I Challenge You!

"King of Show-offs, I challenge you!"

Renye stood in front of Yuki Hyuga and shouted loudly.

The surrounding students turned their eyes toward the two of them and began watching the drama.

"Renye, what's going on?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked curiously.

He had no idea what had happened yesterday.

As far as he knew, Renye and Yuki Hyuga usually had no interaction at all...

One never spoke during class, while the other loved sleeping through it.

The two had nothing in common, yet they had somehow clashed. He simply could not understand it.

Danzō Shimura looked rather pleased by their misfortune. "They'd better fight."

He had long found both of them unpleasant and would have loved to see them beat each other to a pulp.

Motoya Nara, the only one who knew the truth, said nothing and merely watched from the side.

He had already guessed that Renye would do this today.

In truth, he was also curious about who was stronger.

"What did you call me?" Yuki Hyuga looked bewildered.

He did not understand what "King of Show-offs" meant.

Renye had no intention of explaining. In a furious voice, he said,

"Come outside and fight me one-on-one! I'll beat the crap out of you!"

Just thinking about that smug look on this guy's face made him furious!

Did he really think he was that strong?

Every time Renye closed his eyes last night, those words had echoed in his ears. The more he thought about them, the angrier he became.

So early that morning,

Renye had sought out Yuki Hyuga, wanting to compete with him and regain his dignity.

"Sorry, I don't have time." Yuki Hyuga lowered his head and continued reading.

Renye's expression became uglier than if he had eaten shit.

Damn it, he put on an act and then ran away.

Yuki Hyuga's reaction made Renye feel as though he had punched cotton.

The other boy simply had no intention of fighting him.

That felt even worse than losing...

After all, if Renye did not win, he could not regain his dignity.

Meanwhile, Yuki Hyuga could still keep acting like the King of Show-offs.

"Bastard, how can you do this?" Renye nearly fainted from rage.

"Uchiha Renye, I'm reading. Please be quiet," Yuki Hyuga said calmly.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Renye's face turned red like a pig's head. "One day, you'll regret this!"

There was still plenty of time. He refused to believe they would never have a chance to fight!

Just then, someone with his face wrapped entirely in bandages entered the classroom.

The moment he saw Renye, he shouted, "Uchiha Renye, I challenge you!"

This person was Reppu Uchiha, whom Renye had bagged and beaten up some time ago.

His father had told him that there was an eighty percent chance Uchiha Renye had done it. They just had no evidence, so the matter had been dropped.

That made him furious. Uchiha Renye, that bastard.

He had only insulted him a few times, hadn't he?

Yet Renye had actually launched a sneak attack without any sense of honor!

Reppu Uchiha swore that he would make the other boy pay.

As soon as his injuries had mostly healed, he rushed to the academy, eager to take revenge on Renye!

"Who are you?" Renye looked utterly confused.

Who was this guy, and why was he challenging him?

Reppu Uchiha's face beneath the bandages was covered in black lines.

This bastard had beaten him up so badly, and now he was pretending not to recognize him!

To be fair, Renye could not really be blamed. Reppu Uchiha was wrapped up like a rice dumpling. It would have been strange if Renye recognized him.

"Bastard, I'm Reppu Uchiha!" Reppu Uchiha roared. "Don't think I don't know it was you who beat me up!"

Hearing that, Renye felt a little awkward.

So this guy was Reppu Uchiha...

"Hey, hey, hey, Reppu. We have no grudge against each other. Please don't slander me. Everything needs evidence," Renye said righteously.

Reppu Uchiha trembled with rage, his teeth grinding audibly as he wished he could punch Renye in the face.

This bastard!!!

"Uchiha Renye, I challenge you!"

"Sorry, Reppu. I don't have time." Renye picked up the book on Yuki Hyuga's desk and began reading it.

Veins bulged on Reppu Uchiha's forehead. "Bastard, you're holding the book upside down!"

His fists clenched.

His fists had really clenched!

He could see it now. Uchiha Renye simply did not dare fight him, so he was making excuses.

Thinking of that, Reppu Uchiha sneered. "Uchiha Renye, are you scared?"

As he spoke, he tried to find fear on Renye's face.

Renye remained calm, as though he had not taken those words to heart at all.

Reppu Uchiha sneered at the sight.

He thought Renye was merely pretending to be calm when he was actually about to piss himself in fear.

"As long as you kneel and apologize to me, we'll consider this matter settled."

Without even raising his head, Renye said calmly, "Reppu, please be quiet. I'm reading."

"Arghhh!" Reppu Uchiha completely broke down.

How could this guy be so infuriating?!

If private fights had not been forbidden at the Ninja Academy, he would have taught Renye a lesson already.

Seeing Reppu's breakdown, Renye felt refreshed all over.

His previously foul mood instantly improved.

So being the King of Show-offs felt this good!

Yuki Hyuga wore a strange expression, feeling that Renye was saying his lines.

"Yuki, thank you!" Renye said sincerely.

He suddenly realized that acting like the King of Show-offs to disgust people... was actually quite enjoyable.

From then on, Renye went further and further down the path of annoying others...

Yuki Hyuga: "..."

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

During that year, Renye finally got his wish and fought Yuki Hyuga.

Relying on the advantage of his Byakugan, Yuki Hyuga narrowly defeated Renye.

Reppu Uchiha took great pleasure in his misfortune.

Renye was already unhappy about losing, and then Reppu mocked him.

So, in his fury, he gave Reppu Uchiha a brutal beating.

"If I can't beat Yuki Hyuga, can't I beat you?"

It was worth mentioning that the academy realized these children would become shinobi in the future and go to the battlefield to kill enemies. They were not flowers raised in a greenhouse.

So, the Ninja Academy changed its rules.

Students were allowed to fight privately, as long as they did not use damaging ninjutsu.

The academy's teachers even tacitly approved of certain bullying behaviors...

The Shinobi World had always been a world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Rather than being killed while carrying out missions, it was better to be bullied by their own people, have their resolve shattered, and choose to drop out.

That way, they could still live out their lives safely as ordinary people.

The students of Class A disdained bullying the weak.

But something absurd happened.

Students from other classes often came to cause trouble for Class A's students.

Especially those ranked near the top of the academy, such as Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kagami Uchiha, and Yuki Hyuga.

Almost every day, some fool would come over to provoke them.

Renye knew quite a bit about poor students bullying excellent students.

Itachi Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha... they had also been bullied by poor students quite a lot during their school years.

Perhaps it was the weak ones' jealousy toward the strong?

But without exception, those attempts at bullying were defused. Sometimes, the bullies failed to show off and were beaten up instead.

As for why no one came looking for Renye?

That had to do with his terrible academic classes...

The academy ranked students according to their overall grades.

Renye could only rank around the middle of his class.

Students from other classes either targeted those near the top or those near the bottom.

Almost no one bothered looking for Renye, who ranked in the middle...