Uchiha Reki looked at the blushing Asuma and chuckled quietly.
Talk about impatient.
Though, come to think of it, it made sense.
After all, Asuma clearly had feelings for Kurenai Yuhi. If it had been Uchiha Obito instead, he might have awakened the Sharingan on the spot out of sheer jealousy.
"Kurenai," Uchiha Reki raised his voice, "if you're interested, we can train together another day."
Kurenai Yuhi's fingers, which were in the midst of packing her ninja tool pouch, froze abruptly, the tips of her ears turning crimson at a visible rate.
Before she could reply, Asuma shouted angrily.
"You Uchiha loser!"
Asuma kicked a pebble aside with his foot. "Kurenai just let her guard down! I'll show you what real ninjutsu is right now."
"Asuma!" Kurenai Yuhi said, looking anxious.
Uchiha Reki spread his hands. "Fine, fine, you're amazing, you're the strongest, you're six million times stronger than Lord Hokage."
Asuma raised his voice. "Asshole, what kind of attitude is that?"
"I said you were right and that's still not good enough? What is actually wrong with you?"
Miyagi Shunsuke coughed a few times, interrupting the pre-match trash talk.
"The match begins!"
Asuma suddenly lunged forward, throwing three shuriken in a pinwheel formation that cut through the air.
Uchiha Reki's pupils contracted slightly as he flicked out several shuriken of his own, precisely striking them down amidst the clashing of metal.
Asuma roared as he charged forward, but Uchiha Reki stood his ground, a spiral wooden spike silently extending from the palm of his right hand.
When the distance between them closed to just three meters, the wooden spike suddenly shot forward at high speed, its sharp tip stopping a mere half-inch from Asuma's Adam's apple.
"This is... Wood Release Ninjutsu...?"
Kakashi's eyes widened sharply as he stared fixedly at that sharp wooden spike.
Cold sweat trickled down Asuma's chin, dripping onto the wooden spike. "That was close... just a fraction..."
Just as Asuma breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly realized Uchiha Reki had vanished from where he stood.
The next second, Uchiha Reki flashed right in front of Asuma.
"Wait—"
A heavy punch imbued with chakra slammed viciously into Asuma's side. The blow was immensely powerful, and the onlookers even heard the crisp snap of a bone dislocating.
Asuma flew backward like a severed kite for over ten meters, his back crashing into the surrounding wall and creating a spiderweb-like network of cracks.
"Done and dusted."
Uchiha Reki glanced at the dumbfounded Miyagi Shunsuke.
"Teacher Shunsuke, let's call it here?"
Miyagi Shunsuke swallowed hard and checked Asuma's injuries.
To his shock, the kid had been knocked clean out.
What on earth? He knocked Asuma out cold with a single punch?
Miyagi Shunsuke couldn't wrap his head around it. How had Uchiha Reki managed to improve to this extent in just a few short days?
Just now, when Uchiha Reki threw that punch, he distinctly felt the latter suddenly erupt with a massive surge of chakra.
That kind of magnitude...
Far exceeded that of an average chunin.
Miyagi Shunsuke muttered to himself, deciding to report Uchiha Reki's situation to Lord Hokage.
The wooden spike from earlier, along with the vines that had appeared during his battle with Kurenai Yuhi, reminded him of the Wood Release that only Lord Hashirama could use.
Coupled with the fact that Uchiha Reki carried half the bloodline of the Senju clan, everything suddenly fell into place.
"Medical team!"
As members of the medical team carried Asuma away, the match finally came to a close.
After Kakashi finished helping maintain order, he once again focused his attention on Uchiha Reki.
In both battles, he had resolved things with lightning speed.
During the second match against Asuma, he had even eschewed any flashy maneuvers.
He simply knocked Asuma flat with a single punch, swiftly securing victory.
Barring any accidents, Asuma would probably be bedridden for half a month.
"That kind of monstrous strength... I've only ever seen Lord Tsunade use it..."
"But that's Lord Tsunade, one of the Sannin... How is Uchiha Reki supposed to compare to her...?"
Kakashi felt a bit uneasy.
Based on past experience, Asuma was unquestionably top-tier among his peers.
He had sparred with Asuma before, and even when Kakashi went all out, he hadn't won this decisively.
Thinking of this, Kakashi's mood soured again.
Even if he didn't say it aloud, he fancied himself a genius youth who commanded the village's attention.
Not only should he have no rivals among his contemporaries, but even ninja a few years older than him ought to be easily defeated.
Yet Kakashi suddenly had this lingering thought: Uchiha Reki was even stronger than he had imagined.
While Kakashi was lost in his thoughts, Uchiha Reki had already quietly slipped away from the training ground.
Just as he was thinking about heading back to rest for a bit, a green figure came running over.
"Reki! Was that taijutsu you used just now?!"
Uchiha Reki nodded. "Guy, this is the taijutsu left behind by my mother. I only learned it recently myself."
Might Guy's eyes lit up.
It was common knowledge that Might Guy, like his father Might Duy, was not skilled in ninjutsu.
Therefore, father and son trained their physiques day and night, switching to a specialized focus on taijutsu.
Naturally, he was also full of interest in other people's taijutsu.
That was why he had come to ask Uchiha Reki.
"Reki! I hope we can have a heart-to-heart showdown next time!"
Looking at the grinning Might Guy, Uchiha Reki's mood suddenly improved.
As long as it wasn't the technique reserved for Kakashi, sparring a bit was actually quite nice.
"Sure, Guy!"
"It's a deal! I'm off to do today's one thousand push-ups, see you later."
Tap, tap, tap—Might Guy's figure quickly vanished around the corner.
Uchiha Reki hummed a little tune as he walked in the direction of the Uchiha clan compound.
If nothing went wrong, today's events would soon reach the ears of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
All that was left to do now was wait for them to come looking for him.
Senju Hashirama had watched the match just now and was quite impressed with Uchiha Reki.
"Well fought, Reki. That punch was really cool."
Senju Hashirama sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes filled with admiration.
If he wasn't mistaken, Uchiha Reki had already demonstrated his ability to control Wood Release.
If he remembered correctly, not a single other person in the entire Senju clan had mastered this ninjutsu.
Not even his younger brother, Senju Tobirama.
To that end, Tobirama had even specially asked Hashirama to write down the Wood Release ninjutsu so he could secretly study it in his room for hours at night.
Though Tobirama eventually gave up and switched to researching Water Release designed to counter the Uchiha...
"Lord Hashirama flatters me, I only know the barest superficialities."
Uchiha Reki wasn't wrong to say that; compared to Senju Hashirama, who could casually summon hundred-meter-long wooden dragons, he still had a very long way to go.
Besides, Uchiha Reki wanted more than just this.
Imagine a Susanoo-clad Thousand-Handed Buddha.
The pure-hearted Senju Hashirama naturally wouldn't think that deeply. Hearing this, he laughed heartily—what an interesting kid.
Could it be that Tobirama summoned him into this space just to let him help this child?
Lost in his thoughts, Uchiha Reki arrived at the entrance of the Uchiha clan compound.
Just as he was thinking about going back to rest for a bit, a figure came running over from not far behind.
Running and calling his name at the same time.
"Big Brother Reki, please wait a moment."
Uchiha Reki turned his head and smiled.
"Oh, it's Shisui."