Naruto: Snow Cold

The day after, as Kenjiro-sensei had mentioned before, the academy students were evaluated once again. This time, it was Taijutsu—in other words, sparring. Amai had a slight idea of what he'd put them through next. Perhaps on Wednesday, it would be chakra control, Thursday Ninjutsu, and as for Friday? She had no idea.

However, she felt somewhat confident today. Amai hadn't spent the break goofing off, after all.

She could handle 105 kilograms of weight from her gravity seal spread across her whole body—52.5% of its maximum capacity. Sooner or later, she'd need a new one. The seal had served her well, but its limitations were becoming more apparent with each passing day.

She had also been sparring occasionally with Sora. Sometimes she won, sometimes she lost, but every match sharpened her instincts and honed her techniques.

Even so, she had a long way to go before she could consider herself "strong," especially when monsters like Rock Lee existed. If she remembered correctly, that madman had endured a staggering 4,600 kilograms of weight on his legs during the Chūnin Exams. His legs only. That was roughly 154 times what her legs could currently handle! And not just enduring—he had been actively fighting the entire time.

It was a humbling thought, one that reminded her not to get complacent. But then again, she was still young. She had around eight years before canon began—eight years to grow stronger and hone her skills.

Kenjiro-sensei's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Alright, next pair! Sora Shiraishi and Uchiha Yuuma, step up!"

Amai stood by one of the posts, slightly separated from the crowd of students, observing as Sora strolled toward the sparring ring. She still wasn't used to his casual, analytical expression each time they fought. It was... unsettling, to say the least.

Yuuma was the calmest of the Uchiha trio, and perhaps the most skilled among them, owing to his advanced mastery of the Uchiha Interceptor Style. What she didn't know was that they were sharpening their fangs in secret, pouring most of their effort into refining their Fire Release techniques. Specifically, the Great Fireball Jutsu, which was their coming of age tradition.

Although, none of them were anywhere near close enough to awaken their famed crimson Dojutsu, the Sharingan.

Sora, on the other hand, seemed quite detached, his hands in his pockets as he walked toward the ring. Yuuma walked in unison with him, just a few meters beside him, their steps seemingly synchronized as they made their way to the ring.

They took one last step, and stood in front of each other.

"You're looking awfully confident, Shiraishi-kun. I assume this confidence doesn't come from nowhere, correct? You've gotten better during the break." Yuuma asked, glaring at his opponent while he performed a half Ram seal. The seal of confrontation.

"Somethin' like that. Let's give it our best, yeah?" Sora responded coolly, taking both of his hands out of his pocket, mirroring the same seal as the Uchiha boy.

Kenjiro-sensei observed them as a bead of sweat dripped down his neck, his face contorted into something between disbelief and exasperation as the two kids challenged each other. He sighed inwardly, wondering if they even realized how ridiculous they looked. He had seen this phase countless times with some of his students during his time teaching at the academy, for god's sake.

'Old man Hiruzen said it would be easy to teach children... Absolute crap. I can already tell this year is gonna be hard. I need a new job already!' was the only thought that went through his mind. He finally lifted his arm up, swung it, and shouted with the finality of a long-suffering teacher.

"BEGIN!"

Both Sora and Yuuma stepped back, getting into their respective stances. Seeing as his opponent wouldn't do anything just yet, the Uchiha made the first move. Yuuma rushed, jumped into the air and kicked. Seeing Sora's forearm block and absorb the blow, he quickly spun around and delivered yet another kick aimed at Sora's side.

However, the amber-eyed boy anticipated this move and shifted his body to the left, narrowly dodging it. Yuuma landed on the ground with his palms and quickly pushed off, springing back to his feet with surprising agility despite the momentum from his jump.

Something didn't feel right for Yuuma, though. Whenever he struck Sora, it felt like he was hitting a boulder, one that wouldn't budge. Sure, his strikes were fast and accurate, but—

A moment of distraction caused Sora to throw a hook at his face, one barely evaded by tilting his head. Yuuma then delivered a side kick, with the intent of pushing him away instead of just striking him. It hardly pushed him back, and Yuuma backed away, his eyes narrowing in frustration.

Uchiha Yuuma noted that the force of Sora's fist generated way more wind than a normal blow would, as if he could put him out of commission did one of his attacks land. As if the weight had... multiplied... tenfold. That's when the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

'This guy...! What an arrogant and foolish idiot. He's using his gravity seal during the match and trying to upstage me!' Yuuma thought in disbelief and anger. The weight of Sora's actions felt like an insult to his pride. It wasn't enough that Sora was strong—no, he had to make it clear, in the most blatant way possible, that he could still fight while being handicapped.

He hadn't seen anyone this arrogant before, and it infuriated him. How could you possibly think it's acceptable to handicap yourself and flaunt it like this? Even he wouldn't dare forget to take off his gravity seal on purpose before a fight!

Despite it all, Yuuma clenched his teeth and got back in action, refusing to let his emotions take control, no matter what kind of ridiculous bullcrap his opponent pulled. His pride was bruised, but that wouldn't stop him. He wasn't about to let Sora get the best of him with some display of recklessness.

Yuuma threw a backfist, dodged yet again by Sora, who had crouched down, placed his palms on the floor, and directed a Manji Geri kick to the Uchiha's side. The kick struck with precision, sending Yuuma reeling backward, a grimace of pain contorting his face. He spat out saliva, the force of the blow knocking him back, his ribs screaming in protest from the impact.

This movement shocked Kenjiro. It wasn't a move listed and taught in the academy textbooks, and certainly not from any other style, considering that Sora Shiraishi was a civilian. 'I suppose we'll be having a good crop of shinobi soon enough, eh, old man?' he thought, his lips curling into a slight smirk.

Not only that, Amai was quietly watching from her spot, incredulous. She didn't think Sora would actually have it in him to bring his seal into these fights. It was both stupid and reckless to do so, for crying out loud! Also, he had never once told her that he practiced martial arts before. That move he just pulled was a move from some style back in their old world!

The fight kept going back and forth, with Yuuma barely dodging Sora's blows. His body was beginning to ache with each close call, his reflexes pushed to their limits. He knew that if another one of those hits landed, the fight would end for sure.

However, Sora was starting to feel the strain as well. The weight of his gravity seal made every movement more taxing than it appeared, but he kept pushing. Yuuma kept landing blow after blow, kick after kick, trying to get him to budge, but all were blocked or deflected by the amber-eyed boy. Sora's posture remained steady, his reactions sharp, but the pressure was beginning to take its toll.

With each hit Yuuma landed, the Uchiha boy's frustration only grew. 'Just forfeit already! Why aren't you going down?!' he thought, his eyes burning with anger. The more he attacked, the more it felt like he was punching a brick wall. Each strike was making his fists ache more than ever before, even more so than when he trained against the wooden posts at his clan.

But what irritated him more was that Sora wasn't flinching. He wasn't backing down, and that enraged him even further. No matter how calm he appeared, he still had his pride. How could this civilian, this nobody, withstand his attacks so effortlessly? The Uchiha's frustration grew, but he couldn't let it show.

Then, yet another jab grazed his arm, sharp and stinging. That's when he finally lost it. Yuuma backed off, scanning the area behind Sora and realizing there was no one there. I don't care if I get disqualified for this, I will not lose to this cocky asshat!

With a fierce determination, he began weaving through hand seals. Everyone's eyes, including Kenjiro's, widened at the sudden shift in his approach.

"YUUMA! THAT'S FORBIDDEN! STOP!" Kenjiro shouted, desperation lacing his voice. But it was too late. He was too far away to intervene, and the jutsu was already in motion.

The air grew thick with tension as Yuuma's chakra surged. His hands moved with lightning speed, and he shouted in his mind. 'Fire Release: Phoenix Fireball Jutsu!'

It wasn't a C-ranked technique like the Great Fireball Jutsu, but it was supercharged to the point of matching its power. Flames came out of the Uchiha's mouth as he exhaled, and they were quickly drawing near Sora.

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly. But, his expression shifted to one of calm determination. He smiled, brought his hands upward, and...

Clap.