Hinata, Stop Pretending

The combatants would be using wooden Kunai. Hinata touched the weightless wooden Kunai in her hand. Ah, she seemed to remember reading in some memoir...

During one sparring match, Mizuki had injured a classmate with a Kunai because he had not been focused enough. It seemed Mizuki's standing in Hinata's mind had dropped just a tiny bit.

Hinata then complained, "But come to think of it, was it because of Mizuki's example that the Ninja Academy switched to wooden Kunai for future practical exercises?"

The ones sparring in the field were two nameless extras. Mizuki stood in the middle of the field as a temporary referee, there to prevent any accidents.

With a warm smile always on his lips, Mizuki watched the sparring in the field, feeling somewhat bored. It seems that the long peace has left today's children without the drive they once had.

Perhaps only war can bring change. But I'm unwilling to accept that! Although I'm already among the best of the Chunin, my dream isn't limited to this.

Though he was somewhat distracted, keeping an eye on the two little ones in the field was more than enough.

Chapter 14: The Hokage Is Too Terrifying, Even Thinking About It Is a Burden

As one child stumbled while backing away and was about to fall, while the wooden Kunai in the other child's hand was about to stab into him, Mizuki used the Body Flicker Technique.

He steadily caught the wooden Kunai and announced, "Taiye wins this match." Then he helped the other child up and encouraged him, "Harada, keep working hard too!"

The following matches were much the same. Naruto was utterly crushed by a flat-haired kid, while the rest of the young standouts won their matches with relative ease.

Aside from Sakura, who could indeed be considered exceptionally talented, every one of the others came from ninja clans.

The instruction they received and the resources available for their training were naturally beyond what civilian ninjas could imagine. Although this match did not involve ninjutsu, secret techniques, or Genjutsu, it was still merely the most common kind of taijutsu contest.

Hinata's opponent was also a civilian ninja. From the moment they began exchanging blows, Hinata could easily tell that she could defeat him without much effort.

Before she had even fully adapted to the feeling of freely wielding such strength, she had already defeated her opponent within a dozen exchanges, acting purely on her body's instincts.

Her intention to go a little easy on him had not even had the chance to be fully carried out.

The final match could be considered the highlight. Sasuke faced a child who was clearly two years older than them. Hinata remembered that his name was Futa, a boy who had repeated two years.

Because of his age and the extra two years of training compared to the other students, he could truly be considered an expert among Hinata's class.

But when Hinata looked at the oddly named Futa, she knew Sasuke would definitely win. How could an extra who never even got a scene in the original story possibly defeat Sasuke, whose Pretense no Jutsu was practically maxed out?

This match truly deserved to be called the finale. Their movements, stances, expressions, and the clouds of dust kicked up by their battle—

It was impossible to say how much more exciting it was than everyone else's childish scuffles. Mizuki nodded to himself. This was at least somewhat worth watching. In the end, Sasuke used a feint to make Futa miss.

While his opponent was wide open, Sasuke landed a flying kick squarely on his chest and claimed victory.

After Mizuki gave Futa his usual encouragement and praised Sasuke, only for Sasuke to respond with an arrogant snort, the afternoon training was more or less completely over.

The remaining time was for the so-called review of their experiences. When the school bell rang, it was finally time for afternoon dismissal.

Hinata slowly returned to the classroom, packed up her things, and headed out of the school beneath the sunlight.

At the entrance of the Ninja Academy stood Neji Hyuga, his brown hair tied into a small bundle at the ends. Most striking of all were his pale white eyes. He was more than a year older than Hinata.

His impatient-looking face seemed to be suppressing anger. When Hinata came over to him, Neji Hyuga seemed to force down his rage.

"Lady Hinata, please leave promptly after school. If anything happens during this time, I don't think the Clan Head will let me off."

Hinata lowered her head and said softly, "Okay, Brother Neji."

Inside, she was ranting wildly: The current Neji Hyuga really makes me want to beat him up. Look at that expression, that tone—he's almost as bad as Sasuke.