"Haha! Natsume Yō, stop struggling! You'll never be my match!"Uchiha Yūsuke laughed arrogantly, already turning his back as if the fight were over.
"Is that so? Yūsuke, don't flatter yourself too much."
Yō's cold voice cut through the air, freezing the crowd mid-breath. Heads snapped back toward the arena.
"Lion Combo!"
Yūsuke's eyes widened. A fist filled his vision, the pressure of the blow roaring against his skin. His Sharingan contracted into pinpricks.
Boom!
The strike landed true—but Yūsuke's body burst into smoke. From within the haze came his voice, sharp with killing intent.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A blazing sphere, the size of a fist, hurtled straight for Yō's face.
"Freeze."
Yō exhaled a single word, and the fireball… stopped. Suspended midair.
"Paralysis Jutsu? Impossible!"
The crowd erupted in disbelief. That was a D-rank technique—how could the academy's dead-last possibly wield it?
"My body… it won't move!"
Yūsuke's panic broke through his cool mask. His limbs felt shackled, every nerve locked in place.
"Lion Combo!"
Yō surged forward again, fists and feet a blur. Yūsuke could only watch as the blows rained down. Sweat beaded on Yō's brow—the jutsu's hold wasn't easy to maintain—but his strikes landed clean.
Crack!
A savage kick to the jaw snapped Yūsuke's head back, another slammed into his ribs. The sound of breaking bone echoed across the training field.
"Haah!"
Yō roared, leg cocked for a finishing blow that could leave Yūsuke in pieces.
"Enough, Natsume Yō!"
In a flash, the instructor appeared, dragging Yūsuke out of harm's way. His gaze bore down on Yō like a blade. "This match is over. We'll count it as your win."
The crowd exploded.
"What the—Yō actually beat Uchiha Yūsuke?!""And he didn't even look like he was going all out…""Was he just pretending to be useless all this time?"
Gasps, whispers, and sneers mixed together. Some were shocked, some jealous, others dismissive.
"I refuse to accept this!" Yūsuke snarled, clutching his side. "Fight me again! I won't lose to you, you worthless dropout!"
He was furious, desperate to claw back his pride.
Yō only smirked, words dripping with mockery."What's wrong? For an Uchiha, your pride's looking pretty fragile. Still, if you insist, I'll be more than happy to keep going."
But inside, his eyes sharpened. Damn it. No System notification yet. That means the mission isn't complete. I have to finish this fight.
"Die, damn you!"
Enraged, Yūsuke lunged once more—
Only for a cool, icy voice to ripple across the training ground from behind him:
"Yūsuke. A loss is still a loss. Are you planning to disgrace the Uchiha name further?"
Yūsuke froze mid-step, his blood turning to ice.