"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
One shuriken wasn't enough. Sasuke immediately followed up with another Fire Style technique.
"Clang!"
Kaoru moved quickly, grabbing the long staff from her back and lightly knocking Sasuke's shuriken away.
Sasuke's Fire Style attack came right after. Kaoru showed no sign of dodging. She gripped her staff tightly, seemingly preparing to disperse the flames with it.
"Boom!"
"Both of you, stop!" With a loud shout, a heavyweight instructor jonin—Choza Akimichi—made his entrance.
In the blink of an eye, Choza used a hand enlarged with the Partial Multi-Size Technique to block Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique, then grabbed Kaoru's staff with his other hand to keep her from attacking.
"I don't care what made you two start fighting. You can't throw punches inside the Ninja Academy!" Choza's voice was powerful and booming.
Sasuke and Kaoru stopped fighting at once. Sasuke clenched his fists, seeming eager to rush over and fight Kaoru, but after glancing at Choza, he held back.
"Kaoru, apologize to Sasuke." Choza released her staff.
Kaoru looked like a little girl who'd been wronged. She glanced at Sasuke, lowered her head, and murmured, "I'm sorry." Then she ran out of the classroom as if her confession had been rejected, crying, "I'm not going to be a ninja anymore" as she went...
Yashui felt a headache coming on. What kind of person was his teammate, anyway? Just moments ago, she'd been acting so arrogantly, as if she were about to knock Sasuke flat. Then, in the blink of an eye, she'd turned into a lovesick teenage girl. He couldn't figure out which side was her real personality.
Choza watched Kaoru run out of the classroom and scratched his head.
"Sasuke, our classmate Kaoru Hinoji was in the wrong. Please forgive her." Choza was a jonin, yet he personally lowered his head and apologized to Sasuke, a graduate. Not every jonin would do that.
At this point, Sasuke couldn't very well refuse. He had no choice but to accept the hasty apology.
With the matter settled, Choza led Yashui and Hachiko out of the classroom.
Kaoru's words about the Uchiha had made Yashui's eyes sting again. But compared to before, the pain had eased considerably. Maybe he'd just gotten used to it.
Choza didn't go after Kaoru. Instead, he took Yashui and Hachiko to a barbecue restaurant.
"Boss, the same as last time!" Choza called out loudly as soon as they entered.
"Sure thing! Choza, come one more time and your next feast is on the house. Be sure to come back!" The restaurant owner eagerly fawned over Choza.
Choza was obviously a regular here.
They found a table for four and sat down. Choza took one side, while Hachiko and Yashui sat together on the other.
"Um... Sensei, aren't you going to look for Kaoru? What if she dies?" Hachiko couldn't help asking.
Hachiko looked like a very typical girl. She was always concerned about others, but when it came to expressing herself, she grew shy. If she said nothing, everyone would surely think she was a lovely girl.
But once she opened her mouth, she always managed to say something shocking. Yashui now understood why Hachiko sat alone in the back corner of the classroom. With a way of speaking like hers, she was bound to have trouble getting along with others.
"There's no need to worry about her." Choza wiped the sweat from his forehead. He seemed quite used to Kaoru suddenly running off.
The barbecue hadn't arrived yet. Each of them had only a glass of plain water in front of them. They'd also just met for the first time, and couldn't think of anything to talk about.
For a moment, the atmosphere was unbearably awkward.
Before you continue