Duel

When Hyuga Sho returned to his seat.

He immediately noticed that something was wrong with the desk.

"Someone's been here?"

Hyuga Sho took out a Kunai and carefully poked around with it.

Then he found an envelope that had fallen out from inside.

It was purple.

"..."

The corner of Hyuga Sho's mouth twitched.

First, Morino Ibiki's over-the-top face surfaced in his mind.

Then came Uchiha Obito.

As the envelope opened, Hyuga Sho breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be from Mitaraishi Anko, the most savage girl in the class.

Hyuga Sho had originally treated her as a target to challenge.

But now...

Hyuga Sho shook his head.

He casually threw the love letter into the trash can.

Women will only slow down my punches.

It wasn't like Hyuga Natsu, who could make Heart Bento, clean and tidy up, and look after and feed someone—a maid capable of doing everything.

The hallway during recess.

"Hey! Hyuga Sho."

Mitaraishi Anko called out to Hyuga Sho energetically.

He turned around and stared at her.

Fair skin and purple hair.

She was a particularly beautiful Loli.

But beyond that, she gave off a sense of danger.

"The letter... Did you read it?"

"I did," Hyuga Sho replied casually.

"You... don't have anything to say?"

"I threw it in the trash." Hyuga Sho pointed in the direction of the classroom.

Pfft~~~~~~!

Mitaraishi Anko began coughing violently.

"Throwing it in the trash doesn't necessarily mean anything..."

She muttered to herself.

Then she raised her head and looked towards Hyuga Sho again. "Let's go home together after school! We're headed in the same direction!"

"There's only one school gate. Of course we're headed in the same direction."

Hyuga Sho shook his head.

His expression seemed to say, You're really strange.

Mitaraishi Anko: "..."

"I have something to do. I'm leaving first."

The heartless training machine, Hyuga Sho, quickly returned to the classroom to make plans for his own affairs.

And so.

Only Mitaraishi Anko was left standing there in a daze.

Her first love and her first love letter had been mercilessly crushed just like that.

In fact.

Mitaraishi Anko wasn't the first girl to summon the courage to confess to Hyuga Sho.

It was just that.

Like Anko, they had all been rejected by Hyuga Sho.

Before they displayed some specific usefulness.

Hyuga Sho simply wouldn't be interested.

"Hey, Mitaraishi Anko."

Shiranui Genma and the others, who had been sneaking looks from the side, walked over with wicked grins on their faces.

"Did you come to make fun of me?!"

Mitaraishi Anko turned around and glared viciously at the boys.

"Uh... don't misunderstand. We're here to invite you to join us in plotting a grand plan to beat down Hyuga Sho. We've disliked that kid for a long time..."

After school.

Hyuga Sho and Hyuga Mami walked out of the school.

Strangely, a large group of people followed behind them today.

A dozen minutes later...

A small river, flowing water, and a park.

"Does everyone need something?"

Hyuga Sho stopped. The surroundings were utterly silent, with only the sound of the river flowing past his ears.

Hyuga Mami stopped as well, turned around, and swept her gaze across the scene.

"Mami... no, Young Lady Hyuga."

This time, Ebisu had learned his lesson.

He adjusted his black round sunglasses, wearing a sleazy expression.

"We're here to spar with Hyuga Sho. It has nothing to do with you..."

He waved his hand, signaling Hyuga Mami to leave.

"Sure."

Hyuga Sho nodded vigorously. Was there really such a good thing?

He looked around at everyone present.

Ebisu, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Mitaraishi Anko, Shiranui Genma, and Tada Iwashiro.

Plus two other boys.

Eight people in total.

Interestingly, Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai had come too, though they formed a team of their own.

"Kurenai and I are just here to watch the show."

Sarutobi Asuma shook his head. His face practically proclaimed, I'm a spoiled rich kid.

Although Asuma might become a man capable of standing on his own ten or twenty years later.

But when he was young...

Who hadn't been a little brat?

"Hyuga Sho... we're going to have a one~~on~~one~~~ with you!"

Ebisu placed particular emphasis on the words "one-on-one."

"Then come on."

Hyuga Sho took his stance, ready to start fighting.

"No, don't misunderstand..."

Ebisu imitated Hyuga Sho, adopting the tone he had used that morning during Ninja Tool Throwing Class.

"I'm not challenging you one-on-one... I mean... I'm letting you challenge all of us."

Just then.

Some other students from the Ninja Academy happened to pass by the riverbank.

They gazed over curiously at what was happening.

"What are you looking at?!"

"Get lost!"

"Careful, or we'll beat you up too!"

With just a few shouts, the eight elementary school students scared everyone else away. Judging by their overbearing appearance, they looked as if they could punch a hole through the sky today.

"Interesting."

Hyuga Sho smiled.

The scene before his eyes.

It reminded him of what things had been like when he attended elementary school in his previous life.

"Come at me together. I'm in a hurry."

Everyone froze for a moment.

Then they laughed angrily. "Pile on him!"

Ebisu charged forward first.

Hyuga Sho used a little force and kicked out. Ebisu let out a "Wuooh~" and was Sent Flying Backwards.

Next.

Facing the attacks of Shiranui Genma and Tada Iwashiro, Hyuga Sho struck out with both hands and caught their fists.

Then he twisted hard--

"Ahh~~!!"

"Waaah~~!"

The two men cried out in pain as their arms were twisted.

"Yah!!"

From behind came Mitaraishi Anko's sharp cry.

Hyuga Sho performed a spinning kick.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

The kick struck Mitaraishi Anko in the face.

It kicked her beautiful cheeks into a comical expression.

Mitaraishi Anko spun through the air before finally rolling across the ground.

"Konoha Senpu!"

Namiashi Raidō swept out with a low kick, whipping up waves of forceful wind.

At that moment.

Hyuga Sho had just landed, so his lower body was naturally unstable.

Nearby, Hyuga Mami's eyes widened, and her ethereal expression shifted slightly.

Perhaps.

She judged that Hyuga Sho was about to suffer a setback.

"Hmph..."

Namiashi Raidō sneered, a smug expression appearing on his face.

Bang!!

D-rank Taijutsu: Konoha Senpu hit its mark.

As a variation of Leaf Whirlwind.

Konoha Senpu specialized in attacking the lower body.

It could make an enemy lose their balance with a single strike, leaving them at the user's mercy.

Namiashi Raidō had indeed kicked him.

But the scene of Hyuga Sho losing his balance that he had imagined did not occur.

Instead, Namiashi Raidō, whose foot had struck Hyuga Sho's body, felt as though he had kicked an iron plate!

He couldn't move Hyuga Sho in the slightest!

Moreover, an unimaginable force of recoil traveled from the surface of the other man's body.

The impact shook Namiashi Raidō himself off balance.