had completely fallen into Yukawa's rhythm.

Hiruzen even began to suspect that defeating Obito Uchiha was part of Hanekawa's plan to bait Asuma into attacking hastily.

"Truly impossible to guard against."

Hiruzen glanced at Hanekawa, noticing his frown.

"Is he dissatisfied? Such pride... a trait of true geniuses."

Hiruzen sighed inwardly. Asuma's talent, in the end, fell slightly short.

But as the Hokage, he was pleased that Konoha had gained another genius—and one he had personally recruited.

"Damn it!"

Asuma Sarutobi could do nothing but fume with anger.

It took him three whole seconds to break free from the Fox's Mind Disturbance Jutsu.

If this had been a life-or-death battle, those three seconds would have been enough for him to die multiple times.

"I'll be back!" Asuma shouted, leaving with a frustrated glare.

"Asuma!" Hanekawa suddenly called out.

"What is it now?" Asuma asked impatiently.

"Your Wind Release is really strong," Yukawa said earnestly.

"Of course it is!" Asuma froze for a moment before shouting loudly, "Next time, you'll see an even stronger Wind Release! I'll definitely win then!"

Success!

Hanekawa couldn't help but smile.

Just now, after defeating Asuma Sarutobi, Hanekawa didn't trigger a new trait, which left him frowning in dissatisfaction.

He speculated that the lack of a trigger was due to insufficient challenge.

After all, the last upgrade of the "Whirlwind Chronicles" trait had elevated it to a D-level trait. To upgrade further, Asuma Sarutobi might need to reach the rank of Genin or Chūnin.

"This must be the Will of Fire!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene unfold with a gratified expression.

In his view, children didn't fake emotions; this must be a genuine display of passion.

Konoha had no shortage of geniuses—another one wouldn't make much difference. But a genius imbued with the Will of Fire? That was entirely different.

Perhaps he could persuade Tsunade to take Hanekawa under the Hokage's lineage.

"It's my turn!"

Kakashi Hatake stepped into the arena with an expressionless face and unsheathed the short blade from his back.

Hanekawa's genjutsu and ninja tool skills surpassed his own. His only advantage was the Hatake family's kenjutsu.

"How does Kakashi's kenjutsu compare to yours?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Shakumo Hatake curiously.

"Lord Hokage," Shakumo smiled faintly.

"He's just a child—at most, he's mastered 10% of my ability."

"Even with 10% of your strength, he already surpasses most Genin," Hiruzen Sarutobi remarked, shaking his head.

"You flatter me, Lord Hokage." Shakumo replied humbly.

"You, always so..." Hiruzen trailed off as his eyes caught sight of Hanekawa unsheathing a katana.

"Interesting."

Sakumo's eyes lit up. "It seems Hanekawa has been holding back."

"What is going on?"

Standing on the sidelines, Asuma Sarutobi looked incredulous.

"Does that mean he wasn't even trying against me? Seriously, were you just toying with me?"

Asuma clutched his neck, feeling a sudden shortness of breath.

"Hey, is he crazy? Using a sword against Kakashi?"

Obito Uchiha was stunned.

The Uchiha Clan's proficiency with kunai was well-known—but only with the aid of the Sharingan. Without it, losing was understandable.

However, the Hatake family's kenjutsu had no such limitations.

In terms of renown, it was no less prestigious than the Uchiha Clan.

"Obito," Rin Nohara shook her head. "Don't underestimate Hanekawa—he's really strong."

"This isn't about strength," Obito argued. "It's about..."

"Go, Hanekawa!"

Before he could finish, Kurenai Yuhi interrupted him with a cheer, sparking a wave of support from the crowd.

Obito was dumbfounded.

"Since when did Hanekawa get this popular?"

"Curse you! You're even more infuriating than Kakashi!"

He instinctively glanced at Rin, noticing the light in her eyes, and was immediately gripped by a strong sense of crisis.

"You can use a sword?" Kakashi asked, slightly surprised as he eyed the katana.

"I know a little," Hanekawa replied with a smile.

Against Kakashi, Hanekawa wasn't entirely confident of victory.

However, with a 30% strength boost from " Ninja Tools Mastery" and a 10% enhancement from "Konoha-style Swordsmanship

", his chances were still quite high.

After all, Kakashi was only five years old.

"Be careful," Kakashi warned, lowering his body into a combat stance. He wasted no words, propelling himself forward with explosive speed as his short blade gleamed like a streak of light, stabbing straight at Hanekawa.

Hanekawa raised his right hand, positioning his katana horizontally to block.

But Kakashi reacted swiftly, halting his blade mid-thrust and switching to a horizontal slash.

Had it landed, Hanekawa would have been cut in half, becoming "2.5 Hanekawas."

This was the hallmark of Sakumo Hatake's kenjutsu: swift, precise, and ruthless—each strike designed to kill. Against high-offense, low-defense opponents, it was nearly unstoppable.

But a longer weapon had its advantages.

Hanekawa rotated his arm, swinging the katana to strike first.

Clang!

Kakashi quickly withdrew his blade, parrying the katana.

The moment the weapons clashed, his expression changed. A tremendous force surged through the blade, forcing Kakashi to take several steps back.

(Oot: I've found the novel. Its "My beautiful disciples, i'm really not the main character.")

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