Lu Yu vs. Hinata

At dusk, with the morning glow painting the sky, Lu Yu stretched comfortably and gently patted Ino, who was sleeping against his shoulder, speaking in a soft voice:

"Ino, Ino? It's getting late, we should head home for dinner."

"Hmm?"

Ino opened her eyes in a daze, stretched comfortably, and murmured:

"It's been so long since I've slept this soundly..."

Lu Yu quickly packed up his fishing rod, intending to take Ino home.

However, he noticed Ino sitting blankly on the lounge chair, tilting her small head with a look of deep thought.

"What's wrong, Ino? Did you forget something?"

"Yes, Lu Yu, I really seem to have forgotten something important. Let me think..."

Ino furrowed her pretty brows, thinking for a long time, before suddenly exclaiming:

"Oh no! Iruka-sensei told me to bring you back for the physical fitness exam, but you distracted me and I completely forgot..."

"Pfft, I thought it was something serious. It's fine, we can just take the test tomorrow."

"Bu-but Iruka-sensei said that if I couldn't bring you back, he would tell Uncle Shikaku and Aunt Yoshino everything you've been doing at school for the past two months..."

"What?"

Lu Yu's expression changed instantly. He could handle his dad; at most, he'd just get a lecture.

But if his mom found out that he spent his class time either sleeping or fishing, he would surely be torn to shreds.

Seeing Lu Yu's look of dismay, Ino hung her head in embarrassment, feeling like a child who had done something wrong.

"It's alright, Ino, it's fine. At worst, I'll just get a beating; it's not like I haven't been beaten before."

Lu Yu comfortingly ruffled Ino's hair, looking completely unbothered.

"I'm sorry..."

Just as Ino finished speaking, Iruka's voice drifted over from the distance.

"Lu Yu! Lu Yu!..."

It turned out that Iruka had been worried that Lu Yu and Shikamaru might have run into danger, so he had come looking for them himself.

Ten minutes later, Lu Yu and Ino stood with their heads hung low, obediently receiving a thorough lecture from Iruka.

Iruka's lecture lasted for a full half-hour, which served to vent all the frustration he had built up over the past two months. Seeing the sincere remorse of the two little ones, his tone finally softened:

"Alright, I won't say anything more. Just make sure you're sitting in the classroom tomorrow morning, waiting for my notification for the physical fitness exam. Do you hear me?"

Lu Yu nodded helplessly.

"If you don't show up, that's fine too. I'm sure Yoshino-senpai would be very interested in your behavior at school. I wouldn't mind reporting it to her truthfully..."

"Uh... Iruka-sensei, if you actually do that, I might end up spending half a year in the hospital."

"Don't give me any lip! Take Ino and get home right now, do you hear me?!"

"Oh, I got it."

Watching the two little rascals hurry away, Iruka looked at the lounge chair and fishing rod Lu Yu had made with interest.

"Huh, who would've thought? This kid is actually quite clever with his hands."

Iruka sat curiously on the lounge chair, watching the fiery clouds in the sky and feeling the cool breeze, his mood inexplicably lifting.

"Hey, I have to say, occasionally blowing off some steam like this isn't half bad."

Following that, Iruka's gaze fell on the fishing rod as if by instinct. He skillfully hooked an earthworm and actually began to fish.

Half an hour later, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Iruka engaged in a fierce struggle with a fish and sighed helplessly:

"This kid, he really is a bad influence..."

The next day, at the training ground, Iruka looked at the students before him, holding a form in his hand, and said seriously:

"Alright, everyone is here today, so let me explain briefly."

"Over the past two months, you have undergone training in taijutsu, shuriken throwing, the Three Body Technique, and kunai close-quarters combat. Although none of you have mastered them yet—some of you have barely scratched the surface—I believe you are all looking forward to seeing who is the strongest in the class."

"Our goal for the next few days is the practical exam! First up is... the taijutsu assessment."

Just like yesterday, upon hearing that they would be competing for the top spot, all the students began to whisper among themselves.

In the end, most eyes were fixed on Sasuke.

As for Lu Yu, aside from Ino and Hinata, his two months of keeping a low profile had caused everyone to completely forget his stunning performance during the entrance exam.

As soon as Iruka finished speaking, someone raised a question:

"Iruka-sensei, what is a taijutsu assessment?"

"Simply put, it's a practical exam without the use of ninjutsu. Of course, many of you can't even use ninjutsu yet."

Iruka looked at the crowd, his expression stern:

"This time, it won't be a simple sparring session of trading moves. It will be a genuine duel, and I will not stop the fight until a winner is decided."

"Haha, that's perfect! Sasuke, just watch how I teach you a lesson this time!"

As soon as Iruka finished speaking, Uzumaki Naruto leaped out from the ranks, looking at Sasuke with a provocative expression.

However, the moment those words left Naruto's mouth, he was immediately met with a barrage of hostile glares.

Countless girls aimed murderous gazes at Naruto, with Sakura's reaction being the most prominent.

Lu Yu watched as Sakura's fists tightened; if one looked closely, they could see her expression had turned incredibly grim.

If Iruka weren't present, Lu Yu had no doubt that Naruto would have already been beaten into the wall, unable to be pried off.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's provocation and flashed an arrogant smile:

"If you think you can do it, then by all means, try, you dead-last!"

"You bastard, who are you calling a dead-last? You just wait—"

Thwack!

Iruka, seeing Naruto disrupting the order, didn't say a word before delivering a sharp rap to his head, then said stiffly, word by word:

"Naruto... get back in line!"

"Ahaha..."

Watching Naruto get hit, the others broke into happy smiles.

"Ahem..."

Iruka coughed twice, staring at his students with a serious expression:

"The taijutsu assessment isn't about fighting whoever you want; it will be randomly drawn."

As he finished, Iruka pulled out a cardboard box and reached in to quickly pull out two slips of paper.

After opening the slips and reading them, Iruka smiled and announced:

"The first match of the taijutsu assessment: Nara Lu Yu versus Hyuga Hinata!"