Uchiha Homura's Challenge

"Hey, Soji, let's skip class today."

Soji was pulled out of his memories by those words.

"Oh? Then let's go. Minato, want to come too?" Seeing the unusual calmness in Uchiha Homura's eyes today, Soji was curious.

He had not planned on skipping class today, but his interest had been piqued. At the same time, he did not forget to try and rope Minato Namikaze into it.

"Today? Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei has already arranged a training plan for me. Another day." Minato smiled as he refused Soji's invitation.

"What about you guys? Want to come?" Soji did not force the issue and instead turned to ask the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

"Not today. The three of us need to take leave and head home later. The elders have something for us to do." Inoichi Yamanaka answered on behalf of the other two.

"Alright then, see you."

After saying that, Soji and Uchiha Homura left the classroom. Not long afterward, the two returned at the same time and quietly sat in their respective seats.

The two who returned were no longer their real bodies, but Shadow Clones.

As long as they did not take any major hits, the Shadow Clones could last until school let out without any problem.

Soji and Uchiha Homura left the school and made their way to the place where the group usually trained together.

The area bore all kinds of traces from training. This was after they had cleaned it up regularly, too.

"So, Homura, you can tell me what's going on now, right?" From Uchiha Homura's strange behavior today, Soji had long since determined that something was up with him.

So he had no intention of playing guessing games and asked directly.

Uchiha Homura, who had been walking ahead, suddenly turned around and stared seriously at Soji for no less than five minutes.

The stare made Soji's skin crawl. Just as he was about to ask again, Uchiha Homura finally spoke.

"Hyuga Soji, today I formally challenge you." Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Homura seemed to have finally made up his mind and seriously voiced the words he had kept buried in his heart for a long time.

He had wanted to say it outright ever since they had first enrolled.

At first, he had planned to gather some information before challenging Soji.

Later, after the first Training Class at school, he decided he would wait until the next training session, when he surpassed Soji, before challenging him.

After that, he had thought of inviting him to battle a year later.

Then this year came, and he thought of challenging him next year instead.

Uchiha Homura feared that he would lose more and more confidence. If he kept dragging it out, he might not even find an opportunity to challenge Soji by the time they graduated from the Ninja Academy.

As a proud member of the Uchiha Clan, while he was not the most gifted in the clan, he still belonged among the very best.

After enduring until today, he no longer wanted to keep finding excuses to endure. Even if he lost this challenge, he did not want to regret it.

"Uchiha Homura, are you serious?" Hearing the challenge, Soji was deeply surprised.

If, when they had first enrolled, Soji had still considered Uchiha Homura an evenly matched opponent—

Then, after his strength had rapidly increased and he could easily defeat the other during their usual training, Soji had stopped taking his strength seriously.

He did not think much of an Uchiha Clan member who had not awakened the Sharingan.

As far as Soji was concerned, the only opponent he valued now was Minato Namikaze!

"Yes. I hope you'll accept my challenge."

Seeing that Uchiha Homura did not appear to be joking, Soji nodded.

The two then put some distance between themselves and formed an Opposing Seal toward each other. This was also the greatest difference between a challenge and ordinary training.

"Homura, let me see the courage that gave you the nerve to challenge me." Soji placed one hand behind his back and beckoned Uchiha Homura forward with the other.

Uchiha Homura said nothing. Though Soji's attitude of not even activating his Byakugan made him somewhat angry, he knew the other had the right to act that way.

He lowered his body, charged forward, and flicked two Shuriken from his hands. Uchiha Homura's movements flowed in one smooth sequence.

Soji stepped forward and turned sideways. One Shuriken flew past his chest.

A sharp gust swept toward Soji's ear. He tilted his head, perfectly dodging the other Shuriken as well.

But Uchiha Homura had already rushed in front of him, raising the Kunai in his hand and stabbing toward Soji's abdomen.

However, a pale hand caught Uchiha Homura by the wrist.

"You're too slow," Soji said flatly.

"Damn it!" The calm tone sounded full of mockery to Uchiha Homura.

Soji felt rather wronged. Compared with his training against Minato, this speed really was far too lacking.

Uchiha Homura clenched his other hand into a fist and swung it at Soji's face.

Clearly, he had already begun to lose his composure.

Soji frowned slightly and flung the right hand gripping Uchiha Homura, sending his entire body flying with it.

"Scrreeech!"

The sound of shoes scraping against the ground rang out as Uchiha Homura was thrown five or six meters away by Soji, one foot braced against the ground as he landed in a half-kneeling position.

Just as he was about to stand, he saw a foot appear before his eyes.

Thinking, Not good, Uchiha Homura was kicked squarely in the chest by Soji and slammed hard into a tree behind him.

"Cough, cough... So fast." Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Uchiha Homura clutched his chest and slowly stood up.

"Hey, Homura, don't tell me this is your determination. Otherwise, I'm going to be very disappointed." Soji spoke in an arrogant tone, saying the sort of thing a villain would say.

But Soji truly did not think the current Uchiha Homura could pose any threat to him.

He finally understood why the villains in the TV dramas he had watched in his previous life always liked to taunt people during fights.

Because this feeling was just so damn satisfying!

Back when Soji had watched those shows, he had loved commenting as he watched.

Especially when it came to villains, he would think, Why do they always have to provoke the protagonist? Wouldn't it be better to just chop him down cleanly? Why wait for him to get angry, unleash some ultimate move, and turn the tables?

Now, he finally understood!

(The "it's so good" warning.)

"It's not over yet, Soji! Let me show you the ninjutsu I just learned."

Uchiha Homura had no intention of giving up so early. He still had his trump card.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger, Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique."

"That's... the Tiger seal. Fire Release?" Seeing the other's movements, Soji immediately made his judgment.

Though no one in the entire Naruto anime had ever seemed to be burned to death by Fire Release, this was the real world now. He had no desire to test whether taking one head-on would kill him.

Uchiha Homura rapidly formed six hand seals, then cupped his right hand beside his lips like a horn. He gathered air in his chest, and his cheeks quickly puffed out.

Then a massive fireball nearly two meters in diameter came roaring toward Soji.

The scorching heat rushed at him, igniting the grass on the ground.

The fact that Uchiha Homura could use this C-rank Fire Release ninjutsu made it clear that, although he was only eight years old this year, he already possessed the strength of a genin.

But his opponent today was Hyuga Soji!

A ninja hailed as the most outstanding genius of his generation in the Hyuga Main Family, even the entire Hyuga Clan—someone who had already possessed graduation-level strength before even enrolling!

Faced with Uchiha Homura's Great Fireball Technique, Soji had no intention of taking it head-on without activating his Byakugan.

He quickly formed a seal, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and leaped into the air.

If the basic Three Body Technique consisted of the Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Technique, and Clone Technique, then the advanced Three Body Technique consisted of the Immobilization Technique, Invisibility Technique, and Body Flicker Technique.

As Soji evaded the huge fireball, the tree behind him suffered instead, instantly bursting into flames.

Just as Soji was wondering whether he should put out the fire first, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out again.

"You're actually letting your mind wander while fighting me, Soji? You really don't take me seriously." The calm voice carried its owner's fury.

Then Uchiha Homura drove his knee hard into Soji's abdomen.

"Urgh!" "Bang!"

At the moment of impact, Uchiha Homura saw Soji's face twist in pain.

He had only just begun to smile in delight when he heard a bang, followed by a cloud of white smoke spreading before his eyes.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu? How? When?" Uchiha Homura was filled with shock as he hung in the air with nowhere to brace himself.

After that emotional whiplash, Uchiha Homura's expression looked to Soji like the face-changing masks from Peking opera in his previous life, greatly brightening his mood.

"It was when your Great Fireball Technique blocked your line of sight, Homura." This time, Soji's voice came from behind Uchiha Homura.

At that moment, Soji truly felt as though he was slowly developing the mindset of a villainous final boss.

Anyway, he was just happy. He was just having fun!

The moment he heard Soji's voice, Uchiha Homura did not even have time to turn his head before Soji's elbow slammed hard into his back.

A dark blur streaked through the air as Uchiha Homura's body made intimate contact with the ground.

However, Soji had already controlled his strength. This blow would at most leave the other unable to get back up; it would not cause Uchiha Homura any hidden injuries.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Homura lay prone on the ground, unable to move even a little. His whole body ached.

Only his head could still barely turn a little before his entire field of vision sank into darkness.

He had long known that the Great Fireball Technique could not affect Soji. He only wanted to use the moment Soji dodged to inflict at least a little damage on him.

Even though he knew he would still lose to Soji in the end, he refused to fail so easily!

At the very least, at the very least, he wanted his fist to land on the other.

For so long, he had watched Hyuga Soji and Minato Namikaze leave him farther and farther behind. As a proud member of the Uchiha Clan, he truly could not accept it.

Back when he had enrolled with such fanfare, he had been so glorious. Now, he was just this pathetic.

Even when he returned to the clan, the clansmen and elders had all expressed their dissatisfaction at him being suppressed by Minato Namikaze and Hyuga Soji at school. Everyone except his older sister.

Minato was one thing. He now had a Kage-level Jiraiya teaching him, so he would most likely become extraordinary in the future.

But when it came to Hyuga Soji, whose status was not all that different from his own, Uchiha Homura truly did not want to remain beneath him forever.

Not only had Hyuga Soji worked hard, Uchiha Homura himself had never relaxed his training after school each day.

Yet even so, the gap between them had never narrowed. Instead, it had only grown wider and wider.

Before he completely lost consciousness, Uchiha Homura seemed to see Hyuga Soji and Minato Namikaze walking farther and farther away in the distance. They even turned back and shouted something at him.

"Were they telling me to hurry up and catch up?" Uchiha Homura murmured unconsciously.

"Uh, seriously? He passed out already? Did I still hit too hard? Or did I just want to beat up this brat from the start, so I didn't hold back?" Seeing Uchiha Homura lying on the ground in the distance without reacting for so long, Soji scratched the back of his head helplessly.

This kid was way too fragile. Soji had not even used any real strength, and he was already down.

Just as Soji was debating whether to put out the fire first or wake Uchiha Homura first, the other's body suddenly twitched.

Though it was only a slight movement, Hyuga Soji, who had been watching him all along, still noticed it.