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The school bell rang softly, reverberating throughout the Ninja Academy.
After enduring the torture of the entire afternoon, many of the more daring students didn't wait for the teacher to leave the classroom. They had already sneaked out through the back door, dashing toward the school gates, eager to escape the prison that seemed to confine both their bodies and spirits.
At the school gates, groups of familiar or conveniently located students gathered together, walking along the familiar road toward home.
However, if one observed closely, one would notice that many groups of three or five, or even a dozen, young boys had separated from the homebound groups.
They turned onto a side road.
These groups of boys, compared to those who listened attentively in class and obediently went home after school, seemed more 'streetwise.'
Some of them crossed their arms, looking calm, or had their hands in their pockets, trying to look cool. Their demeanor was very much like that of down-and-out wandering samurais or street thugs.
Following this side road for a short while, one would arrive at a vast cherry blossom forest. Although it was autumn, some special varieties like the October Cherry, Little Other Shore Cherry, and Medal Cherry were still in bloom.
The autumn breeze blew, and the petals fell like rain, filling the entire small forest with a fragrant aroma.
Legend has it that this cherry blossom forest was planted by the First Hokage at the establishment of the Ninja Academy. One could often see old trees that required two or three people to encircle, growing impressively.
However, none of that mattered now.
In the center of the small forest, on a relatively large open space, two groups of Ninja Academy students were facing off.
One group was smaller in number but more uniformly dressed, mostly in dark blue high-necked long-sleeve shirts, with a few exceptions.
The other, larger group was less uniform, wearing a variety of clothes, indicating they came from different families, though the materials were generally more luxurious.
The smaller group, mostly with black hair and black eyes, occasionally had a few brown-haired children. However, they all shared a common feature: the Flame Fan Clan Emblem. There were only about twenty-six to twenty-seven of them, not quite thirty.
The larger group had a more diverse range of hair and eye colors, and their family crests were varied. They included the Sarutobi Clan, Shimura Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Clan, Nara Clan, and other prominent Konoha families. There were nearly sixty of them.
"Uchiha Akai! If you don't give us a satisfactory explanation this time, you'll regret it!"
"Explanation? What explanation? Sarutobi Clan's New Village, do you think we'll be afraid just because you have more people today? How ridiculous! If numbers were all that mattered, there would be no need for wars, just a headcount!"
"Arrogant! I'll show you what regret means!"
"You're just a beaten dog. If it weren't for your numbers, you wouldn't even have the courage to speak loudly to me!"
At the forefront of the two groups, two boys around eleven or twelve years old were verbally sparring, each trying to outdo the other.
They were the representatives of their respective sides.
Both were in their sixth year at the Ninja Academy, with less than two months until graduation. From their words, it was clear that they usually didn't get along.
[So, the students of the Ninja Academy still engage in such interesting fights! First, they try to win with words, attempting to gain the upper hand in terms of morale?]
[Is this cherry blossom forest the place where Uzumaki Kushina was bullied by her classmate's older brother in the original story?]
[I remember that the older brother, who had already graduated from the Ninja Academy, ended up getting beaten up by Kushina.]
Mixed in with the Uchiha group, unlike the serious and tense companions around him, Fuyu Shirou was shaking his head and looking around.
"Uchiha Akai, why are you still wasting words with them? Just start the fight!"
"Sarutobi Clan's New Village, what are you waiting for? Get moving! Are we here to watch you chat?"
"Exactly! Exactly! Start the fight! First strike, first advantage. We still have to go home for dinner!"
A series of ill-timed urging broke the tension between the two. Turning back, they realized they were surrounded.
At that moment, the small forest was filled with a large crowd.
Unlike the two groups of boys who were facing off, this new group included both boys and girls, from first-year students just starting school to sixth-year students about to graduate.
Some stood on the cherry trees, looking down at the scene, while others leaned against the tree trunks, watching with excitement.
They clearly had the air of people who were eager for a spectacle.
This was why Fuyu Shirou's desk partner, Shizukuhara Akira, said that the situation had gotten out of hand. The news of the fight had spread quickly because the number of people who needed to be informed was too large.
These energetic, restless pre-ninjas, upon hearing the news, spread it far and wide. Soon, everyone in the Ninja Academy who wasn't completely isolated knew that there would be a spectacle in the small forest after school.
There were probably no fewer than 300 students gathered there.
Uchiha Akai and Sarutobi Clan's New Village clearly hadn't expected their conflict to escalate to this point. For a moment, both sides were in a difficult position.
"Akai and New Village, there's no need to fight over such a small matter. We are all fellow villagers, and in the future, we will fight side by side on the battlefield..."
At that moment, a long-haired, pure-white-eyed, refined-looking boy walked into the scene and addressed both sides.
[They're still inexperienced. These two clearly don't know that the more people there are, the less likely a fight will break out.]
[If I had known this, I wouldn't have bothered coming to class this afternoon. It's a waste of my time.]
The one who came to mediate was called Hyuga Takashi. The smooth forehead revealed that he was from the Hyuga Main Family.
However, someone clearly didn't want this farce to end so soon.
Two whistling sounds were heard, and two stone pebbles, each the size of an egg, flew over and struck Uchiha Akai and Sarutobi Clan's New Village on the head.
"Ah!" x2
"Despicable! They attacked us from behind, let's take them down!"
"Shameless! They called for backup. Everyone, follow me!"
Attacked, the two boys almost simultaneously stepped back a few paces, pointing at their opponents and shouting angrily.
This sudden turn of events left Hyuga Takashi, who had just come out to mediate, stunned. Looking at the two boys holding their heads and crying out in pain, he wasn't sure if they had set up an ambush or if someone else had attacked them.
Seeing their leaders injured and accusing the other side of an ambush, both groups roared and charged at each other.
(End of Chapter)