But I Refuse!

"Did you just... kick me?"

When Namiashi Raidō raised his head, what he saw was...

Hyuga Sho's "confused," "puzzled"... expression, mixed with a faint trace of barely detectable mockery.

After absorbing the Iwagakure Female Ninja's Earth Style, opening his second Star Point, and obtaining a special skill, Hyuga Sho...

had already trained "Hardening Jutsu" to perfection.

Two months...

Day after day of persistence had finally paid off.

"Konoha... Senpu!"

Hyuga Sho, completely unharmed, swept low with a Konoha Senpu.

He sent the crouching Namiashi Raidō flying with a direct sweep.

The latter cried out in pain, spinning like a top as he rolled all the way down the road before finally splashing into the water.

Yūhi Kurenai, on the other hand, looked as though she had seen a ghost. "Konoha Senpu?! Hyuga Sho, he..."

That was clearly the Taijutsu Namiashi Raidō had just used.

Why could Hyuga Sho use it so effortlessly?

He even looked more proficient than Namiashi Raidō?!

"Only you three are left."

Hyuga Sho said gently to the sweating Yamashiro Aoba and the other two boys.

A few seconds later...

Smack! Smack!

The three of them fell.

"Our Hyuga Clan is Konoha's number one clan!!"

After doing all that, Hyuga Sho assumed the stance of the Gentle Fist.

His shout shook the heavens, brimming with momentum.

Hyuga Mami: "..."

Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai: "..."

[Doka Degree: 13.51%]

Seeing the Doka Degree increase by 0.01%, even Hyuga Sho could not stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.

"These guys... are such trash..."

Hyuga Sho was utterly speechless over receiving practically no experience.

But the others were not nearly as calm as Hyuga Sho.

They struggled to climb back up, staring at Hyuga Sho in disbelief.

One against eight, and he had taken them all down.

Something like that...

"The Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu truly lives up to its reputation."

Asuma gave a derisive chuckle.

"So, do you want to be my lackey?"

Asuma looked certain of victory.

Since Hyuga Sho knows I'm the Hokage's son, he'll definitely grovel before me like everyone else.

"I refuse."

Hyuga Sho shook his head.

"What...?!"

Asuma leaned back in shock.

The next moment, he seemed to think of something.

"Oh~~~ I get it."

Then...

Asuma reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of money.

Smack! Smack!

He flicked the stack of bills with loud slaps, looking at Hyuga Sho with amusement. "Well? If you become my lackey, I'll pay you a salary every month! One thousand ryo."

What did one thousand ryo mean?

One bowl of Ichiraku Ramen.

Depending on the toppings and portion size, it cost around thirty to one hundred ryo.

In other words...

He could eat thirty-three bowls a month.

He could enjoy Konoha's most delicious ramen every day.

For Hyuga Sho, whose life had been tight and who had never once eaten out, that was practically an astronomical sum.

Even the few hundred ryo Hyuga Sho had seized in the past...

had all gone toward buying Kunai and Shuriken.

Only someone from a wealthy family like Asuma could casually take out so much pocket money to buy people off.

"Sorry, Lord Asuma, but I still refuse."

Hyuga Sho shook his head.

His refusal...

not only changed the look in Hyuga Mami's eyes,

but also drew curses from Ebisu and the others.

"Hyuga Sho! Don't be ungrateful! Lord Asuma is the Hokage's son!"

Ebisu got to his feet, pointing at Hyuga Sho as he shouted.

"If you want to get by in Konoha, you have to follow the rules here! You're nothing but a Branch Family Member of the Hyuga Clan. Lord Asuma is giving you face!"

"Mm... mm..."

Asuma crossed his arms and nodded, fully agreeing with Ebisu.

What was strange, however, was...

Yūhi Kurenai did not offer even the slightest rebuttal.

Could it be...

that she was merely a shallow girl as well?

Hyuga Sho remembered.

Yūhi Kurenai's father was Konohagakure's famous elite Jonin, the Genjutsu ninja Yūhi Shinkurō.

He had rendered countless meritorious services to Konoha.

Even in Ninja Academy classes...

the teachers mentioned him.

With his Genjutsu, Yūhi Shinkurō had defeated an unknown number of enemies.

And one of the prerequisites for learning Genjutsu was "high intelligence."

No matter how he looked at her, Yūhi Kurenai did not seem like some brainless pretty face.

"Sorry, but I already have a mission to fulfill."

Hyuga Sho said.

"A Branch Family Member's duty is to Protect the Main Family. I cannot be Lord Asuma's lackey."

After saying that...

Hyuga Sho turned around and kicked Ebisu flying once more, sending him sprawling face-first on the ground.

Only then did he leave with Hyuga Mami.

What Hyuga Sho did not know was...

that as he left...

a burning change appeared in Asuma's gaze.

It was as though he wanted to etch Hyuga Sho into his eyes.

That change... was caught by Yūhi Kurenai, who stood beside him.

A few minutes later...

Hyuga Sho and Hyuga Mami left the riverside and headed back toward the clan compound.

"You just... defeated eight people at once."

Hyuga Mami said without looking back.

Although it had not been a fight to the death.

They had not even used weapons, merely exchanging punches and kicks like children fighting.

What Hyuga Sho had done was still enough to astonish anyone.

"Young Lady, it was all the result of my hard work."

Without hesitation, Hyuga Sho attributed all of it to his own effort.

"...And a bit of talent for combat."

Hyuga Sho added another sentence.

Hyuga Mami had said that sentence more than two months ago.

Now that it had been brought up again.

The image Hyuga Sho had created for himself became "hardworking" plus "combat-oriented."

Four straight months—more than one hundred and twenty days—of relentless training, constantly sparring with others.

Everyone who knew Hyuga Sho had witnessed those two things.

Everything fell perfectly into place.

Defeating eight children was no longer difficult to explain.

"Mm... you really are hardworking."

Hyuga Mami nodded.

In the entire class...

No, in the entire Ninja Academy, the only one whose diligence could compare to Hyuga Sho's... was probably Might Guy, who had failed the entrance exam back then.

Rather than calling Hyuga Sho and Uchiha Obito the "Dead Last Duo,"

Hyuga Mami preferred grouping Hyuga Sho and Might Guy together as the "Hardworking Duo."