You Lost

Chiba held the kunai in a reverse grip against Uchiha Hirohiko's throat, declaring the result of the match.

A breeze swept through, and everyone stood dumbfounded.

He won?

The dead last... beat the top genius? This wasn't a dream, was it? Ono, who ranked last, pinched his own cheek. The pain in his face proved it wasn't a dream, but he still found it hard to believe. This was Uchiha Hirohiko—the genius who could even use a Jonin-level technique like the Shadow Clone Jutsu! And he had been defeated by Taki Chiba? With a thud, Ono sat down, staring at the two in the field with disbelief and shock written all over his face.

As for the others, they were no better off than Ono. All of them stood there, stunned speechless.

Yukina looked at Chiba in the field, a trace of surprise appearing on her cold face. The two acupoints in his brain opened abnormally just now. Then he bypassed the Great Fireball Technique, raised his leg in midair and brought it down, destroying Hirohiko's Shadow Clone, before flashing behind him and subduing him... What did he do? Or was that some powerful ninjutsu? It boosted his speed to such an extent! Other than my Byakugan, I'm afraid no one here could see his movements clearly—not even the teacher, despite being a Chunin.

Her Byakugan's perceptive ability far surpassed Uchiha Hirohiko's Sharingan, so she had seen Chiba's movements. She had even seen him open the Opening Gate and the Gate of Healing with her Byakugan.

He vanished just now! This time, even the teacher was stunned and shocked. He simply hadn't seen Chiba's speed at all.

This Taki Chiba was even faster than that taijutsu brat! A genius! He truly was a genius—a taijutsu genius!

The teacher could no longer force himself to dismiss Chiba, because Chiba's strength had already surpassed his own.

I must report this to the Third Hokage. Three geniuses emerged in this class: Taki Chiba's taijutsu, Uchiha Hirohiko's Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Hyuga Yukina's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Without a doubt, they qualify to graduate early! The teacher made his judgment.

Uchiha Hirohiko looked at the kunai at his throat as the Sharingan in his eyes slowly faded.

He had lost! Even his Sharingan had been unable to track Taki Chiba's speed just now. There was no question about it—he had lost.

It had only been an ordinary match, but... Uchiha Hirohiko felt a deep sense of unwillingness.

It had nothing to do with the top-ranked student losing to the dead last, nor with the halo of genius. It was simply, purely, the unwillingness of losing a match and realizing that he was inferior to someone else.

So this was what losing felt like... This was what it felt like to have someone walking ahead of you... Was this the target he spoke of—the person I had to chase, the existence I had to surpass? Right, Brother! That was why you killed our clansmen and betrayed the clan and the village!

Then what was your goal? Who did you need to surpass to do something like that at any cost?

Uchiha Hirohiko raised his head and looked at the blue sky and white clouds, letting out a long breath before turning to Chiba. "I lost!"

As Uchiha Hirohiko turned around, Chiba slowly withdrew the kunai. Hearing Hirohiko concede, Chiba did not react much, though he found it rather strange.

This guy no longer has that worried and sad face. Did something good happen? Losing... shouldn't be a good thing, right? No way, was he a masochist? He was happy after losing? After admitting defeat, Uchiha Hirohiko turned and left with his trademark poker face. He did not seem the least bit shaken by the loss, nothing like a favored prodigy who had always had things go his way and had suddenly suffered a setback.

Chiba watched his retreating back and suddenly called out, "Wait!"

Uchiha Hirohiko paused and turned around. "What is it?"

Chiba tossed the kunai in his hand to him. "Here, take it back."

Uchiha Hirohiko caught the kunai, looked at it, then at Chiba. A slight hint of confusion appeared on his poker face.

"This is your kunai. I borrowed it for a moment. Now I'm returning it." Chiba smiled faintly.

Uchiha Hirohiko's expression changed slightly.

He took my kunai? Instinctively, Uchiha Hirohiko touched the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist and discovered that it was indeed missing a kunai.

This Taki Chiba...

Uchiha Hirohiko narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Chiba, then nodded and returned to the crowd.

Then Chiba's expression turned somewhat miserable.

Because at that moment, he saw that beneath his foot was not green grass, but a black-and-white object.

It was his Konoha Giant Steamed Bun, which had fallen into the field.

"The sparring is over. This round goes to Taki Chiba!" the teacher announced.

But inwardly, Chiba wanted to cry without tears.

My bun! Silently picking up his Weighted Training Gear, Chiba walked back into the crowd. The students silently made way for him, their gazes filled with surprise, disbelief, and shock. A very small number of them even looked at him with fear in their eyes.

Chiba's performance could only be described with one word: strong! The strongest in the Ninja Academy! He could probably fight even the legendary Kakashi now! Chiba, however, paid little attention to it. Having endured cold stares and indifference for so many years, he had gradually gotten used to ignoring the looks of those around him. This time was no different.

"Who's up next?" the teacher called out as usual.

The students looked at one another, then their gazes fell on Chiba, Uchiha Hirohiko, and Hyuga Yukina. Yet not a single person stepped forward to spar.

After witnessing High-Speed Taijutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, the students all felt that going up now would be like putting on a monkey show. Their level was far too different from the previous matches, and they would only look like fools showing off before experts. Even they themselves found it boring.

The field immediately fell silent.

As for the three responsible for this, Hyuga Yukina withdrew her gaze from Chiba, her brows slightly furrowed as though she had begun thinking deeply. Clearly, she was replaying the battle in her mind and learning from it.

Uchiha Hirohiko still wore his poker face, though his eyes gleamed as he seemed lost in thought. He was likely digesting the battle as well.

As for Chiba, his gaze passed over the crowd and silently fixed on the bun he had crushed beneath his foot. He was still grieving over it.

Money was tight for him now. As an orphan, Konoha gave him a monthly allowance for living expenses. It had originally been enough for him to eat and live well, but those damned Weighted Training Gear items were insanely expensive, consuming nearly eighty percent of his allowance. And as the weight kept increasing, so did their price. Now that his appetite had grown significantly, he could not cut back on food expenses either... Money was truly tight! If he could not graduate and become a Genin soon, he would probably starve to death before the Third Shinobi World War even began! After all, once he became a Genin, he could take missions to earn money. The pay might not be much, but it was still far more than his allowance. Then he would finally have some breathing room.

"Ahem..." Seeing that things had gone quiet, the teacher coughed lightly to cover his awkwardness.

Indeed, after seeing those three fight, no one felt like stepping onto the field.

The teacher understood that, but this was still class, and Ninja Sparring was important practical training. So he said, "All right, then I'll start calling names."

"Noda Tatsuya, step up. Pick an opponent."