First Kiss

The entire class was stunned, the scene as if frozen by some mysterious force, romantic to the extreme.

After a long while, following a shriek from Sakura, the eerie atmosphere in the classroom finally began to thaw like a melting glacier, slowly returning to motion.

"No! This can't be real! My idol's first kiss! It was supposed to be mine! No!..."

Ino snapped back to reality, gritting her teeth, her blonde hair practically steaming with rage.

Sakura, fueled by some unknown monstrous strength, turned and smashed a waist-high desk beside her into splinters with a single punch.

The surrounding boys were so terrified their faces drained of color, and they scrambled away with tiny, hurried steps to a safe distance.

Naruto remained motionless.

Although he appeared to be enjoying it on the surface, still locked in that passionate kiss, his heart had turned to ash the moment their lips touched.

It was over; his first kiss was gone, the one he had clearly saved for his goddess, Sakura.

Yet now, it had been wasted on this bastard he detested right in front of him!...

Thinking of this, a tear of pure resentment slid slowly down his cheek.

At this moment, he felt like he wanted to die...

Shikamaru, who had just managed to turn around with his arms pinned, saw this homoerotic scene.

He immediately furrowed his brows and instinctively shuddered.

With a twitching mouth, he watched the two still locked in their passionate kiss and said slowly:

"I... I was wondering why I suddenly felt a chill down my back while I was sleeping, so it was..."

So it was what?

Shikamaru didn't continue.

Instead, the next moment, he reacted as if triggered.

Ignoring the risk of revealing his true strength, he immediately activated his family's secret technique, the Shadow Possession Jutsu, flipped the desk blocking his path, and fled for his life...

He looked incredibly disheveled, but his eyes were filled with the joy of having narrowly escaped disaster...

"No way, isn't this too explosive?..."

"Oh! I get it! So Naruto likes guys!..."

"No wonder he was acting like he was having a seizure earlier; he said he was venting for Sakura, but his real goal was to get close to his crush, Sasuke?..."

"His name is Sasuke? No wonder Naruto took a liking to him; he's actually quite handsome, almost as good-looking as me..."

"Shut your mouth, with that face of yours, an Explosive Tag would be a plastic surgery upgrade, and you have the nerve to compare yourself to Sasuke?..."

"Even though I know this is a forbidden love, for some reason, I suddenly really want to ship them together? Wuwuwu... (sobbing)."

"Wait, doesn't anyone care about how Sasuke feels right now?..."

Following Sakura's shout, the scene instantly returned to its previous noisy state.

The students in the room began to whisper among themselves.

The boys' imaginations ran wild, while the girls couldn't help but instantly conjure up scene after scene of deeply perverse homoerotic romance in their minds...

The situation was chaotic, nearing the point of spiraling out of control.

Just as everyone was either breaking down, shocked, or excited, a voice filled with extreme confidence rang out through the noisy classroom:

"My first kiss isn't something that can be taken away so easily."

"Naruto, you can't do it, and as for others—unless you're a beautiful girl—you definitely can't either..."

The voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess a magical quality, once again sealing the noise within the classroom...

The students froze.

Immediately, they turned their heads to look toward the source of the sound.

They saw a youth dressed in a black shirt and shorts, his eyes slightly lowered, arms crossed, leaning quietly against the wall.

A breeze from the window drifted by, catching a lock of the boy's bangs and making it dance gently.

He looked just as relaxed and carefree as the moment itself.

Although it looked as if he were using the legendary "Art of Looking Cool," it didn't feel the least bit off-putting.

It was as if this "cool-guy act" was meant to be performed exactly like this to truly hit the mark!

It felt as though this was the highest realm of the "cool-guy act" itself!

"Th-this... how can there be two Sasukes?..."

"Could this be his younger brother, Yusuke?..."

The students watching the spectacle exclaimed in succession.

Clearly, Sasuke was still in his seat, locked in a kiss with Naruto.

How, in this very instant, had another identical Sasuke appeared, leaning against the wall?

As if to intentionally explain the situation to the onlookers.

The next moment.

A bang suddenly echoed throughout the classroom.

Immediately after.

The Sasuke that Naruto was still kissing suddenly vanished amidst a puff of white smoke that rose from thin air, instantly bursting into a log the length of a calf.

The cross-section was neat and clean; it was clearly prepared in advance, rather than dug up from the ninja academy on the spot...

"This... this is actually the Body Replacement Technique!..."

Coming from a prominent clan, Shikamaru reacted instantly. Unable to help himself, he blurted out in shock.

Unlike Shikamaru, the many other ordinary students were left completely bewildered, having no idea what had just happened in that split second.

"No! No! Sasuke's first kiss is still there! It's still there!..."

Ino, who had already been in despair, was instantly revived, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement.

Sakura hurriedly shifted her position a few steps with great caution.

As if afraid that the desk she had just smashed with her fist would ruin her image as a lady in Sasuke's heart, she lowered her head, blushing shyly.

"Aside from beautiful girls? Was Sasuke hinting at me just now?..."

Almost at the same time, Ino and Sakura both thought of the words Sasuke had just spoken.

Their fingers intertwined, their faces flushed red like two ripe apples, and they stood there prettily, waiting to be plucked...

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and the classroom fell into an eerie silence once again.

Yet, what no one noticed was that Iruka had already opened the classroom door at some point, staring blankly at Sasuke not far away, completely bewildered.

For Sasuke to successfully perform the Body Replacement Technique—a proper ninjutsu—at this age, without having graduated from the ninja academy or promoted to genin, was truly rare.

But what shocked Iruka was that, in that split second of extreme danger, even a chunin like himself might not have been able to react in time to perform the technique and dodge.

How on earth did Sasuke manage it?

In other words, just how monstrously talented was Sasuke?

"Is this guy the only surviving kid from the Uchiha clan?..."

He noticed the clan crest on Sasuke's back immediately.

He taught far too many students at the ninja academy.

So, to be honest, aside from students like Shikamaru and Ino from the three major clans, he basically couldn't name anyone else.

Of course, Naruto was an exception, as the Third Hokage had secretly instructed him to take special care of him...

However, starting today, he was certain he would never forget one person.

That person was Sasuke.

A youth draped in the Uchiha clan crest.

A new star about to rise in Konoha!