Chapter 4: Practical Combat Assessment, An Increase in Strength

Time flew by, and more than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Reiji dragged Izumi into sparring with him almost every day, leaving the little girl complaining bitterly after every session.

At the same time, his mastery of the Sharingan’s enhanced perception was improving rapidly.

At first, his brain and body had been out of sync. Then he reached the point where he could easily anticipate his own movements.

Now, he basically needed only two or three moves to restrain Izumi without injuring her.

Such an improvement left Reiji filled with emotion.

That saying from his previous life really had been right.

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," but that one percent of inspiration was often more important than the ninety-nine percent of perspiration.

Replacing "inspiration" in that saying with "talent" was just as accurate.

He had trained much more seriously than Izumi in the past, yet he had never been her match.

Now that he had obtained Indra’s talent, the situation had completely reversed.

Besides.

Over the past month or so, Reiji’s overall strength had also risen from the Genin (Weak) level he had possessed when he first obtained Indra’s Bloodline to Genin (Strong)!

It probably would not be long before his overall strength reached the Chunin level.

At that point, the system would be able to analyze another talent.

Thinking of this, Reiji was filled with anticipation for the future.

However.

As his strength increased, the effectiveness of sparring with Izumi also declined.

What could he possibly gain from training against an opponent he could restrain in two or three moves?

Well, Izumi could no longer satisfy his training needs. He needed to find someone else outside.

...By that, he meant a Jonin team leader.

"Everyone, gather on the training field. We’ll be conducting a practical combat assessment today."

At the Ninja Academy, Tamura-sensei, the teacher of Reiji’s class, spoke up.

"We already held one last semester, so everyone should still remember. During the practical combat assessment, you are allowed to use ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, ninja tools, poison, and any other means at your disposal."

"The results of the practical combat assessment will account for a considerable portion of your overall academic performance. I hope everyone will take it seriously."

At the Ninja Academy, there was one practical combat assessment every semester.

Students were permitted to use all kinds of dangerous methods, while several Chunin instructors watched from the sidelines to prevent any accidents.

"It’s happening again!"

"Ugh, this practical combat assessment again."

"Either way, Itachi will definitely take first place again. What’s there to compete for?"

A group of seven- and eight-year-old children chattered noisily.

During last semester’s practical combat assessment, Uchiha Itachi had taken first place with overwhelming strength.

The final student to fight Uchiha Itachi—the one who had ranked second in the practical combat assessment—had not even been able to withstand a few moves before being easily defeated.

As Reiji walked toward the training field, he pondered inwardly.

He wondered how his current strength compared to Uchiha Itachi’s.

In terms of talent, he was no longer inferior to his opponent.

But his opponent had Uchiha Shisui, a genius, guiding him in his daily training.

As for Uchiha Itachi’s current strength, Reiji was not particularly clear about it.

During last semester’s practical combat assessment, the second-place student had not even been able to force Itachi to reveal his true strength.

Moreover, that had already been last semester.

The assessment began.

It was soon Reiji’s turn.

"Uchiha Reiji versus [actual minor student’s name]. ."

Tamura-sensei called out.

It was a name Reiji had no impression of, probably someone who had never appeared in the original story.

He defeated his opponent effortlessly, taking them down in an instant.

"Your strength has improved quite a bit."

Tamura-sensei praised him.

In his impression, Reiji usually trained very hard, but his grades had never been among the very best.

This time, however, he had defeated his opponent almost instantly.

Clearly, his strength had improved considerably recently.

Meanwhile.

Under the shade of the trees surrounding the training field, Uchiha Itachi watched the various matches with a bored expression.

Every so often, he would step onto the field for a match, and he would basically dispatch his opponents with ease each time.

So boring.

Every day within the clan, all he heard were arrogant clan members complaining about the village.

At school, it was a group of immature students playing tedious ninja games.

Rather than waste time here, he might as well train with Shisui.

As expected, he should have done what he normally did and sent a Shadow Clone to attend school instead.

Because there was a practical combat assessment today, although he looked down on the strength of his classmates, he had not been overly careless and had chosen to come in person.

His gaze wandered around before finally settling on Reiji.

"Uchiha Reiji..."

Recalling the name, Itachi felt nothing in particular.

Although they were both members of the Uchiha clan, in his heart, Reiji was no different from anyone else.

The two had never had much interaction.

Reiji usually spent his time with a little girl from the clan named Uchiha Izumi.

As for his strength...

Well, Itachi had no impression of it.

More accurately, he had never paid much attention to the strength of anyone in his class.

There was not even a single person who could make him take the slightest interest.

"So boring..."

After sighing inwardly once more, Uchiha Itachi raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight filtering through the gaps between the green leaves.

If he easily took first place again this time, should he just apply for early graduation?

On the field.

"Inuzuka Hana versus Uchiha Reiji."

A little girl with face paint walked onto the stage.

"What a shame. You’ve run into me already. Looks like your score on this assessment won’t be very good."

Inuzuka Hana spoke with complete confidence.

Her grades were good in every area, placing her among the top students in the class.

Reiji, on the other hand, normally had only above-average grades.

And even that was the result of his diligent daily training.

It was clear that his talent could only be described as mediocre.

Reiji said nothing and walked onto the stage.

Inuzuka Hana... seemed somewhat familiar. Was she the older sister of Inuzuka Kiba, one of the Twelve Konoha Ninja?

Whatever. She was not an important figure.

After briefly forming the Confrontation Seal, Inuzuka Hana lowered her head slightly and charged forward with impressive momentum.

She clawed toward Reiji’s chest, but suddenly, her vision blurred. The figure in front of her vanished, and someone pushed her from behind.

Her body stumbled forward, nearly causing her to fall.

"So fast!"

Tamura-sensei’s eyes lit up.

Inuzuka Hana was already very fast, yet Reiji was even faster, effortlessly slipping behind her.

He had been right when he thought Reiji’s strength had improved considerably.

However.

Soon, Tamura-sensei realized that he had still underestimated him.

Inuzuka Hana, who had failed with her first attack, became serious, but she was completely unable to match Reiji. Even though Reiji only defended and never attacked, she was quickly defeated.

"The winner, Uchiha Reiji."

Seeing that Inuzuka Hana had lost all will to resist, Tamura-sensei simply announced the result.

A small commotion broke out among the students below.

Seeing Reiji, whose grades had never been particularly outstanding, defeat one of the top students in the class, many of them were surprised.

The matches continued rapidly.

Before long, only two students remained undefeated.

"Final match: Uchiha Itachi versus Uchiha Reiji."