Sasuke

The teacher saw both sides standing opposite each other on the field and decided to begin the duel.

"Begin!" the teacher commanded.

Uchiha Sasuke launched the first attack. His movements were swift and textbook-perfect, a straight punch whistling through the air toward Hyuga Ningxue's face. Clearly, he wanted to end the fight quickly to showcase his strength.

Ningxue dodged the punch with ease by shifting to the side. However, for the sake of keeping a low profile, he pretended to stumble.

"That was close!" Naruto couldn't help but shout from the sidelines.

Seeing his first strike miss, Sasuke was slightly surprised, but he tightened his offensive, sweeping his leg toward Ningxue's lower body.

Ningxue once again employed his Oscar-worthy acting skills, jumping away in a flurry of feigned panic to avoid the kick.

This slightly clumsy display drew mocking laughter from the surrounding students, but to Ningxue, these were merely whispers in the wind.

Speed is acceptable, power is lacking, technique lacks flow, and the intent is too obvious.

Ningxue analyzed the situation between dodges. He occasionally countered, using only the most basic Gentle Fist techniques, striving to maintain the level of strength expected of a child his age.

Sasuke gradually gained the upper hand. His movements became increasingly fluid, and the confident curve of his lips grew more pronounced. In his eyes, this member of the Hyuga Branch Family was nothing special.

"That's about enough," Ningxue muttered.

Immediately after Sasuke's next strike, he used his arm to deflect most of the force, then pretended he couldn't block the punch, falling backward with the momentum.

"Thud!"

Ningxue landed hard on the ground, while Sasuke's hand remained suspended in the air.

"Stop! The outcome is decided, Uchiha Sasuke wins!" the teacher announced promptly.

Sasuke withdrew his hand and stood tall, looking down at Ningxue on the ground. Although he had won, he felt a strange sensation in his heart; he didn't feel that his punch had been enough to knock him down. Furthermore, Ningxue's earlier dodges had been so fluid, yet for a moment, they had felt incredibly stiff.

"Good match."

Though confused, Sasuke maintained the etiquette of the Uchiha clan.

Ningxue slowly climbed up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and with a calm expression, bowed slightly to both Sasuke and the teacher.

"My skills were inferior."

He believed his performance was flawless. To the onlookers, this was just a normal sparring match where a gap in strength existed, but both sides had put in a decent effort.

However, a keen observer would always notice a hint of discord.

The teacher saw that the match was over and, noting there were no disputes or arguments, had the two perform the Seal of Reconciliation before sending them back to their groups.

The children watching, seeing the outcome, began to discuss the match.

"Hmph, as expected, Sasuke-kun is amazing!" Sakura and Ino cheered.

"What is this? Ningxue, you should have countered!" Naruto shouted, feeling frustrated by his friend's lack of effort.

But upon returning, it was inevitable that he would hear unpleasant remarks.

"Hey, Ningxue! You could have dodged that much more gracefully! Why weren't you taking it seriously?"

Ningxue glanced at him and said flatly.

"I couldn't beat him." The tone was crisp and decisive, leaving Naruto speechless and anxious.

"Hmph, the Hyuga clan isn't all that, is it?"

A mocking voice rang out—it was Inuzuka Kiba. He held Akamaru, his face twisted in undisguised contempt.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong, but you couldn't even manage a decent counterattack against Sasuke. Right, Akamaru?"

"Woof!" Akamaru barked in agreement.

Kiba's mockery was direct and grating. Some students who were already dissatisfied with Ningxue's aloof attitude let out low, derisive chuckles.

Ningxue didn't even lift an eyelid at the taunts, but Naruto, who had experienced such treatment himself, was provoked and wanted to argue with Kiba. (Naruto was that kind of fool; because he had suffered, he wanted to help others, though his frustration with Ningxue's performance was also genuine.)

Just as Naruto was about to argue with Kiba, the teacher suddenly spoke up.

"Alright, quiet! Next pair, Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Choji, get ready!"

"Tch, dead-last," Kiba said, giving him a mocking look before walking away.

"You guy—" Just as Naruto opened his mouth to retort, he realized Kiba had already walked to the center of the battlefield.

Naruto was left with words he couldn't get out.

Meanwhile, leaning against the back of the crowd, Nara Shikamaru appeared to be daydreaming, but in reality, he had taken in every detail of the match.

He narrowed his eyes, let out a massive yawn, and muttered in a voice only he could hear.

"Ah, what a drag... That Hyuga Ningxue, his movements were a bit strange..."

Shikamaru's observational skills were far beyond his peers. He noticed that Ningxue's first two dodges had followed an exceptionally concise and efficient trajectory. That kind of split-second timing was not something a person with mediocre taijutsu could possess.

But afterward, his movements had deliberately become clumsy and sluggish, especially during the final fall, where the lack of coordination was glaringly obvious.

"It's like... he was deliberately hiding something?" Shikamaru scratched his head, looking as if he couldn't care less, while continuing his analysis.

"Deliberately losing? Why? Afraid of drawing attention? Or does he have some other plan... What a drag, thinking about this gives me a headache."

He glanced at Uchiha Sasuke, who was surrounded by a crowd of girls, then looked at Hyuga Ningxue, who stood alone on the edge of the crowd as if she were an outsider. Ultimately, he decided to bury this doubt deep within his heart. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble; getting involved in complications was the most annoying thing imaginable.

During the practical combat class that followed, Ningxue was called upon to spar several more times.

He continued to stick to his strategy, judging whether he should win or lose based on the strength of his opponent.

This was to balance everyone's impression of him as merely a Branch Family member with average talent.

By the time the class ended, the impression most of his classmates had of him was set in stone.

"An average-strength, antisocial handsome guy with the Byakugan."

Of course, with the exception of one particularly observant individual.

On the way home, he stood on the path that was the only way back to the Hyuga compound, waiting for his friend so they could go train together.

On the other side, Uchiha Sasuke was deep in thought on his way home; he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about today's sparring matches.

The opponent's dodges were fluid yet stiff, and their attacks felt like they hadn't... used their full strength?

He kept replaying the afternoon's matches in his mind, but the image of Hyuga Ningxue falling at the end always left him with a sense of dissonance.

He shook his head, casting these doubts aside. What mattered most right now was to become stronger as quickly as possible, earn his father's recognition, and catch up to his brother's footsteps.