I Sympathize With You, But You Want to Overthrow Me?

The students of Class 4-A were at leisure, acting as spectators to the lively scene.

Jiraiya chuckled, "Watanabe didn't surrender, I can only say he has commendable courage, but unfortunately, he's destined to taste Tsunade's iron fist."

He knew firsthand how painful Tsunade's iron fist was.

Orochimaru, Dan Katō, Hiruko, and the others nearby nodded in agreement. In their eyes, this was a spar with no suspense.

[Underestimated: Confidence +2, Charm +2, Courage +3...]

A light screen popped up, continuously stacking buffs on Watanabe, further igniting the heroic spirit within him.

Watanabe vaguely understood the system's use, but it needed verification. Now was the best time to test it out on Tsunade.

"Finally, not a coward."

Tsunade quietly let out a sigh of relief. Whether it was an illusion or not, looking at Watanabe before her, she felt he was enveloped in a peculiar and unique charm.

Charm was something intangible, yet it could be felt; it was quite mysterious.

"Please guide me."

Watanabe said politely, his voice gentle. Coupled with his sunny, handsome appearance and the profound, mysterious charm he exuded, Tsunade felt a sense of being bathed in a spring breeze.

No peer had ever given her such a feeling.

"Mm."

Tsunade responded faintly.

She decided to go easy on him, at least not let Watanabe lose too badly, and save him some face in front of his classmates.

"Spar, begin."

Osaka Rukawa announced.

Watanabe formed hand seals, and immediately conjured a slightly blurry clone. It attacked Tsunade from both the front and back.

Jiraiya was startled, "Facing Tsunade, Watanabe attacks instead of defending. Does he think he hasn't lost fast enough?"

What happened next surprised him even more. Tsunade was actually fighting back and forth with two Watanabes.

"Pa pa pa!"

Tsunade didn't use Ninjutsu, only pure Taijutsu. Every clash between them produced loud sounds of physical impact.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, over a minute had gone by.

The expressions of the onlookers gradually shifted from their initial leisurely state to astonishment.

They had expected Watanabe to be instantly defeated by Tsunade, but he had managed to fight her for so long.

Had Watanabe, without anyone noticing, risen from the bottom of the class?

At this moment, Watanabe himself was quite confused.

It was said that Senju Clan members were naturally endowed with great strength, and Taijutsu was their forte. Yet, he felt Tsunade's strength wasn't that great, and he wasn't struggling to deal with her at all.

"Is she going easy on me?"

Watanabe quickly realized that Tsunade's true strength was definitely more than this.

"But I don't need you to go easy on me."

Watanabe felt like crying and laughing. He wanted to use Tsunade to verify the system's function, and he wanted a real fight with her. A spar where she intentionally went easy wasn't what he wanted.

When the spar reached the two-minute mark, Tsunade felt it was enough. Continuing to pretend would be excessive. Besides, Watanabe could be considered to have earned honor in defeat by fighting her to this point.

With this thought, Tsunade pushed out a punch, first smashing the blurry clone, and then hitting Watanabe's left shoulder.

"Bang."

A dull thud echoed as Watanabe was sent flying backward.

"Wow!"

The crowd gasped. Tsunade's punch looked painful.

"I told you Watanabe was asking for humiliation. He could never be Tsunade's opponent."

"After taking that hit, Watanabe's going to be in a lot of pain."

Jiraiya winced, as if Tsunade's punch had landed on him.

[Attacked: Blood Essence +13, Defense +10, Constitution +4...]

A row of light screens popped up.

Watanabe, lying on the ground, was stunned. The spot hit by Tsunade didn't hurt at all; instead, his whole body felt refreshed, and his Blood Essence was abundant.

"As expected, this is indeed how the system works!"

Regaining his senses, Watanabe was excited.

Karma Reversal, as the name suggested, allowed his system to reverse karma. Previously, being underestimated and mocked by his classmates had boosted his confidence. Now, being hit by Tsunade's punch, which should have injured him, had instead increased his Blood Essence and Defense.

Seeing Watanabe knocked down by Tsunade's punch, Osaka Rukawa announced, "Third spar, Tsunade wins..."

"Wait!"

Watanabe interrupted, scrambling to his feet with practiced ease.

"I can still fight, I haven't lost."

"Uh."

Everyone looked at him in surprise, not understanding what he meant.

You were sent flying by a single punch, and you haven't lost?

Do they have to beat you to death for it to count as a loss?

"This guy..."

Tsunade stared straight at Watanabe. She knew her own strength all too well. While she had held back most of her power in that punch, it was still enough to leave an ordinary person sore for days.

"Did I go easy on him earlier, giving him the illusion that he could defeat me?"

Tsunade thought to herself, guessing why Watanabe refused to concede. If he could defeat her in front of the entire class, he would officially become famous. She figured he was trying to seize this opportunity to show off.

"Alright, you two continue your spar,"

Osaka Rukawa said. Since Watanabe still wanted to continue, he truly hadn't lost yet.

Watanabe lunged at Tsunade again, launching his attack.

[In Combat: Fatigue -5, Energy +6, Stamina +3...]

Watanabe grew more courageous as the fight went on, full of vigor and completely unfazed by exhaustion.

Tsunade felt helpless. To avoid revealing that she had been faking the fight earlier, she could only continue to fake it, engaging in a clumsy back-and-forth with Watanabe like two novice players.

Two minutes later, Tsunade pretended to find an opening in Watanabe's defense and landed a punch on his right shoulder.

"Bang."

Watanabe flew back as if struck.

[Attack Received: Blood Essence +15, Defense +12, Pain -7...]

"So good!"

Watanabe almost cried out in pleasure. A tingling, warm current flowed through his entire body, his Blood Essence surging.

"Watanabe should definitely not be able to get up this time!"

"Tsunade has natural divine strength; ordinary people can't withstand her punches."

"To be able to fight Tsunade for this long, Watanabe is quite formidable. He should rank in the middle of the class, not at the very bottom."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. No one was mocking or ridiculing him anymore. After all, this spar had proven his strength to everyone through his actions.

Just as Tsunade thought it was over, the next moment--

"It's not over yet!"

Watanabe brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up for the second time.

Tsunade's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. She felt Watanabe was being rather ungrateful.

I went easy on you out of sympathy, not wanting you to lose too badly, and you want to defeat me to become famous?

Tsunade wasn't known for her good temper and was gradually losing patience, feeling an urge to beat Watanabe like she would Jiraiya.

Watanabe didn't have as many thoughts as Tsunade. Without a word, he charged at Tsunade, giving off the impression that he wouldn't stop until she defeated him today.

Anger flashed in Tsunade's beautiful eyes. She decided to use more force to teach him a lesson.

"Slap, slap, slap!"

[In Combat: Fatigue -4, Energy +7, Stamina +2...]

After another minute of faking the fight, Tsunade landed a punch to Watanabe's lower abdomen.