A Draw

"Wow!!"

"One-shot!"

"Amazing!!"

"Gekko Hayate is the best!"

The moment Inuzuka Ryota's ninja tools hit the ground, the bronze-tier students of Class 8, Year 2, finally snapped out of their stupor after a few seconds and began cheering excitedly.

Ito Ni, who had been screaming his lungs out earlier to support Gekko Hayate, was now shedding tears of emotion. However, his expression carried a hint of inexplicable sorrow that made one's heart ache.

The upperclassmen from Class 7, Year 5, were having a hard time processing what they had just seen.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"How is this possible? Ryota was actually..."

"It must be luck, right? How could a brat like Gekko Hayate have such precise shuriken aim?"

"That's not right. The shuriken weren't sharpened, were they? How did Gekko Hayate manage to slice open the ninja tool pouch?"

"Because the quality of the practice ninja tool pouches is terrible to begin with."

"Even so, Gekko Hayate's shuriken technique is still incredibly impressive!"

"I think it's just because Ryota is too clumsy."

Listening to the chatter around him, Inuzuka Ryota stood in the center of the field and looked at Gekko Hayate with a resentful expression: Junior, if you're this good, why didn't you go easy on me? Don't I have a reputation to maintain as your senior?

Recalling his earlier claim that he would "go easy" on his junior, Inuzuka Ryota felt as though his soul had nowhere to hide.

"I accept your concession," Gekko Hayate said, stepping forward and extending his right hand.

"Woof..."

At this moment, Inuzuka Ryota's ninja hound, a knee-high puppy named Roga, finally decided to act serious. It nimbly picked up a kunai from the ground and looked up, trying to hand it to its young master.

Inuzuka Ryota silently grabbed Roga by the scruff of its neck, carried it dejectedly over to Gekko Hayate, and performed the Seal of Reconciliation. He then turned and walked over to Aburame Aoyama. "Aoyama, lend me your trench coat and sunglasses. I can't show my face anymore."

Aburame Aoyama wore a high-collared trench coat and sunglasses, with short hair; from the outside, one could only see his nose and forehead. This outfit was perfect for hiding one's identity.

Upon hearing Inuzuka Ryota's request, Aburame Aoyama responded with a practical action... he took two steps to the side, putting as much distance between them as possible.

As Gekko Hayate retreated to the sidelines, the bronze-tier students of Class 8 immediately swarmed him.

"Hayate, that was awesome!"

"I never imagined you were this strong now!"

"How about this: I'll teach you theory, and you teach me Kunai throwing. We each teach what we're good at, deal?"

"All of you, move aside. Whose spot are you standing in?"

Anko, accompanied by Iruka, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, and Inuzuka Sa, pushed aside the sycophants who were crowding the area. "Our team needs to stand together as a complete unit."

That sounded a bit creepy, so Hanfu quickly interrupted Anko. "Let's just watch the match for now."

At this moment, the duel between Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Shinichi had reached a fever pitch.

The two were frantically showering each other with ninja tools. Kunai whistled through the air, leaving behind straight streaks of afterimages. Shuriken spun, slicing through the air with ear-piercing shrieks as they attacked from all directions in bizarre arcs. Silent Senbon struck like cunning vipers; one wrong move and you would be bitten!

The crowd watched, dazzled and mesmerized, though they couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry.

Although the practice ninja tools weren't sharpened, they were being thrown with such speed and force that if they struck a vital point, they would still cause massive injury!

Anko watched, unable to help herself from criticizing, "Hanfu, look at them, then look at yourself. Can't you try a little harder?"

She was very dissatisfied that Hanfu had KO'd his opponent in one move; it lacked any sense of spectacle.

Fights were supposed to be flashy to attract everyone's attention!

"I haven't even settled the score with you yet!" Hanfu said indignantly. "You were the loudest one egging them on earlier. You know what your intentions were—I'm too embarrassed to even point them out for you."

Anko felt a bit sheepish and pulled Iruka over, switching places with him.

"Hanfu, actually, the one who shouted the loudest earlier was Ito Ni."

Iruka smiled and looked around. "Huh? Where did Ito Ni go?"

"Ito Ni..."

Hanfu couldn't help but laugh. "Probably hiding somewhere crying."

"Hanfu, who do you think will win?"

Kotetsu Hagane pushed Iruka aside to stand next to Hanfu, asking with some excitement.

"A draw, I suppose."

Hanfu glanced at the fight and said offhandedly.

"Nonsense, Shisui will definitely win!"

Hearing Hanfu's words, Inuzuka Sa immediately pushed Kotetsu Hagane aside, puffing out her cheeks as she glared at Hanfu.

"I say..." Hanfu asked with a smile, "Sa, why aren't you concerned about your brother? He was just insta-killed by me, you know."

"Hmph, he brought it on himself. I don't want to deal with him."

Inuzuka Sa turned her head away with a haughty huff, fixing her gaze on Uchiha Shisui, her large, watery eyes practically turning into hearts.

Unfortunately, as the final kunai from Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Shinichi collided in mid-air and clattered to the ground, the battle ended in a draw.

"How could it be a draw?"

Inuzuka Sa was very unhappy, but upon second thought, her opponent was a fifth grade senior after all. Being able to tie already proved that Shisui was a genius, and thinking this way, she couldn't help but feel happy for him again.

"Uchiha Shisui really is a genius, he actually managed to tie with Shinichi!"

"That was just a tie in ninja tool throwing. If it were a real fight, Shinichi would definitely be stronger!"

"Shinichi's gentle fist has already reached eight palms!"

"But come to think of it, Ryota is really pathetic."

"Tell me about it, embarrassing."

"Embarrassing."

"Embarrassing."

Inuzuka Ryota, holding his little puppy Roga by the scruff of its neck, couldn't even lift his head under the chorus of "embarrassing" from those around him.

"Whimper..."

Roga had been held up for quite a while. Now, it curled up its limbs and lowered its doggy head, wearing an expression even more aggrieved than its little master, looking for all the world like it had been possessed by a husky.

"Truly the strongest genius of the Uchiha clan!"

Hyuga Shinichi glanced at the ninja tools scattered on the ground and said solemnly, "You held back just now, didn't you!"

Uchiha Shisui smiled and directly changed the subject: "Compared to Hanfu, I still have a long way to go."

Hyuga Shinichi froze for a moment, recalling the scene where Hanfu had followed him to "learn" with such a serious look, only to turn around and instantly take down Ryota. He sighed helplessly: The kids these days are either hiding their true strength or playing dumb; it puts a lot of pressure on us seniors.

"The teacher is back!"

Suddenly, a voice came from the edge of the crowd. The group descended into chaos in an instant; the students from Class 1, Year 2 and Class 8 scrambled to find their respective captains and began pretending to study.

Hanfu also hurried over to the side of Hyuga Shinichi and Hyuga Itsuki.

"Hanfu, your ninja tool throwing is so outstanding, yet you played the novice in front of me." Hyuga Shinichi teased, "You were trying to make a fool of me on purpose, weren't you?"

"No, I was just showing respect to a senior." Hanfu spouted nonsense with a straight face.

"Big Brother Shinichi, between Hanfu and Shisui, whose kunai throwing is better?" Hyuga Itsuki asked curiously.

"Hmm..."

Hyuga Shinichi glanced at Gekko Hayate and said, "Gekko Hayate only made one move, so it's hard for me to say."

Hyuga Itsuki was about to ask more, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Kashima Isamu and Hiramatsu Daishi. He quickly shut his mouth and began to practice diligently.

Not far away, Kashima Isamu and Hiramatsu Daishi acted as if they had noticed nothing, weaving through the study groups as if nothing were amiss.

In fact, they had noticed the situation as soon as Inuzuka Ryota started stirring up trouble. Kashima Isamu had wanted to intervene, but Hiramatsu Daishi felt that letting them blow off some steam wasn't necessarily a bad thing, so the two had hidden nearby to observe.

"Da-Yong, what's the deal with that Gekko Hayate in your class?"

Hiramatsu Daishi's lips moved slightly, speaking to Kashima Isamu in a voice too low for others to hear. "To be able to slice open a Ninja Tool Pouch with an unsharpened Shuriken—don't you get the feeling his Ninja Tool Throwing is no worse than ours?"

"This... I suppose he just has a very high aptitude for this sort of thing."

Kashima Isamu swept a glance toward Gekko Hayate in the distance, feeling somewhat uncertain himself.

"Da-Yong, why don't you let me have this student?" Hiramatsu Daishi suggested. "Come to think of it, I was the one who discovered his talent for Ninja Tool Throwing first."

Kashima Isamu snorted. "Impossible. I will absolutely never give up on any student in my class, no matter how poor their talent is!"

"Gekko Hayate's talent isn't poor, though?"

"That just makes it even more impossible, so stop asking!"

"..."

Thanks to book friend Zhu Tingfeng for the tip and support.