Testing

Hyuga Hiashi didn't say anything when Hinata and Naruto became friends.

Although Naruto, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was quite sensitive, this was merely an interaction between youngsters. It wasn't as if Hyuga Hiashi had specifically instructed Hinata to get close to Naruto.

Moreover, Hyuga Hiashi harbored a thought, or perhaps an ambition, in his heart.

Hinata's talent was immense, so strong that no one in her generation, or even the previous one, could compare.

In his view, Hinata had the potential, no, she was destined to become Hokage. What was wrong with getting to know Naruto early?

"You brat Sasuke, Hinata beat you again! Haha, you look so funny."

As soon as Naruto entered the classroom, he saw a bruised and battered Sasuke and immediately went to mock him.

Sasuke: #!

"Hmph, a defeated opponent!"

Sasuke snorted, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and tilted his head up.

"What did you say? I wasn't in the right state then! I'll definitely beat you next time!" Naruto jumped up immediately.

"When do you ever say anything different?"

Shikamaru, slumped over his desk, looked listless. "It's starting again."

At the very beginning, after Naruto and Hinata became friends.

Whether it was to fulfill his promise to protect Hinata or not, every time Sasuke challenged Hinata, Naruto would jump out to stop him.

"You brat Sasuke, if you want to challenge Hinata, beat me first!"

As expected, he was defeated in a few moves.

In short, the relationship between Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata was:

--Sasuke challenges Hinata - Naruto intervenes and gets beaten - Hinata beats Sasuke; once Sasuke recovers, the cycle repeats.

The reason Naruto escaped unscathed yesterday was that he had eaten something bad and was resting at home. Otherwise, today, both Naruto and Sasuke would have been bruised and battered.

Actually, when Sasuke first beat Naruto, he didn't hold back as much.

But after being beaten black and blue by Hinata, he had no one to vent his humiliation on, so he took it out on Naruto.

However, what Sasuke didn't realize was that Naruto's recovery ability was almost superhuman. The injuries on Naruto's face, while not much smaller than his own, healed at twice the speed.

Then, the sounds of Naruto and Sasuke arguing echoed through the classroom.

Normally, this would stop when the teacher entered the classroom.

But today, the teacher seemed to be a little late.

"Huh? Why hasn't the teacher come even though class has started?"

Normally, the teacher would not be late. Even if something delayed them, they would notify another teacher to substitute or have another teacher tell them to study on their own.

"Could something have delayed them?" some students guessed.

Shikamaru looked at Hinata. "Why don't you use your Byakugan to see where the teacher is?"

Hinata glanced at Shikamaru. "I don't have a habit of peeping at people's privacy."

"Uh..." Shikamaru was speechless.

"No, something's up."

What's up? Shikamaru thought.

Wait, didn't you say you liked to peep?

"An 'Oni' is approaching. Judging by the speed, it will reach the school in about fifteen minutes."

"What? An Oni is approaching the school!!"

A young boy who had been eavesdropping on Shikamaru and Hinata's conversation exclaimed.

Over the past three years, the school had taught them a lot about Oni, but they had never actually seen one.

This young boy's voice wasn't quiet, and the whole class heard it.

"How could an Oni possibly reach the school?"

"Exactly, there are ninjas from the village here, those Oni couldn't possibly get close to the school."

"Where's the teacher?" (Commoners generally didn't know about the existence of Jinchuriki who sealed Oni.)

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't joke around."

That's impossible. How could an Oni appear in Konoha, and so brazenly and slowly approach the Ninja Academy?

Or, that's not an Oni!

Shikamaru, from a prominent clan, knew of certain beings.

Could this be a test?

A test of our learning results over the past three years? What a hassle.

"Stay close to me later, don't run around."

Since there wouldn't be any danger later, Shikamaru just wanted to pass the exam, but Choji was a bit slow-witted, which made him uneasy, so he specifically warned him.

"How could an Oni possibly appear in Konoha? And heading straight for the Ninja Academy? This isn't right, something's not right!"

Sakura's face was pale and sweaty, her tone tense.

"Right! A test! This is a test! If an Oni really appeared in Konoha, the village would seal it immediately, they wouldn't let it run wild."

"The Oni heading for the school must be intentional by the village. Maybe the village is controlling that Oni?"

In her nervousness, Sakura blurted out the general truth.

Hinata also guessed that this was a test.

Sasuke asked Hinata, "Hey, Hyuga girl, can you tell what kind of Oni it is?"

The entire class also looked at Hinata; she was the only one who could see what kind of Oni was coming.

"I can't see clearly. It's wrapped in a layer of black mist. I'll have to wait until it makes a move."

Disappointment filled everyone's faces. If they knew what the Oni looked like, they could analyze its general abilities based on its appearance.

Unlike the chaos here, the upperclassmen at the Ninja Academy, upon discovering the approaching Oni, immediately guessed it was a test and began setting up Sealing Jutsu around the classrooms.

"Aren't you going to protect your young lady?"

Tenten came up to Neji and asked.

"No need. Besides, the young lady doesn't need my help. She can handle it herself."

Even though the young lady might not be able to handle the Oni, she could handle the person controlling it.

Over with Hinata, Shikamaru also thought of using Sealing Jutsu.

But upon closer thought, it wasn't realistic.

They were still too young and didn't have much Chakra. Furthermore, apart from those from prominent families, very few civilian students could perform Sealing Jutsu.

Even if the entire classroom were covered in Sealing Jutsu, it might not hold for even a second.

It would be better to save their Chakra for emergencies.

"Alright! I'll definitely pass this test in no time and protect Hinata!"

Naruto jumped onto a table and shouted energetically.

"That idiot..."

Although Naruto's actions were quite foolish and made Hinata a little embarrassed, Naruto did help to ease the tense atmosphere in the classroom a bit.

At this moment, even with the injuries on his face, Sasuke's inner conflict was evident.

Sasuke was deeply conflicted. The school had taught them never to face an Oni alone. Even his older brother and parents had warned him about this.

In his opinion, only Hinata in the entire classroom was qualified to team up with him.

But he couldn't bring himself to ask, which made him very conflicted.

After a while...

"That Oni is heading towards the upperclassmen. It doesn't seem to be coming this way for now."

Upon hearing this, everyone became even more nervous. The classmates who had already formed teams huddled closer together in the classroom.

Sasuke, at this moment, had made up his mind. Time was running out. To avoid disgracing the Uchiha, what did his own pride matter!