The Cold-Blooded Rabbit, The Heartwarming Fox

Bruised and battered, Sasuke lay in his hospital bed, staring at the aluminum-paneled ceiling while questioning his life. How could Fuyuki have taken him out in a single second, and why couldn't he block even one of his punches?

A jumble of confusion filled Sasuke's mind, leaving him unable to even process his own thoughts.

"Sasuke, you're awake?" Sakura asked with a look of pleasant surprise, leaning toward the bed with concern. "Do you want some water? You've been unconscious for two days. The doctor said they'd never seen such a brutal beating before; if you hadn't woken up, they were ready to issue a critical condition notice."

"A critical condition notice???"

Sasuke gasped. He hadn't even killed that man yet, and he was already nearly beaten to death by a classmate. This...

"Drink more hot water, I'll go call the doctor." Sakura helped Sasuke lean against the headboard, handed a glass of warm water to his parched lips, and turned to run toward the nurse's station to have the doctor check on his condition.

"Um, Sasuke-kun, I am truly sorry. But in a duel for clan honor, my younger brother couldn't hold back." Hinata poked her head in from the doorway, saying cautiously, "May I come in? I'm visiting as a classmate, I don't mean anything else by it, please don't misunderstand, Sasuke-kun."

Faced with the most authentic Byakugan, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want."

He remembered that when he was kicked away by Fuyuki, it was the older sister Hinata had summoned who caught him and injected a massive amount of Chakra into his body, preventing him from passing out on the spot or making a fool of himself.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, my brother, he..." Hinata looked incredibly embarrassed. "Next time, don't challenge him by name. My brother is different from me or other members of the Hyuga Clan; he was born with a strange power that puts his strength far above his peers."

"Are you here to visit, or to mock me?" Sasuke's young face darkened. Hinata should be thankful his hands were in casts; otherwise, he would definitely drag her out to the hospital garden to spar. If he didn't, the ancestors of the Uchiha Clan would surely point fingers at his spine!

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I... I'm not very good with words. If I said something wrong, I apologize." Hinata apologized while looking so shy she wanted to slip away. "I won't disturb Sasuke-kun's rest anymore. Sorry, goodbye."

Of course, Hinata didn't come here just to visit. She had been waiting for Sasuke to wake up for the past two days specifically to persuade him to stop locking horns with Fuyuki.

Hinata knew better than most in the clan just how bizarre her younger brother was.

If Sasuke kept challenging Fuyuki to duels for clan honor at the drop of a hat, Hinata was genuinely worried that Fuyuki might slip up and cause permanent, irreversible damage.

Gentle Fist could actually kill people!

The Uchiha were down to their last seedling; they absolutely must not let him fall at the hands of the Hyuga. The Hyuga Clan did not want to bear the stigma of murdering the last Uchiha.

In fact, Hinata was overthinking it. Sasuke was just a bit stubborn, not a fool.

After this duel for clan honor nearly cost him his life, Sasuke still wanted to keep his life to kill that man!

"Looking at your condition, you should be able to be discharged in good health tomorrow."

A female doctor with Byakugan entered, sat by Sasuke's bed with a smile, and began to remove his casts and bandages.

"What is wrong with you Hyuga?" Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes again the moment he saw the Byakugan. "I can be discharged??? Look at me, covered in bandages and casts, are you sure? Is your Hyuga Clan trying to mess with my Uchiha Clan?"

"Just minor injuries. Internal bruising and hairline fractures. Keeping you in the hospital is just a waste of a bed. Go home, drink more hot water, and rest. You'll be mostly healed in three days," the female Hyuga doctor said.

"Then what about the critical condition notice?"

"Just a prank. A malicious joke played by a Hyuga on you Uchiha."

The female doctor's smile turned slightly twisted, making Sasuke feel a chill of terror. "Thanks to your Uchiha Clan's Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Yashiro, I suffered three consecutive losses during the Chunin Exams. Do you know how dark the Clan Head's face was when he lectured me?!"

"Ugh..."

Sasuke didn't want to know, and he didn't know who Uchiha Yashiro was. He wanted to resist the Hyuga doctor, but just because she was a medical ninja didn't mean she was weak. Sasuke had absolutely no power to fight back as the doctor pressed him onto the bed and began to roughly tear off his bandages and casts.

Once the doctor left, Sasuke was furious; his cheeks had been rubbed red by that jerk of a Hyuga doctor.

She had rubbed Sasuke just like one would pet a cat or scrub a Shiba Inu.

"Huh, Sasuke is actually blushing?"

Sakura and a group of classmates entered the ward as soon as the doctor left. Naruto pointed at Sasuke's face with a look of disbelief and made a snide remark, which immediately infuriated Sasuke. "None of your business, you dead-last!"

For some reason, seeing Naruto ignited a nameless fire in Sasuke's heart.

This fire didn't just burn away his negative emotions; it made him incredibly hot-headed. He wanted nothing more than to punch Naruto in the face, sit on his chest, and pummel that damn fox face of his with both hands!

A perfectly good classmate visit was ruined by Naruto, instantly turning into a comedic duo act as Naruto and Sasuke started bickering on the spot!

Sakura and Ino felt heartbroken, roaring internally: Why? We were the ones taking care of Sasuke, so why is Naruto able to flirt with Sasuke as if nothing is wrong?

So sour—even more sour than a lemon.

"Stuck-up Sasuke," Naruto and Sasuke nearly argued until they were out of breath, going at it from four o'clock until six.

"Dead-last," Sasuke panted heavily. He didn't have Naruto's stamina; if it weren't for Sakura and Ino constantly replenishing his water, he would have died of thirst long ago.

The arguing was over. Naruto, lonely since childhood, noticed Sasuke's mood had brightened and prepared to leave.

"Naruto," Sasuke called out to the fox. "You and Fuyuki are pretty close, right?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I wanted to..."

"Eh? I thought I heard someone say, 'Why is Fuyuki-san so beautiful?' Were you guys praising me?" Fuyuki pushed open the door and asked with a look of pleasant surprise.

Sasuke's expression stiffened. He turned his head away and coldly tossed out a single sentence: "It's your imagination. We were just discussing points for the theory exam; no one mentioned you."

He had originally wanted to ask Naruto why the gap in strength was so large when he and Fuyuki were the same age. He never saw Fuyuki doing any training, so why was he so much stronger than him?

Did Fuyuki have some secret method of cultivation?

"Ahhh, the theory exam!" Naruto looked like his soul had left his body, clutching his head with both hands.

Sasuke shouldn't have brought it up. As soon as he did, Naruto remembered he still had to take the written theory exam tomorrow.

Even if he scored seventy points, once the daily participation marks were factored in, he would still inevitably fail his theory exam.

Besides, he couldn't even score seventy points to begin with!

"Fuyuki."

After much deliberation, Sasuke finally gritted his teeth and decided to ask Fuyuki for the secret to becoming stronger. He was currently driven by the need to kill Uchiha Itachi and avenge his entire clan; he was an avenger. If he could kill Uchiha Itachi, why would he care about his pride? As long as the secret technique Fuyuki provided was real, he would give him his body, let alone just a handsome face!

Blushing, Sasuke asked in a soft, hesitant voice, "Do you have any secret to getting stronger? We're the same age, so why is the gap between us so large?"

"Do you really want to know?" Fuyuki asked with interest.

"I do!" Sasuke replied with a serious expression.

Fuyuki held out his hand: "Pay up."

Sasuke: "Huh???"

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