"The first match, Class B Sora versus Class D Inuzuka Tsume!"
The proctor teacher loudly announced.
"Inuzuka clan?" Sora raised an eyebrow. This clan was known for raising ninja dogs and having a keen sense of smell, and was very skilled in tracking.
"Sora, do your best!" Kurenai waved her small hand from the spectator stands.
Sora nodded to her and slowly walked onto the ring.
Opposite him was a girl with a ponytail, her face painted with the distinctive inverted triangle markings. A small brown dog followed beside her. This was Inuzuka Tsume.
'Inuzuka Tsume? I remember Kiba's mother seems to be called that name too?'
'Probably not. Kiba is in the same grade as Naruto, so his mother should be from the same generation as Namikaze Minato. It seems it's just the same name.' Sora looked at the Inuzuka Tsume before him and silently considered this in his mind.
"Please guide me well." Inuzuka Tsume politely bowed, her little dog also barking once.
"Please guide me well." Sora returned the courtesy while observing her.
In the original work, the Inuzuka clan's taijutsu was very strong, and cooperating with ninja dogs could achieve a 1+1>2 effect.
However, this little dog in front of him was clearly still in its infancy, posing little threat.
"Begin!"
As soon as the proctor's words fell, Inuzuka Tsume quickly formed hand seals: "Beast Mimicry Technique, Four Legs Technique!"
Her fingernails suddenly grew longer, sharp like a beast's claws. She moved on all fours, quickly charging towards Sora. That little dog also circled from the side, trying to form a pincer attack.
"Not bad speed..."
Sora silently assessed Inuzuka Tsume's strength.
Although Inuzuka Tsume's movements were much faster than an ordinary student's, in his eyes, it was still too slow.
"Let's test first."
Sora adopted a standard taijutsu stance to meet her.
Boom!
Their fists collided in mid air. Sora deliberately allowed himself to be pushed back half a step, showing a strained expression on his face.
"Not weak strength..."
Inuzuka Tsume, seeing this, gained more confidence, her attacks becoming more fierce. Her little dog, Kuromaru, also continuously harassed from the side, creating trouble for Sora.
After several exchanges, Sora deliberately took a few hits, his clothes torn in several places. Gasps came from the spectator stands, and Kurenai also nervously clenched her fists.
"That's about enough..."
Sora had figured out Inuzuka Tsume's attack patterns, estimating that the act had gone on long enough, then suddenly increased his pace.
He sidestepped to avoid a claw strike, his right hand forming a knife hand aimed straight at Inuzuka Tsume's neck.
"So fast!"
Inuzuka Tsume hastily leaned back, narrowly dodging this attack. But her little dog wasn't so fortunate. Sora's left hand swept out, accurately catching the pouncing Kuromaru.
"Surrender." Sora gently placed the puppy on the ground. "I don't want to hurt it."
Inuzuka Tsume bit her lip, looked at her subdued beloved dog, and finally lowered her head: "I surrender."
"Class B Sora wins!" the proctor announced.
"Wow, that move just now was so cool! He looked really struggling before, but suddenly turned it around!"
"Yeah! That Sora's reaction was so fast. Is this what taijutsu is like?"
A few exclamations of awe sounded from the spectator stands, several students who didn't know him couldn't help but whisper to each other.
"Next match, Class B Kurenai versus Class C Uchiha Obito!" The proctor continued announcing.
"Well fought." Sora nodded to Inuzuka Tsume and turned to walk off the ring.
Kurenai immediately came up to meet him, her face showing a trace of worry: "You scared me! Sora, are you okay?"
"Fine, just a few scratches." Sora smiled. "Now it's your turn."
During this period, Uchiha Obito was a genuine dead last. Kurenai winning was only a matter of how fast, so Sora wasn't worried.
Kurenai nodded vigorously: "I will definitely win!"
Sora sat in the rest area, his gaze sweeping over the spectator stands. Several masked figures caught his attention.
"Anbu is indeed here..."
He pretended not to see them and continued watching the other matches.
In the fight against Inuzuka Tsume just now, Sora originally wanted to see the Inuzuka clan's human-beast fusion secret technique. Unfortunately, Inuzuka Tsume was too young and hadn't mastered it yet. He waited for a long time, but she didn't use it.
However, this first match was won just right, showing strength without being too conspicuous.
What needed to be done next was to maintain this state, advancing step by step to get first place.
...
"Kurenai wins!"
"The next match is Class B Uchiha Ryota versus Class A Shiranui Genma!"
The proctor's voice rang out. Indeed, Kurenai completely overpowered Obito...
As for Uchiha Ryota, Sora hadn't paid attention when they were first divided into teams. He didn't expect they were actually in the same group.
'Hmph, don't fall into my hands, otherwise...'
Sora looked at Uchiha Ryota walking onto the field, the corner of his mouth curving up in a slight arc. He still remembered that 'Great Fireball' technique from Uchiha Ryota!
Uchiha Ryota, who had just stepped onto the platform, seemed to sense something. He turned to look at Sora. Seeing the trace of a cold smile and mockery in Sora's eyes looking at him, his heart immediately tightened.
'Damn it, to be in the same group as him. My brother said he has strength close to a Chunin. Should I just surrender? Otherwise, if I encounter him, it will definitely be terrible!'
'No, I am a noble member of the Uchiha clan. How can I be afraid of an orphan from an outside village!'
Uchiha Ryota's facial expression was very dramatic. First, there was a trace of fear, then it changed to a proud, arrogant expression.
Sora was even wondering if this guy had gone insane.
"Begin!"
With the proctor's command, the battle between Uchiha Ryota and Shiranui Genma officially began.
No longer paying attention to Uchiha Ryota on the stage, Sora began to think about the opponents he might encounter next.
In this year, the biggest threat to Sora was Kakashi, but unfortunately he had already graduated. Asuma from the same class was the Hokage's son. Although his strength was not weak, he posed no threat to Sora. Now Sora had entered the second stage of the Azure Dragon Fruit power: semi-beast transformation. Even in his normal state, he had Chunin level strength. As for others like Kamizuki Izumo and Kotetsu Hagane, they were even less his match.
"Then..."
Sora shifted his gaze to look at the others in the first sub-field. There were no opponents for Sora in his own class, but in this year, there were still many characters who would become strong later on. People like Shiranui Genma, Morino Ibiki and others were also in the first sub-field.
Sora remembered that in the later period, although they didn't have Kage-level strength, they basically reached the level of Jonin or even elite Jonin. He just didn't know what their strength was like now.
Sora basically had no contact with people from other classes. After school every day, he would just go back to train his body and develop his fruit ability. With people like Shiranui Genma, they were merely nodding acquaintances. He didn't understand their strength well.
Moreover, being a ninja was a profession with an extremely high mortality rate. It was possible that during this ninja school period, some genius in Sora's year might have perished midway.
"Need to conserve stamina for the matches later..."
Sora decided to continue controlling the pace in the upcoming matches. The sub-field assessment would last until the afternoon. Tomorrow would be the final round at the Fifth Battle Arena. Sarutobi Hiruzen would also come to watch then.
He must make a remarkable showing in the finals to attract sufficient attention from this Hokage!