SS016

Following a written exam, which primarily covered math, writing, and a bit of village history, Seikun and his classmates gathered in a gymnasium with the Hokage, various clan heads, and the parents of those who would be taking the practical in attendance.

Since the parents of aspiring Ninja were always interested in seeing how far their children had grown, the practical exam marking the mid-point of Seikun's first year in the Academy was an exhibition and sparring contest. The exhibition component of the practical had the class demonstrate their kunai skills in highly choreographed unison, followed by a brief display of their shuriken-throwing abilities. As for the sparring component, everyone would participate in a maximum of four point-based matches where any solid strike, throw, or hold counted as a point. Losing a match placed you in a bracket with others who lost, and if you lost twice, you were out.

"You can do it, Seikun! Kick that lazy bones' butt!" shouted Ino, much to the chagrin of her parents. They had consented to her relationship with Seikun after her grades improved tremendously, but as she was cheering for the latter to beat up one of her future allies, they felt embarrassed by her outburst.

"What a pain..." droned Seikun's opponent, Shikamaru. He had made a concerted effort to ensure his grades and performance were middle of the pack, so he couldn't believe his bad luck to be pitted against Seikun, the class's current forerunner, in his first match.

"Don't worry. I won't hit you too hard..." Seikun promised, his expression calm and confident despite feeling nervous due to the number of people gathered specifically to watch him.

"Begin...!" shouted the Chunin overseeing the match, raising his hand and making a cutting motion as a starting signal. As he did, Shimarku took the initiative to leap back to the perimeter of the sparring circle, followed by a quick flick of his wrists and hands, hurtling wooden kunai as the center of Seikun's chest.

Twisting his body to the side, Seikun grabbed one of the kunai out of the air before spinning his body using his foot as a pivot, tossing it back with a much greater speed than it was initially thrown. Shikamaru evaded it by a hair's breadth, but Seikun predicted the trajectory of his dodge, flinging a second kunai at his ribs. To his surprise, Shikamaru managed to twist his body and evade it, but the end result was him lying sprawled on his back, groaning, "Man, this sucks..." with his usual deadpan expression.

As Shikamaru's fall was enough for Seikun to earn a point, the two reset to their starting positions. This time, Seikun was the first to move at the signal, blitzing Shikamaru as he stood completely still, ostensibly having given up on the fight.

Waiting until the very last moment, Shikamaru raised his left foot in the path of Seikun's chest. Since it was fairly telegraphed, however, Seikun stopped short of its range, kicking off the ground with his left foot and twisting his body to flip over Shikamaru as he drew a wooden kunai and swept it backward to meet him. Seikun skillfully intercepted the kunai with his own, but that wasn't all. His raw speed and strength were much higher than the comparably untrained Shikamaru's, so the latter's kunai was sent flying as Seikun simultaneously extended his left hand like a spear, the tip of his index finger stopping just short of his opponent's throat.

"Nice! Way to go, Seikun...!" shouted Ino, throwing her right fist into the air. Seikun needed three points to win, but as it was obvious to everyone that Shikamaru wasn't his match, the proctor permitted it when the latter asked if he could forfeit...

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Observing Seikun's and others' matches from a higher vantage point, Hiruzen sported a faint smile that vanished almost immediately when one of the three elderly individuals encircling him, a man with a cross-shaped scar on his chin and bandages covering his forehead and right eye, asked, "Such absurdity. Have the standards of Konoha's clans truly fallen to the extent an unguided youth from an orphanage can make a mockery of one of their heirs? The future looks bleaker by the day..."

"Takahashi Seikun has trained and studied diligently since he was a very young boy..." countered Hiruzen. "I have confidence that he and those of his generation will lead Konoha towards a brighter future."

"Hmph..." snorted the bandaged man, Shimura Danzo, turning to walk away as he remarked, "As our teacher once said, prepare for the worst, and you will never be disappointed. You know as well as I do, Hiruzen. This peace you cling to will not last..."

Following Danzo from the corner of his eyes, Hiruzen waited until the man was gone before exhaling a weary sigh. What frustrated him the most was that his old friend wasn't mistaken. Despite how peaceful things appeared on the surface, Konoha was on the verge of an internal collapse as one of their most preeminent and powerful clans was preparing a coup. To make matters worse, more and more enemy Ninja were being discovered inside their borders, almost as if the other villages were aware of Konoha's inner turmoil and were preparing to take advantage of the coming conflict...

'If only Minato were still here...' lamented Hiruzen, his weary gaze briefly shifting to Naruto, loudly protesting after his loss to Choji. If war were to break out, they would need the power slumbering within Naruto. Hiruzen didn't want that, but unless his informants within the Uchiha were able to persuade their clan to back down, it was only a matter of time before the children sparring and interacting cheerfully with their families below were forced to become soldiers on a battlefield...

'Please, Shisui...Itachi...do not fail...' prayed Hiruzen, casting one final look at Konoha's future before departing with his elderly retinue. They had all been especially busy lately, so he couldn't stick around and supervise the entire event. Instead, he had one of his bodyguards mimic his appearance using the Transformation Jutsu, instructing them to stay behind as a proxy while he returned to the endless paperwork awaiting him in his office...

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Following his second-round bye and third-round match against Kiba, Seikun found himself across from Sasuke in the practical's final round, center stage.

"I hope you're prepared, Seikun, because I won't be holding anything back today...!" exclaimed Sasuke, a lot more animated than usual as his parents, older brother, and some of the older members of his clan had come to watch the event.

Fortunately, compared to how things were his first time around, Seikun also had quite a few people in his corner. Ino's and Sakura's parents weren't particularly fond of him dating both of their daughters, but as he had always been respectful and had helped the two blossom into smart and diligent young ladies, they had invited him out to celebrate together once the practical was over.

"Let's both give it our all," responded Seikun, nodding with a determined look. He could have done without the intense, scrutinizing gazes of both the Uchiha and Hyuga, but that was the price of standing out when most of your peers were the sons and daughters of famous or noble clans.

"Begin!" shouted the proctor, prompting Sasuke to do something no other student had done during the practical, his hands weaving the signs for the Fireball Jutsu.

Following various exclamations of surprise, Sasuke sent a roughly meter-wide ball of flame at Seikun. His lackluster control caused his lips to chap and his hands to suffer some first and second-degree burns, but the fact that a first-year Academy student could utilize a C-Rank Jutsu left many in the crowd awed, cementing his status as a prodigy.

'Very nice...' thought Seikun, unable to prevent a smile from adorning his lips as he was part of the reason Sasuke had revealed his hand. He knew the latter was training in the Fireball Jutsu around this time, so while they were chatting about the practical exam in the past, he made sure to bring up that the rules didn't prohibit the use of Ninjutsu and that he was a little concerned one of their classmates had a secret ace up their sleeves.

Ignoring Ino's and Sakura's shouts to dodge, Seikun surprised onlookers by forming a hand sign of his own, a serpent seal with his fingers clasped together as if praying. Then, just as the proctor or one of the Jonin in the crowd was about to intervene, he extended his hands like he was trying to stop the Fireball directly. Instead, a hazy burst of Chakra erupted from his palms like steam, scattering the Fireball but not completely. Seikun wanted to stand out, but if he could casually disperse a C-Rank Jutsu without any sequelae, it might make him appear too exceptional.

Shielding his face and eyes to protect them from the scattering heat, akin to opening an oven with your face near the mouth, Seikun suffered minor burns but nothing serious. Unfortunately, he had failed to account for the fact that Sasuke regarded him as a genuine rival, so instead of relying on the shock factor of the Fireball Jutsu, the little tryhard also flung several wooden shurikens that curved around Seikun from both sides.

Sensing the shuriken at the last moment, Seikun's eyes widened before he instinctively jumped into the air, twisting his body to allow the wooden projectiles to pass above and below him. At the same time, Sasuke came charging at him with his arms extended behind him, crossing the distance between them before leaping forward with a wooden kunai extended like a spear.

'He's been holding back during the Academy spars...' Seikun realized, taking a half-step back and twisting his head and upper body to evade the kunai's tip aimed at his throat. In the same motion, he attempted to trip Sasuke as he passed, but the young Uchiha reacted quickly, flipping into the air, twisting his body, and swiping back at him with his kunai from an inverted position.

Stepping back to evade the kunai's tip a second time, Seikun raised his hands in a stance that caused the pale eyes of Hiashi and his retinue to narrow. It wasn't the exact same as the Gentle Fist they had pioneered, but it was clearly inspired by it, a sentiment that was reinforced when he slid his left foot forward along the ground and struck the air with his left palm, expelling a burst of Chakra that enveloped the startled Sasuke and sent him flying, uninjured, out of the sparring area.

Recovering from his momentary stupor, the Chunin proctor raised one of the two flags he was holding, shouting, "First point to Takahashi Seikun!"

"Yeah! Way to go, Seikun~!" exclaimed Ino, her excitement compelling her to spin around, stamp her feet, and pump her fists into the air. Sakura was equally delighted by the outcome, but instead of fangirling like Ino and a few other girls, she closely observed Seikun's form with wide, unblinking eyes and a slightly reddened face...

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Though Sasuke clearly gave it his all, causing Seikun to feel legitimately pressured, the match ended 3-0 in his favor. He got the impression that Sasuke was much stronger than his counterpart was at the same age, but since the young Uchiha's Chakra reserves hadn't yet reached the level of a Genin and he was still lacking in experience, Seikun had the advantage. That would likely change after Sasuke awakened his Sharingan, but as he had a few tricks of his own to fall back on, Seikun wasn't too concerned. At least, not about Sasuke...

After witnessing Seikun's performance and the mysterious techniques he used during his match against Sasuke, the heads of various clans started requesting information on his background, parentage, and ancestry on the suspicion he may have been born with a Bloodline Limit. To their immense surprise, there was virtually no intel on any of these things as Seikun had been discovered in the ruins of a maternity ward, pulled from the rubble. Blood tests had been performed to try and connect him to the deceased, but after that turned up nothing, he was given the name Takahashi Seikun by the Director of the orphanage he was entrusted to. In essence, he was a complete anomaly, but one with a well-documented history post-birth and the potential to rival the progeny of Konoha's most noble clans...

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