Indeed, this was Izayoi's first match against Naruto Uzumaki.
It seemed as if there was some kind of karmic force between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Out of ten body technique duels, almost half of them would involve these two clashing with each other.
Izayoi had never once been matched with Naruto Uzumaki.
Fortunately, the Otsutsuki bloodline (red), like the Sage Body, had an immense chakra reserve. Otherwise, Izayoi wouldn't know what to do to unleash Naruto Uzumaki's Sage Body.
Finally matched with Naruto Uzumaki, Izayoi was filled with excitement.
This meant his luck today was incredibly good.
Since his luck was so good, could he possibly trigger some rare traits?
Suppressing his excitement, Izayoi stood up and walked to the right side of Iruka Umino.
Seeing Naruto, who clenched his teeth, unwilling to give up, Izayoi raised his right hand, showing his two fingers in a peace sign, smiling as he said, "Naruto, let's do our best."
Naruto froze for a moment upon hearing this.
His previously nervous state suddenly became lighter.
Looking at Izayoi, a warmth surged in his heart.
This was different!
The look in this guy's eyes was unlike anyone else's.
There was no disdain from the adults, no rejection from his peers, just a kind and equal goodwill.
Aside from Iruka Umino, who had acknowledged him last semester, Izayoi was the second special person.
Thinking of this, Naruto suddenly felt a rush of emotions, as though he wanted to cry.
But he restrained himself, nodding firmly and smiling, "Mm, let's do our best!"
After speaking, Naruto also raised his two fingers in the same gesture.
The blue eyes, the same as Izayoi's, had now become resolute.
Iruka Umino, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but smile with pride.
He stepped back a few paces and shouted loudly, "The seventh round of the duel, begin!"
As soon as his voice fell, Izayoi and Naruto charged towards each other.
Naruto's attack pattern was very simple, predictable, and lacked any variation.
Once close, he would throw a punch at Izayoi.
Although Izayoi didn't possess the Sharingan, his insight was so sharp that, the moment Naruto raised his shoulder, he knew exactly what Naruto was about to do.
Before Naruto's punch could even land, Izayoi had already charged up. He raised his left hand, striking Naruto's wrist with the back of his hand, knocking his straight punch off-course, then threw a right hook.
With a sharp thud, Izayoi's punch landed squarely on Naruto's left cheek.
The powerful force sent Naruto crashing to the ground, his face swollen, already showing bruises.
"Ow, that hurts…" Naruto gasped, but he wasn't knocked out by Izayoi's punch.
Quickly getting up, he continued his attack on Izayoi.
However, every punch and kick was predicted in advance by Izayoi. Whether blocked, dodged, or countered with redirected force, Naruto's haphazard attacks were easily handled.
Even Hinata, who was as fast as a gale, with every strike carrying chakra energy and the sound of breaking air from her pressure point techniques, Izayoi could handle effortlessly.
Naruto's unstructured attacks were not only weak but full of openings.
Each punch and kick landed on Naruto's body, and soon his clothes were dirty, his face covered in wounds, looking utterly miserable.
Meanwhile, Izayoi remained completely unscathed, not a speck of dirt on him.
Even a three-year-old child could see the difference between them.
But despite being utterly dominated, Naruto didn't give up.
At first, when he took the hits, he would gasp in pain, but now, even as the blows landed, he didn't make a sound. His expression was focused, and his attacks slowly began to show more structure.
He was growing, even though he would likely return to his old self next time.
But right now, he was indeed becoming stronger in battle.
Seeing another opening, Izayoi decided to end the fight.
He crouched, dodging Naruto's attack, then used a sweeping leg to knock Naruto to the ground.
Not giving him a chance to rise, Izayoi threw a punch, but stopped just inches from Naruto's face.
Seeing this, Iruka Umino immediately announced loudly, "Naruto Uzumaki has lost the ability to continue the fight, the winner is Izayoi!"
Bang!
Almost at the same time Iruka's voice finished, a purple bubble among the ones surrounding Naruto, visible only to Izayoi, suddenly burst.
Immediately after, a purple light beam shot towards Izayoi, entering his body.
Following that, a tiny new bubble appeared around Naruto.
This new bubble was very small, and its color wasn't the usual white to red, but rather a transparent one.
Inside, there was nothing—no traits, just emptiness.
Izayoi had seen this kind of scene before.
He knew this bubble was in a cooling state.
Once the cooling finished, the transparent bubble would turn back into a purple one, and the trait inside would reappear.
At the same time, Izayoi would have another chance to trigger this trait.
Yes, traits could be triggered repeatedly.
Izayoi had just never triggered the same trait from the same person before.
Seeing the purple bubble, Izayoi's mood was incredibly excited.
However, he didn't immediately call up his personal panel. Instead, he extended his hand to Naruto and smiled, "Naruto, you're amazing. Let's have another match next time."
Naruto, who had been completely beaten and was feeling bitter, immediately felt relieved when he saw Izayoi's sincere smile. Unlike Sasuke Uchiha, who made him feel frustrated, with Izayoi, he felt no resentment.
He took Izayoi's hand, using it to help him up, and smiled broadly, "Izayoi, you're really strong. But next time, I won't lose!"
"Your progress is very obvious. I'm looking forward to our next fight."
Izayoi smiled and raised his two fingers at Naruto.
Naruto, too, raised his two fingers, linking them with Izayoi's.
This was the Sign of Reconciliation, corresponding to the Sign of Conflict before the fight, symbolizing that even if there had been great barriers between two ninjas, they could still reconcile.
In the original work, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha ended the thousand-year-old battle of Ashura and Indra's reincarnations through the Sign of Reconciliation.
If Ashura and Indra's reincarnations couldn't reconcile, their chakra would continue to cycle through the centuries.
Though Naruto could naturally reconcile with Izayoi, he couldn't do so with Sasuke Uchiha.
But that had nothing to do with Izayoi.
After completing the Sign of Reconciliation with Naruto, Izayoi returned to his team. While fending off his classmates' chatter, he called up the light curtain that only he could see, simultaneously receiving the prompt sound in his mind from the purple light that had entered his body.
"Ding! You have acquired the innate trait [Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]. Would you like to fuse or decompose it?"
"Fuse."
The next second, a new innate trait—[Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]—appeared in the trait bar.