Victory

BOOM!

A ball of fire the size of a human head suddenly appeared in the arena, its scorching heat creating a pressure wave that swept across the area, shocking all the children both inside and outside the ring.

"Fire Release? How could an idiot like Uchiha Houka possibly learn Fire Release?! It's a lie, yes, this must be a genjutsu. Damn it, don't think you can fool my eyes!!!"

The veins around Masamune Hyuga's eyes became increasingly prominent, and the entire world was split into shades of gray, yet the fiercely burning flame before him still radiated a terrifying aura as it rapidly approached!

Masamune Hyuga's face finally revealed terror: "It's real, it's real, damn it, stop, hurry up and stop!!"

But he had been running with all his might, and now he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"What? He..." Outside the ring, Asuma Sarutobi looked as if he had just swallowed a bug, his mouth hanging wide open. Since the start of the term, Uchiha Houka seemed to be constantly breaking through his psychological defenses, becoming more shocking each time!

"Fire Release? Has Uchiha Houka already learned Fire Release?" The other students were also shocked and at a loss. Uchiha Houka, who had been at the bottom of the class rankings, had actually learned Fire Release—this was nothing short of a miracle!

"So amazing!" Rin and Kurenai Yuhi both widened their eyes, their breathing quickening.

"This is bad!" Only Shin Kiyono, amidst his shock, felt a hint of frustration. "Using Fire Release at such close range... although duels require fairness, I have no choice! Earth Style - Earth Style Wall!"

HUM!

In an instant, a dirt wall as thick as a thumb rose up, separating Houka from Masamune Hyuga.

BOOM!!!

Houka's Fireball and Masamune Hyuga's severely distorted Eight Trigrams Two Palms slammed into the dirt wall almost simultaneously, triggering a violent explosion.

The blast wave sent both Houka and Masamune Hyuga flying, but the waves of fire created by the exploding Fireball and the stone fragments from the shattered Earth Style Wall were both sent hurtling toward Masamune Hyuga.

"No!" Masamune Hyuga had used the Gentle Fist - Eight Trigrams Two Palms twice, and his Chakra was already exhausted. He couldn't even maintain his balance in mid-air and could only watch helplessly as the fire and stones engulfed him.

"How embarrassing!"

Houka was sent tumbling by the blast, but he quickly regained his balance and landed steadily on the ground.

At the same time, Shin Kiyono had already used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Masamune Hyuga, releasing another Earth Style Wall to protect him.

"I'm saved." Masamune Hyuga's small face was deathly pale. Then, he felt a warm, wet sensation in his crotch, a feeling of comfort like soaking in a hot spring. But once he realized what it was, his pale face turned beet red to the tips of his ears, and he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

"Amazing!"

"That was spectacular!"

"So cool, is this what a ninja battle is like?"

The surrounding students shouted excitedly, and the voices that had previously mocked Houka seemed to have vanished completely with the explosion.

Mizuki hid behind the crowd, his eyes practically spitting sparks as he stared fixedly at Uchiha Houka, clearly consumed by jealousy and feeling unbalanced.

"Haha, Houka, well done!" Uchiha Obito gave Houka a thumbs-up, his face full of excitement.

Houka stood in the arena, listening to the praise and congratulations, but suddenly felt a sense of listlessness.

Was I too serious? I actually got worked up over a six-year-old brat.

"Student Uchiha Houka, you win this duel!" Shin Kiyono walked over to announce the result. He looked at Houka earnestly, then glanced at the destruction caused by the Fireball, shaking his head with a laugh. "You really surprised your teacher!"

"Just luck," Houka shrugged, saying nonchalantly, "My luck has been pretty good lately."

"Just luck?" Shin Kiyono didn't press further, instead looking at Masamune Hyuga, who was still sprawled on the ground behind him. "The duel is over. Uchiha Houka, Masamune Hyuga, please perform the Seal of Reconciliation!"

The Seal of Reconciliation, as the name suggests, symbolizes that no matter how deep the rift between ninjas, they can reconcile. In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke had performed the Seal of Reconciliation.

However...

Houka glanced at Masamune Hyuga and shook his head with great disdain: "I don't want to."

"Eh? Why?" Shin Kiyono asked, puzzled.

"It stinks too much." Houka finished his sentence and turned to walk away.

"Stinks too much?" Shin Kiyono wore a strange expression.

The children outside were also confused, and then, a gloating voice rang out.

"Aha, look everyone, Masamune Hyuga's pants are wet!" Uchiha Obito said with an exaggerated expression.

"Ah, what, really, really?"

"Blood? No, he peed his pants, how embarrassing."

"The face of the Hyuga Clan has been completely lost."

"Does he just pee his pants when he can't win?"

The students who had previously praised Masamune Hyuga immediately turned against him, kicking him while he was down.

"Bastards, all of you shut up! You jerks, idiots!!" Masamune Hyuga pulled his legs together, his face red enough to smoke, his Byakugan almost turning into green eyes.

Shin Kiyono had a headache and scolded: "Alright, alright, stop talking. Asuma, take the students to do warm-up training first. I'm taking student Hyuga to the infirmary!"

With that, Shin Kiyono immediately left with Masamune Hyuga using the Body Flicker Technique.

Houka walked to the side and leaned against a target, yawning out of boredom, while mentally calculating how to learn the Shadow Clone Technique.

At this moment, Uchiha Obito, Rin, and Kurenai Yuhi walked over.

"Houka, well done, you didn't embarrass me, hahahaha!" Uchiha Obito was very happy, as if he himself had been vindicated, and excitedly patted Houka on the shoulder.

"Houka, you're amazing! I can't believe you've already mastered such a difficult Fire Release ninjutsu." Kurenai Yuhi blinked her wide, innocent eyes, her youthful face glowing with a hint of admiration.

"Hm? You know about this ninjutsu?" Houka asked with a smile.

"Yeah! My dad mentioned it to me. He said the Great Fireball Technique is a signature Fire Release ninjutsu of the Uchiha clan and is very difficult to learn; some genin haven't even mastered it yet," Kurenai Yuhi replied earnestly.

Looking at the adorable little girl's serious expression, Houka couldn't help but reach out and pinch her chubby cheeks.

"Hey, Houka, I'm trying to congratulate you here! Why are you ignoring me?" Uchiha Obito squeezed in, completely lacking any sense of the situation, and gritted his teeth.

Houka's eye twitched. No wonder Rin likes Kakashi and not you. With emotional intelligence like yours, if you ever find a girlfriend, I'll change my last name to yours from this day forward!

I mean it!

Kurenai Yuhi was only six years old, a proper little girl, and she didn't get angry at having her cheeks pinched; her father did it all the time anyway.

However, to Asuma Sarutobi, this scene made his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys ache with jealousy.

"Everyone run laps around the training ground until Shin Kiyono sensei returns!" Asuma Sarutobi had a fire burning in his chest, and he could only take it out on his classmates. He then shouted righteously at Houka and the others, ordering them to join the line and run together.

"Ah, sorry, I got injured during my duel earlier and need to rest." Houka had no intention of running laps with a bunch of six-year-old brats; it was so annoying!

"I'll stay behind to look after Houka!" Uchiha Obito shouted cleverly.

Kurenai Yuhi and Rin exchanged a glance. Both were well-behaved girls, so they obediently went back to run.

Asuma Sarutobi finally let out a sigh of relief.