Combat Training

On the training grounds of the Ninja Academy, the sun baked the earth with intense heat.

Iruka stood at the edge of the field, clipboard in hand, and announced loudly, "Today's practical sparring begins. The rule is pure taijutsu; no ninjutsu allowed. We will proceed in the groups previously assigned."

The first pair to step up was Naruto and Kiba.

Naruto was flushed with excitement, his eyes eagerly scanning the crowd for Kiba.

Kiba grinned, flashing a confident smile. Beside him, Akamaru seemed to sense the combative atmosphere and let out a soft yelp.

After entering the Ninja Academy, Inuzuka Tsume and Inuzuka Hana had entrusted Akamaru to Kiba's care, and since then, Kiba and Akamaru had been inseparable.

Iruka watched the two students, his pen poised to record their performance.

Naruto rushed toward Kiba impatiently; his movements were slightly reckless, yet filled with raw power.

Kiba sidestepped, easily evading Naruto's frontal assault while throwing a quick punch toward Naruto's undefended flank.

Naruto felt a sharp pain in his ribs, but he gritted his teeth, spun around, and swept his leg at Kiba. Kiba leaped high, performed a backflip in the air, and landed steadily on the ground.

"Naruto, is that all you've got?" Kiba taunted.

"Hmph! Take this!" Provoked, Naruto charged like a whirlwind, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks that left Kiba struggling to keep up.

But Kiba was well-trained; he seized an opening, grabbed one of Naruto's legs, and gave it a forceful shove, sending Naruto crashing to the ground.

Naruto, however, wouldn't give up so easily. He rolled with the momentum, grabbed Kiba's legs, and the two began to wrestle on the dirt.

Menma was speechless watching this childish brawl. Naruto had undergone plenty of taijutsu training, so it shouldn't have been at this level—could it be that Naruto was actually holding back?

Iruka scribbled rapidly on his notepad, nodding occasionally. He noted that while Naruto's movements lacked precision, he possessed a tenacious fighting spirit, whereas Kiba held the edge in technique.

The first match continued fiercely, both boys panting heavily. Naruto suddenly hit upon a plan; he feigned exhaustion and stumbled.

Thinking his chance had arrived, Kiba rushed in to deliver the final blow. To his surprise, Naruto suddenly rallied, putting all his strength into a headbutt. Kiba couldn't dodge in time and took the hit to his chin. He staggered back a few steps, feeling dizzy.

"Nice one, Naruto. You're actually capable of trickery," Kiba said, caught between laughter and frustration.

Iruka added this detail to his notes, feeling that Naruto's adaptability in combat was worth acknowledging.

Once the first match concluded, the next pair was Ino and Sakura.

Ino assumed a fighting stance with a confident smile on her face. Sakura looked nervous, her fists clenched tightly. Teacher Iruka refocused his attention on the clipboard, ready to document this round.

Ino initiated the attack, rushing toward Sakura. A side kick was barely blocked by Sakura.

Sakura countered; her punches weren't fast, but they were steady. Ino dodged easily and pushed Sakura's shoulder, forcing her to retreat a few steps.

"Sakura, you can't be defeated by me so easily," Ino said with a smile.

Sakura gritted her teeth and, gathering her courage, charged at Ino once more. Her offense became more proactive this time, and the flurry of strikes caught Ino off guard.

But Ino was more experienced; she spotted an opening and used a grappling move to pin Sakura's arm.

Iruka watched and recorded, noting Sakura's growth during the fight—from initial nervousness to becoming increasingly proactive—while Ino's combat experience played a significant role in the match.

The next pair was Shikamaru and Choji. Shikamaru stood with a lazy expression, seemingly uninterested in the sparring. Choji, meanwhile, was rubbing his hands together, ready to show off his skills.

Iruka looked at them, thinking this would be an interesting match, and kept his pen ready to record.

Choji charged at Shikamaru first, his heavy frame carrying immense momentum. Shikamaru remained unhurried; just as Choji was about to collide with him, he stepped lightly to the side. Choji couldn't stop his momentum and stumbled forward several steps.

Choji turned around and lunged at Shikamaru again, but Shikamaru extended a foot to trip him, nearly sending Choji to the ground once more.

Teacher Iruka noted Shikamaru's agility and Choji's power-based style, finding the clash of these two different approaches quite intriguing.

After a few more rounds, it finally reached the last pair.

The final match was Menma and Sasuke. Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, chin slightly raised, looking at Menma with a cold, aloof expression, as if nothing around him was worthy of his attention.

Menma stood quietly, his gaze steady and composed.

Iruka knew this would be a brilliant duel; he watched with heightened focus, his pen hovering over the clipboard.

The battle began in silence. Sasuke launched the first attack, rushing toward Menma with rapid steps, his right fist whistling through the air toward Menma's face.

Menma's eyes narrowed; he tilted his body slightly, easily evading Sasuke's strike, and simultaneously swept his leg toward Sasuke's stance.

Sasuke reacted with lightning speed. He leaped up, flipped in the air, landed behind Menma, and immediately followed up with a roundhouse kick aimed at Menma's back.

It was as if Menma had eyes in the back of his head; he crouched down and executed a leg sweep. Sasuke, not expecting this move, was tripped and fell to the ground.

Sasuke frowned, his competitive spirit fully ignited. He scrambled up and charged at Menma again, his attacks now more ferocious, his strikes filled with power.

Menma remained unhurried, calmly responding to every one of Sasuke's attacks. His body moved like a flexible snake, weaving effortlessly through the gaps in Sasuke's offense.

Iruka recorded rapidly, observing that while Sasuke's attacks were full of power and speed, Menma's responses were incredibly clever, with every dodge and counter landing perfectly.

Menma spotted an opening. The moment Sasuke threw a punch, he blocked it with his arm, seized Sasuke's limb, and used the momentum to execute a shoulder throw, slamming Sasuke to the ground.

Sasuke lay on the ground, a hint of unwillingness in his eyes. Menma extended a hand to pull him up. Sasuke hesitated for a moment before gripping Menma's hand and standing up.

Teacher Iruka nodded in satisfaction and wrote down the final result and his assessment on the clipboard. He felt both had performed excellently; Sasuke's offense was powerful, and Menma's responses were remarkably agile.

Seeing this, several female students cheered.

"So cool!" Ino gazed at Menma like a lovesick girl.

Meanwhile, Sakura thought to herself, "Darn it, Menma! To think he actually beat Sasuke—how annoying!"

"Alright, I have a general understanding of everyone's situation. Next up is shuriken throwing practice," Iruka said as he walked over to a wooden post nearby.

"First group, Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Haruno Sakura, get ready!" Iruka announced.

The three stepped forward, took their stances, and threw their shuriken at the targets ahead.

All three threw with great focus, one after another, and the ten shuriken were soon exhausted.

At this point, one could see ten shuriken on Naruto's target, a result of his past training. Kiba's performance was slightly inferior, with only seven, while Sakura, having had no prior training outside of what she practiced at the Ninja Academy, only managed four.

Iruka checked the results and recorded them. "Next group, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji."

The three stepped forward, and once the shuriken were removed from the targets, they began their throws.

Because they had received training when they were younger, all three landed seven or eight out of their ten shuriken.

Iruka recorded the scores and then called out the names of the next group.

After an unknown number of groups had passed, Iruka spoke up, "Kurama Kaiyu, Uzumaki Menma, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Kurama Kaiyu was a member of the Kurama Clan; although the current Kurama Clan was not as prosperous as it once was, it was still respectable.

The three walked forward. Menma held his hands behind his head, looking completely uninterested. Sasuke walked up to the target with his hands in his pockets, grabbed four shuriken in one hand, and threw them in three sets.

The Uchiha Clan truly lived up to their reputation as geniuses at shuriken throwing; not only did all ten shuriken hit the target, but every single one struck the bullseye.

"As expected of Sasuke!" several girls nearby watched Sasuke like lovesick fans.

Kaiyu, on the other hand, treated it very seriously. With the goal of revitalizing his clan, he approached every training session with great focus. He took his stance and threw his shuriken, landing seven out of ten—a decent result.

Now only Menma remained. He divided his ten shuriken into two sets, holding five in each hand, and threw them after gauging his position.

The ten shuriken embedded themselves into the target, forming a perfect circle around the second ring.

"Hmm, feels like it's missing something," Menma thought, then pulled a Flying Thunder God Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and tossed it casually; the Flying Thunder God Kunai struck the dead center of the bullseye.

The crowd was dumbfounded by this scene. Those who understood knew that forming such a perfect circle was incredibly difficult, but those who didn't understand simply thought he had missed the bullseye and felt he wasn't as good as Sasuke.

However, Sasuke's shuriken technique was indeed superior to Menma's, but Sasuke only cared about the bullseye and had never thought about showing off like Menma.

Iruka recorded the results truthfully. Although Menma's shuriken technique was excellent, he was too playful; Sasuke's shuriken technique was outstanding, and Kaiyu's performance was also commendable.

"Alright, today's test ends here. Next is free training." With that, Iruka closed his registration notebook and watched over his students from the side to ensure they didn't cause any trouble.