Tendo-kun turned around and saw an "old acquaintance."
The newcomer had iconic medium-length hair, a rather eye-catching silver-white, and was tall with long legs, only half a head shorter than Tendo-kun.
His eyes were always narrowed into slits with a smile, looking exceptionally kind and gentle.
An average person might be fooled by this layer of disguise,
but unfortunately, Tendo-kun was not one of them.
"Senior Mizuki!" Tendo-kun immediately flashed his signature, sunny, and flawless smile, greeting him with a clear voice.
The two indeed knew each other, and their history was quite deep.
Back when Tendo-kun had just graduated from school, he had been arranged to intern at the Ninja Academy for a while. At that time, he almost actually stayed to become a teacher, which would have made him formal colleagues with Iruka and Mizuki.
As it turned out, plans couldn't keep up with changes, and he ended up working at the Hokage Building under the strong recruitment of a female superior.
Thus, their fate as colleagues was shallow, and their relationship remained at the level of nodding acquaintances.
After Tendo-kun went to the Hokage Building, Mizuki continued his routine at the Ninja Academy. Occasionally, when Tendo-kun returned to the school on business, Mizuki's smile was always exceptionally warm.
Of course, Tendo-kun, who had long known Mizuki's true colors as a petty man, could always catch a hint of something off beneath that smile.
But in the adult world, one sees through things without calling them out. Since they hadn't openly clashed yet, Tendo-kun was happy to maintain the surface peace.
Except today, Senior Mizuki had taken the initiative to find him, specifically choosing this time near dusk when the training ground was almost empty... The little radar in Tendo-kun's heart began to beep incessantly.
Mizuki walked over at an unhurried pace, his gaze first lingering for two seconds on Tendo-kun's face, which he found excessively pleasing to the eye no matter how many times he saw it.
The golden light of the setting sun edged those handsome contours, and even the few strands of blond hair fluttering in the wind seemed exceptionally dazzling.
'Tch, pretty boy,' Mizuki sneered inwardly, a mix of jealousy and resentment gnawing at him like insects. 'Doesn't he just have a good face? Why does he get to go to the Hokage Building while I have to teach these brats at this crappy school? And Lady Inuzuka Akita too, does she only look at faces?'
Inuzuka Akita was Tendo-kun's female superior, who had appeared in a certain non-combustible masterpiece—Boruto era.
Despite the jealousy in his heart, the smile on Mizuki's face became even more cordial, even carrying a hint of seniorly concern: "Tendo-kun, still doing extra training? How diligent."
"Just moving around a bit," Tendo-kun replied with a chuckle, his eyes inconspicuously scanning Mizuki's entire body.
Hmm, muscle condition is average, Chakra fluctuations are mediocre, steps are floaty... It seems you've been neglecting your cultivation lately, Senior Mizuki.
Mizuki's gaze fell on Tendo-kun's hands.
Those hands were slender with distinct knuckles and smooth skin. Forget calluses; it was hard to find even a trace of roughness. They certainly didn't look like the hands of someone who practiced Taijutsu or hand signs year-round.
The repairs from the System had given Mizuki a false signal.
'As I thought, he's just for show.' Mizuki felt even more certain, and his desire to teach him a lesson grew like wild weeds.
He had long been annoyed by this smooth-sailing kid, especially after hearing that he seemed quite valued at the Hokage Building. The resentment of "an opportunity that should have been mine was stolen" grew even thicker.
Usually, Tendo-kun was surrounded by people, either Seniors or colleagues from the Hokage Building, making it hard for him to make a Move.
Today, he was finally alone. This empty training ground—wasn't it the perfect place for "guiding a junior" or "exchanging pointers"?
Even if he accidentally went a bit too far, he could just brush it off with, "I didn't expect you to be so... sigh, I was too serious, Tendo-kun."
Perfect.
"Practicing against the air alone is always a bit lacking," Mizuki's smile became somewhat meaningful, yet his tone was full of "goodwill." "Taijutsu requires an opponent to make progress. How about it, Tendo-kun? Let me, your Senior, accompany you for a few Moves? It'll also let me see if you've made any progress after entering the Hokage Building."
He deliberately emphasized the word "progress" slightly, a hint of hard-to-detect provocation in his eyes.
Tendo-kun blinked, almost bursting with joy inside. What was this called? Someone handing you a pillow when you want to sleep, or a fruit platter when you want candy!
He had just finished testing his surging Chakra, and the urge to Move his muscles had nowhere to go. This experience pack... no, this enthusiastic Senior had delivered himself right to the door!
"Really?" Tendo-kun's eyes lit up, his expression pure yet eager. "Then I'll trouble Senior Mizuki for some guidance!"
[Latest Mission: The Uchiha's Reputation]
[A mere coasting Chunin dares to bare his fangs at the noble Uchiha. Use absolute strength to wake this Senior up and make him understand the meaning of humility.]
[Mission Reward: Konoha Style Taijutsu]
Tendo-kun was delighted. The System was truly considerate; getting rewards for teaching someone a lesson—all the good things were being hogged by him alone.
"Senior Mizuki, please give me your guidance!" Tendo-kun said loudly, his Aura suddenly shifting.
The two walked to the center of the training ground and stood a few meters apart.
Mizuki originally wanted to put on a fake Senior act and say something polite like "you attack first," but seeing Tendo-kun's face looking even more spirited in the sunset and those suddenly serious eyes, a nameless fire surged up in his heart. He couldn't even be bothered to maintain his hypocritical politeness.
"Watch out!"
He let out a low shout and kicked off the ground, charging forward like an arrow from a bow. His speed wasn't slow; he was clearly using his full strength.
His fist was clenched tight, knuckles turning white, bringing a gust of wind as it aimed straight for Tendo-kun's face! It wasn't until his fist was almost touching his face that he seemed to remember and hurriedly added a warning.
In Mizuki's imagination, the next moment should have gone like this: Tendo-kun would hurriedly raise his hand to block, only to have his defense smashed open by a heavy punch. Then, he would take the hit squarely, falling to the ground with a scream and groaning in pain while clutching his face.
Mizuki would then calmly retract his fist, put on an expression that was slightly apologetic but actually full of superiority, and sigh: "Oh dear, Tendo-kun, it seems that handling paperwork in the Hokage Building has indeed caused you to neglect your Taijutsu training... You should come to the training ground more often in the future."
Just imagining this scene made Mizuki feel refreshed, and the smile on his face was almost uncontrollable.
However, the reality was—
Just 0.01 seconds before the fist was about to kiss his cheek, Tendo-kun, as if suddenly feeling an itch on his cheek, tilted his head to the left in an extremely natural and subtle way.
Whoosh!
The fist, carrying the sound of wind, brushed past those few unruly strands of blond hair on his forehead and hit nothing but air. The momentum of a full-strength strike missing and the psychological shock caused Mizuki's body to stumble forward involuntarily, his balance momentarily lost.
'Eh?' Mizuki's mind went blank for a moment. 'He... he dodged? It must be a coincidence!'
Before he could adjust his center of gravity and find his rhythm, Tendo-kun moved. He didn't explode with any incredible speed or use any flashy starting stance; he simply raised his right foot naturally, as if casually kicking away a small stone while taking a stroll.
His toes lightly and precisely slipped behind the ankle of Mizuki's supporting leg and then—gave a gentle hook.
The movement was gentle, but the effect was outstanding.
"Ouch—!"
Mizuki only felt a force at his ankle so clever that he was completely unable to resist. His world turned upside down, and with a "thud," he landed flat on his face in the sandy soil of the training ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The air was silent for a second.
"Senior?" Tendo-kun's voice came from above, filled with just the right amount of confusion and... concern?
"Are you okay? Was there something on the ground that tripped you? My fault, my fault. I should have warned you that this ground isn't very level."
Mizuki lay on the ground, his face buried in the dirt, ears ringing—half from the fall, half from the rush of blood from shame and anger. He suddenly pushed himself up, his face covered in dust, which he didn't even bother to wipe off. His eyes were a bit red as he glared at Tendo-kun: "You...!"
No matter how he looked at it, Tendo-kun's face, which was written all over with "innocence" and "concern," felt full of mockery at this moment!
"I was just careless!" Mizuki growled and sprang up. This time he didn't rashly charge straight ahead. Instead, he kept a bit of distance and began an offensive with a combination of punches and kicks while moving rapidly.
Straight punches, side kicks, elbow strikes, low sweeps... Although the Moves weren't original and the power and speed were average, he was a proper Chunin after all. A series of strikes like this was still quite formidable and had some Aura.
Unfortunately, he was facing Tendo-kun.
Even without activating the Sharingan, the moment Mizuki initiated a movement, the subtle tremors of his muscles, the tendency of his center of gravity to shift, and even the change in where his gaze landed were all presented clearly in Tendo-kun's perception like slow motion.
That was the near-instinctive combat insight brought by the Awakening of the Uchiha Bloodline and the overall improvement of his physical fitness.
Thus, the next scene, if viewed from a bystander's perspective, looked a bit comical.
Mizuki was aggressive, swinging both arms and kicking wildly.
Tendo-kun was calm and composed, swaying left and right, moving forward and backward.
Every time, it was by a hair's breadth. Mizuki's fist brushed past the tip of his nose, the wind from a kick swept over the corner of his clothes, and an elbow strike was about to hit his ribs, but he avoided it just by slightly pulling in his chest and stomach.
His evasion range was extremely small, yet his efficiency was extremely high, as if he had already predicted all of Mizuki's attack routes and made the most energy-saving reaction 0.1 seconds in advance.
From a distance, it didn't look like a fierce battle, but rather like one person desperately performing martial arts while the other strolled leisurely around him, yet somehow never getting hit.
"Whew... whew... ha..."
The high-intensity, high-frequency attacks that missed every time quickly consumed Mizuki's strength and patience.
A few minutes later, his movements had clearly slowed down. His breathing became heavy, sweat appeared on his forehead, and his punches and kicks lost their initial form, looking more like he was randomly waving his arms and legs, trying to touch Tendo-kun just once—just once would be enough!
Tendo-kun even had the leisure to kindly remind him after one of his punches missed: "Senior, your rhythm is a bit messy. Do you want to take a breather?"
To Mizuki's ears, these words were no different from adding fuel to the fire.
"Shut up!" Mizuki squeezed out two words from between his teeth. Squeezing out his last bit of strength and Chakra, he took a step forward, swung his right fist in a wide arc, and with an Aura of mutual destruction, smashed it hard towards Tendo-kun's chin! This strike had no technique; it was all emotion.
Tendo-kun finally sighed.
"Senior, it's easy to hurt yourself like this."
He no longer dodged. His right hand rose casually, striking after but arriving first. No charging up, no flashiness—just a simple, straightforward punch that met Mizuki's anger-filled strike.
The two fists did not collide.
Tendo-kun's fist, with a speed and precision that Mizuki completely couldn't comprehend, got there first and lightly "imprinted" itself onto his left cheek.
The contact felt a bit soft, but the force was not small.
Smack!
A muffled sound.
Mizuki's head snapped to the right. The immense force caused his body to spin at least 360 degrees on the spot. His feet left the ground and then landed as he stumbled back several steps, finally ending up sitting on his butt on the ground.
The world went quiet.
Mizuki sat there blankly. The left side of his face was numb at first, then a burning pain surged like a tide, rapidly spreading.
He opened his mouth, felt something foreign inside, and pushed it with his tongue.
Pui!
A few blood-streaked things, clearly fragments of teeth, were spat onto the sandy ground in front of him, gleaming a pale white in the sunset.
He was stunned and looked up at Tendo-kun.
Tendo-kun was retracting his fist, his face still carrying a bit of apology:
"Sorry, Senior, I didn't control my strength well. Look at this... I'll cover all the medical expenses. You should go to the hospital and get checked out properly; we wouldn't want any lasting issues."
His tone was sincere and his gaze clear. Anyone who saw this would think he was a sensible and responsible junior.
But as Mizuki looked at that face and those clear eyes, then reflected on that casual yet completely irresistible punch and those few broken teeth... a mixture of sharp pain, shame, fear, and the bitterness of total defeat suddenly rushed to his nose and eyes.
"Ugh..."
He let out a muffled, tearful whimper, suddenly covered his rapidly swelling left cheek with his hand, struggled to get up, and without looking at Tendo-kun again, turned and ran out of the training ground as fast as he could, stumbling as he went.
The setting sun stretched his pathetic, fleeing figure very long. One could vaguely see a few crystalline splashes—it was unclear if they were tears of pain or saliva from a mouth that couldn't close.
Tendo-kun watched the figure quickly disappear from his vision and scratched his head.
"Senior Mizuki... runs really fast. I wanted to ask if he needed me to help him to the hospital."
[Mission Complete: Reward 'Konoha Style Taijutsu' has been issued. Please claim it in time.]
Tendo-kun clicked to claim.
A massive and orderly flow of information instantly poured into Tendo-kun's mind.
It wasn't just simple Moves and actions, but included the precise way to exert force for every basic Move, muscle coordination points, practical variations in different situations, disassembly ideas for dealing with various Taijutsu styles, and even some combat experiences and clever applications from past Konoha Taijutsu masters.
In an instant, Tendo-kun felt that the Taijutsu he had learned and practiced in the past was simply as crude as children fighting.
Many things that had felt awkward or where the force didn't flow smoothly before were now suddenly clear. His body also seemed to faintly remember these more efficient and precise movement patterns.
He casually struck a few basic stances, threw a punch, and kicked. His movements were smooth and natural, the power contained but not revealed, yet faintly showing a sense of being well-rounded and effortless. Compared to before, he was like a completely different person.
"This System really gives the real deal." Tendo-kun nodded with satisfaction, feeling the surging, more powerful sense of strength and control in his body.
He looked again in the direction Mizuki had disappeared. The sunset was just right, and the breeze was not dry.
"Senior Mizuki," he said in a low voice, sincerely and full of gratitude, "you really are a great person. I'll remember this'sparring' friendship."
If there's another chance to "exchange pointers" next time, he would definitely... well, try to control himself a bit more gently.
Tendo-kun brushed off non-existent dust from his body, hummed a tuneless little song, and walked towards home in a pleasant mood.
The training ground returned to silence, with only those few dusty broken teeth on the ground silently recording everything that had just happened.