Pure Overwhelming Force

Boys of the Nara Clan had to shoulder many responsibilities early on.

Among the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.

The Nara Clan had always occupied the role of the decision-making brain among the three clans.

There's something unusual inside him...

Shikamaru sighed softly to himself as he silently pondered.

They were nearly twelve years old already, and next year they would officially become ninja. Graduating alongside someone as special as Menma, a peer in the same class, naturally meant Shikamaru had to consider many more things.

Setting aside the varied thoughts of those Little Ones below.

On the field.

The two opponents faced each other.

Seeing Uchiha Sasuke's seemingly calm yet battle-hungry expression, Menma frowned slightly as he recalled their previous matches.

Menma realized that he might have underestimated this young master's desire to fight.

Looks like I need to teach this Uchiha Sasuke a profound lesson!

Menma narrowed his eyes slightly, having made up his mind.

The next second.

At Iruka's signal.

The two formed the Seal of Confrontation.

Boom!

From the front side.

Sasuke knew full well that he was at a slight disadvantage, so he had to seize the initiative. His previous failures could only be attributed to inferior skill, not tactical mistakes. If he wanted to win, he had to gain the upper hand in tempo.

He could not leave even the slightest opening, nor could he make the smallest mistake.

Whoosh!

Chakra burst forth.

He Flashed forward at a speed far beyond that of ordinary children his age.

Menma remained calm.

As he lowered his stance, power likewise erupted from his body.

From an angle that met him head-on.

His arm struck from the side in advance.

His arm whipped down from above like a lash, Aimed At Sasuke's head.

"!?"

Before his Eyes.

The high-speed black shadow that Appeared before his Eyes.

Sasuke's Pupils contracted.

He was forced to immediately raise his guard.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

As Sasuke felt an enormous force crashing into him, his blocking stance nearly broke apart.

Why has this guy gotten even stronger!?

Sasuke clenched his lower teeth.

When they had fought a month ago, Menma's strength had not seemed this outrageous. This time, it felt as though a casual touch was enough to make him unable to hold on!

Sasuke refused to believe that someone's strength could grow so quickly in such a short time.

That left only one explanation: Menma had held back a month ago.

Damn it!

At the thought of that possibility.

Sasuke's expression turned incomparably cold.

It was the answer he found most unacceptable.

And precisely because of that.

He had to defeat Menma before him!

If he could not even surpass a peer, what could he use to seek revenge against that man!? What could he use to restore the Uchiha!?

"Ha!"

With a low shout.

The veins on Sasuke's forehead bulged further as he forcibly raised his arms.

He directly knocked aside Menma's crushing pressure.

"Oh?"

As space opened between them in an instant.

A trace of surprise appeared in Menma's Eyes.

He had not expected Uchiha Sasuke to block that strike. In order to end the fight quickly and take Uchiha Sasuke down as early as possible, he had already used eighty percent of his strength. Now, it seemed—

This kid had improved considerably as well.

However.

He's still far from enough!

A fierce glint Flashed through Menma's Pupils.

As he leaned forward.

The distance between them rapidly closed once more.

In a Flash.

From an arcing, winding angle.

From Sasuke's perspective, Menma seemed to vanish completely.

Startled.

He decisively drew his body back.

The next second.

Menma had already appeared behind Sasuke's left side.

In his haste.

Before he could assume a defensive stance.

Menma had already turned his palm into a blade and heavily struck Sasuke's left shoulder. The tremendous force transmitted through the blow.

Along with the obvious pain.

Made Sasuke's expression change.

His strength drained away, and his body bent forward. Seizing the opportunity, Menma extended his Right Hand and stopped it at Sasuke's throat.

"That's enough."

At the same time.

Iruka's voice rang out from the side.

Uchiha Sasuke's expression became incomparably grim, but the reality before him left his pride no room for argument. He could only Took a deep breath, silently rise to his feet, form the Reconciliation Seal with Menma, then retreat back into the line with a blank expression.

He looked quite calm.

But anyone who saw Sasuke's tightly clenched Hands could clearly tell that this young master's heart was surely in turmoil!

He had lost! Again!

Counting them up.

This was already his thirtieth loss to Menma.

Although these were merely sparring matches between classmates, and they always stopped short of causing real harm, Sasuke was a proud Uchiha.

Moreover, he was someone who had witnessed that tragedy with his own eyes more than four years ago.

He could not tolerate failure.

Yet he had failed again.

But he could not show weakness.

Work harder! I have to work even harder! Uzumaki Menma, I will defeat you!

Uchiha Sasuke Took a deep breath inwardly, thinking with firm resolve.

Wow, Sasuke-kun lost again.

And this was probably his most decisive loss, right?

Menma really is something else.

Looks like first place in our class is securely his.

He might even be first in this whole class year!

That's very possible.

It'll depend on next year's graduation exam.

After seeing the result of the match, the students in the line below all wore astonished expressions. In their previous matches, it had been clear that Menma held a solid advantage, but Sasuke had still seemed to have a chance to turn things around.

But this time was different.

Menma had crushed Sasuke in an incredibly brutal and direct manner.

The gap laid bare before them was obvious to anyone with functioning eyes. They all exchanged covert looks.

After all, they could not openly discuss such things in front of the loser.

They were not as thick-skinned as Young Master Naruto.

Besides, although Sasuke could not defeat Menma, beating them up would still be easy for him. They had no desire to provoke Sasuke while he was in such a bad mood.

Iruka, standing at the front, could only shake his head helplessly to himself.

To be reasonable.

Iruka had long been reluctant to arrange fights between Menma and Sasuke.

The other Little Ones might not be able to see it, but could Iruka fail to see the gap in strength between Menma and Sasuke?

Do not assume that Iruka was weak just because he was only a teacher at the Ninja Academy. It depended on whom he was being compared with.

Iruka was, after all, a legitimate Chunin.

Iruka could still easily distinguish the gap between Menma and Sasuke.