I Want to Challenge You!

Ninja Academy.

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

Renye stood before Yuki Hyuga and shouted loudly.

The classmates around them heard this and turned their gazes to the two, ready to watch the drama.

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

He had no idea what happened yesterday.

In his view, Renye and Yuki Hyuga normally had no interactions...

One didn't talk in class, the other loved sleeping in class.

Two people who had nothing to do with each other suddenly clashing—it baffled him.

Danzō Shimura looked a bit gleeful: "Hope they fight."

He'd long been annoyed by those two and wished they'd beat each other to a pulp.

The only one who knew the truth, Motoya Nara, said nothing, just watched silently from the side.

He'd guessed Renye would do this today.

Actually, he was pretty curious too—who was stronger?

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

He didn't understand the term "King of Show-offs."

Renye had no intention of explaining and snapped angrily:

"Come out and fight me one-on-one! I'll crush you!"

Just thinking about that guy's smug attitude pissed him off!

Did he really think he was that strong?

Last night, the moment he closed his eyes, those words kept echoing in his ears, making him angrier the more he thought about it.

So, early in the morning.

Renye found Yuki Hyuga, wanting to settle the score and reclaim his pride.

"Sorry, I don't have time." Yuki Hyuga looked down at his book.

Seeing this, Renye's face looked worse than if he'd eaten shit.

Damn it, he acts all cool and then bails.

Yuki Hyuga's reaction felt like Renye punching cotton.

The guy flat-out refused to fight him.

That hurt more than losing...

Because Renye hadn't won, he couldn't get his pride back.

And Yuki Hyuga could still keep up that King of Show-offs act.

"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 beet red. "One day, you'll regret this!"

The days were long—he didn't believe they'd never cross paths!

Just then, a person with bandages wrapped around his face walked into the classroom.

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

This was Reppu Uchiha, the one Renye had bagged and beaten a while back.

His father told him this was probably Renye's doing, but without evidence, it was dropped.

That made him furious—that bastard Uchiha Renye.

All he did was badmouth him a few times!

And the guy had no honor, launching a sneak attack!

Reppu Uchiha swore he'd make Renye pay.

Once his injuries healed enough, he couldn't wait to come to school and get revenge!

"Who are you?" Renye asked, totally confused.

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

Reppu Uchiha's face under the bandages was full of black lines.

That bastard beat him up that badly and now pretended not to know him!

Actually, Renye couldn't be blamed—Reppu was wrapped up like a dumpling; it'd be a miracle if Renye recognized him.

"Bastard, I'm Reppu Uchiha!" Reppu Uchiha roared. "Don't think I don't know—you're the one who beat me!"

Upon hearing this, Renye felt a bit awkward.

So this guy was Reppu Uchiha after all...

"Hey hey hey, Reppu. We have no grudge between us, so please don't sling mud at me. Everything needs evidence," Renye said righteously.

Reppu Uchiha trembled with rage, his teeth grinding audibly, itching to punch Renye in the face.

This bastard!!!

"Uchiha Renye, I challenge you!"

"Sorry, Reppu, I don't have time." Renye picked up a book from Yuki Hyuga's desk and started reading.

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

He clenched.

His fist clenched!

He finally got it—Uchiha Renye was just afraid to fight him and was making excuses.

Thinking this, Reppu Uchiha sneered, "Uchiha Renye, are you scared?"

With that, he tried to see fear on Renye's face.

Renye's expression was calm, as if he hadn't taken his words to heart.

Seeing this, Reppu Uchiha couldn't help but sneer.

He thought Renye was putting on a brave face, probably about to piss himself.

"Just kneel and apologize to me, and this matter is over."

Renye didn't even look up, saying flatly, "Reppu, please keep quiet. I'm reading."

"Aaaagh!" Reppu Uchiha completely lost it.

How could this guy be so infuriating!

If it weren't for the Ninja Academy's ban on private fights, he would have taught Renye a lesson long ago.

Watching Reppu's breakdown, Renye felt a wave of relief.

His earlier bad mood was now much better.

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

Yuki Hyuga looked baffled, feeling like Renye was stealing his lines.

"Yuki, thank you!" Renye said sincerely.

He suddenly realized that being the King of Show-offs and annoying people... was actually a pretty great thing.

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

Yuki Hyuga: "..."

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

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

Yuki Hyuga narrowly won against Renye, relying on his Byakugan's advantage.

Reppu Uchiha gloated over this.

Renye was already upset about losing, and being mocked by Reppu only made it worse.

So, in his anger, he beat Reppu Uchiha to a pulp.

"Can't beat Yuki Hyuga, but I can still take you down, right?"

Notably, the school realized that these children would one day become shinobi heading to the battlefield to kill enemies, not hothouse flowers.

So, they revised the Ninja Academy's rules.

Students could fight privately, just not with lethal jutsu.

The school's teachers even tacitly allowed some bullying...

The shinobi world was a place where the strong preyed on the weak.

Better to be bullied by your own people and have your resolve shattered, leading to dropping out, than to be killed on a mission outside.

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

Class A students disdained to bully the weak.

But the tables turned.

Students from other classes frequently came to pick fights with Class A students.

Especially the top-ranked students in the school, like Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kagami Uchiha, and Yuki Hyuga.

Almost every day, some clueless idiot would come to provoke them.

Renye knew quite a bit about underachievers bullying honor students.

Like Itachi Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha... they were no strangers to bullying from the lower-ranked students during their school days.

Perhaps it was the weak lashing out from envy of the strong?

But every single instance of bullying was effortlessly defused—or worse, the bullies ended up getting beaten black and blue instead of showing off.

As for why no one ever came after Renye?

That had to do with his abysmal academic performance...

School rankings were based on students' overall grades.

Renye could only place somewhere in the middle of the class.

And students from other classes either went after the top few or the bottom few.

Almost no one bothered to target Renye, who sat squarely in the middle...