Another Afternoon of Physical Education

It was another afternoon of physical education.

The sunshine warmed the playground as the children lined up in several rows, waiting for Teacher Ibuki to announce the day's training.

Teacher Ibuki stood at the front of the group, wearing a faintly mysterious smile.

"Today, I've invited some special guests to help train you."

He paused, trying to build a little suspense.

But the children below remained completely silent. Not a single one played along.

Teacher Ibuki gave an awkward chuckle. "They're outstanding upperclassmen. They've studied for several years longer than you, so they have more experience. Today, they'll give you a demonstration and then coach you in groups."

As soon as he finished speaking, murmurs rippled through the lines.

"Just upperclassmen?"

"I thought he'd invited some jonin."

"They could've at least brought a genin. What's so interesting about upperclassmen...?"

Teacher Ibuki's smile froze. Then he raised his voice. "Quiet, everyone. The upperclassmen have also trained hard. They've studied several years longer than you, which is more than enough to coach you."

The children fell silent for a second.

Then someone muttered, "But Uchiha Toru and the others put on such a great fight in the last exam..."

"Yeah, that Fire Style technique was so cool."

"Can the upperclassmen do that?"

A vein popped on Teacher Ibuki's forehead. He took a deep breath, did his best to keep smiling, then turned and waved toward the edge of the field.

"All right, let's welcome our upperclassmen!"

Five older students walked over from the edge of the field.

Three boys and two girls, all wearing neat training uniforms and sporting the smug air of "I'm your upperclassman."

At the back was a black-haired boy with the Byakugan. His name was Hyuga Kazuki, and he came from the Hyuga Main Family. He was one of the top students in his year.

He looked over the group of little kids, ready to bask in their admiration, when he suddenly froze.

In the crowd, a child in a red shirt was yawning.

Hyuga Kazuki's pupils contracted slightly.

It was him.

The kid he'd run into in the hallway.

That day, he'd brought some people along to teach Hyuga Shota a lesson. Everything had been going smoothly, until that kid in red appeared out of nowhere.

He'd attacked for ages without even touching the hem of the kid's clothes.

Hyuga Kazuki's expression stiffened for an instant, but he quickly composed himself.

Teacher Ibuki clapped his hands.

"All right, the upperclassmen will start by demonstrating some basic Taijutsu. Watch carefully."

The older students stepped into the middle of the playground and began their demonstration.

Every move was precise and deliberate.

Their techniques were textbook, their stances perfect.

When they finished, the upperclassmen settled into their final poses and waited for applause.

The playground stayed quiet for two seconds.

Then a few scattered claps broke the silence.

Teacher Ibuki's smile stiffened again. "What did you think?"

A few seconds passed before someone muttered, "That's it?"

"They weren't as good as Kakashi and the others in the last exam."

"Yeah, Kakashi and Uchiha Toru's fight was the real deal."

"Shin-chan's was good too, even though he lost."

"The upperclassmen's moves... seemed kind of slow?"

Teacher Ibuki's smile vanished completely.

The older students didn't look too happy either.

The tall, thin boy leading them furrowed his brow and stepped forward.

"What did you say?"

The class fell silent for a moment.

Someone whispered, "We're just telling the truth..."

"The truth?" The tall, thin boy sneered. "Then come up here and try it yourselves."

The class went quiet again.

Then someone started chanting.

"Kakashi, go!"

"Uchiha Toru, you go!"

"Shin-chan! Shin-chan!"

The voices grew louder and more chaotic.

Teacher Ibuki opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the situation had already spun completely out of control.

He was a Chunin. He ought to be able to stop them, but was it appropriate for a teacher to step in by force?

He hadn't handled the clash between Asuma and Obito well last time. Could he handle this one any better?

While Teacher Ibuki hesitated,

the tall, thin boy crossed his arms and looked at Class A, a taunting smile playing on his lips.

"What's wrong, scared? You were all talking a big game just now."

The class fell silent.

Everyone's gaze landed on the three children at the front.

Kakashi stood at the edge of the group, gazing lazily into the distance with one eye, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Uchiha Toru lowered his head, lost in thought.

Shin-chan was crouched on the ground, playing "hide-and-seek without a seeker" all by himself.

"Kakashi!" someone called.

Kakashi didn't move.

"Uchiha Toru!"

Uchiha Toru looked up at Teacher Ibuki, then lowered his head again.

"Shin-chan!"

Shin-chan raised his head and looked around in confusion. "Huh? Who called me?"

The ones chanting grew impatient.

"They're looking down on our class! Go teach them a lesson!"

"Yeah, show them how strong Class A is!"

"Kakashi, you'd definitely win!"

Kakashi finally turned to look at the older students.

Then he looked away.

"Boring."

The two words were light and dismissive.

The chanters froze, then looked at Uchiha Toru.

"Um... the teacher hasn't said we can yet..." Uchiha Toru said quietly.

"Why do you care about the teacher? Just go!"

Uchiha Toru shook his head and stepped back. "I don't want to fight."

The chanters turned to Shin-chan.

"Shin-chan."

"Hm?"

"You go!"

Shin-chan looked up at the older students, then at his classmates who were chanting. He tilted his head and thought for a moment.

Then he stood up and dusted off his bottom.

Everyone watched him.

Shin-chan took one step forward.

Then another.

He walked to the front of the group.

Then he yawned.

"What a pain."

The chanters fell silent.

After a few seconds, the tall, thin boy sneered. "Anyone who wants to challenge us can come right up."

The class fell silent for a second.

Then Might Guy stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

Might Guy clenched his fist and strode forward. "Youth means challenging the strong! Upperclassman, please go easy on me."

The tall, thin boy glanced at him, a trace of disdain curling his lips.

"Sure."

Might Guy charged up and threw a punch, but the boy dodged to the side and struck him in the back with his palm.

Might Guy staggered a few steps, steadied himself, and charged again.

Twenty seconds later,

Might Guy was sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

"I... I lost..."

The tall, thin boy smiled but said nothing.

Then Obito charged forward. "My turn!"

Fifteen seconds later,

he was down.

The tall, thin boy shook out his hand and smiled. "Next?"

The class fell silent.

One of the other upperclassmen laughed. "That's it? You were talking pretty big just now."

Another chimed in, "They're only first-years. All they're good at is running their mouths."

"Well, it's only natural. They're just five years old. How strong can you expect them to be?"

Laughter broke out.

The tall, thin boy's gaze swept across the crowd. "I heard your class has an Uchiha, too. Why doesn't he dare come out?"