As expected, this was the first time that Kenjiro matched up against Naruto Uzumaki.
There seemed to be a fateful connection between Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha. Out of ten taijutsu matches, about half of them were always between the two of them.
But for Kenjiro, he never seemed to match up with Naruto Uzumaki.
Fortunately, his Ōtsutsuki bloodline (red) granted him an immense chakra pool, similar to the Sage's Body, otherwise, Kenjiro wouldn't have had the means to provoke Naruto's Sage Body.
Now that he had finally matched with Naruto, Kenjiro was quite thrilled.
This meant his luck was especially good today.
With such good fortune, could he possibly trigger a rare talent?
Suppressing his excitement, Kenjiro stood up and walked over to Iruka's right side.
Looking at Naruto on the opposite side, who clenched his teeth and refused to give up, Kenjiro raised his right hand, extending his index and middle fingers, forming the Seal of Confrontation in a friendly gesture. He smiled and said, "Naruto, let's have a good match."
Naruto was slightly taken aback at first.
The nervousness that had plagued him suddenly melted away.
Looking at Kenjiro, a warm current surged inside him.
This person was different!
His gaze was unlike anyone else's.
There was no disdain from adults, nor rejection from peers—only equal and genuine kindness.
Aside from Iruka, who had acknowledged him last semester, Kenjiro was the second person who treated him this way.
At that moment, Naruto felt a wave of emotions and nearly wanted to cry.
But he held it in, giving a firm nod and a wide smile as he said, "Yeah, let's do our best!"
After that, Naruto also raised his index and middle fingers, his blue eyes now filled with resolve.
Iruka, watching this, couldn't help but smile with pride.
He took a few steps back and announced loudly, "Round Seven, begin!"
As soon as the command was given, Kenjiro and Naruto rushed at each other.
Naruto's attack style was simple, almost predictable—he lacked any adaptability.
Once they closed the distance, Naruto threw a punch at Kenjiro.
Although Kenjiro didn't possess the Sharingan, his perceptive abilities allowed him to predict Naruto's next move the moment he raised his shoulder.
Before Naruto's punch could land, Kenjiro had already built up energy. He raised his left hand and struck Naruto's wrist with the back of his hand, knocking his punch off course. Then, he followed up with a right punch.
With a resounding bang, Kenjiro's fist landed directly on Naruto's left cheek.
The sheer force of the blow sent Naruto crashing to the ground, his face swelling up with bruises.
"Ouch... that hurts…" Naruto gasped, but surprisingly, he wasn't knocked out by Kenjiro's punch.
He quickly got back up and charged at Kenjiro once more.
However, every punch and kick Naruto threw was predicted by Kenjiro in advance. They were either blocked, dodged, or deflected back with minimal effort.
Even though Hinata was as fast as the wind, her every strike charged with chakra and the sound of breaking air, Kenjiro could handle it with ease.
Naruto's disorganized attacks lacked power and were filled with flaws.
With each hit, his clothes became dirtier, his face covered in cuts and bruises, and he was left looking incredibly disheveled.
On the other hand, Kenjiro remained unscathed, not even a speck of dust on him.
Even a three-year-old would be able to see the vast difference between them.
However, Naruto, who was taking a beating, didn't choose to surrender.
At first, he had gasped when getting hit, but now, despite the pain, he remained completely silent. His expression grew increasingly focused, and his attacks became less erratic.
He was growing—though next time he might return to his old self, right now, he was indeed getting stronger in the heat of battle.
Seeing another opening, Kenjiro decided to end the fight.
He crouched low, dodging Naruto's attack, and with a sweeping leg, knocked Naruto to the ground.
Not giving Naruto a chance to rise, Kenjiro threw a punch, but stopped just inches away from Naruto's face.
Seeing this, Iruka immediately announced, "Naruto Uzumaki is unable to continue the fight. The winner is Kenjiro."
Pop!
Almost simultaneously with Iruka's announcement, a purple bubble within Naruto's aura, which only Kenjiro could see, suddenly popped.
A purple beam shot out, assimilating into Kenjiro's body.
Shortly after, a small new bubble appeared around Naruto.
This new bubble was tiny and transparent, unlike the previous white-to-red hue. It contained nothing but emptiness.
Kenjiro had seen this kind of scene more than once.
He knew that this meant that the bubble was in a cooldown state.
Once the cooldown was complete, the transparent bubble would return to its purple state, and the talent inside would appear once again.
At that time, Kenjiro could possibly trigger the talent again.
Yes, talents could be triggered multiple times.
Kenjiro had just never gained the same talent twice from the same person.
He recognized the purple bubble and felt a rush of excitement.
But instead of immediately checking his personal panel, Kenjiro extended his hand toward Naruto and said with a smile, "Naruto, you're very strong. Let's have another match next time."
Naruto, who had been full of bitterness after the beating, felt all that emotion dissolve as he looked at Kenjiro's sincere face.
He had only ever felt this way in front of Sasuke Uchiha—inexplicably frustrated and unwilling to lose.
But with Kenjiro, Naruto felt at peace.
He grabbed Kenjiro's hand to rise, and with a grin, said, "Kenjiro, you're amazing! But next time, I won't lose!"
"You've improved a lot. I'm really looking forward to our next battle."
Kenjiro smiled and raised his index and middle fingers in a familiar gesture.
Naruto also raised his fingers, and the two of them linked their hands together.
This was the sign of reconciliation, the opposite of the stance of confrontation they had shared before. It symbolized that, even between ninjas, no matter how great the barriers, they could always reconcile.
In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke ended their millennium-long battle through this sign of reconciliation.
If the reincarnations of Asura and Indra couldn't reconcile, their chakra would keep being reincarnated, perpetuating the cycle.
Despite having no real conflict, Naruto and Sasuke could not naturally make this gesture with each other.
But none of that mattered to Kenjiro.
After exchanging the reconciliation sign, Kenjiro returned to the crowd, all while fending off questions from his classmates and pulling up a personal display only he could see. He heard the prompt sound that followed the beam of light entering his body.
Ding!
[You have obtained the talent: Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple). Would you like to fuse or decompose?]
'Fuse.'
The next moment, a new talent appeared in the talent bar—[Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)].
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