Seeing Kurenai's barely contained excitement, he didn't press her any further.
He turned away with a long sigh.
"Next time, come back earlier."
"Yes, Father!"
Humming a little tune, Kurenai headed straight for the kitchen.
"Kurenai, that's the kitchen. Your dinner's already on the table."
"I know, Father! I just want to use the kitchen for a bit—I'm going to make braised pork ribs!"
At the mention of braised pork ribs, his expression darkened.
For the past few days, that dish had almost become his personal nightmare.
She'd made it over twenty times, and he had been her taste tester for all of them—from the first attempts that looked like charcoal to the current, passable version.
If Kurenai had finally gotten the hang of it, he deserved much of the credit.
"There's already plenty to eat. If you must make ribs, just make a small portion—I can't eat much more of it."
He glanced at the dishes on the table and reminded her anyway.
"Don't worry, Father. This batch is for me to bring to school tomorrow."
Bring it to school?
So after all these days of being her test subject, now that she can make it properly, I don't even get a single piece? I've failed as a father.
His face turned stormy as he thought of Ryosuke, the boy who had walked her home earlier.
"Alright, you little brat…
This has to be your doing!"
The next day, at the ninja academy training field—
"Did you hear? Uchiha En is going to challenge Ryosuke today! He even swore he'd send him to the hospital to pay him back for that kick last time!"
"Shh! Keep it down! Yesterday, he came to school and took on the entire top ten of the ranking matches in our grade.
People who saw it said he's awakened the Sharingan—he's a completely different person now.
Some of the teachers even claim he's almost at their level. With him challenging Ryosuke today, Ryosuke might be in trouble."
"That crazy? He beat all of the top ten?
If he's close to teacher level, that's basically chūnin-tier strength!
No wonder they call the Sharingan broken—it's terrifying once it's awakened. Ryosuke's done for, isn't he?"
"Well, the Sharingan is strong, but I've heard Ryosuke has been training under the legendary Lady Tsunade lately. It's not so clear who'll win."
"You just said En beat the top ten. So today's match could decide who's number one in the entire year?"
"…"
A group of students chattered excitedly on the sidelines.
This ranking exam had suddenly turned into a must-see event.
In just thirty minutes, nearly a hundred people had gathered around the field.
Who would've thought the guy Ryosuke had kicked into a trash can not long ago would now transform into a contender for the top spot in their year?
Truly, man's plans couldn't keep up with the Sharingan's.
When Ryosuke arrived, even the chūnin instructor keeping order glanced over.
En's performance yesterday had caused quite a stir—he had challenged every single one of the top ten ranked students.
When he'd gone looking for Ryosuke, Ryosuke had already left school, so the challenge was postponed.
En had announced he'd face him today—Sharingan awakened, promising to "teach him a lesson."
And now Ryosuke had actually shown up.
No one could tell if he was just stubborn… or if he truly had the strength to back it up.
"Ryosuke!"
A familiar voice called out.
He turned to see Obito and Rin walking over.
"Maybe you should just forfeit," Obito said bluntly.
His words were harsh, but his concern was genuine—among the Uchiha, the gap between someone without the Sharingan and someone with it was huge.
"I just want to give it a try."
Ryosuke's gaze stayed calm, as if this were nothing special.
In the ranking matches, besides the regular randomly assigned sparring, students could also issue direct challenges.
Everyone had a rank, and results from both random matches and challenges would be recorded to update standings.
"Ryosuke," Rin's soft voice called to him.
"Don't push yourself."
He nodded.
Looking around, he saw Obito, Rin, and even his desk mate Shizune all wearing the same worried expression.
"Relax—it's just a sparring match, not a battlefield."
Ryosuke spread his hands helplessly.
Kurenai, on the other hand, stood calmly as always.
But when she caught his gaze and smiled, the whitened knuckles gripping her bag betrayed her unease.
"Uchiha Ryosuke! Do you dare face me?!"
A hoarse voice rang out.
"It's him—Uchiha En!"
"Huh? His eyes—! The Sharingan! He really awakened it!!"
"The pressure coming off him is intense… The Sharingan really is the strongest bloodline in the shinobi world.
No wonder he managed to challenge the top ten all at once yesterday!"
The students' cries of surprise filled the air.
En looked far more imposing than before—black hair, one single tomoe in both eyes, the sight of which had the crowd staring in awe.
Ryosuke met the gloomy, arrogant gaze and nodded.
"Challenge accepted. Both sides, form the seal of confrontation."
The waiting chūnin instructor instantly flickered between them.
En's eyes turned cold, and he strode forward with a snort.
Ryosuke approached at an unhurried pace, as if he didn't care.
"So, even after I awakened the Sharingan, you still won't take me seriously?" En snarled, veins bulging.
"I was worried you'd back out, but you actually showed up.
For that, I might go easy on you."
"Today, I'm going to beat you into the ground!"
Ryosuke began forming hand seals, and En's glare darkened further.
"Uchiha En, form the seal!" the chūnin instructor barked.
Reluctantly, En stepped forward to complete the seal with Ryosuke.
"Begin!"
The moment the instructor's voice fell, Uchiha En lunged straight into the attack—
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]