"Cough, cough!" Sword Star said to the dazed jonin, "Teacher Yuki, you can make the announcement now."
"Announce what... Oh, oh... Cough, cough!" Nakamura Yuki hurriedly covered up his lapse and walked to the center of the field. With a serious expression, he declared, "The match is over. The winner is—Aburame Jianxing!"
"Is Sword Star... really that strong?"
"Those bugs are still so scary!"
"But he's still so handsome... What do I do, what do I do!"
"..."
With the matter settled, Sword Star flicked his sleeves and quietly left amid the girls' chatter, not taking a single cloud with him.
"Break it up, break it up! Get back to training!"
Nakamura Yuki dispersed the watching students, then crouched to examine Uchiha Qi. A few seconds later, he let out a sigh of relief. Uchiha Qi had merely exhausted his chakra and would be fine after some rest. 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 though their lives had turned completely gray.
Nakamura Yuki stood up, walked a few steps, and picked up a black fragment. It was part of the shield Sword Star had used to defend against the Fireball Jutsu.
Fukuda Ichiro asked, "What is that?"
Nakamura Yuki replied, "It's a shell left behind after the bugs molt. It's hard and heat-resistant. Bugs specifically bred to defend against Fire Style? Interesting~"
"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 for him to miss something. But—as a spectator, did you see how Sword Star got the bugs onto Uchiha