Shūnen: Good Brother, Loyal Friend

As evening approached, the novelty of the school festival had gradually faded, but everyone still lingered in the small grove, unwilling to leave.

"Heh heh, even though I've forgiven that Uchiha Shunen guy now, it doesn't stop me from enjoying watching him get beaten."

"Place your bets, place your bets! Guess how long Uchiha Shunen can last against Soseki this time."

"I'll bet five shuriken that he can last five minutes."

"I'll bet one exploding tag that he can last three minutes..."

Beside them, Obito said indignantly, "Damn it, how can these jerks be like this!"

Shunen himself didn't seem to care much. "I'm not Soseki's opponent anyway."

As he spoke, Shunen suddenly realized, "Wait, don't tell me you bet too?"

Upon hearing this, Obito shyly nodded.

Shunen patted Obito's shoulder, touched. "Good brother, but don't do this next time."

Just then, Might Guy walked over, looking indignant. "I used my spot in the Youthful Passion and Vitality Club as a bet, but they wouldn't accept it."

Obito glanced sideways. Your spot wouldn't be accepted even if you paid them!

"Oh right, Obito, I just saw you bet that Senior Shunen could only last a minute. Wasn't that too risky... Huh? What's wrong with your eyes? Why are you blinking so fast? Could it be that you're also going to awaken the Sharingan?"

Why do I have to know this idiot? Obito thought, filled with grief and indignation. He inexplicably felt the pressure on his shoulders suddenly become much heavier. He stiffly turned his head, meeting his cousin's kind gaze.

This is bad!

"Why do I feel like this guy has the aura of a desperate soldier about to win?" Soseki, unaware of the human tragedy that had just unfolded, muttered to himself as he saw Shunen's heavy steps.

"Soseki, this time I'll definitely last until five..." Shunen stopped his "harsh words" halfway through. He then thought, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing if he couldn't back up the boast he just made? With this thought, his imposing presence instantly deflated. "Five and a half minutes!"

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it."

After forming the "Seal of Opposition," Shunen immediately leaped backward, rapidly forming hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Soseki threw a punch without changing his expression, directly scattering the scorching fireball.

Sparks flew and dispersed, and Shunen seized the opportunity to disappear into the jungle.

Compared to battles within the school, the jungle offered cover from various trees and bushes. When facing straightforward Taijutsu, the terrain was naturally a crucial element to utilize.

Soseki was not surprised and simply stood quietly in the middle of the jungle.

Suddenly, several bursts of flame appeared, shooting directly behind Soseki.

At the same time, Shunen actively leaped out, following behind the flames, as if to coordinate a joint attack with them.

Soseki sensed the movement and turned around, but this time he didn't break through with a single punch as before. Instead, he grabbed several shuriken from his tool bag and shot them towards the flames.

Before the surrounding crowd could wonder why Soseki would do something as foolish as using shuriken to shoot down flames, they heard several "clinks" as the shuriken hidden within the flames were knocked to the ground.

The flames that were attached to the shuriken also dispersed.

"How is this possible? How did you see through it?" Shunen yelled in disbelief. This was a battle tactic he had devised after much thought.

"Plain flames and flames that hide shuriken emit different sounds," Soseki's voice was calm and steady, as if nothing could fluster him.

"This works too?" Shunen was completely bewildered, then suddenly realized, "Wait, I've already lost the initiative. If I rush forward now, am I going to engage in a one-on-one Taijutsu fight with Soseki?"

Thinking of this, Shunen slammed on the brakes, threw a handful of shuriken at Soseki, and quickly fled into the nearby jungle.

"Phew, safe for now..." Shunen, hiding behind a large tree, breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the "clinking" sounds from behind him.

Then, accompanied by an explosion, a fair arm pierced through the large tree behind him, stopping right by his ear.

Gulp!

Glancing sideways, Shunen swallowed hard.

Then, with a creaking sound, the large tree collapsed.

For the new students who had just entered the school, the "fierce battle" before them elicited gasps of astonishment.

"So amazing, Senior Soseki is truly amazing!"

"Rather than amazing, wouldn't it be more accurate to say ferocious! His body is about the same size as ours, yet it contains such terrifying power!"

Obito, sporting two black eyes, was also shocked. "So strong! My cousin Shunen is no match at all!"

Kakashi's small face was serious. "His eyesight, hearing, and control over his strength are all unexpectedly strong! Could it be that the person my father mentioned as being stronger than me is him?"

In the arena, Shunen kept darting through the forest. Accompanied by roaring sounds, large trees were occasionally broken in half.

In just a few dozen seconds, Shunen found himself in perilous situations.

Shunen was also despairing about this.

His greatest confidence this time was the previous tactic of hiding shuriken in flames, intending to catch Soseki off guard by exploiting his predictable thinking.

But who knew that Soseki wouldn't play by the rules at all!

"Calm down, there's still a chance!" Shunen took a deep breath, continuing to flee while observing the surrounding terrain, looking for an opportunity.

"Can these piled-up trees be used? If I could ignite them all at once... Wait, what's that?" As Shūnen was calmly thinking, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of transparent thin lines connecting the jungle.

Or rather, a net!

"This is a net made of Chakra Threads?"

"It seems you've discovered it. In that case, let's end this battle here."

As soon as the words fell, Shūnen was bound and suspended in mid-air.

Although the posture he was bound in seemed a bit embarrassing, Shūnen couldn't afford to care about that. Looking down, he asked Soseki in disbelief, "You could still control Chakra Threads while fighting me?"

Soseki smiled and lowered Shūnen, "Perhaps it's because Taijutsu doesn't take much of my energy."

Shūnen grudgingly accepted this answer. That made sense; Taijutsu is just throwing punches, anyone with hands can do it.

Meanwhile, the small gamblers had already started wailing.

"Too fast, only fifty seconds and he lost."

"This shouldn't be happening; Uchiha Shūnen lasted two minutes last time."

Shūnen's face flushed upon hearing this. He didn't want this either, but the problem with fighting Soseki was that any small mistake would be amplified infinitely.

"Haha, Rin was right after all, Cousin Shūnen really can't even..."

Shūnen was feeling awkward when he heard these cheers, and his face instantly contorted in anger.

On the other side, Asuma walked over, "Soseki, let's go."

Soseki agreed, but after taking only a few steps, he was stopped by a little white-haired brat.