Why Was His Look So Complicated?

On the playground outside the Ninja Academy.

It had been half a month since Sarutobi Mizuya first began teaching the students Combat Training.

During that time, they had attended one practical class, mainly focused on teaching and testing shuriken throwing.

Today's Combat Training, however, consisted of one-on-one matches. Some were delighted, while others were worried.

The more diligent students were naturally brimming with confidence. Even if they lost, they would at least know where they fell short. As for those who often slacked off, they would probably only be getting beaten up.

"Torikaze, are you confident about today's Combat Training?" Chisato asked with some concern.

Ever since Torikaze had embarrassed Uchiha Kyo in front of everyone that day, Chisato had been afraid that Uchiha Kyo would retaliate against him.

After all, she knew her own family well. Although Uchiha Kyo was somewhat inferior to her, his strength was still undeniable. She had heard that he had learned ninjutsu even before entering school. He was absolutely a genius among geniuses in their class.

Chisato only knew that Torikaze was a good person with interesting ideas, but she had no clue how strong he was. Whenever she asked him, he always said he was very weak, which made her worried.

"Ah, I guess so." Torikaze scratched his head. "My luck can't be so bad that I get paired with Uchiha Kyo, right?"

That was exactly what worried Chisato. She knew that, like his older brother Setsuna, Uchiha Kyo held grudges fiercely. If someone offended him, he would definitely find a chance to get revenge!

Seeing Torikaze acting so carefree only made her more concerned.

But Torikaze was merely afraid that he might accidentally beat Uchiha Kyo to death.

Torikaze seemed to notice Chisato's concern, so he said, "Don't worry. Did you forget that I always rank first in practical classes?"

Torikaze had always been among the top students in class. Whether it was theory or practice, he ranked first in everything. Yet he never bragged or acted arrogant, so all his classmates had a very favorable impression of him.

"Fine."

Seeing how confident Torikaze was, Chisato stopped nagging him. It would make her seem unladylike, and she had already warned him anyway.

Once Sarutobi Mizuya had restored order, he began explaining the day's lesson. "Today is the first Combat Training class for Class 1. I hope all of you will give it everything you have."

"Although this is combat training, safety comes first. Stop once you have made your point. Under no circumstances are you to seriously injure anyone."

Since it was the students' first Combat Training class, they were inevitably excited and impulsive. Sarutobi Mizuya stressed a long list of safety precautions before finally beginning the pairings.

"Nara Masato and Hyuga Keisho."

"Akimichi Daiya and Yamanaka Taichi."

"Sarutobi Kosuke and Shimura Ta."

"Uchiha Chiri and Yuhi Shinku."

After hearing that, Chisato gave Torikaze a faint smile, as if to say, Don't worry. I won't hurt your friend.

Torikaze nodded in thanks. It was not that he looked down on Yuhi Shinku; the gap between them was simply too great.

"Maruboshi Kosuke and Umino Ikkaku."

The moment Maruboshi Kosuke heard that he would be fighting his good friend Ikkaku, he felt somewhat dissatisfied.

He had wanted to make Uchiha Kyo kneel and beg for mercy today! But there was nothing he could do.

Sarutobi Mizuya was extremely strict about rules. Once he made a decision, it could not be changed.

All Kosuke could do was clench his fists in anger and swear that next time, he would definitely make Uchiha Kyo pay!

"Lastly, Torikaze and Uchiha Kyo."

Torikaze pressed a hand to his forehead. He had actually called it!

He really did not want to play some childish "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the poor youth" game with Uchiha Kyo.

He only wanted to beat some random extra and get the match over with quickly.

He had arranged to eat at the Akimichi Clan's barbecue shop with Chisato at noon. Eating was the important thing!

Uchiha Kyo, meanwhile, maintained his usual signature haughty posture.

He looked at Torikaze with an expression that was fifty percent mockery, twenty percent coldness, and thirty percent indifference.

Torikaze got goosebumps under that gaze and felt deeply uncomfortable.

He leaned toward Chisato and quietly asked, "Has Uchiha Kyo been reading some domineering CEO novels lately? Why is his look so complicated?"

"Huh? What's a domineering CEO?" Chisato was confused. Why did Torikaze say such strange things?

"Nothing, nothing. It's a term I made up myself. It's normal that you don't understand."

"Fine." Chisato did not press the matter, because she vaguely felt that the end of this conversation might teach her something strange.

At Sarutobi Mizuya's command, the first match began.

There was almost no suspense. Nara Masato was quickly defeated, and no one was surprised.

After all, the Nara Clan's true strength lay in their Secret Technique, while the Hyuga relied on the Byakugan and Taijutsu.

The students took the field pair by pair, while Sarutobi Mizuya carefully kept records from the side.

He meticulously noted every student's strengths and weaknesses so that he could focus on cultivating them in the future.

Chisato's match against Yuhi Shinku had also ended. Yuhi Shinku's strength was actually quite good; he had simply run into Chisato.

Meanwhile, Umino Ikkaku and Maruboshi Kosuke were evenly matched. In the end, Ikkaku fell just short after running out of stamina.

"Get out of the way once you're done! Aren't you embarrassed to be this weak?"

Uchiha Kyo mocked them without restraint from the side, but everyone seemed to selectively ignore him.

It was as if they did not even consider him a person. Only Maruboshi Kosuke was provoked by him, but Ikkaku eventually stopped him.

Uchiha Kyo shouted at Torikaze, "Come on! Commoner brat, today I'll show you the strength of the Uchiha Clan! Let's see if you still dare act so arrogant in front of me."

With that, he walked toward the arena on his own, while Torikaze picked at his ear.

Looking utterly casual, he strolled over at an unhurried pace.

Chisato could not help worrying again. She did not know whether Torikaze truly possessed the strength to look down on everyone, or whether he was just putting on a brave front.

"Begin."

The instant the word fell, Uchiha Kyo turned into an afterimage and rushed in front of Torikaze, thrusting the kunai in his hand fiercely toward Torikaze's right arm.

Maruboshi Kosuke's pupils suddenly contracted. "So fast!"

Uchiha Kyo was far faster than he had imagined. Kosuke secretly clenched his fists, knowing that he was no match for Uchiha Kyo.

Yet Torikaze merely shifted to the side and evaded Kyo's attack.

He then grabbed Kyo's wrist, snatched away the kunai, and flung Uchiha Kyo back with a backhanded throw.

After his first attack failed, Uchiha Kyo did not recklessly charge in again.

"Damn it, how is he so fast?"

He was somewhat taken aback. He had practiced that move for a long time, yet it had been neutralized so easily.

He immediately hurled five shuriken viciously, trying to suppress Torikaze.

Although wooden shuriken had limited killing power, they would still draw blood if they struck.

But those shuriken posed no threat to Torikaze at all. He took out his kunai and casually deflected them.

At that moment, however, Uchiha Kyo rapidly closed in on Torikaze. Just as he reached him, he suddenly leaped into the air!

His foot struck Torikaze's right shoulder directly. The shuriken had merely been a feint!

But the smile on his face immediately stiffened. His foot had been firmly seized by Torikaze!

He put all his strength into struggling, yet he could not break free.

He had never expected this commoner brat to be so strong! A sense of humiliation crept into his heart. Do I really have to use that?

Uchiha Kyo roared in fury, "Let go of me!"

Several attacks in a row had failed, and his anger was now burning fiercely!

"Sure." Torikaze smiled calmly, then immediately released his grip. Uchiha Kyo failed to react in time and fell straight backward.

Then came a kick! It slammed heavily into Uchiha Kyo's lower abdomen!

The kick was incredibly powerful, sending Uchiha Kyo's saliva spraying everywhere!

"Ahhh! Die!"

Uchiha Kyo had completely flown into a rage! He could not accept being so casually defeated by a commoner he had looked down upon!

His pathetic pride drove him to take a mad action!

At an angle where no one could see, he quickly swallowed an unknown pill, then rapidly formed hand seals.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"