Over the next few days, Mirai Uzumaki was visibly drowsy during daytime classes.
He slumped over his desk, his eyelids fighting each other and his head bobbing little by little. Even when Akashi Kishimoto called his name, he did not react right away.
"Mirai! Get up and answer the question!"
"...Huh? Oh, the core of the Will of Fire is bonds and protection." He could recite the standard answer with his eyes closed, then flopped back onto his desk.
Akashi Kishimoto was so furious that smoke practically came out of his nostrils, but thinking of the Hokage's instructions—and Tsunade's door-kicking style that day—he ultimately swallowed his temper.
Minato Namikaze sat in the front row. He turned back to look at him, his blue eyes full of confusion.
"What's been wrong with Mirai lately? He looks so listless..." he muttered quietly. "He was obviously so motivated when he first arrived."
After class, Minato walked over to Mirai's desk and tapped its surface.
"Mirai, are you okay? Did you not sleep well last night?"
"Mm... I've been learning something." Mirai yawned as he answered vaguely.
"Learning what?"
"Sealing Jutsu."
"Sealing Jutsu?" Minato's eyes lit up. "That sounds amazing! Can you teach me?"
Mirai finally lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. This little blond kid was utterly sincere, with his whole heart set on becoming stronger. It was hard to dislike him.
"Maybe later. Let me catch up on some sleep first..." Before he could finish, his head dropped back onto the desk.
Minato looked at him, scratched his head, then clenched his fists.
"No, I have to find a way to cheer Mirai up! Someone as strong as him can't stay this dispirited!" he silently resolved.
That afternoon came practical combat class.
As usual, Toriyama Kazunari brought the entire class to the training field.
Today's lesson was taijutsu sparring—after several rounds of basic movement drills, it was time for free challenges as usual.
Izumi Uchiha was the first to step forward.
"Teacher Toriyama, I challenge Mirai Uzumaki." Her voice was not loud, but her tone carried an unquestionable resolve.
The whole field fell silent for a moment, then erupted into chatter.
"Naori again... Didn't she lose a month ago?"
"But hasn't she been training extra every day? I often see her at the training ground when I pass by after school."
"The Uchiha Clan is terrifying..."
Mirai Uzumaki stood among the group, yawning. Hearing someone call his name, he slowly raised his head.
Naori stood in the center of the field, her long black hair drifting in the breeze. Her expression was even colder than it had been a month ago.
She said nothing, merely stared straight at him. Her right hand was clenched into a fist, her fingertips faintly white.
"Mirai." Minato Namikaze gave him a push from the side, wearing a smile that was both expectant and worried. "Good luck. Don't lose!"
Mirai Uzumaki glanced at him—this little blond kid had just said he wanted to cheer him up, but now he was enjoying the show.
"Fine." Mirai rubbed his eyes and slowly walked onto the field.
Across from him, Izumi Uchiha's gaze blazed like fire.
Over the past month, she had trained until late every night, worked calluses onto her hands, increased her hand-sign speed by twenty percent, and pestered the elders of her clan to teach her new taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques.
She was already nothing like before!
Every day, she thought that when she faced Mirai Uzumaki again, she would definitely make him stare in shock.
"This time, I won't lose again."
She spoke softly and assumed her opening stance.
Mirai Uzumaki looked at the stubborn little girl with long black hair before him, then at the faintly discernible Anbu presence within the distant shadows of the trees. He quietly sighed inwardly.
—Great. After this, I still have to go back and learn the Four Symbols Seal.
This life was way too fulfilling.
Izumi Uchiha stood in the center of the field and took a deep breath, staring intensely at the red-haired boy across from her, who was yawning.
"Mirai Uzumaki, I've mastered new ninjutsu over the past month. This time, I'll definitely defeat you!"
Her voice was crisp and resolute, carrying all the fighting spirit she had built up through countless days and nights of extra training.
Mirai Uzumaki dug at his ear and slowly replied, "Oh."
He had not really wanted to accept this challenge. If he had not promised Mikoto that day that he "wouldn't let Naori lose too badly," he truly would have liked to surrender outright and go back to catch up on sleep.
But Mikoto had also said that intentionally losing would not work either. With Naori's personality, that would only hurt her more.
"Come on, then. I still need to go back and study Sealing Jutsu after this." He waved a hand and said it casually.
Naori frowned, feeling that his attitude was far too dismissive. That only made her angrier.
"Begin!" Toriyama Kazunari blew his whistle.
Naori attacked first, pulling two wooden shuriken from her ninja tool pouch and firing them at Mirai from both hands.
At the same time, she lowered her body and rushed forward in a single step, gripping a wooden kunai as she drove it toward Mirai's ribs.
Mirai twisted aside to evade the two shuriken, but the kunai followed close behind, skimming past the edge of his clothes.
He stepped back, opening up half a step of distance, then swung his arm in a backhand slash, sending his wooden kunai sweeping toward Naori's wrist.
Clang!
The two wooden kunai collided with a crisp sound.
Naori gritted her teeth and held against the force, twisting her wrist to entangle Mirai's weapon. But with a light flick of his wrist, Mirai spun his kunai in a circle and deflected her attack.
Their wooden weapons struck rapidly in midair, producing a dense series of clanging sounds.
Mirai deliberately held back, moving only half a beat faster than Naori and barely suppressing her offensive rhythm.
The students watching from the side were dazzled, all of them sucking in cold breaths.
"Mirai's reactions are so fast!"
"Naori has improved so much too! She can actually trade blows with Mirai!"
"Are those two really our age? I feel like if I went up there, I wouldn't last even a second!"
Minato Namikaze stood among the crowd, carefully observing their movements with a faint frown.
He noticed more than the others—Mirai was holding back. So many times, he clearly could have knocked Naori's weapon away directly, yet he always missed by half an inch.
"Is Mirai going easy on her..." Minato murmured.
On the field, Naori grew more frantic with each exchange. She could clearly feel that her opponent was not using his full strength, and the fire in her heart burned hotter and hotter.
After several rounds of clashes, she suddenly leaped backward to widen the distance and rapidly formed hand signs.
"Ninjutsu: Clone Technique!"
Three figures split away from her. Four identical Izumi Uchiha stood on the field, charging toward Mirai at the same time.
"Wow! Naori knows the Clone Technique now!"
"Four against one! Mirai's in danger!"
Mirai Uzumaki watched the four long-haired black figures rushing at him and gave them a light sweep with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura—
The chakra flow in three of the clones was almost nonexistent; they were completely empty inside. Only the original body had normal chakra density.
It was far too easy to tell them apart.
But he decided to put on an act anyway.
Naori had trained hard for a whole month. If he saw through it in one second, the girl would probably burst into tears on the spot.
Mikoto had said to go easy on her, so he would make it look natural.
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