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"Cough, cough!" Sword Star said to the dazed jonin, "Teacher Yuki, you can make the announcement now."

"Announce what... Oh, right... Cough, cough!" Nakamura Yuki hurriedly covered up his lapse, walked to the center of the field, and declared solemnly, "The match is over. The winner is—Aburame Jianxing!"

"Sword Star... is he really that strong?"

"Bugs are still so scary!"

"But he's still so handsome... What do I do, what do I do!"

"..."

With the matter settled, amid the girls' chatter, Sword Star flicked his sleeve and quietly left without taking so much as a cloud with him.

"Break it up, break it up! Get back to training!"

Nakamura Yuki dispersed the watching students, then crouched down to examine Uchiha Qi's condition. A few seconds later, he let out a breath of relief. Uchiha Qi had merely overdrawn his chakra; some rest and he would be fine. He beckoned over Qi's two trembling lackeys.

"Take Qi to the infirmary."

"Y-Yes!"

The two lackeys nodded frantically, on the verge of tears, feeling as if their lives had turned utterly bleak.

Nakamura Yuki stood and walked a few steps before picking up a black fragment. It was from the shield Sword Star had used earlier to defend against the Fireball Jutsu.

Fukuda Ichiro asked, "What is that?"

"This is a shell left behind after insects molt. It's tough and heat-resistant. Did he specifically breed insects to defend against Fire Release? Interesting~" Nakamura Yuki replied.

"Oh, Sword Star really is capable. He actually beat Qi. Qi was still too careless," Fukuda Ichiro said with a smile.

"Just careless?" Nakamura Yuki suddenly stared at Fukuda Ichiro. "Qi was in the middle of battle, so it's normal that he missed things. But—you were watching. Did you see how Sword Star got the insects onto