What are those complex emotions in his eyes?

On the playground outside the Ninja Academy.

It had been half a month since Suiya Sarutobi organized the first practical lesson for the students.

During this period, they had attended one practical class, which mainly focused on teaching and testing shuriken throwing.

Today's practical lesson consisted of one-on-one sparring matches, a situation that left some students overjoyed and others filled with dread.

Those who worked hard were naturally full of confidence, knowing exactly where they stood even if they lost, while those who often slacked off would likely only be on the receiving end of a beating.

"Torikaze, are you confident about today's sparring?" Izori asked with a hint of concern.

Because Torikaze Kumonaka had caused Kyō Uchiha to lose face in front of everyone that day, Izori was worried that Kyō would seek revenge.

After all, she knew her own clan well; although Kyō was not as skilled as she was, his strength was still solid. She had heard that he had learned ninjutsu even before starting school, and he could definitely be considered a genius among geniuses in their class.

Izori only knew that Torikaze was a decent person with good ideas, but she didn't know his true strength. Whenever she asked, Torikaze always claimed he was very weak, which made her worry.

"Ah, I'm alright, I guess." Torikaze scratched his head. "I shouldn't be unlucky enough to get paired with Kyō Uchiha, right?"

This was exactly what worried Izori, because she knew that Kyō, like his brother Setsuna, was extremely vindictive. If you offended him, he would find any opportunity to retaliate!

Seeing Torikaze's devil-may-care attitude only made her more anxious.

But Torikaze was simply afraid that he might accidentally kill Kyō Uchiha.

Torikaze seemed to notice Izori's worry, so he said, "Don't worry, have you forgotten that I've been first in every practical class?"

Torikaze Kumonaka's grades in class were always at the top; whether in theory or practice, he was first in everything, yet he never boasted or acted arrogant, earning him a great reputation among his classmates.

"Alright then."

Seeing that Torikaze was so confident, Izori stopped nagging, as it wouldn't be very ladylike, and she had already warned him anyway.

After organizing the discipline, Suiya Sarutobi began to explain the content of today's practical lesson: "Today is the first practical lesson for Class 1, Year 1, and I hope everyone will show their full potential."

"Although this is a practical exercise, safety comes first. Therefore, stop when you have made your point during the fight; you must not cause serious injury to others."

Because it was the students' first time in a practical lesson, they were inevitably excited and impulsive, so Suiya Sarutobi emphasized safety repeatedly before starting the grouping.

"Masato Nara and Keisho Hyuga."

"Daiya Akimichi and Taichi Yamanaka."

"Kosuke Sarutobi and Den Shimura."

"Izori Uchiha and Shinku Yuhi."

After hearing this, Izori gave Torikaze a faint smile, which essentially meant: Don't worry, I won't hurt your friend.

Torikaze nodded to express his gratitude; it wasn't that he looked down on Shinku Yuhi, but the gap between them was simply too vast.

"Kosuke Maruboshi and Ikkaku Umino."

When Kosuke Maruboshi heard he had to spar against his good buddy Ikkaku, he felt a bit dissatisfied.

He had wanted to make Kyō Uchiha kneel and beg for mercy today! But there was no helping it.

Suiya Sarutobi was very disciplined; once a decision was made, it could not be changed.

He could only clench his fists in frustration and swear that he would definitely make Kyō Uchiha pay next time!

"Finally, Torikaze Kumonaka and Kyō Uchiha."

Torikaze rubbed his forehead; he had really jinxed himself!

He really didn't want to play out some "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the young because they are poor" cliché with Kyō Uchiha.

He just wanted to beat some random extra and get it over with.

He had an appointment with Izori to eat at the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant at noon; filling his stomach was the priority!

Kyō Uchiha, as always, adopted his signature arrogant posture.

He looked at Torikaze with eyes that held five parts mockery, two parts coldness, and three parts indifference.

Torikaze felt his skin crawl under that gaze, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

He leaned over and whispered to Izori, "Has Kyō Uchiha been reading some 'domineering CEO' novels lately? Why is his gaze so complex?"

"Eh? What is a 'domineering CEO'?" Izori was confused; Torikaze's words were always so strange.

"Nothing, nothing, just a term I made up. It's normal that you don't understand."

"Alright." Izori didn't press further, as she had a vague feeling that the end of that story might lead her to learn some strange knowledge.

Following Suiya Sarutobi's command, the first match began.

There was almost no suspense; Masato Nara was quickly defeated, and no one was surprised.

After all, the true strength of the Nara Clan lay in their secret techniques, while the Hyuga excelled in the Byakugan and taijutsu.

The students took the stage one pair at a time, and Suiya Sarutobi recorded everything carefully on the sidelines.

He noted down the strengths and weaknesses of every student in detail to facilitate focused training in the future.

The match between Izori and Shinku Yuhi also concluded; it had to be said that Shinku Yuhi's strength was quite good, but he had simply run into Izori.

On the other hand, Umino Ikkaku and Maruboshi Kosuke were evenly matched, though Ikkaku eventually ran out of stamina and fell slightly behind.

"Get out of the way now that you're done! Isn't such a pathetic performance embarrassing enough?"

Kyō Uchiha mocked them unscrupulously from the sidelines, but everyone seemed to selectively ignore him.

It was as if they didn't even consider him a person; only Maruboshi Kosuke was provoked by him, but he was ultimately held back by Ikkaku.

Kyō Uchiha shouted at Kumonaka Torikaze, "Let's go! Commoner brat, today I'll show you the power of the Uchiha Clan! Let's see if you still dare to be arrogant with me."

After saying this, he walked toward the sparring arena on his own, while Kumonaka Torikaze picked at his ear.

Looking completely nonchalant, he walked up in a leisurely manner.

Chirori couldn't help but worry again; she didn't know if Torikaze truly possessed the strength to look down on everything or if he was just putting on a brave face.

"Begin."

As soon as the word fell, Kyō Uchiha had already transformed into a blurred shadow, lunging in front of Torikaze and thrusting his kunai fiercely toward Torikaze's right arm.

Maruboshi Kosuke's pupils constricted: "So fast!"

Kyō Uchiha's speed was far greater than he had imagined; he clenched his fists secretly, knowing he was no match for Kyō Uchiha.

Yet, with just a sidestep, Kumonaka Torikaze dodged the attack.

He then grabbed Kyō's wrist, snatched the kunai away, and threw Kyō Uchiha back with a reverse motion.

Having failed his first strike, Kyō Uchiha chose not to rush in recklessly again.

"Damn it, how is he so fast!"

He felt somewhat surprised; he had practiced this move for a long time and hadn't expected it to be neutralized so easily.

He immediately threw five shuriken viciously to suppress Kumonaka Torikaze.

Although wooden shuriken had limited lethality, getting hit by them would still draw blood.

However, these shuriken posed no threat to Torikaze, who pulled out a kunai and blocked them with ease.

But at this moment, Kyō Uchiha approached Torikaze rapidly, suddenly leaping up just as he reached him!

He kicked Torikaze directly on the right shoulder; the shuriken had only been a feint!

But then the smile on his face stiffened—his foot had been firmly grabbed by Kumonaka Torikaze!

He exerted all his strength, yet he couldn't break free.

He hadn't expected this commoner brat to be so strong! A sense of humiliation crept into his heart: Could it be that I really have to use that?

Kyō Uchiha roared, "Let go of me!"

After several failed attacks, he was now burning with rage!

"Sure." Kumonaka Torikaze smiled indifferently and released his grip, causing Kyō Uchiha to fall backward, caught off guard.

Then came a kick! It landed heavily on Kyō Uchiha's lower abdomen!

This kick was undeniably heavy, sending Kyō Uchiha's saliva splattering everywhere!

"Ah!!! Die!"

Kyō Uchiha was now furious! He absolutely could not accept that he had been defeated so casually by a commoner he looked down upon!

His pathetic pride forced him to take a desperate action!

At an angle where no one could see, he quickly swallowed an unknown pill and then rapidly formed hand seals.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"