Chapter 39: Battle

Once dominated by the fear of the Uchiha.

And the humiliation he had suffered due to his own incompetence and weakness.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, within the small forest behind the ninja school, a chilly autumn wind blew. Standing beside a pile of more than twenty people, Toshiro's mind couldn't help but recall those lines and that rousing, inspiring music.

The mental stress accumulated from years of long, dull training had all but vanished, replaced by a sense of exhilarating release.

Uchiha Toshiro greatly admired the pioneering transmigrators; each one of them could endure the hellish, monotonous training day in and day out and even derive enjoyment from it.

He couldn't do it. He knew from the beginning that this wasn't the way for him. Not everyone could be like Might Guy, maintaining youthful vitality and passion throughout their lives.

With no other choice, he could only relieve his stress by playing games like Werewolf, leveling up, hunting, or even participating in these "games" with his companions.

Suddenly, there was a soft "bang" sound. Smoke spread in all directions.

A gentle breeze blew, revealing the situation within the smoke. A short-haired boy with a grim face had appeared.

A broken wooden stake lay quietly at his feet.

Just moments ago, while Toshiro was indulging in his scattered thoughts, the boy had silently approached from behind. Suddenly bursting with chakra, he executed a textbook ambush with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Not bad. No wonder that group of nobodies got dealt with so miserably so quickly!"

[That was a close call. If I hadn't sensed something off and used the Substitution Jutsu, I'd be lying on that pile of bodies just like the others!]

Just moments before, while Toshiro was stacking the lower-grade kids into a pile, Sarutobi Shinmura, who was busy suppressing Uchiha Akayan with his higher-grade companions, surveyed the scene and couldn't help but show veins popping on his forehead.

Even though they had the absolute advantage in numbers, they still couldn't defeat their opponent, whereas their ally's group of kids had already been completely KO'd. Completely useless.

"Yanyuan, take two people and deal with those kids over there!"

With no other choice, he had to send a few of his own people to clean up after the useless kids. Had he known, he wouldn't have brought them along in the first place, good-for-nothings.

The students had divided into two groups for the fight. The 9- to 11-year-old third, fourth, and fifth graders formed one group, while the newly enrolled kids formed the other. This was to balance the power.

Once the number of people attacking him decreased, Uchiha Akayan finally breathed a sigh of relief and took the time to survey the surroundings.

At 11 years old, his strength was such that even ordinary Genin might not be his match. However, facing Sarutobi Shinmura, who was also a genius and had more helpers, he found himself at a disadvantage.

"Everyone, pull yourselves together and take down these bastards! Don't let the clan's younger kids look down on us!"

Seeing that Toshiro had already finished his fight and diverted some of the attention away, Akayan couldn't help but feel relieved, though slightly ashamed, and yelled loudly.

"Hmph! Overused and weak! What waves can a bunch of brats stir up?" Sarutobi Shinmura sneered at his old rival's provocations, believing the other side was putting up a futile struggle.

As the three boys approached and surrounded him in an inverted triangle, Toshiro did not panic.

Unlike the pile beside him, these were mainly higher-grade students from fifth and sixth grades, commonly possessing or approaching Genin-level strength. If he didn't handle it carefully, he might be overturned.

No time was given for Toshiro to come up with a counter-strategy.

The nimble and smaller boy on his left, and the ordinary-looking one on his right, attacked him simultaneously from both sides. The grim-faced boy in the middle stepped forward calmly, appearing confident in his victory.

Toshiro's eyes narrowed slightly, showing not the slightest tension. As the nimble boy on the left approached, he suddenly formed hand seals, erupted with chakra from his feet, and vanished from the original spot.

"What a fast Body Flicker Technique!"

"His hand seal speed is so quick!"

Ignoring the exclamations from the two in front, his figure appeared behind the grim-faced boy. Without hesitation, he swept a whip kick towards the boy's lower back.

The suddenness caught the grim-faced boy off-guard.

However, Toshiro felt something was off once his kick landed.

"Bang"

A puff of smoke spread, revealing a broken wooden stake on the ground, identical to when he had been attacked.

At this moment, a figure was plummeting from above Toshiro's head. The boy had bent one leg into a spike, aiming at Toshiro's upper body utilizing gravity.

"Poof"

The smoke dispersed, and it turned out the one being attacked was just a clone left by Toshiro. He had transformed into a wooden block using the Transformation Technique and hidden in place during the dispersing smoke from the boy's Substitution Jutsu, then sent out a clone to confuse the opponent.

"Bang"

With a heavy impact, the grim-faced boy shattered not only the clone but also the ground beneath due to the chakra concentrated in his knee.

[Damn! It's just a schoolyard fight, and you're that ruthless! How much do you hate me? If that hit connected, I'd have at least two or three broken ribs!]

[Since you're heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless!]

Seizing the momentary rigidity from the boy's hard collision with the ground, one of the three shattered wooden pieces from Toshiro's cut stake morphed into his appearance.

A powered-up uppercut struck the grim-faced boy's chin from below, sending him flying. Confirming that it was the real body and not a clone or substitution, Toshiro slightly crouched, channeled his chakra, and leaped towards the airborne boy. With his head down and legs up, he repeatedly kicked the boy higher into the sky.

When the boy's upward momentum reached its peak, Toshiro grabbed his drifting sash, pulled forcefully to align their bodies parallel, twisted his waist, and delivered a devastating axe kick to the boy's abdomen.