"Why are you so arrogant?!"
"I was just careless earlier!"
"Now you'll see the real me! Prepare to be crushed!"
Uchiha Sasuke staggered to his feet, battered and fuming. His eyes narrowed with humiliation and rage.
"And let me remind you one last time! Don't! Call! Me! Second! Pillar!"
Yoruha raised a brow.
"Alright… two pillars."
"You bastard!"
Sasuke let out a furious roar and charged toward Yoruha again.
But what welcomed him was yet another clean, devastating hand strike.
"No way!"
"This is impossible!"
"Why is this happening?!"
Sasuke stumbled back, panting heavily. He barely had enough energy to stay upright, let alone shout—but inside, his thoughts were screaming.
"I've sparred evenly with my brother in taijutsu! How can I be this weak against Yoruha?!"
His mind simply refused to accept reality. But what he didn't realize… was that all those so-called "even" matches with his brother were nothing more than Itachi going easy on him.
Yoruha shook his head in mild disappointment.
"Just give up, Sasuke. You're nowhere near my level. And honestly, I'm getting bored of beating you."
"Give up?"
That word felt like acid in Sasuke's ears.
He gritted his teeth, and his fists clenched at his sides.
"The Uchiha have always fought to the end! We die in battle—we don't surrender!" he shouted.
And then—
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Consumed by frustration, shame, and rage, Sasuke finally lost control. He ignored all warnings and crossed the line.
There was still a chance. He could turn the tables with this!
This was the legendary C-rank ninjutsu every ninja academy student dreamed of.
With a surge of chakra, Sasuke gathered energy into his lungs. Then—
Boom!
He released a flaming fireball nearly a meter wide, roaring toward Yoruha.
Though the fireball wasn't massive, its searing heat shocked everyone present.
The classmates gasped in awe.
"That's… Fire Style Ninjutsu!"
"The power! He's really going all in!"
"Yoruha might not survive this!"
Almost instinctively, Hinata and Ino rushed forward, panic written across their faces.
They wanted to protect Yoruha.
But did Yoruha ever need protecting?
Not a chance.
With a calm backhand motion, he drew the bamboo training sword from his waist.
Pure chakra surged through his arm—flowing instantly into the wooden blade.
In an instant, the weapon shimmered with energy, forming a faint but sharp blue chakra blade.
Buzz.
Yoruha swung.
One clean slash.
The bamboo sword vibrated violently and then shattered from the power. The force it unleashed whipped up a gust of cutting wind, slicing straight through Sasuke's fireball.
Flames burst into the air like petals, scattering harmlessly.
Yoruha's hair fluttered in the breeze, the red glow of the fire glinting off his eyes.
At that moment—every girl in class forgot how to breathe.
Even Iruka stood frozen.
"He… he cut through a Fireball Jutsu… with a bamboo training sword?"
"What kind of monstrous child is this?!"
A red haze danced before Sasuke's eyes. He wasn't awakening the Sharingan—but something far more intimidating was taking shape in his vision.
It was Yoruha.
Backlit by fire, hair tousled by the wind, chakra blade still glowing faintly.
He looked more like a demon god than a classmate.
Panic overtook Sasuke's instincts.
He threw his hands up to cover his face—
But Yoruha wasn't done.
With perfect timing, Yoruha grabbed Sasuke's wrist, twisted, and flung him into the air like a rag doll.
Then—
Wham!
Yoruha followed up with a spinning kick square to Sasuke's backside.
Whoosh!
Sasuke rocketed across the field, crashing straight into someone's arms.
"Huh?! Sasuke?! What the hell are you doing!?"
Naruto blinked, horrified as Sasuke tumbled into his chest.
Then both of them remembered the last time this exact situation had happened.
They recoiled in sync.
"Ugh!"
"Not again!!"
Naruto pushed Sasuke away in disgust.
And without another word, the two of them made identical gagging noises.