Chapter 14: Rule-Free Battle, Unleashing Full Power

The exam started quickly, with the morning focused on cultural studies.

For Yagyu, these questions posed no difficulty.

Once the morning exam ended, Yagyu and the others hurried home to eat lunch, as there was no time for an afternoon nap. They had to return to the Ninja Academy for the next round of tests.

The fifth-grade exam had the most sections, while the sixth-grade graduation exam would only involve one.

The afternoon exam consisted of shuriken throwing, taijutsu duels, survival exercises, kunai close combat, and… rule-free combat.

Kunai close combat was easy to understand—it involved fighting with a kunai, either subduing or "killing" your opponent to claim victory.

This was a basic skill taught from the third grade onwards, as ninjas were tools of assassination. How could they function if they couldn't kill?

Rule-free combat was a section introduced in the fifth grade.

It was simple to grasp: you could use any means to defeat or "kill" your opponent.

The exam started quickly, with the first round being shuriken throwing.

Unlike the written exam that required grading, the afternoon sessions were graded on the spot.

As expected, Yagyu scored full marks.

In the taijutsu duels, Yagyu's opponent wasn't Sasuke Uchiha.

Starting from the fourth grade, these exams were no longer child's play.

While Iruka could still choose the opponents for small quizzes and impromptu tests, the final exam required fairness and impartiality.

Standing beside Iruka in the exam arena was a chunin, not Mizuki from the original story, but a female teacher skilled in medical ninjutsu.

In the third grade, the rules for taijutsu duels changed—it was no longer a matter of who fell first, but instead, you had to subdue your opponent or make them give up.

Injuries were unavoidable during these duels.

As the taijutsu exam began, Yagyu and the others drew lots to determine their opponents.

Yagyu drew a female classmate as his opponent.

She didn't give up, as surrendering meant zero points.

Yagyu didn't defeat her instantly but allowed several moves before defeating her in a gentlemanly manner.

Interestingly, Sasuke's opponent was Naruto once again.

For some reason, whenever opponents were chosen by lot, Sasuke often ended up fighting Naruto.

This made Yagyu wonder if the "fate" of these two "brothers" somehow influenced the world's rules.

In their taijutsu duel, Sasuke won, as expected.

At this point, Naruto was still the dead-last student, scoring low in all subjects and frequently leaving his written exams blank.

If graduation depended on cumulative scores, Naruto would never graduate in his lifetime.

Next came the kunai close combat, also determined by drawing lots.

The atmosphere was completely different from the taijutsu duel. Iruka and the medical teacher's serious expressions made it clear how intense this round was.

After Iruka blew the whistle, he only retreated a few steps, his eyes locked on the combatants, ready to intervene the moment something went wrong.

Yagyu's opponent this time was a male classmate who often greeted him.

"...Thank you for the match!"

Just like with the female classmate earlier, Yagyu easily blocked his opponent's strikes with his kunai. Then, in an instant, he used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear and reappeared behind his opponent, pressing the kunai against the back of his neck to end the match.

"No wonder you're Yagyu, I didn't stand a chance," the nearly instantaneously defeated boy shook hands with Yagyu in the traditional reconciliation gesture, showing no sign of discouragement.

Losing to Yagyu was something most of the class had grown accustomed to over the years, except for Sasuke and Naruto, who took their losses much harder.

By now, Yagyu was seen as the unbeatable "final boss" in their eyes.

Facing him in the kunai close combat exam was almost a good thing—it meant they didn't have to endure the pain of a prolonged battle.

In the following matches, many students had their clothes or even skin slashed by kunai.

If anyone appeared to be in life-threatening danger, Iruka would instantly step in and stop the match, declaring the student who was about to be "killed" as the loser.

If kunai close combat hadn't been introduced in the third grade, many students might have ended up crying from the pain.

Yagyu still remembered that during the first kunai combat sessions, many classmates had been too scared to move, trembling as they held their kunai in place.

After the kunai close combat round ended, the next exam didn't begin immediately. The injured students were treated first.

Several students ended up with their bodies or faces wrapped in white bandages or covered in adhesive bandages.

Some students had lighter injuries that healed almost instantly.

Soon after, the next round of tests began.

This time, it wasn't a survival exercise but… rule-free combat.

Yagyu and the others lined up to receive their equipment.

This included ninja pouches filled with shuriken and kunai, along with gloves embedded with metal plates.

After putting on their gloves and securing their ninja pouches, Yagyu and the others drew lots again.

Once everyone had drawn their numbers, Iruka and the medical teacher organized the matches.

When Yagyu saw his opponent, he couldn't help but pause slightly.

Sasuke Uchiha, standing across from him, also froze for a moment before his face lit up with joy.

That's right, Yagyu's opponent was Sasuke Uchiha!

Finally, they were matched!

Yagyu's excitement mirrored Sasuke's.

Over the past few years, Yagyu had only fought Sasuke during small quizzes and impromptu tests.

But starting from the third-grade final exams, they hadn't faced each other at all.

And despite all of Yagyu's victories over Sasuke in those years, he hadn't managed to get anything special from him.

Now, at last, they were matched up again—and in a rule-free duel no less.

This would be the most valuable match of all!

Not only were Yagyu and Sasuke eager, but so were all their classmates, as well as Iruka and the medical teacher.

Everyone wanted to see who would emerge victorious between the fully-powered Yagyu and Sasuke.

As match after match concluded, the much-anticipated showdown finally arrived.

"This time, you're definitely going to lose!"

Standing on the open field, Sasuke faced Yagyu with confidence. Despite never having won against Yagyu, his face radiated arrogance as he declared, "I'm going to show you just how big the gap between us really is."

"I'm looking forward to it. Don't let me down," Yagyu replied, smiling as he raised his index and middle fingers to form the confrontation seal.

Sasuke did the same, excitement evident in his voice, "You won't be disappointed!"

"Rule-free combat, seventh group: Yagyu vs. Sasuke Uchiha. Begin!"

Seeing both of them form the confrontation seal, Iruka wasted no time and blew the whistle.

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