"Whoa!!"
"Instant knockout!"
"Amazing!!"
"Hayate is the best!"
The moment Inuzuka Ryota's ninja tools hit the ground, the bronze-ranked kids in Class 8, Year 2 stared blankly for two or three seconds before finally reacting. Then they whooped excitedly.
Ito Ni, who had earlier shouted himself hoarse cheering Hayate on, also shed tears of emotion. But his expression was somehow tinged with a hint of melancholy, making him look pitiful.
The upperclassmen from Class 7, Year 5 had a harder time accepting it.
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
"How is that possible? Ryota got taken out just like that..."
"Was it luck? How could that kid named Gekko Hayate be so accurate with shuriken?"
"Wait, weren't the shuriken blunt? How did Gekko Hayate cut open the Ninja Tool Pouch?"
"Because practice pouches are made pretty cheaply."
"Even so, Gekko Hayate's shuriken are incredible!"
"I think it's because Ryota's just too clumsy."
Listening to the chatter around him, Inuzuka Ryota stood in the middle of the field and gave Hayate a resentful look. If you're this good, why didn't you go easy on me, junior? Don't your seniors deserve to save face?
Remembering how he'd said earlier that "seniors know how to hold back," Inuzuka Ryota felt as if he had nowhere to put his soul.
"I yield." Hayate stepped forward and held out his right hand.
"Wuu..."
At last, Ryota's Ninja Dog, a little wolfdog that came up to his knees, got serious. It swiftly picked a Kunai up in its mouth and looked up, ready to hand it to its young master.
Ryota silently grabbed Roga by the scruff and carried him over to Hayate, head bowed. He exchanged the Seal of Reconciliation with him, then turned and went back to Aburame Aoyama. "Aoyama, lend me your coat and sunglasses. I can't show my face."
Aburame Aoyama wore a high-collared trench coat and sunglasses, and his short hair left outsiders able to see only his nose and forehead. His outfit was perfect for hiding himself.
At Ryota's request, Aoyama responded with action: he took two steps to the side, putting plenty of distance between them.
Once Hayate stepped aside, the bronze-ranked kids from Class 8 crowded around him.
"Hayate, that was amazing!"
"I can't believe you've gotten this strong!"
"I'll teach you theory, and you teach me how to throw Kunai. We can teach each other, okay?"
"Move it, all of you! You're in my spot!"
Anko brought Iruka, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, and Inuzuka Sa over and shoved aside the kids who were sucking up to Hayate. "We're a team, so we should stand together as a team."
That sounded a little creepy, so Hayate hurriedly cut her off. "Let's just watch the match first."
By then, Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Shinichi's match had reached its most intense point.
The two of them unleashed a storm of ninja tools at each other. Kunai whistled through the air, leaving straight trails behind them. Shuriken spun through the air, accompanied by piercing whistles as they swept in from all directions along strange arcs. The silent Senbon darted like venomous snakes, ready to strike anyone who let their guard down!
Everyone watched, dazzled and enthralled, but couldn't help feeling a little worried, too.
The practice ninja tools were blunt, but thrown with such speed and force, they could still cause serious injuries if they hit a vital spot!
Anko watched and couldn't help criticizing Hayate. "Look at them, Hayate, and then look at yourself. Can't you put in a little more effort?"
She was unhappy that Hayate had knocked his opponent out in one move. There'd been nothing entertaining about it.
When it came to fighting, you had to make a flashy show of it to get people's attention!
"I haven't even settled things with you yet!" Hayate snapped. "You were the loudest one egging me on. Tell me what you were thinking. I'm too embarrassed to spell it out for you."
Anko looked a little embarrassed. She pulled Iruka over and switched places with him.
"Hayate, actually, Ito Ni was the one shouting the loudest just now."
Iruka turned and looked around. "Huh? Where did Ito Ni go?"
"Ito Ni..."
Hayate couldn't help laughing. "He's probably hiding somewhere and crying."
"Hayate, who do you think will win?"
Kotetsu Hagane pushed past Iruka and stood beside Hayate, asking with some excitement.
"It'll be a draw."
Hayate glanced over and answered casually.
"Nonsense. Shisui will definitely win!"
Hearing Hayate's answer, Inuzuka Sa immediately shoved Kotetsu Hagane aside and glared at Hayate, cheeks puffed out.
"Tell me..." Hayate asked with a smile. "Sa, why don't you care about your brother at all? I just knocked him out in one move, you know."
"Hmph! He brought it on himself. I don't want to bother with him."
Inuzuka Sa turned away haughtily and focused on Shisui. Her big, watery eyes practically turned into hearts.
Unfortunately, when the last Kunai thrown by Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Shinichi clashed in midair and fell to the ground, the match ended in a draw.
"How could it be a draw?"
Inuzuka Sa was unhappy. But then she remembered that Shisui's opponent was a fifth-year senior. Drawing with him proved Shisui was a genius, and that thought made her happy for Shisui.
"Uchiha Shisui really is a genius. He managed to draw with Shinichi!"
"They only tied at throwing ninja tools. In a real fight, Shinichi would definitely win!"
"Shinichi has already mastered Eight Palms!"
"Still, Ryota was pretty useless, huh?"
"Yeah, embarrassing."
"Embarrassing."
"Embarrassing."
Inuzuka Ryota held Roga by the scruff while the jeers around him made him hang his head.
"Wuu..."
Roga had been dangling there for a while. Now he curled up his legs and lowered his head, looking even more aggrieved than his young master. He looked like a little fool.
"As expected of the Uchiha Clan's greatest genius!"
Hyuga Shinichi glanced at the ninja tools scattered on the ground and said gravely, "You were holding back just now, weren't you?"
Uchiha Shisui smiled and changed the subject. "Compared with Hayate, I still have a long way to go."
Hyuga Shinichi was taken aback. He remembered how Hayate had followed along as if he were genuinely learning from him, only to turn around and knock Ryota out in one move. He sighed helplessly. Kids these days either hide their abilities or pretend to be stupid. They're putting us seniors under a lot of pressure.
"The teachers are back!"
A voice suddenly came from the edge of the crowd. The group instantly fell into disarray. The bronze-ranked kids from Class 1, Year 2 and Class 8 quickly found their respective team captains, then pretended to get back to studying.
Hayate hurried over to stand beside Hyuga Shinichi and Hyuga Itsuki.
"Hayate, you're so good at throwing ninja tools, yet you pretended to be a beginner in front of me." Hyuga Shinichi teased him. "Were you trying to make a fool of me?"
"No, I was showing respect to my senior." Hayate answered with a straight face, shamelessly spouting nonsense.
"Shinichi, who's better at throwing Kunai, Hayate or Shisui?" Hyuga Itsuki asked curiously.
"Hmm..."
Hyuga Shinichi glanced at Hayate. "Hayate only threw once, so I can't really say."
Hyuga Itsuki was about to ask another question when he caught sight of Kashima Isamu and Hiramatsu Daishi out of the corner of his eye. He quickly shut his mouth and got back to practicing.
Not far away, Kashima Isamu and Hiramatsu Daishi acted as if they hadn't noticed anything, strolling casually between the groups of three students studying together.
In fact, they'd noticed as soon as Inuzuka Ryota started making a fuss. Kashima Isamu had wanted to stop them, but Hiramatsu Daishi thought it wouldn't hurt to let them have a little fun, so the two of them had watched from the sidelines.
"Isamu, what's the deal with that student of yours, Gekko Hayate?"
Hiramatsu Daishi barely moved his lips, speaking to Kashima Isamu in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear. "He can cut open a Ninja Tool Pouch with blunt shuriken. Why does it feel like he's as good at throwing ninja tools as we are?"
"Well... maybe he's especially talented in that area."
Kashima Isamu glanced at Hayate nearby, looking just as uncertain.
"Isamu, why don't you let me take this student off your hands?" Hiramatsu Daishi asked. "I was the one who first spotted his talent for throwing ninja tools, after all."
Kashima Isamu snorted. "Not a chance. I would never give up on any of my students, no matter how bad their talent was!"
"Hayate's not untalented, though, is he?"
"That makes it even less likely. Why are you still asking?"
"..."
Thanks to the reader Zhu Tingfeng for the generous reward.
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