Then Uchiha Chi and Sarutobi Shinnosuke walked to the center of the crowd, and the other students hurriedly stepped back to make room for the two of them.
"You all know the rules, so I won't say much, but there is one most important point you must remember: absolutely no intentional lethal blows. The two of you, perform the opposing seal," the teacher said seriously, considering that both boys came from prominent backgrounds.
As the teacher's voice trailed off, the two obediently formed the opposing seal and waited for the teacher to give the word.
"Begin!" the teacher shouted after stepping between them, then retreated to the rear.
Like a pair of arrows loosed from a bow, the two charged at each other with an aggressive momentum they each believed to be fierce. As their figures closed the distance, Sarutobi Shinnosuke shamelessly threw a vicious punch straight at Uchiha Chi's face. Uchiha Chi quickly sidestepped to dodge it, simultaneously delivering a kick to block his opponent's advance and cut off any chance of pursuit, followed up with a punch that Sarutobi Shinnosuke managed to parry with his hand.
Then the two began exchanging blows, trading punches and kicks with loud thuds for nearly a minute before their intertwined figures finally separated, returning to a standoff. Both stared intently at each other, searching for an opening.
Meanwhile, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was cursing inwardly: *Damn it, that hurts so much! This guy is way stronger than expected; I'm completely outmatched in Taijutsu. I can't lose—I'm the one who's going to be Hokage in the future! How can I lose to an Uchiha? It looks like I have no choice but to use The Three Techniques early, though this guy probably knows them by now too. Damn Uchihas.*
Uchiha Chi was thinking: *He's weaker than I thought. Judging by his look, he still has a trump card. The Three Techniques? Surely he hasn't learned C-rank Ninjutsu yet.*
Before Uchiha Chi could finish his thought, he saw Sarutobi Shinnosuke charging at him again, smartly keeping his hands up in defense. Knowing the fellow was about to use The Three Techniques—though unable to predict which one—Uchiha Chi heightened his vigilance.
Watching the charging Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Uchiha Chi did not rush forward this time. Instead, he stood his ground, focused his mental energy, and based on the opponent's final movements, deduced a step ahead that the other was using the Clone Technique. He began mapping out further countermeasures in his mind while keeping his eyes locked firmly on the real body.
In an instant, Uchiha Chi transitioned from stillness into motion. Feigning distraction by the clone, just as Sarutobi Shinnosuke thought his plan had succeeded, Uchiha Chi utilized the clone to block the line of sight and used the Transformation Technique to turn into a replacement wooden log.
As expected, Sarutobi Shinnosuke mistook this for the Substitution Technique and panicked for a split second.
He looked around wildly, trying to find Uchiha Chi's real body. Uchiha Chi's hiding spot happened to be his blind spot, allowing the real Uchiha Chi to launch a sneak attack from behind.
Sensing something was wrong, Sarutobi Shinnosuke realized it was too late to block. Lacking sufficient tactical adaptability, he failed to respond correctly in the heat of the moment.
Instead, he simply turned around and walked right into the attack, taking a kick straight to the stomach from Uchiha Chi that doubled him over.
Following up, Uchiha Chi delivered another punch to the face—right where Sarutobi Shinnosuke had planned to hit him at the start of the match.
Uchiha Chi silently muttered to himself about the coincidence.
"Uchiha Chi wins. The two of you, perform the reconciliation seal," the teacher's voice rang out promptly after Uchiha Chi's victory.
The sudden reversal left Sarutobi Shinnosuke utterly defeated. His mind went blank for a long while before he finally accepted the news of his loss, and at the teacher's command, he very reluctantly performed the reconciliation seal.
Cheers erupted from the crowd. Sarutobi Shinnosuke forced a magnanimous smile on his face, though inside he felt twisted with humiliation.
With his own little agenda in mind, Uchiha Chi took the opportunity to offer some counsel: "Shinnosuke, you were far too eager to win, which made your strategy easy to guess. As the Hokage's son, I naturally assumed you'd mastered all of The Three Techniques. You've mastered all of them, haven't you? I've only managed to learn one."
"Of course I've learned them all, but my father won't let me skip grades; he says I need more practice," Sarutobi Shinnosuke bluffed, putting up a brave front. Although he had learned them, aside from the clone technique, the other two were completely useless in actual combat, and even his clone technique was full of flaws that Uchiha Chi couldn't even be bothered to critique.
Yet for the sake of his reputation and vanity, he had no choice. At the same time, he invoked his Hokage father once again to bolster his persuasiveness, though in Uchiha Chi's eyes, he looked like nothing more than a child who hadn't grown up. But that was all the better—it made him much easier to manipulate, didn't it?
Sure enough, the crowd cast admiring glances at him, and his sycophantic followers began showering him with praise, making him feel a great deal better. At that moment, Uchiha Chi said with a hint of familiarity, "Well then, Shinnosuke, I'll look forward to our next match. I trust you won't make me wait too long."
"Alright, Chi. Let's make it next week," Sarutobi Shinnosuke stammered internally at Uchiha Chi's words, but forced himself to agree, changing his form of address in the process.
Over the next few days, Uchiha Chi maintained his routine: practicing Taijutsu, The Three Techniques, and hand signs by day, while occasionally continuing to mentor Mizutani Hayun and Tachibana Taki.
At night, he returned home to drill relentlessly in swordsmanship, squeezing in about an hour of the Meditation Technique while soaking in medicinal baths. Nor did he slack off on the Chakra Extraction Technique; by now, he was gradually attempting to refine chakra while practicing Taijutsu.
A week later, buoyed by the flattery of his sycophants, Sarutobi Shinnosuke convinced himself that his previous defeat was merely a result of carelessness, and accordingly challenged Uchiha Chi to a rematch during the Taijutsu training class.
Uchiha Chi, fully prepared, naturally did not refuse. After obtaining the teacher's permission with a nod, he stepped briskly out of the ranks, walked up to Sarutobi Shinnosuke, performed the opposing seal with him, and prepared to fight.
At the teacher's loud cry of "Begin!", Uchiha Chi and Sarutobi Shinnosuke charged at each other. The match naturally opened with a clash of Taijutsu, both fighters trading blows in a flurry of punches and kicks.
Knowing full well that he was no match for Uchiha Chi in physical combat, Sarutobi Shinnosuke adopted a defensive posture. Uchiha Chi, meanwhile, went on the full offensive—at least, as far as Sarutobi Shinnosuke could tell.
Amidst his relentless attacks, Uchiha Chi even occasionally resorted to trading injuries for injuries to maximize his advantage.
Following these exchanges, Sarutobi Shinnosuke found himself at a disadvantage, allowing Uchiha Chi to seize the initiative and press his advantage even further, leaving his opponent with no opportunity whatsoever to deploy The Three Techniques.