Naruto: Kage of Kages

Amongst the thoughts of the young spectators, the starting signal sounded out, and Shiki was off to show a performance they would not soon forget.

He wasted no time and body flickered to the first obstacle, only needing to touch the walls once to clear it at blinding speed without needing to cancel the body flicker.

The boy nearly instantly arrived at the climbing rope but with a burst of chakra, he instead body flickered onto the platform on top without even touching the rope and body flickered again to instantly reach the ground without bothering to use the slanted net.

The moment he touched the ground, Shiki continued rushing forward with a body flicker to reach the swinging rope, another to clear the gap without even touching said swinging rope and one more to instantly reach the next obstacle, the tunnel.

Not hesitating for a moment and taking advantage of his small size that enabled him to fit better in the tunnel, Shiki body flickered inside with a leap, using the momentum to slide the rest of the way out.

Another obstacle cleared, Shiki body flickered to the top of the final obstacle wall and from there body flickered straight to the finish line.

Teachers and students, even the Hokage who had been seeing the whole proceedings through the Telescope Jutsu he used through his crystal ball, all were speechless at the Body Flicker Jutsu masterclass.

Shiki had basically cleared the whole obstacle course with a long string of precise short body flickers, proving why the basic technique only rose in value the more a shinobi advanced in his career and personal ability.

*

9.2 Seconds.

The Third Hokage doubted he could find an elite chunin in the village that could do better.

‘Danzo’s face once he realizes the kind of talent he let Mito-sama take from the orphanage . . . I wish I could see it.’ Hiruzen chuckled.

Though he was in hot water with the Uzumaki matriarch, Hiruzen was not really worried.

For all his flaws, he truly wanted the best for the village. His only problem was trying to run things similarly to his sensei Tobirama when he lacked the power, skill and prestige to do so.

So no matter how powerful Shiki became, as Mito’s ward, the Third Hokage was sure the boy’s power would be used for the good of the village.

Danzo on the other hand . . .

With a wrathful face, he shattered the teacup in his hand.

He had arranged a way to co-opt Hiruzen’s spying jutsu when the latter was using it to see the same things and after looking at Shiki’s performance, his reaction was much like his old friend predicted.

But after a few moments, the bandaged man regained control.

Although he was not the ideal emotionless shinobi that endlessly toils in the shadows for the greater good with no sacrifice being too great, Danzo did try to stick as close to his ninja way without sacrificing his ambitions.

Only his subordinates were required to give up everything, unless they were either too valuable to mentally damage or too powerful to control through force.

Despite this, the man whose infamy as the “Darkness of Shinobi” had begun to spread, had a good control over his emotions.

‘Not getting such a genius for myself is truly unfortunate, it seems the people in charge of overseeing the Konoha Orphanage need replacing.’ Danzo mused.

‘There is still time to draw him in, along with that old lady’s support. This brat . . . To have such skill at a young age, mere talent is not sufficient, dedication, training and a honed focus towards the perfecting of one’s abilities are also necessary.’

‘If I can provide him a means to grow stronger, drawing him to my side may be possible.’ The bandaged man considered.

‘But not now. Currently, he is still growing at a fast pace, while it is imperative to create an association as soon as possible, to maximize my offerings, waiting until his growth starts to slow down and preying on the dissatisfaction arising from it is the way to go.’

*

Returning to the exam venue, the students were still speechlessly staring at Shiki, the teachers who recovered had to shout for the student that came after him several times until he listened.

But while everyone just looked, Mei who had already established a bit of rapport with him found the confidence to approach the white haired boy with curious eyes.

“It seems you’re gunning for perfect scores in the practical exam as well.” The girl started the conversation, alluding to Shiki’s previous talk of getting perfect marks on the theory exams.

Shiki smirked.

“I’m aiming to leave an unbeatable record. Shortest graduation time, youngest graduate, highest scorer in the graduation exams.” The boy confidently declared.

He was not speaking in a particularly low tone so the other students nearby heard it.

Uchiha Ryuuto and Hyuga Yuno felt their blood boil.

This was the kind of shinobi they aspired to be, aiming for the sky and backing it up with actual ability.

Yuno just began to feel a measure of respect but Ryuuto, being the typical Uchiha, admired Shiki both for his attitude and the strength he showed, his previously questioning attitude giving way to acknowledgement.

At the same time, it ignited his motivation to train, he did not believe himself inferior to Shiki, he was an Uchiha, the problem was with his attitude towards training, if he had been more dedicated, matching and surpassing the white haired boy was a given.

Or so he thought.

If only he knew of Shiki’s fraudulent talents.

His illusions would be swiftly shattered.

But the next test was shurikenjutsu, the art of throwing weapons and Uchiha Ryuuto had maintained the top position in this particular category across his entire academy journey.

Never once did anyone dethrone him so he was very much looking forward to competing with the suddenly appeared prodigy Shiki with that specialty.

For similar reasons, Hyuga Yuno was also raring to “compare notes” with the white haired boy in taijutsu but the exams did not include sparring between students so he would have to approach the white haired boy later.

Mei, on the other hand, looked at Shiki with longing, she wanted to have such confidence and talent that she could unhesitantly say that kind of thing.

“Well good luck.” The girl ended up responding.

Shiki raised an eyebrow at the listless response but said nothing, he could tell it had to do with what seemed to be a lack of self confidence in the Uchiha maiden.

“Next up is shurikenjutsu. Ain’t that your clan’s specialty? How about trying to show me up?” The white haired boy incited his future companion.

“Our clan is famous for shurikenjutsu because of our high dynamic vision, even without the sharingan active.” Mei pointed out in a dark tone before gesturing towards her glasses.

“Do I strike you as someone with good vision?” She questioned.

“So you suck?” Shiki mercilessly countered.

Mei’s face reddened with anger.

“I didn’t say that!” She retorted.

“So are you going to show me up or not?” He incited her once again.

The boy could almost see the smoke of frustration coming from the girl.

“Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do.” Mei calmed down.

Shiki just shrugged.

The last few people finished the first test of the practical exam as the pair talked and it was now time for the second test, shurikenjutsu.

+++++

Hey, Author here!

Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.

I’m trying to become a full time Author now and I’m not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.

Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -