The Confident Inuzuka Kiba

Qiushui stood behind them, curiously observing their current posture: Ino Yamanaka's hand was pressed against Sakura Haruno's face, while Sakura's leg was wedged between Ino's, the two of them twisted into a ball in the most ridiculous position imaginable.

The air froze for a second.

The familiar voice caused Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno to stiffen simultaneously, and they slowly turned their heads.

In the next second, as if a switch had been flipped, their bodies instantly sprang apart. Almost at the same time, they began straightening their clothes, smoothing their hair, and flashing brilliant smiles.

"Sakura, I'm two months older than you, you go first," Ino Yamanaka said with a gentle and graceful smile.

"Ino, I should be the one yielding to you, you go first," Sakura Haruno replied with a thoughtful and sensible smile.

What both of them were thinking was exactly the same thing: I must not leave a bad impression in front of Teacher Qiushui!

Qiushui looked at them, then at the empty space between them, his mouth twitching slightly. He didn't say much, simply stepping sideways to pass between them and walking into the classroom.

He raised his hand and clapped to get the students' attention inside. "Pay attention, everyone. We won't be having class in the room this morning. We're going to the playground. Everyone, assemble on the playground."

As soon as the words fell, the classroom instantly erupted.

Most of the students looked jubilant.

Although Teacher Qiushui taught well, sitting in the classroom every day had made their backsides sore.

Kiba Inuzuka's favorability toward Teacher Qiushui instantly leveled up.

He had disliked staying in cramped spaces since he was a child; if not for the fact that Teacher Qiushui's lectures were engaging, he would have skipped class long ago. Being able to go outside was exactly what he wanted. Akamaru, inside his hood, also poked his head out and barked excitedly.

Naruto Uzumaki stood up and asked excitedly, "Teacher Qiushui, are you going to teach us ninjutsu?"

Once this was said, most of the students couldn't help but look at Qiushui, their eyes filled with anticipation, as Naruto's question had voiced exactly what they were thinking.

Only students from ninja clans, like Sasuke Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka, remained calm, even appearing somewhat dismissive.

For one, they had family ninjutsu legacies; if they wanted to learn something, they could just ask their elders, so there was no need to wait for these teachers to instruct them at school.

Secondly, although they were young, they knew clearly that the Ninja Academy at most taught the Three Basic Techniques. These were the most fundamental of fundamentals, and while most of them weren't proficient yet, they had long since been exposed to them, so they couldn't muster much interest.

For these students from ninja clans, coming to school was mainly to learn theoretical knowledge and respond to the so-called Will of Fire.

If they didn't attend school at all and were only raised according to their family's methods, these children would eventually feel that the clan was more important than the village.

This was not a result that the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, or the high-level officials of Konoha wanted to see.

You all value your clans more than the village?

Then who will lay down their lives for us when danger strikes?

Relying on a group of civilian ninjas? They aren't enough!

As for Naruto, he was an exception.

As the son of the Fourth Hokage, his status was actually the highest, but with his parents dead and being a jinchuriki, no one was willing—or rather, dared—to teach him ninjutsu.

Qiushui scanned the students' reactions and said unhurriedly, "You haven't fully mastered the Three Basic Techniques yet. Even if I taught you powerful ninjutsu, you wouldn't be able to learn it. Therefore, we will focus on physical training and shurikenjutsu for now."

Upon hearing this, the students' faces immediately showed disappointment, but they knew Teacher Qiushui was telling the truth.

Qiushui led the students to the playground.

He stood by the track and cleared his throat. "Everyone, divide into five teams and stand in line. Run fifty laps as a warm-up."

One lap around the playground was about five hundred meters, so fifty laps totaled exactly twenty-five kilometers.

For a fragile college student, this would be no different from asking them to commit suicide.

For fitness enthusiasts who ran regularly, it would also pose a certain level of difficulty.

But for these ten-year-old students, it wasn't a difficult task at all.

After all, they were ninjas; their physiques were naturally stronger than ordinary people. Let alone a mere fifty laps, even if they were asked to run three times that, leaping over walls and climbing roofs wouldn't be a problem.

Seeing the somewhat chaotic student groups—some lines very long, others very short—Qiushui had to walk over and remind them to keep each team to five or six people.

He felt he needed to find time to select some class representatives; otherwise, handling every little thing himself was quite troublesome, and it would save time and effort while facilitating class management.

Qiushui watched the students stand still, waved his hand, and said, "Begin."

As soon as the words fell, Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki bolted out like unleashed wild dogs.

Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame followed closely behind, their steps steady and unhurried.

Further back was Hinata Hyuga; she didn't run fast, but her rhythm was very steady.

Trailing at the end were Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Sakura Haruno, and Ino Yamanaka.

Choji grumbled as he ran, "So tired, so tired."

Shikamaru had a "what a drag" expression on his face, lazily taking his steps.

Sakura and Ino ran side by side, neither willing to fall behind the other.

As a member of the Inuzuka clan, Kiba had loved running wild in the fields and forests since he was a child. He wouldn't dare claim much else, but when it came to speed, although he had never taken first place in running, he had always felt he was definitely the fastest in the class.

When he reached the fifth lap, he glanced sideways at Naruto beside him, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Kiba recalled that during spring break, Naruto had often joined them in the forest for races to see who could reach a designated tree and mark it first, but Naruto had always been the slowest. He never expected that in the first physical training of the new semester, this guy Naruto would be able to keep up with him the entire time without falling behind at all. He felt that Naruto might have become much stronger, and decided he couldn't underestimate him anymore.

Naruto wore a smug expression; as a poor student, he had rarely received praise from Teacher Qiushui during theory classes over the past two days, so he was determined to take first place today and make the teacher see him in a new light.

Furthermore, he had spent the last few years pulling pranks around the village, and every time he was discovered, he was chased through the streets, which was exactly how he had trained his speed.

He was full of confidence in himself, even beginning to fantasize about girls treating him the same way they treated Sasuke.

The imagination was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Because Naruto wanted to win so badly, he had sprinted with all his might from the very beginning and failed to pace his stamina; by the time he reached the thirtieth lap, his breathing became ragged and his footsteps slowed down noticeably.

Although Inuzuka Kiba's breathing had also quickened, and despite the fact that he often ran in the wild, he was still young, and a prolonged explosive sprint consumed a significant amount of his energy.

When he noticed Naruto's speed dropping, he immediately seized the opportunity, surged forward, and pulled ahead by five or six meters in an instant.