It was a first—Izayoi finally matched against Naruto Uzumaki.
Some cosmic force seemed to bind Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha together. In ten taijutsu spars, they faced each other nearly half the time, leaving Izayoi with no chance to fight Naruto.
Thankfully, his red-tier Otsutsuki Bloodline granted chakra reserves rivaling the Sage Body. Without it, Izayoi wouldn't know how to claim Naruto's Sage Body entry.
Now, paired with Naruto at last, excitement surged through him.
It meant his luck was peaking today.
With such fortune, could he snag a rare entry?
Suppressing his anticipation, Izayoi stepped to Iruka Umino's right side.
Across from him, Naruto gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up. Izayoi raised his right hand, extending his index and middle fingers in a ninja salute, smiling. "Naruto, let's make it a good fight."
Naruto blinked, caught off guard.
His tense nerves eased, warmth flooding his chest as he met Izayoi's gaze.
This was different.
Unlike the adults' disdain or his peers' rejection, Izayoi's eyes held only impartial kindness.
Besides Iruka, who'd accepted him last semester, Izayoi was the second person to stand out.
The urge to cry welled up, but Naruto swallowed it, nodding firmly with a wide grin. "Yeah, let's do this!"
Mimicking Izayoi, he raised his index and middle fingers.
His blue eyes, matching Izayoi's, now burned with resolve.
Iruka, witnessing this, smiled with quiet approval.
Stepping back, he shouted, "Seventh match, begin!"
At his words, Izayoi and Naruto charged.
Naruto's attacks were simplistic, predictable, and rigid.
Closing in, he swung a straightforward punch at Izayoi.
Lacking a Sharingan, Izayoi's keen perception still read Naruto's intent the moment his shoulder twitched. Before the punch could land, Izayoi prepared, raising his left hand to slap Naruto's wrist with his palm, deflecting the blow. His right fist shot forward.
Thud! The punch struck Naruto's left cheek.
The force floored him, his face swelling with a bruise.
"Ow, that hurts…"
Naruto winced but wasn't knocked out. He sprang up, charging again.
Yet every punch and kick was anticipated—blocked, dodged, or countered effortlessly.
Even Hinata's lightning-fast acupoint strikes, laced with chakra and slicing air, Izayoi handled with ease. Naruto's sloppy attacks, devoid of power and riddled with openings, were child's play.
Fists and feet landed relentlessly, leaving Naruto's clothes filthy, his face marred with cuts and bruises, utterly battered.
Izayoi remained pristine, untouched.
Even a toddler could see the chasm between them.
Yet Naruto, taking a one-sided beating, refused to yield.
Early on, he'd gasped in pain, but now he endured silently, his focus intense. His wild swings gradually gained structure.
He was growing, however fleetingly.
Seizing another opening, Izayoi decided to end it.
He ducked under Naruto's punch with a crouch, sweeping Naruto's legs with a low kick, toppling him.
Before Naruto could rise, Izayoi's fist descended, halting just shy of his face.
Iruka's voice rang out. "Naruto Uzumaki is incapacitated. The winner is Izayoi!"
Pop!
As Iruka's words landed, one of the bubbles visible only to Izayoi—surrounding Naruto—burst. A purple bubble shattered, its light streaking into Izayoi's body.
A new bubble formed around Naruto, tiny and transparent, not white or red.
It held no entry—empty.
Izayoi had seen this before. The bubble was on cooldown.
Once it elapsed, it would revert to purple, its entry restored, offering another chance to claim it.
Yes, entries could be claimed repeatedly.
Izayoi simply hadn't yet reclaimed the same entry from one person.
Having glimpsed the purple entry, his excitement spiked.
Instead of checking his panel, he extended a hand to Naruto, smiling. "You're tough, Naruto. Let's fight again sometime."
Naruto, bitter from the thrashing despite his all-out effort, softened at Izayoi's sincerity. No trace of condescension marred his gaze.
Only against Sasuke did Naruto feel defiance. With Izayoi, he felt at ease.
Grasping Izayoi's hand, he stood, grinning. "You're crazy strong, Izayoi, but next time, I won't lose!"
"Your progress was impressive. I'm looking forward to our next bout," Izayoi said, raising his index and middle fingers.
Naruto mirrored him, their fingers hooking together.
This was the Seal of Reconciliation, counterpart to the Seal of Confrontation before a fight, symbolizing that ninja could bridge even the deepest divides.
In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke used this seal to end the millennial feud of Asura and Indra's reincarnations.
If their reincarnated selves couldn't reconcile, their chakra would cycle endlessly.
A thousand years of conflict made Naruto and Sasuke clash instinctively, even without Sakura's influence.
Naruto could easily reconcile with Izayoi but struggled with Sasuke.
None of this concerned Izayoi.
After the seal with Naruto, he rejoined the class, brushing off peers while summoning his invisible panel, responding to the prompt that had chimed when the purple light entered him.
"Ding! You've obtained the talent entry [Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]. Fuse or decompose?"
"Fuse."
Instantly, a new entry appeared in his panel—Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple).
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