At this moment, Uchiha Tatsumi wore an expression as if he were heading to the gallows. He slowly reached into the number box and drew his lot.
For him, every second of delay was precious—because what awaited him might as well be death.
He glanced down.
Number One.
He turned around and asked, "Mikoto, what number did you get?"
"Number Three," Mikoto replied.
"What about you, Watergate?" he asked, glancing at the golden-haired boy.
"Number Two."
Three friends. Three different numbers. Whether it was just fate or black-box manipulation… who could say?
Tatsumi shook his Uchiha windbreaker dramatically, slowly walking toward the stage like a hero entering his final battle.
A handsome face.
A proud posture.
A calm demeanor.
And a burning will to win.
"Go, beat that mob character Uchiha Tatsumi! Long live the Himeji cult!" a boy shouted from the audience.
"Pay me! I demand a cool introduction!" Tatsumi shouted back, instantly annoyed, glaring at the boy who dared slander him mid-entrance.
The crowd was in a frenzy.
It turned out… his opponent was none other than Hyuga Himeji.
As the top two in the "most want to be their boyfriend/girlfriend" lists, the atmosphere reached a boiling point.
No! Scratch that. The Himeji cult was clearly larger in numbers.
After all, Hyuga Himeji wasn't just a prodigy—she was also the most mysterious and admired girl in the academy. Rumor had it she was even… "lace-side" (ambiguous in love). Naturally, she attracted both fanboys and fangirls alike.
The two factions in the audience were already close to brawling.
Tatsumi narrowed his eyes. Hyuga Himeji didn't look seriously injured at all.
She stood calm and expressionless, with long light-blue hair draped neatly down her back. Her skin was pale as snow, and her pearly Byakugan eyes gave her the appearance of an ice princess.
"Hyuga Himeji. Please go easy on me," she said with a slight bow.
That caught Tatsumi off guard. But there was a sharp glint in her eye—serious and unwavering.
"Uchiha Tatsumi. I'll be in your care… senpai," he responded politely.
This was more than just a spar. It was the clash of Konoha's future—two geniuses from two great clans.
Before stepping forward, Tatsumi had already cast a Genjutsu.
Even though he hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, he could manipulate chakra to disturb the opponent's senses—subtly influencing their brain's perception.
However, Himeji's Byakugan granted her nearly 360° vision. Any slight movement would not escape her.
More than that, a Hyuga's control over chakra—especially one capable of using techniques like Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation (Hakkeshō Kaiten)—was elite-tier. If anyone could dispel a Genjutsu through chakra disruption, it was her.
She threw several shuriken with clean precision—aimed at Tatsumi's chest.
A probing attack.
As expected, she closed in right after. The Hyuga style was best at close quarters.
Tatsumi responded quickly. Drawing several kunai, he threw a few into the air while keeping one in his left hand to deflect the incoming shuriken.
Clang. Clang. Clang!
Himeji was already in front of him. He could see every detail of her eyes now—even her eyelashes.
She aimed a finger toward one of his chakra points.
Tatsumi struck back with his kunai toward her arm—but she twisted away nimbly.
Taijutsu clashed!
For someone from a clan specializing in hand-to-hand combat, Himeji was as strong as expected. Tatsumi, though secretly proficient in taijutsu, had kept most of his ability hidden at the academy. Among their peers, only a few could match his level—and Himeji was clearly one of them.
Tatsumi suddenly retracted his kunai and kicked out.
Himeji blocked it, but she staggered, knocked off balance. Tatsumi used the chance to retreat to a safer distance.
High above, the kunai he'd tossed earlier collided mid-air, redirecting into a spiraling arc—aimed now at Himeji from multiple angles.
From the stands, Rope Tree (Nawaki) shouted excitedly, "It's here! The spinning kunai trap! I've been waiting to see that in action!"
But Himeji remained calm. Her Byakugan had already spotted them.
"In front of my Byakugan… none of your tricks will work," she said coldly.
("…That's my line, for Sharingan users," Tatsumi thought bitterly.)
CLANG!
She deflected the first kunai easily—then winced.
A surge of lightning burst out.
Tatsumi had silently infused the kunai with lightning chakra. It coursed through her hand the moment of contact—paralyzing her limbs.
And at that moment...
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared toward Himeji's paralyzed form.
She could feel the heat searing her skin. There was no time for a substitution jutsu.
"…Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
She expelled chakra from all her tenketsu, spinning into a perfect sphere of protection.
BOOM.
The fireball dispersed against the Hyuga clan's ultimate defense.
As the smoke faded, Himeji was breathing heavily. Two Rotations in a single day—her stamina was nearly gone.
Tatsumi looked at her, his expression softening.
She was trying so hard… but effort alone didn't guarantee survival in the ninja world.
Everyone must break through their limits—must shed blood, must grow, must eventually confront their true selves.
That was the ninja way.
So Tatsumi made a decision.
He would end this properly. With all his strength.
"Hyuga Himeji," he said, "how far can your eyes truly see? Show me."
Dust swirled on the battlefield.
Several Uchiha Tatsumi appeared in her vision.
Himeji activated her Byakugan again—but this time, she couldn't distinguish which one was real.
Then—Tatsumi vanished.
SWOOSH!
A movement so fast it resembled teleportation.
From the audience, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
"That technique… It's the same as what I once saw from Uchiha Kagami."
This was a high-speed movement technique Tatsumi had learned from his father's scrolls—Body Flicker (Shunshin no Jutsu), taken to its limit.
Himeji swung at the closest clone—only for her fist to pass through a fading afterimage.
"An afterimage…?" she whispered.
But before she could react—Tatsumi's real fist connected.
She staggered backward—hit.
Before she could recover, another Tatsumi appeared from behind. A shuriken flew at her, and she tried to block—but it passed through the clone again.
The real Tatsumi followed it up, launching a spinning kick that struck her abdomen.
Himeji gasped—she couldn't guard in time.
"I am both a clone… and not a clone," Tatsumi whispered as his voice echoed across the arena.