Fang Xu asked, "What's your reason?"
Asuma pointed at him.
"Quit playing dumb! If you lose, stay away from Kurenai!"
Kurenai Yuhi's face flushed at once.
Not from embarrassment, but from anger.
"Asuma!"
She stood up, her voice considerably louder than usual.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Asuma stiffened his neck.
"It's not nonsense! He's obviously trying to get close to you on purpose!"
Kurenai Yuhi grew even angrier.
"Who I talk to is my business. What does it have to do with you?"
Rin Nohara also tried to reason with him. "Asuma, this isn't right. Kurenai isn't a wager."
That made Asuma's expression turn even uglier.
But he had already said it, and with so many people watching, he couldn't swallow his pride.
He could only keep glaring at Fang Xu.
"Just tell me whether you dare!"
Fang Xu looked at Asuma, feeling little.
Given his current situation, if they really fought without him revealing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit or Lightning Release, it was hard to say who would win.
Asuma was from the Sarutobi Clan, after all. His fundamentals wouldn't be poor.
But winning or losing wasn't the issue.
The issue was that this duel itself was idiotic.
Fang Xu didn't stand up. He simply said calmly, "I'm not fighting."
Asuma froze.
"Are you scared?"
Fang Xu shook his head.
"I'm not scared. There's no need."
Asuma sneered.
"Sounds nice."
Fang Xu looked at him and said, each word distinct, "A duel can be training or sparring, but you can't use a person as the stakes."
Asuma's expression stiffened.
Fang Xu continued, "Kurenai doesn't belong to you, and she doesn't belong to me. Who she wants to talk to and who she wants to be friends with are her own choices."
Kurenai Yuhi paused.
She had still been angry.
But at those words, much of the anger in her chest suddenly dissipated.
Rin Nohara nodded too, looking at Fang Xu with a little more approval.
Fang Xu didn't stop.
"You like Kurenai. That's your business. But if you really like her, all the more reason to respect her, instead of banging on a desk and forcing someone else to stay away from her."
Several students nearby exchanged glances.
Those words were too blunt.
So blunt that Asuma could barely save face.
Fang Xu finished, "Grow up, Asuma."
At the words "grow up," Asuma's expression changed completely.
He hated those words more than anything.
Because the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, often said the same thing to him.
Every time he talked back to his father, every time he refused to let his identity as "the Third Hokage's son" dictate his life, Hiruzen Sarutobi would always tell him in that elder's tone-
"Asuma, it's time you grew up a little."
Now Fang Xu was actually speaking to him in that same tone.
Asuma felt terribly stifled.
It was like throwing a punch only to hit cotton, then getting a lecture from the other person into the bargain.
And for the moment, he couldn't even refute that reasoning.
Kurenai Yuhi glared at him.
"Asuma, apologize to Fang Xu."
Asuma's face grew even redder.
"Why should I apologize?"
Kurenai Yuhi said, "Because what you just said was very rude."
Rin Nohara also said softly, "Asuma, you really shouldn't have said that."
Asuma gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping over Fang Xu, Kurenai Yuhi, and Rin Nohara.
Their classmates were still watching him.
Some wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
That made him feel even worse.
Finally, he abruptly pulled back the hand he had pressed against the desk.
"Fang Xu, just you wait!"
Fang Xu looked at him.
"Wait for what?"
Asuma snorted.
"At the next assessment, I'll show you that being a smooth talker is useless. A ninja's strength is what counts!"
With that, he turned and returned to his seat.
When he sat down, he dragged his chair with an ear-piercing scrape.
Fang Xu paid him no further attention.
At this age, Asuma was rebellious, impulsive, and obsessed with saving face.
He liked Kurenai Yuhi but didn't know how to express it properly, so he could only draw attention to himself in this childish way.
Fang Xu couldn't really say he disliked him.
He just found it troublesome.
Kurenai Yuhi sat back down and said quietly, "Sorry, Asuma, he..."
Fang Xu waved a hand.
"It's got nothing to do with you."
Kurenai Yuhi glanced at him.
"Thank you for what you said."
Fang Xu smiled. "What for? I only told the truth."
Rin Nohara also turned around and said quietly, "But you really were calm just now. If it had been Obito, he probably would've started banging on the desk and arguing already."
Fang Xu pictured that scene and nodded.
"That does sound like something he'd do."
Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help laughing.
"If Obito heard that, he'd definitely object."
Rin Nohara laughed too.
"He's always like that. He says he doesn't accept it, then finds his own excuses in the end."
Just as the three reached this point in their conversation, hurried footsteps sounded outside the classroom.
The next second, a boy wearing goggles rushed through the doorway.
"Rin! Morning!"
Obito Uchiha braced one hand against the doorframe and took a couple of breaths. Before he had even steadied himself, he flashed Rin Nohara a huge grin.
But his smile lasted only an instant.
Because he saw Rin Nohara turned around, talking to Fang Xu and Kurenai Yuhi.
And Rin had just been laughing.
Laughing very happily.
Obito's expression immediately froze.
He looked at Rin, then at Fang Xu.
The alarm bell in his head instantly went off.
"Fang Xu!"
Obito rushed over in a few strides, his voice suddenly rising.
"What did you say to Rin? Why was she laughing so happily?"
The smile vanished from Rin Nohara's face.
She turned to look at Obito.
Just one look.
Obito instantly shrank back.
Half his bluster drained away on the spot, like a balloon pricked by a needle.
"Uh..."
He scratched the back of his head and gave a couple of awkward laughs.
"I was just asking. Just asking, that's all. Rin, don't be angry."
Rin Nohara said helplessly, "Obito, don't make such a fuss every time."
Obito nodded immediately.
"Right, right, right. I'll be more careful next time."
Watching from the side, Kurenai Yuhi could hardly keep from laughing.
Fang Xu felt even more helpless.
First Asuma, then Obito.
He had only just sat down today, and two boys in a row had already decided he was their rival.
What was this supposed to be?
A romantic battlefield at the Ninja Academy?
Fang Xu rubbed between his brows and said, "I think I get it now."
Obito asked warily, "Get what?"
Fang Xu sighed. "It's all because this face of mine is too handsome. That's what caused the trouble."
The classroom fell silent for an instant.
Kurenai Yuhi was the first to lose control, bursting into laughter.
Rin Nohara also covered her mouth and laughed.
Obito's eyes widened, as though those words had left him choking.
"Y-you're way too full of yourself!"
Fang Xu spread his hands.
"The facts are right here. Asuma just left, and then you came along. Isn't it because I'm so handsome that you feel threatened?"
Obito immediately retorted.
"Who feels threatened? I don't!"
Kurenai Yuhi said with a laugh, "But you really were nervous just now."
Obito's face flushed bright red.
"That was... that was because I was worried Rin was being bullied!"
Rin Nohara sighed.
"Fang Xu wasn't bullying me."
"You still can't let your guard down!"
Obito stubbornly insisted, "Some people rely on their good looks to make others lower their guard!"
Fang Xu raised an eyebrow.
"So you admit I'm good-looking?"