If it were any other student, facing this C-rank ninjutsu, they would most likely be instantly defeated!
Yuye's expression grew serious. Without hesitation, he pushed off the ground, retreating rapidly.
However, his speed was no match for the incoming Great Fireball.
Just as the blazing sphere was about to engulf him, Yuye's eyes flashed with cold light. The kunai in his hand suddenly emitted a white glow as he slashed fiercely downward.
"Split for me!!"
Crack!
The white glow suddenly burst apart, but under Yuye's control, it did not directly clash with the Great Fireball. Instead, it forced the flames to split apart to either side.
By this point, the Great Fireball had nearly reached its maximum range. With Yuye's full-force impact, it was forcibly split apart!
The flames roared past on either side of Yuye without hitting him.
"Excellent!"
Seeing this, Yuye didn't show any joy. Instead, he became even calmer.
Right now, he still couldn't directly counter a C-rank ninjutsu, so he could only use clever tactics to deal with it… But the day he could shatter a C-rank ninjutsu head-on wasn't far off!
Outside the battlefield, the flames continued to burn, and the surrounding students all looked on in shock.
"Could he be dead…?"
"Oh no, this is serious! Someone's been killed! That was terrifying!"
The students couldn't see what had happened within the fiery explosion. From their perspective, Yuye had been completely consumed by the Great Fireball.
Every face was filled with fear.
On the other side, Uzumaki Kushina was already unable to hold back. She was about to rush forward, her eyes brimming with tears, overwhelmed with self-reproach.
Why did she let Yuye fight Uchiha Izumiya? Why didn't she stop him?!
The only person who could have intervened, the Chunin instructor, gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay put.
It looked like Yuye was doomed.
Uchiha Izumiya watched the gradually fading flames and assumed Yuye had been incinerated to ashes. His face was slightly pale, but a hint of cold satisfaction flickered in his eyes.
But in the very next moment, his expression froze.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Because, from within the dissipating flames, a silhouette became increasingly clear.
In the end, someone walked out of the fire.
That person was—Yuye!
"Impossible!!"
He actually withstood the Great Fireball?!
Uchiha Izumiya found it utterly incomprehensible. He saw Yuye emerging from the flames, and in a panic, he threw a punch toward him.
After surviving the Great Fireball, Yuye must be at his limit—he was surely just holding on!
Thinking this, a trace of confidence returned to Izumiya's eyes.
However, as his punch neared, Yuye met his attack with an equally forceful punch.
A dim white glow surrounded Yuye's fist.
In the next instant, their fists collided in midair.
Crack!!
That strange sound rang out again. Tiny fractures spread through the air as if space itself was shattering—an utterly terrifying sight.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Izumiya's arm made a sickening cracking noise. Unable to withstand the impact, his bones were directly shattered!
The reverberating force sent him flying backward.
"This… is impossible…"
Thud!
Uchiha Izumiya crashed onto the ground in a miserable heap. His face was frozen in horror and disbelief before he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Overwhelmed by the searing pain throughout his body, he lost consciousness.
The entire scene fell into silence.
Only then did Yuye casually pat out the few flames still burning on his clothes and nonchalantly pluck away some scorched strands of hair, tossing them aside.
After a long moment of stunned silence, an uproar erupted.
"No way!!"
"Oh my god! Is this a resurrection from the dead?!"
"How did Yuye survive such a terrifying Fire Release jutsu? This is unbelievable!"
The realization hit the students like a shockwave.
Every face reflected awe and disbelief.
Yuye… actually won against Uchiha Izumiya?!
That meant Yuye was no longer the lowest-ranked student—he had skyrocketed to become a prodigy, second only to Namikaze Minato!
It was an impossible miracle!
Among the crowd, Uzumaki Kushina stared blankly at the battlefield, tears still glistening in her eyes.
She had yet to fully process what had happened.
Yuye, unfazed by the stunned students, looked toward Kushina. He wiped at a minor burn on his arm with slight regret.
"Sorry, I still got a little injured."
"…"
Kushina bit her lip, still in a daze as she gazed at Yuye.
"You idiot!"
Wiping her eyes, she huffed, then bared her teeth playfully and waved her hands at him in mock ferocity, returning to her usual lively self.
Meanwhile, the Chunin instructor still hadn't recovered from his shock.
He stared at Yuye in disbelief.
"You… you…"
"It looks like I won, right?"
Yuye spoke calmly, looking at the instructor.
The Chunin teacher could hardly believe it. He even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
He had never expected Yuye to win—and for Uchiha Izumiya to be the one seriously injured!
If Yuye had been hurt, it wouldn't have mattered much. But Izumiya was from the Uchiha clan, and now that he was injured, the teacher would have to bear a heavy burden of responsibility!
His face darkened, but in the end, he could only bitterly declare Yuye the winner.
However, as he glanced at the unconscious Uchiha Izumiya, his expression grew even uglier. He leaned in close and whispered into Yuye's ear.
"You've beaten a member of the Uchiha clan this badly… you'd best be careful."
"You don't need to worry about that, Sensei."
Yuye replied indifferently before stepping down from the battlefield.
Countless students continued to stare at him, their expressions filled with lingering shock.
Even Namikaze Minato's eyes gleamed with intrigue as he studied Yuye, finally starting to take him seriously.
After this battle, Yuye instantly became the center of discussion throughout the entire Ninja Academy.
Many people were curious about the mysterious power he had used.
Yuye's explanation was simple: the Shatter Release Kekkei Genkai.
It was a flawless cover.
After all, the ninja world was filled with countless bloodline abilities—visual powers like the Sharingan and Byakugan, bodily abilities like the Shikotsumyaku and the Hydrification Technique of the Hōzuki clan, and chakra-based Kekkei Genkai like Wood Release and Ice Release.
Everyone quickly accepted the explanation.
The initial shock eventually subsided.
…
In an open training ground in the Hidden Leaf Village.
The sky had begun to darken, but Yuye showed no intention of leaving. He continued to push himself through intense physical training.
He had finally made a breakthrough, but Yuye knew that more challenges would follow.
Instead of relaxing, he trained even harder—refining his taijutsu and strengthening his Shatter Release ability.
"Four hundred fifty-one, four hundred fifty-two… four hundred ninety-nine, five hundred!"
"Hah!"
Reaching his set goal, Yuye stretched out his stiff arms and stood up.
When training in public, he never pushed himself to his absolute limit.
He only did that in the privacy of his home.
Even if it didn't make a big difference, in the ninja world, Yuye had deliberately cultivated a sense of constant vigilance.
"If I keep this up, it's about time to add weighted training."
Wiping away sweat, Yuye turned and headed home.
It had been nearly a month since he consumed that strange fruit that shouldn't exist in this world—granting him the Shatter Release Kekkei Genkai.
In that time, he had completely abandoned ninjutsu and chakra training, devoting all his effort to taijutsu.