Everyone was already used to Naruto Uzumaki's goofy antics by now. No one batted an eye at his weird behavior anymore.
But Sasuke Uchiha, standing off to the side, raised an eyebrow…
Damn it!
Was this so-called fried chicken seriously more appealing than him?!
Absolutely unforgivable!
Was all that fiery passion of his really outshined by some stupid fried chicken leg?!
Just as Naruto's little finger-puppets on the table were about to grab the chicken leg, a hand suddenly swooped in, and the chicken leg vanished into thin air…
Naruto froze, stunned. His chicken leg?! Where'd it go?! Where's my damn chicken leg?!
The weird tune he'd been humming at the corner of his mouth slowly died down…
"It's gonna explode… it's melting… melting… WHERE'S MY CHICKEN LEG?!"
In an instant, Naruto locked onto the culprit who'd stolen his prize. Who else but that smug jerk, Sasuke?!
"You damn smug Sasuke! Why'd you steal my chicken leg?!"
Sasuke, with his nose practically pointed at the sky, took a big, defiant bite of the chicken leg. Chewing loudly, he mimicked Naruto's odd tone in a muffled voice, "Idiot Naruto! This chicken's pretty damn good, baby!"
"Arghhh! SASUKE!"
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
Finally! That idiot Naruto's calling my name! He laughed inwardly, triumphant.
And so…
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
"…"
Lunch went on in this bizarre atmosphere, with everyone just eating through the weirdness.
When Iruka-sensei returned to the classroom, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Why were Naruto and Sasuke glaring daggers at each other like that?
Had those two gotten into a fight or something?
What a headache…
"Alright, class," Iruka said, clapping his hands. "This afternoon, we're doing practical combat training. You've all done this plenty of times, so you know the rules. Let's head to Training Ground 3."
At the training ground, Iruka held a roster for the class matchups, while the students eagerly prepared themselves.
"Takao Kato vs. Sora Aoi!"
The two students stepped forward when their names were called. After a heated spar, Sora Aoi narrowly defeated Takao Kato.
"Second Platoon Cannon vs. Yamamoto Sennin!"
…
Meanwhile, in the summoning space, Madara Uchiha had been mildly curious about the ninja sparring exercises. But after a quick glance, he lost interest. These kids were just too weak…
Hirofumi Ito, equally unimpressed by what he saw as childish ninja play, gathered his chakra and appeared in the summoning space.
"Madara! Haven't you checked out the ninja academy sparring matches?"
Madara was lounging leisurely on a rocking chair. "Child's play… This is what they call sparring? Man, ninjas these days are pathetic! Back in my day, when I was their age, I wielded the Uchiha war fan in one hand and an Uchiha scythe in the other! I cut my way from the Uchiha clan straight to the Senju, slaughtering left and right! And you know what? *I didn't even blink!*"
"So… your eyes didn't get dry?"
"What the—?! I'm saying I killed without hesitation, and you're asking if my eyes got dry?!"
Hirofumi nodded innocently. "Yeah, I was just curious. I mean, the Uchiha and Senju clans were pretty far apart, right? Hacking your way that far… didn't your eyes ever feel dry?"
"Tch! My eyes are Sharingan! I could go a whole day without blinking, no problem!"
"Oh, wow… so the Sharingan has that kind of power too? That's pretty cool!"
For some reason, Madara always felt like Hirofumi got under his skin way too easily. This annoying kid was somehow worse than that goofy Hashirama Senju! Madara was trying to brag about his strength, and this guy turned it into a conversation about dry eyes?!
After a bit more banter, Hirofumi left the summoning space. He still had a spar to get to.
As expected, the final two standing in the class matches were Sasuke Uchiha and Hirofumi Ito. No one was surprised—those two had always been the top two in class.
Sasuke stared at Hirofumi, his eyes burning with competitive spirit. Ever since Hirofumi had mysteriously vanished and reappeared in class, Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that something about him had changed. It was a strange vibe he'd never noticed before.
After forming the Seal of Confrontation, Sasuke didn't hold back. He charged straight at Hirofumi. Like always, he leaped into the air, aiming a flying kick at his opponent.
In the past, Hirofumi would've struggled to block this move. But this time, to Sasuke's shock, Hirofumi casually raised an arm and effortlessly deflected the kick!
Thud!
The two broke apart after the clash.
Damn it! Sasuke thought. This guy's strength and reaction speed have gotten way better!
"You've really stepped up your game, Hirofumi!" Sasuke called out.
Hirofumi was just as surprised. He knew he'd gotten stronger, but he didn't realize how much stronger. Blocking Sasuke's attack so easily? That was new. In past training sessions, Sasuke's attacks had always been tough to handle.
"You're not bad yourself! You're hitting way harder than before!" Hirofumi shot back.
"Hmph! Let's go again!"
"Bring it!"
The two traded blows, punch for punch, kick for kick. The surrounding students and Iruka-sensei watched, jaws dropped in amazement.
Iruka, in particular, was stunned by Hirofumi's progress. "Those two… they're probably already at the level of a Genin, aren't they? Sasuke's been getting stronger, but I never expected Hirofumi to improve this fast. These kids are going to be incredible ninjas someday!"
Meanwhile, Hirofumi had only one thought in his mind: Sasuke's fighting style is so… immature!
read finish work inpat***
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