The training ground outside the Ninja Academy.
Half a month had passed since Suiya Sarutobi had first held a practical combat lesson for the students.
During that time, they'd had one practical lesson, mainly to learn and practice throwing shuriken.
Today's combat lesson was a series of one-on-one matches. Some students were excited, while others dreaded it.
The ones who'd worked hard were naturally full of confidence. Even if they'd never won before, they knew where they fell short. The ones who often slacked off would probably end up taking a beating.
"Torifu, are you confident about today's combat lesson?" Chirori asked with some concern.
She was worried that Kyō Uchiha might take revenge on Torifu, since he'd embarrassed Kyō in front of everyone that day.
After all, she knew her own clan well. Kyō might not be as strong as she was, but he was still quite capable. She'd heard that he'd learned ninjutsu even before starting school. In their class, he was unquestionably a genius among geniuses.
Chirori knew Torifu was a good person with clever ideas, but she had no idea how strong he was. Whenever she asked, he always said he was very weak, which worried her.
"Ah, I'll be fine." Torifu scratched his head. "I probably won't be unlucky enough to draw Kyō Uchiha, right?"
That was exactly what worried Chirori. She knew Kyō Uchiha was just as vindictive as his older brother, Setsuna. If you offended him, he'd find a chance to get back at you no matter what!
Seeing how carefree Torifu seemed only made her worry more.
But Torifu was only afraid he might accidentally beat Kyō Uchiha to death.
Torifu seemed to notice Chirori's concern, so he said, "Don't worry. Did you forget I've come in first in every practical lesson?"
Torifu always ranked near the top of the class. He was first in everything, whether theory or practice, yet he never bragged about it. His classmates all thought highly of him.
"Okay."
Seeing how confident Torifu was, Chirori stopped fretting. It wouldn't be very ladylike to go on and on, and she'd already warned him anyway.
Once Suiya Sarutobi had everyone settled down, he began explaining the day's lesson. "Today is the first combat lesson for Class One, First Year. I hope you'll all give it everything you've got."
"Even though this is a combat lesson, safety comes first. Hold back once you've made your point, and don't seriously injure anyone."
Since this was the students' first combat lesson, they were bound to get excited and carried away. Suiya Sarutobi went over a long list of safety rules before finally assigning the pairs.
"Masato Nara and Keisho Hyuga."
"Daiya Akimichi and Taichi Yamanaka."
"Kosuke Sarutobi and Den Shimura."
"Chirori Uchiha and Shinku Yuhi."
Chirori gave Torifu a small smile, as if to say, Don't worry, I won't hurt your friend.
Torifu nodded in thanks. It wasn't that he looked down on Shinku Yuhi; the difference between them was simply too great.
"Maruboshi Kosuke and Umino Ikkaku."
Maruboshi Kosuke wasn't happy to hear he'd be fighting his good friend Ikkaku.
He'd wanted to make Kyō Uchiha beg for mercy today! But there was nothing he could do.
Suiya Sarutobi was very strict about following the rules. Once he'd made a decision, he wouldn't change it.
Kosuke could only clench his fists in frustration and swear that next time, he'd make Kyō Uchiha pay!
"Last, Torifu and Kyō Uchiha."
Torifu held his forehead. He'd really jinxed himself!
He really didn't want to play out some make-believe "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; don't look down on a poor young man" drama with Kyō Uchiha.
He just wanted to fight some random extra and get it over with.
He'd made plans to go eat at the Akimichi Clan's Barbecue Restaurant with Chirori at noon. Getting food was what mattered!
Kyō Uchiha struck his usual haughty pose.
He looked at Torifu with a gaze that was five parts mockery, two parts coldness, and three parts nonchalance.
Kyō Uchiha's gaze made Torifu's skin crawl. It was deeply uncomfortable.
Torifu leaned over and quietly asked Chirori, "Has Kyō Uchiha been reading some domineering CEO novels lately? What's with that complicated look in his eyes?"
"Huh? What's a domineering CEO?" Chirori asked, baffled. The things Torifu said were always so strange.
"Never mind, never mind. I made up the term. It's normal that you don't know it."
"Okay." Chirori didn't press him. She had a vague feeling that the end of this story might teach her something strange.
At Suiya Sarutobi's command, the first match began.
There was almost no suspense. Masato Nara quickly lost, and no one was surprised.
After all, the Nara Clan's real strength lay in its secret techniques, while the Hyuga Clan excelled at the Byakugan and Taijutsu.
The students took turns entering the ring, while Suiya Sarutobi carefully took notes from the sidelines.
He wrote down each student's strengths and weaknesses so he could focus on developing them later.
Chirori and Shinku Yuhi's match had also ended. Shinku Yuhi was quite capable, to be sure. He'd just happened to face Chirori.
Meanwhile, Umino Ikkaku and Maruboshi Kosuke were evenly matched. In the end, Ikkaku ran out of stamina and lost by a narrow margin.
"Once you're done, hurry up and get out of the way! Aren't you embarrassed by how weak you are?"
Kyō Uchiha sneered without restraint from the sidelines, but everyone seemed to ignore him.
They acted as if he didn't even exist. Only Maruboshi Kosuke got angry, but Ikkaku held him back in the end.
Kyō Uchiha called out to Torifu, "Let's go, little civilian. Today, I'll show you the Uchiha Clan's strength! Let's see if you still dare to act so cocky."
Then he strode off toward the arena on his own. Torifu simply scratched his ear.
He ambled over as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Chirori couldn't help worrying again. She didn't know whether Torifu really had the strength to look down on everyone or was just pretending to be cool.
"Begin."
As soon as the words left Suiya Sarutobi's mouth, Kyō Uchiha became a blur and charged at Torifu. He thrust the kunai in his hand toward Torifu's right arm.
Maruboshi Kosuke's pupils suddenly shrank. "So fast!"
Kyō Uchiha was much faster than he'd expected. Kosuke clenched his fists, knowing he wasn't a match for him.
But Torifu dodged Kyō's attack with a simple sidestep.
Then he grabbed Kyō's wrist, snatched away the kunai, and flung Kyō Uchiha backward.
His first attack had failed, so Kyō Uchiha didn't recklessly charge in again.
"Damn it, why are you so fast?"
He was taken aback. He'd trained that move for a long time, yet Torifu had countered it with such ease.
He flung five shuriken at Torifu in quick succession, trying to keep him at bay.
The wooden shuriken weren't very dangerous, but getting hit would still draw blood.
But they posed no threat to Torifu at all. He pulled out a kunai and easily knocked them aside.
Just then, Kyō Uchiha darted toward Torifu. When he was almost within reach, he suddenly leaped!
He kicked Torifu directly in the right shoulder. The shuriken had only been a feint!
But the smile on his face soon froze. Torifu had seized his foot in a vice grip!
Kyō strained with all his might, but he couldn't break free.
He hadn't expected this civilian kid to be so strong! Humiliation welled up inside him. Could it be that I really have to use that?
Kyō Uchiha roared, "Let go of me!"
After several attacks had failed, he was burning with rage!
"Sure." Torifu smiled calmly, then let go. Kyō Uchiha didn't react in time and toppled backward.
Then came a kick! It landed hard in Kyō Uchiha's stomach!
The kick was so powerful that it sent Kyō Uchiha's spittle flying everywhere!
"Argh!!! I'll kill you!"
Kyō Uchiha was furious! He couldn't accept that a civilian he looked down on had beaten him so effortlessly!
His pitiful pride drove him to do something reckless!
From an angle no one else could see, he quickly swallowed an unknown pill. Then his hands formed seals at lightning speed.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
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