After-School Showdowns

At the gates of the Ninja Academy, Hyuga Hiashi slowly approached from the end of the street, holding Hinata's little hand.

"Yo! Hiashi!"

Hearing someone call out, Hinata and Hyuga Hiashi turned their heads together. It was Fugaku Uchiha and Sasuke, the father and son pair.

Huh? Shouldn't Itachi have been the one bringing Sasuke to school? Why was it Fugaku instead?

Hinata scratched her head. Six years had passed, and she had nearly forgotten the plot of Naruto.

"It's you."

Hyuga Hiashi gave a calm greeting.

At Hiashi and Fugaku's level, they naturally would not become hostile simply because one was from the Uchiha clan and the other from the Hyuga Clan.

The younger members of their clans were hot-blooded, but Hiashi and Fugaku had long since matured. Other than strength, the only thing they cared about was profit.

People always became more complicated as they grew older.

Glancing at Hinata, Fugaku Uchiha said calmly, "This is Hinata, then?"

Sasuke secretly glanced at Hinata before giving a soft snort and turning his head away.

Hinata naturally could not be bothered with Sasuke in his chuunibyou phase. This boy was both chuunibyou and tsundere; aside from Naruto, probably no one could cure him.

Hyuga Hiashi nodded and lowered his gaze to Hinata, his expression somewhat complicated.

Hyuga Hiashi believed Hinata's talent was no less than Itachi Uchiha's, but the Uchiha clan's Sharingan...

Although no one from the Uchiha clan had awakened the Mangekyo in decades since Madara Uchiha, with Itachi Uchiha's talent, it was not impossible.

After all, Itachi had already entered the Anbu.

The Konoha Military Police Force's position had not only made the Uchiha clan increasingly arrogant, but had also restricted them from going out on missions.

Without battles between life and death, without witnessing their friends die firsthand, it was naturally difficult for the Uchiha clan to awaken the Mangekyo.

Though the Uchiha clan had many members now, there were actually very few true powerhouses among them.

Neither Hiashi nor Fugaku was particularly talkative. After a brief greeting, they took Hinata and Sasuke to register at the academy.

The registration went smoothly. It was just a simple test, and Hinata naturally passed with ease.

After the classes were assigned, Hinata went to report to her classroom while Hyuga Hiashi headed home.

Entering the classroom, Hinata looked around. Most of the students were seated in the back, while the seats in the front were nearly empty.

Hinata was determined to become a top student, so naturally, she had to sit in the very front.

"Those are Byakugan!"

"I heard she's the young lady of the Hyuga Clan!"

"She's so cute!"

Hearing the chatter behind her, Hinata suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Being praised did feel nice, of course!

But she might have been happier if they had not worn those lecherous expressions.

Before long, everyone in the class had arrived. Hinata was slightly surprised. Weren't the Konoha 11 supposed to be in the same class?

Counting the students in the room, neither Naruto nor Sakura was there.

After thinking it over, Hinata roughly understood.

Everyone had different foundations before entering school, so naturally, they could not all be placed in the same class at the start.

Clan-born ninja like Hinata already had the basics of being a ninja before entering the academy.

But what about Naruto and Sakura?

Sakura had at least received some basic education before enrolling, but Naruto probably could not even read!

Even if children in the Ninja World generally matured early, at six years old, children in her previous life had not even started elementary school yet.

On top of that, the Ninja World did not place enough importance on cultural education. Ninja born into commoner families naturally had to begin by learning to read.

Sure enough, she and Naruto were fated to have no connection in this life.

There was not much to do on the first day. After simple introductions, they received their textbooks and listened to the teacher ramble for a while before school officially ended.

Hinata had just slung on her little backpack and was about to head home when a childish voice sounded behind her. "Hyuga Hinata, are you interested in having a match before school officially begins?"

Someone was challenging her?

Hinata suppressed the excitement in her heart and turned around.

As expected, the challenger was Sasuke, the chuunibyou boy.

As descendants of the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha clan, and both children of clan heads, Sasuke at this stage paid quite a bit of attention to Hinata.

After all, Hinata's reputation was different now.

Thanks to the Hyuga Clan's vigorous promotion, Hinata had already become the "Hyuga Clan's genius young lady."

What annoyed Sasuke even more was that his father, Fugaku Uchiha, had personally praised Hinata before.

The current Sasuke was not yet the cold, pretentious chuunibyou protagonist he would become later. Right now, he was merely a little boy who wanted a word of praise from his father.

His overly outstanding older brother, Itachi Uchiha, had placed far too much pressure on him.

He desperately wanted his father's recognition, even if it was only a single sentence.

"Fine."

Hinata nodded her little head, looking as though she were reluctantly agreeing to indulge him.

Sasuke found Hinata extremely displeasing. Their clans had always stood opposed to one another, and he wanted to prove which of them was better.

Sasuke set down his backpack and took up an attacking stance. Seeing that Hinata did not move at all, he asked in confusion, "Why aren't you putting down your backpack?"

Hinata waved her little hand. "It'll get dirty if I put it on the ground, and I'll have to put it back on later anyway. That's a hassle. It's fine! Just come at me!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. Hinata's attitude clearly showed that she looked down on him.

"Looks like someone's about to fight over there!"

"It's an Uchiha and a Hyuga!"

"Go tell the teacher!"

"Sasuke is so handsome!"

The fighting atmosphere between Hinata and Sasuke quickly drew everyone's attention.

The upper grades had not been dismissed yet, so all those gathering around were first-year freshmen.

Hinata watched a whole crowd of lovestruck girls frantically praise Sasuke, yet not a single one was willing to compliment her.

So annoying!

Now she had another reason to beat Sasuke up.

Six-year-old Sasuke only knew the simple Three Jutsu. He formed hand seals while running, creating two clones that charged at Hinata.

Although she had not yet awakened the Byakugan, a Clone Technique of this level could not fool Hinata.

This was probably the advantage of a dojutsu clan!

When Sasuke drew close, Hinata shifted her feet slightly and stopped his charge. She raised her left arm, using her elbow to block Sasuke's little fist, while also holding her left hand before his eyes to obstruct his vision.

Before Sasuke could change moves, Hinata lightly struck his abdomen with her right palm. Sasuke's body immediately froze in place.

"Ugh..."

Clutching his stomach in pain, Sasuke staggered back several steps. He forced himself not to fall, and there was even a hint of grievance in his gaze toward Hinata.

Last night's dinner almost came back up... Good thing I swallowed it back down, or I would've embarrassed myself in front of everyone.

Hmph!

He had not learned any ninjutsu and had not awakened his Sharingan, yet he wanted to compete with a member of the Hyuga Clan in taijutsu? Wasn't he asking for a beating?

Though Sasuke was also known as a genius, his performance in his youth was still far inferior to people like Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi.

"I'm going home. Bye-bye! See you tomorrow!"

Hinata waved her little hand, then turned and left without looking back.

Beating up little Sasuke was simply too satisfying.