Konoha: You're letting me build up my bonds, but you're offending the entire ninja world.

Seeing Shimura Gengetsu's face fall, Sarutobi Hiruzen ruffled his hair.

"I'll be keeping an eye on your grades later. If they don't meet my expectations, I'll tell your grandfather."

After saying that, he smiled again and left.

The test began quickly.

One student after another stepped forward to throw shuriken. When it was Itachi Uchiha's turn, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been very casual, perked up.

Seeing that he threw five shurikens at the same time and all of them hit the bullseye, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and nod.

"As expected of the Uchiha clan, their control over ninja tools is outstanding even without the Sharingan."

To his surprise, Shimura Gengetsu used the same technique to throw the object.

"This is... the Uchiha's throwing technique?" Uchiha Itachi was also surprised.

As a descendant of the village's high-ranking officials, Gengetsu Shimura maintained a high level of secrecy. Danzo had explicitly forbidden Shisui Uchiha from telling anyone that he was teaching Gengetsu, and Itachi Uchiha was completely unaware of this.

He whispered something to one of his guards, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression returned to normal.

Soon, the shuriken throwing ended, and the hand-to-hand combat began.

"Students whose names are called, come forward and form the opposition seal. You can only fight after I say 'begin.' After the fight, form the reconciliation seal, just like I taught you in class."

After announcing the rules, Kazama Shuichi read out, "First group, Arakawa Kenta, Horikawa Koichi."

Two boys came to the center of the field. The first-year physical combat was truly a pitiful sight. The only difference between them and ordinary children fighting was that, due to chakra, their speed and strength were slightly greater, but they had no skills whatsoever.

After just a few moves, Horikawa Koichi gave up because he was afraid of the pain. When he left the ring, he was rubbing his stomach and tears were in his eyes.

Shuichi Kazama shook his head helplessly, glanced at the expressionless Hiruzen Sarutobi, and then looked at the order list, realizing he was last.

"Second group, Shimura Gengetsu, Uchiha Itachi!"

Wow!

Chapter Fourteen: Trying to show off with shadow clones? I disagree! (Seeking monthly votes and flowers!)

Uchiha Itachi and Shimura Gengetsu have always been renowned geniuses in their class and even the school.

Uchiha Itachi has a surname bonus, and he always gets full marks in quizzes.

As for Shimura Gengetsu, that was earned through fighting.

He has beaten up many older students, making him a notorious bully on campus.

The two had never faced off before, and the debate over who was stronger had been ongoing.

However, the majority of people still support Itachi Uchiha, mainly because the Uchiha clan has such a prestigious reputation.

Today, the students in the class were thoroughly excited to finally have the opportunity to see the two face off.

"Go Shimura! You have to win!"

"Defeat the arrogant Uchiha!"

"......"

"They're both so cute, it's so hard to choose... Never mind, Shimura-kun is cuter, go Shimura-kun!"

The atmosphere at the scene was incredibly lively, with the vast majority of people cheering for Shimura Gengetsu, except for those he had beaten up.

Although he looked down on these kids, Shimura Gengetsu wouldn't scare anyone with a cold face when someone spoke to him, so he was surprisingly popular in the class.

As for Itachi Uchiha, needless to say, he spent his days contemplating life, appearing extremely aloof and unsociable.

It perfectly matches people's stereotypes about the Uchiha clan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also sat up straight with curiosity, a look of wonder flashing across his face.

On the open ground, Shimura Gengetsu and Uchiha Itachi stood facing each other, a few meters apart.

At noon, Shimura Gengetsu made Kazama Shuichi agree to be paired with Uchiha Itachi.

Graduating with the reputation of a genius will leave a deep impression on more people and make it easier to build bonds in the future.

Of course, taking the opportunity to beat up Itachi Uchiha was also a convenient thing to do.

Shuichi Kazama walked over. "Form the seals of opposition!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Gengetsu and Uchiha Itachi raised their fingers.

Taking a few steps back, Kazama Shuichi announced the start. Uchiha Itachi quickly assumed a fighting stance, but to his surprise, Shimura Gengetsu didn't move at all. Instead, he turned to look at Kazama Shuichi.

"Teacher, I think the Seal of Reconciliation can't be formed."

Before Kazama Shuichi could even ask a question, Shimura Gengetsu rushed out.

"So fast!"

Exclamations erupted as the first-graders saw Shimura Gengetsu leap nearly ten meters away and stand before Uchiha Itachi in the blink of an eye.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened as well.

This Body Flicker Technique... reminded him of Uchiha Shisui!

Alarm bells rang in Itachi's mind. Seeing the fist rapidly approaching and growing larger, he crossed his arms in front of him to try to block it, but Shimura Gengetsu was too fast. Just as he raised his hand, he was punched in the face.

Bang!

A cloud of smoke exploded, and Itachi Uchiha was nowhere to be seen on the field.

Shadow clones?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up, and the guards who followed him were also stunned.

Compared to the speed and power displayed by Shimura Gengetsu, it is even more surprising that he learned the B-rank ninjutsu Shadow Clone Technique in his first year and even sent his shadow clones to school.

"Teacher, I told you, we can't form the reconciliation seal today, but it's okay. I hope Itachi Uchiha's real body will come to school tomorrow so we can fight again."

After saying that, Shimura Gengetsu raised his sword finger, and his figure turned into smoke with a 'bang' and disappeared.

Another shadow clone?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely numb!

......

Outside the campus, under the shade of a large tree.

Gengetsu Shimura leisurely closed his eyes for a short rest.

The fact that the main body could kill Itachi Uchiha's shadow clone with a single punch was not shocking enough. In the end, it was Itachi Uchiha who succeeded in showing off his power in front of everyone, and he became the supporting character.

So before the battle began, he secretly created a shadow clone to fight in his place.

He himself was hiding here, waiting to reap the rewards.

[The host has also established a bond with Yamanaka Junya, rewarding him with an Earth attribute change (Excellent)]

[The host has established a bond with Nara Shikaku, and is rewarded with Yin attribute chakra (normal)]

[The host has established a bond with Eiji Namiashi, and is rewarded with 0.5 standard units of Jonin chakra.]

......

[The host has established a bond with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and is rewarded with Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning attributes (Genius)]

Shimura Gengetsu's eyes lit up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old man, finally got a gold coin, and it was a big one.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu." He didn't have any special bloodline limits; he relied solely on his masterful use of the five elemental ninjutsu, which, when combined, formed various combination ninjutsu, making him a strong figure even among Kage-level ninjas.

His strength should absolutely not be judged by his battle with Orochimaru.

An old man in his seventies, who had been stabbed beforehand, how much strength could you expect him to exert?

It can be said that the Third and Fourth Hokage were the limits of ordinary ninjas.

The Third Tsuchikage could be considered one, but Dust Release is a Kekkei Tota, which is too much.

The first stage revealed five genius-level chakra attributes, so what about the second and third stages?

"Tsk, old man, look at him, and then look at yourself."

"No wonder he's never been able to become Hokage."

Shimura Gengetsu chuckled, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and vanished from under the tree in a flash.

Meanwhile, the school was in an uproar. Kazama Shuichi almost fainted. Both students had used shadow clones during the exam, and he, their homeroom teacher, was completely unaware.

"Continue the testing. I'll ask you about Shimura Gengetsu and Uchiha Itachi later."

After calming himself down, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order to Shuichi Kazama.

"Yes."

.......

After all the test takers finished, Hiruzen Sarutobi said some words of encouragement and then left in a hurry.

"Have Danzo and Fugaku Uchiha come to my office."

"Yes!"