Full of Spirit!

Chapter 26: Full of Spirit... Ahhhhhhh!

Meanwhile, in the small grove next to the restroom.

"Heh heh~"

"Hee hee~"

Mizuki, forcibly dragged out of the restroom, shouted in terror, "What, what do you want to do?"

A delinquent stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, and chuckled, "Nothing much, just letting you experience a tradition for new students."

"W-what tradition?"

"It's where we older students give you some pointers, and then you, you know, give us a little something for our trouble."

Mizuki could clearly tell they meant him harm, but he still asked with a sliver of hope, "Can I not have pointers?"

The delinquents snickered, "How can that be? We third-year students are your best big brothers. If we say we're going to give pointers, then we're going to give pointers!"

Mizuki's heart sank. While looking for an escape route out of the corner of his eye, he tried to distract them with his words, "Why me? There are so many other first-year students!"

"Of course, it's because you're the easiest to bully! Who told you not to have any friends?"

Mizuki's heart jolted. He suddenly remembered Soseki's invitations several times before.

But soon, he recalled his family lost in the war. "Friends? Friends are completely unreliable! Family dies, friends die. Only yourself is worth trusting!"

"Those who have nothing have nothing to fear losing!"

Seeing Mizuki fall silent, the delinquents grew bored. They weren't looking for this kind of dull mime.

"You bastard, at least give us some reaction!"

"Yeah, acting all high and mighty by not talking..."

Before they could finish, Mizuki bolted towards the girls' restroom.

He knew he couldn't outlast these third-year students in a battle of endurance, so he could only gamble that they wouldn't want to be labeled perverts.

"Bastard, how dare you run!"

However, Mizuki hadn't run more than a few steps before he was kicked flying.

"With this kind of strength, you still want to resist?" Shūnen stood at the edge of the grove, speaking coldly.

Normally, he wouldn't exert himself this much, but this time was different. This was for the honor of the Uchiha!

Seeing this, the delinquents surrounded him with sinister grins.

"Run, why aren't you running anymore?"

"You don't even listen to your seniors. Are all first-year rookies this arrogant?"

As if the memories had stirred up his hidden pain, Mizuki's eyes turned red, and he lunged forward like a madman, "Damn it, I'll fight you all!"

A delinquent easily caught Mizuki's incoming fist and chuckled, "Good, full of spirit... Ahhhhhhh!"

Mizuki, who had understood the art of fighting since childhood, had kicked the delinquent directly in the groin.

The injured delinquent clamped his legs together and knelt on the ground crookedly, tears of bitterness and sorrow welling up in his eyes.

The other delinquents first felt a chill in their lower bodies, then furiously charged forward.

"You damn bastard, beat him up!"

"Don't hold back!"

Mizuki was no match for them and could only curl into a ball on the ground.

"I want revenge! I will kill them!" Mizuki roared in his heart, his tenacious will keeping him from passing out.

But gradually, even his consciousness grew numb.

"Am I going to die? No, I don't want to die yet!"

Suddenly, the punches and kicks raining down on him stopped.

"Is it finally over?" Mizuki groggily forced his swollen eyes open.

In his vision, the arrogant and overbearing third-year students had retreated to the side, looking behind him with faces filled with shock and fear.

"What, what's happening?" The question flashed through Mizuki's swollen mind, and then he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Mizuki, can you still hold on? Bear with it for a moment, I'll heal you right away!"

In fact, Soseki himself was a little confused. According to his calculations, Mizuki shouldn't have sustained such serious injuries.

Did he do something too excessive to these third-year students?

"However, this situation seems to be more advantageous for me!" Soseki narrowed his eyes, several plans rapidly forming in his mind. His hand seals were not slow at all, and a faint green glow fell on Mizuki, making him almost groan with comfort.

On the other side.

Seeing Mizuki's miserable state, even some classmates who didn't have a good impression of him before felt a bit of sympathy. Then, they all glared angrily at the third-year students.

Under the gaze of so many fiery eyes, the third-year students' legs felt weak, and they could barely move. At the same time, they all blamed Shūnen and that dog-headed strategist.

What happened to "no one cares about outsiders"?

Shūnen steadied himself, gathering his courage to step forward. "First-years, what do you think you're doing?"

Seeing Soseki tending to Mizuki, Asuma instinctively moved to the front. "The answer should be pretty obvious, right? We're here to fight!"

Shūnen's momentum faltered. These were the words they were supposed to say. What made it even more frustrating was that the one saying them was Asuma Sarutobi, the very person he wanted to defeat.

Shūnen took a deep breath. "This Mizuki, I bet many of you dislike him too, right? There's no need to make everyone unhappy over one person."

Asuma scowled. "All I know is, you touched one of our first-years! Soseki said that anyone who touches our people has to pay the price!"

Shūnen's eyes twitched. He had initially thought that as the Hokage's son, Asuma would be resentful of being overshadowed. But it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

At this moment, the "dog-headed strategist" from before stepped forward. "Alright then, let's settle this with one-on-one duels according to the rules!"

Asuma's eyes widened. "Third-years fighting first-years? You call that a duel?"

The dog-headed strategist waved his hand dismissively, unfazed. "Then how about one versus two!"

Asuma hesitated, his gaze shifting towards Soseki.

Meanwhile, Soseki had finally stabilized Mizuki's injuries and stood up.

In an instant, all eyes focused on Soseki, filled with anticipation, jealousy, fear, and admiration.

"He's just a first-year rookie, but his presence that stirs up trouble is truly enviable!"

"So amazing. If only our second-years had someone this strong!"

The older students from other grades, who had followed the main group, felt their own ambitions stirring as they watched the scene unfold.

Soseki didn't answer directly. Instead, he first looked at Shizune. "Shizune, you know Medical Ninjutsu, don't you?"

"Huh?" Completely taken aback that Soseki would call on her in front of so many people, Shizune nervously lowered her head. "Y-yes, a little."

"That's good." Soseki nodded, then his sharp, piercing gaze fixed on Shūnen and the others. "We are all ninjas. Ninjas... don't need to bother with one-on-one fights!"

Hearing Soseki's words, the first-years' faces broke into "friendly" smiles.

Seeing this, the rowdy third-years panicked. "Wait, don't come any closer... Aaaaaah!"

Before they could finish speaking, the group, burning with pent-up frustration, charged forward.

Suddenly, screams, wails, and pleas echoed rhythmically through the forest.

The students from the other grades watched this scene in terror, resolving never to provoke the first-years again.

After about ten minutes, Soseki finally called a halt to the "beasts" that had been let out of their cages.

"Shizune, come with me and help treat them."

"Oh, okay!"

Although confused, Shizune wasn't a person with strong opinions. Hearing Soseki's request, she echoed his words like a parrot and followed him.

Shūnen raised his swollen, "pig-like" face and declared stubbornly, "Hmph! Don't think this means we'll forgive you!"

Soseki looked up blankly. "Forgive me for what?"

A sudden ominous premonition struck Shūnen, but he still asked, "Don't you want to mend relations with us?"

Soseki shook his head and smiled. "I just wanted to beat you up after I healed you!"

The other thugs were stunned. At that moment, Soseki's image in their eyes was more terrifying than a demon's.