Eight Classmates

After a morning of matches, eight classmates had finally emerged victorious. That afternoon, those eight would face off against one another.

"Ruri, I'll show you how strong I am now this afternoon!" Momokusa Harukawa said, looking at him.

"All right, Harukawa. Don't disappoint me! Let's go eat now!" With that, Ruri got up and headed toward the classroom.

After a morning of matches, the students were so hungry their stomachs felt stuck to their backbones, and they had no strength left.

"Ruri, want to try the braised ribs I brought? I made them myself!" Momokusa Harukawa said as she sat down and took out her lunch box.

"Hmm? You made them yourself? Then I've got to give them a proper taste!" Ruri said, looking at the braised ribs in Momokusa Harukawa's lunch box.

"Linghua, would you like to try some?" Momokusa Harukawa asked Reika Hyuga, who had just opened her own lunch box.

Reika Hyuga looked at the braised ribs in Momokusa Harukawa's lunch box and said, "Sure, I'll try some too!"

After the two of them tasted Momokusa Harukawa's braised ribs, their faces filled with satisfaction. Then Ruri said, "Sho delishush!" (So delicious!)

Ruri's mouth was already stuffed with food. He spoke as he chewed, and not a single word came out clearly.

Reika Hyuga wasn't like that. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she smiled at Momokusa Harukawa and said, "Harukawa, your braised ribs are absolutely delicious! Who taught you to make them?"

"My mom taught me! I love eating her braised ribs at home!" Momokusa Harukawa said with a smile.

"Whoever marries you is going to be one lucky man! Our little Harukawa isn't just pretty-she's such a good cook, too! If I were a man, I'd definitely marry you," Reika Hyuga said.

"All right, hurry up and eat! We can rest a little afterward. We've still got matches this afternoon, don't we? Look, Ruri hasn't stopped eating!" Momokusa Harukawa said to Reika Hyuga.

With that, the girls started eating the lunches they had brought.

After a morning of ninja drills, the students of Class Five were utterly exhausted. Once they finished eating, they slumped over their desks and began to rest.

Before long, more than half of their lunch break had passed. The eight students would soon begin their sparring matches, narrowing the field down to four before moving on to the finals.

"All right, everyone, you've rested long enough. Come on, let's gather at the playground!" Asuma Sarutobi said from the teaching platform.

"Oh my god, more? They're going to work us to death!"

"If we don't train like this, when will we ever get stronger? Come on, let's go, or we'll get another scolding!"

Ruri was still asleep and hadn't heard a word Asuma Sarutobi said. Beside him, Momokusa Harukawa poked his cheek and said, "Ruri, time to get up. The afternoon matches are about to start!"

As Momokusa Harukawa spoke, Ruri slowly opened his bleary eyes and murmured, "All right, Harukawa. I know!"

A little over ten minutes later, the students of Class Five had gradually filled the playground.

"All right, since everyone's here, I'll announce the matchups for the next round!" Asuma Sarutobi said, standing in front of the crowd with a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Ruri Hyuga, Momokusa Harukawa, Reika Hyuga, Uchiha Itachi..."