Senior Has a Sense of Propriety

"Hayate, I didn't expect you to be so popular in your class."

Standing beside Hayate, Hyuga Shinichi smiled and teased.

Popular?

Hayate looked at Ito Ni, whose ears were turning red with excitement in the distance, and Anko, whose eyes were shining with fervor. He didn't have the heart to expose their true intentions in front of the Hyuga brother.

"However, Ryota doesn't have any malicious intent. If you don't mind, Hayate, I actually suggest you give it a try," Hyuga Shinichi said.

"Huh? Why?" Hayate was stunned for a moment.

Hyuga Shinichi explained, "Because when a person stays in their own little circle for too long, they sometimes get lost and lose sight of the path ahead. The peak you think you've reached might not be the true peak. You need to challenge those who stand higher. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hayate glanced at him in surprise: To be able to say things like this, this guy's mindset is already approaching that of an adult!

"It seems that your two classes have produced two remarkable figures. Very well, then Uchiha Shisui, and Gekko Hayate, how about it? Do you want to get an early taste of the strength of your seniors and the cruelty of the ninja world?"

At this moment, Inuzuka Ryota, standing in the middle of the crowd, waved his hand with high spirits to suppress the cheers of the rookies from both classes. He laughed strangely, "If you're scared, that's fine too. Your seniors won't laugh at you."

"Hmph, Shisui wouldn't be afraid of you!"

Inuzuka Sa was the first to retort, "Big Brother Ryota, you big idiot!"

Inuzuka Ryota gave her a resentful look: This girl who keeps undermining me is definitely not my sister!

Beside them, Ito Ni also started shouting, "You self-righteous jerks, Hayate can take you all down by himself! If you don't believe it, just come at him all at once. Hayate will never admit defeat!"

"..."

Hayate felt his scalp tingle. If Ito Ni kept talking like that, he felt like he was going to be embarrassed to death!

At this time, Anko, Iruka, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane had already run over to Hayate's side, grabbing his arms and pushing his back, shoving him toward the center.

"Hayate, Hayate, go on, go on!"

"You can do it, beat them!"

"I'm telling you, Anko, Iruka, why do I feel like you guys are even more excited than the seniors?"

Hayate complained with dissatisfaction.

"Hayate, don't say so much. You're the one everyone is counting on right now! The honor of Class 8 depends on you!" Iruka patted Hayate on the shoulder, "Hayate, ganbatte!"

Half-pushed and half-willing, Hayate smiled bitterly as he was shoved into the center by these guys.

On the other side, Shisui was also pulled to the center by the rookies of Class 1, coming face-to-face with Hayate.

"Hello." Hayate waved in greeting.

"Hello." Uchiha Shisui nodded with a bitter expression as well.

With the cheering from the bronze-tier players of both classes, the two of them became acquainted without needing any formal introductions. For Hanfu, this scene meant he could naturally approach Uchiha Shisui in the future, saving him a great deal of effort.

"So, which of you juniors will go first?"

Seeing Uchiha Shisui and Hanfu walk to the center, Inuzuka Ryota's smile grew even wider. "Your seniors know how to pull their punches, so we won't hurt you~"

"Awoo!"

Inuzuka Ryota's ninja hound, Roga, let out a cute, fierce howl, bit its own tail, and then tripped over itself, face-planting into the dirt.

Inuzuka Ryota's smile didn't falter, but he quickly kicked Roga behind him with his foot: This embarrassing little guy!

"Ryota, Shisui is the greatest genius of the Uchiha clan. Don't play with fire and get burned."

Someone from Class 7, Year 5 warned.

"Hmph, scared now? Our Shisui is the strongest!"

The bronze-tier students from Class 1, Year 2 immediately chimed in to support him.

"Let me tell you a secret, Hanfu is..."

Ito Ni couldn't resist jumping out, but this time Hanfu turned his head just in time, successfully stopping him with a look full of malice!

Ito Ni let out two dry laughs, wiggled his chubby body, burrowed into the crowd, and became completely well-behaved.

"Um... do we really have to fight?" Hanfu turned his head to look at Inuzuka Ryota, his eyes filled with amusement.

"Junior Hanfu, since you're already standing here, don't try to back out now."

Inuzuka Ryota crossed his arms over his chest and smiled confidently. "Don't be afraid, your seniors know how to pull their punches!"

"Sigh, since you've put it that way..."

Hanfu shrugged. "Come on then."

Initially, Hanfu really didn't want to fight. He had assumed that Inuzuka Ryota and the others were using the so-called traditions of the Ninja Academy as an excuse to bully the lower-grade students, and that they were acting out of malice. If he lost, he would be mocked; if he won, it would be even worse, as they would surely refuse to let it go and might even gang up on him, causing him unnecessary trouble.

But Hyuga Shinichi's words just now had dispelled Hanfu's prejudice. Furthermore, after observing and interacting with Inuzuka Ryota, he realized that while this guy was a bit cliché and flamboyant, his personality wasn't bad. Fighting him might even lead to them becoming friends.

Of course, there was one more important point: compared to upperclassmen like Inuzuka Ryota, why did Hanfu feel that the malice from Ito Ni, Anko, and the others was much stronger?

Could I be overthinking it?

Hanfu glanced nonchalantly at Anko and the others, who were even more excited than he was.

"Junior Hanfu, you've got guts. So, Junior Shisui, what about you?"

Inuzuka Ryota shifted his gaze from Hanfu to Shisui.

Compared to Shisui, Hanfu was definitely the easier target to bully, but Inuzuka Ryota preferred to spar with a genius from the Uchiha clan.

"Then I..."

Uchiha Shisui nodded. "I suppose I will have to ask for your guidance, senior."

Inuzuka Ryota's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at his two friends, Hyuga Shinichi and Aburame Aoyama.

"Shinichi, Aoyama, which one of you is going to instruct our junior?"

Hyuga Shinichi and Aburame Aoyama exchanged a glance, each signaling the other with their eyes to go.

Finally, Hyuga Shinichi stepped forward, nodded at Hanfu first, then tossed a Ninja Tool Pouch to Uchiha Shisui, saying, "Junior Shisui, please go easy on me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd retreated with tacit understanding, quickly clearing a circle fifty meters in diameter.

"It seems I'm the one who has to instruct you, Junior Hanfu?"

Inuzuka Ryota also tossed a Ninja Tool Pouch to Hanfu and smiled. "Feel free to attack with all you've got, junior! Your senior knows how to pull his punches!"

Hanfu stared at Inuzuka Ryota with a strange look in his eyes while strapping the Ninja Tool Pouch to his leg.

Inuzuka Ryota felt a bit flustered under Hanfu's gaze, inexplicably feeling as if something unpleasant was about to happen.

"Then, let's begin!"

Hanfu said softly.

The next instant, Hanfu, Uchiha Shisui, Hyuga Shinichi, and Inuzuka Ryota all reached into their Ninja Tool Pouches simultaneously.

However, how could anyone compare to the hand speed Hanfu had honed over decades of being single? With a flick of his hand, Hanfu had already pulled out two Shuriken and fired them at Inuzuka Ryota.

Uchiha Shisui followed closely behind, throwing two Kunai at Hyuga Shinichi.

"So fast!"

Hyuga Shinichi's expression turned slightly grave as he performed a roll to dodge Shisui's Kunai.

But on the other side, Inuzuka Ryota was in an awkward spot. He had just pulled a Kunai from his pouch when Hanfu's Shuriken struck it, sending the Kunai flying out of his hand. By the time he reached to pull another, he was horrified to discover that the Ninja Tool Pouch strapped to his thigh had been sliced open by Hanfu's second Shuriken, causing all the ninja tools inside to clatter to the ground!

"...Heh, you've got to be kidding me, right?"

Inuzuka Ryota felt completely deflated.

Thanks to book friends Tubajiuzhou, Zanluta, and bookstore friends Xiaoxiong, Almighty Push, Xuni Yishi Wuzheng, Mengshi Liuhen, and uh...#&^*$%(╬￣皿￣) for their tips and support.