Little Seven Reappears

"Yo~ Senior Takuya, long time no see."

Just then, a silver-haired youth walked over from the distance, with a bowl-cut boy trailing behind him.

If there was anyone in this Ninja Academy that Inuzuka Takuya least wanted to see, the answer was neither the strict taijutsu instructor nor the elusive dean of students. It wasn't even his mother, who would explode at the slightest touch after every parent-teacher conference. It was this silver-haired youth right before him.

Hatake Sakumo, hailed as the Light of the Hatake, the hope for the revival of the Hatake clan, a genius who had defeated an upperclassman honor student upon entering the school, a figure destined to become a powerful ninja...

Very unfortunately, that defeated upperclassman honor student was none other than him, Inuzuka Takuya.

Takuya would never forget that afternoon a few months ago.

As a member of the Inuzuka clan, known for their keen senses and agility, Takuya had always been one of the top honor students in his grade regarding taijutsu.

Precisely because of this, he and several other equally outstanding classmates were arranged by their teacher to assist in guiding a taijutsu class for the newly enrolled students.

This was supposed to be an entertaining activity where seniors would show "loving" care to their juniors with their iron fists, while incidentally winning the admiration of the underclasswomen.

However, with the appearance of one person, everything began to spiral into an uncontrollable situation.

He lost to this silver-haired brat in front of him.

And this silver-haired brat, because of this, entered the field of vision of the Third Hokage. He even skipped two grades, leaping directly into the third year to become a classmate at the same level as him.

Inuzuka Nao didn't seem to recognize Sakumo, her delicate brows furrowing: "Brother, who is this? He looks so full of himself."

Inuzuka Takuya ignored his sister's question, staring intently at Sakumo instead. He assumed a combat stance and loudly declared: "Hatake Sakumo, fight me! This time, I will never underestimate my opponent again!"

Underestimating the enemy—yes, that was it.

He had only lost because he was too careless, allowing the other party to take advantage of the situation and defeat him with a few fierce attacks. He hadn't even reacted before he had already lost.

Hatake Sakumo glanced at the bruised and swollen bowl-cut boy behind him, then looked at Inuzuka Takuya, before rubbing his forehead with one hand, looking utterly helpless: "Why is everyone so full of youthful passion... Fine, make it quick, I have things to do later."

"Um... sorry, excuse me. If this classmate wants to spar with this 'big-faced' senior, he might need to wait in line." Xian Yu first smiled apologetically at Hatake Sakumo, then stepped forward. Standing just as tall as Inuzuka Takuya, he was a full head taller than Sakumo, who was the same age.

Xian Yu, who had long found Inuzuka Takuya an eyesore, had originally thought he wouldn't find a suitable reason to strike due to Hiruko's cowardice.

As it turned out, this Inuzuka Takuya had foolishly reached out to block his group.

Looking at it this way, if Hatake Sakumo and Might Duy hadn't appeared, it seemed this guy had intended to rough them up, hadn't he?

He couldn't just pretend he hadn't seen that.

"Fine, you go first then." Sakumo waved his hand indifferently and stepped aside.

"Kid, your name is Xian Yu, right? None of you know how to respect your seniors, don't... get too arrogant!" Veins bulged on Takuya's forehead, and no sooner had he finished speaking than he swung a fist at Xian Yu's face.

Xian Yu thrust his right hand out, catching the incoming fist, and said calmly: "Yo, sneak attacks aren't something a senior should do, are they?"

Inuzuka Takuya felt his fist being held firmly; no matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn't pull it back, and a flash of astonishment crossed his face.

"Also, is Senior Takuya going easy on his junior? Can such a soft, weak punch even be used to hit someone?"

Xian Yu kicked out sharply with his right foot. With a "bang," Inuzuka Takuya's stomach was struck, and his entire body flew high into the air in a parabolic arc before crashing to the ground seven or eight meters away.

"So strong..." The few who had come with Takuya all wore expressions of shock.

Hatake Sakumo also showed a hint of interest, looking the youth with the cross-shaped scar on his chin up and down.

"Brother... Brother was sent flying with one punch?" Inuzuka Nao covered her small mouth with one hand, her face full of disbelief.

Was this Xian Yu, who had never seemed particularly outstanding in class, actually this strong? To think that with one punch... he had...

Only Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Might Duy felt no surprise at all.

"Xian Yu-kun..." Hiruko's eyes shimmered with tears; he knew Xian Yu was venting his frustration for him.

"Bastard..." Takuya clutched his stomach and struggled to crawl up from the ground, his eyes practically spitting fire as he glared at the scarred youth who was watching him calmly.

"Aomaru! Beast Mimicry: Four-Legs Technique!"

Xian Yu had his left hand in his pocket and was rubbing his chin with his right, pondering for a second before sighing helplessly: "This is a bit troublesome. Sigh, wouldn't it have been better to just let me beat you up? Since it's come to this... then..."

Seeing Takuya and his ninja dog Aomaru both drop to all fours, their nails slowly growing sharp and slender, Xian Yu shook his head and crouched down, pressing one hand to the ground: "Summoning Jutsu, come out, Bai Xiaoqi!"

Almost at the same time Inuzuka Takuya finished charging up and lunged forward, a mysterious black rune with a two-meter radius rapidly appeared on the ground where Xian Yu had pressed his hand, and then the massive figure of the Three-Tailed Fox, Bai Xiaoqi, emerged.

"This... this... are you kidding me? A summoning jutsu of this level... is he really still a Ninja Academy student?" Everyone present had their mouths agape, their faces filled with terror.

The current Bai Xiaoqi, due to long-term consumption of spirit rice, was over three meters long. Just lying on the ground, it stood one meter sixty or seventy tall—it was simply incomparable to these little brats present; it was clearly a beast of war! Those sharp fox claws seemed to shimmer with a sinister cold light, those ferocious fangs were full of intimidation, and those three thick tails were as terrifying as pythons!

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, if anyone dares to run, you two stop them. Xiaoqi, beat everyone else into the dirt except for that girl—just don't kill them!" After looking over Bai Xiaoqi with satisfaction, Xian Yu gave his orders viciously.

"Hehe, I've long found these guys an eyesore." Jiraiya chuckled, rubbing his fists.

"Don't worry, Xian Yu-kun, not one of them will get away," Orochimaru replied calmly.

"Roar~ You finally decided to summon me. As you wish, Young Master Yu." Bai Xiaoqi was extremely excited. Ever since its brief clash with Danzo that day, it had hidden in the summoning space. Being locked in that dark, sunless void, with nothing to do but cultivate and eat spirit rice every day... it had nearly driven it mad.

Inuzuka Takuya was still maintaining his Beast Mimicry, but he no longer had the courage to attack. His whole body was trembling.

You've got to be kidding! You've got to be kidding! I must be dreaming... How could this brat summon a ninja beast of this grade!

Even without a direct clash, just looking at Bai Xiaoqi's terrifying size, no one would doubt the combat power of this giant fox. This was definitely not something they could defeat right now; even if they all attacked together, they wouldn't have the slightest chance!

"Kid, don't push your luck!" Inuzuka Takuya gritted his teeth hard, struggling to steady his trembling legs. Seeing Aomaru also trembling beside him, he hardened his heart and charged recklessly at the giant fox before him.

"Admirable courage." Bai Xiaoqi curled its lip and swiped its paw casually, as if swatting a mosquito.

The next moment, with a crisp "thwack," Inuzuka Takuya was sent flying, slamming heavily into a wall over a dozen meters away before losing consciousness.

Immediately after, Bai Xiaoqi lashed out with his three tails. Aomaru, the ninja hound who had grown to the size of an adult wolf in his combat form, barely dodged the strike of two fox tails, only to be tightly constricted by the third, leaving him unable to move.

Feeling the fox tail tightening around him, Aomaru first glanced at his master's miserable state, then rolled his eyes back and fainted. The entire sequence was performed with such practiced ease that it took less than half a second.

A slight smile appeared on Bai Xiaoqi's fox face as he muttered, "You've got more sense than your master."

He didn't make things difficult for him any further and simply released Aomaru.

Collapsing limply to the ground, Aomaru lay there with his eyes rolled back, not moving an inch... his performance was incredibly realistic...

Seeing that Inuzuka Takuya couldn't even take a single blow from this fox, and with the ninja hound Aomaru "dead or alive," the other six third-year students immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

However, at this moment, Xian Yu, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru made their move!

Sakumo and Hiruko, who were watching from afar, along with Inuzuka Nao, who was sprinting toward her brother in the field, were astonished to find that these dignified third-year seniors were almost completely unable to fight back against the three of them. One by one, they were knocked down with a few punches and kicks, then dragged back like chicks.

"Not bad. It looks like you've barely reached the strength of a Jonin. But as large ninja beasts, your utility on the battlefield far exceeds that of ninjas of the same rank." After beating up all seven of the "seniors" from the upper grades, leaving only Inuzuka Nao shivering beside her unconscious brother, Xian Yu suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for playing the part of a villainous young master.

But honestly speaking, it felt pretty good...