"Yecheng, fight me."
Sasuke Uchiha confidently challenged him.
Yecheng looked up. The sky was a pristine blue, without a cloud for miles.
It was a beautiful, sunny day.
So this was Sunny Sasuke. No wonder he was so confident.
"No problem."
The members of the Uchiha Clan had all sorts of personalities, but they shared one thing: as long as you were capable, they respected you.
If you were strong and praised the Uchiha, you were practically their brother from another mother-and father!
Yecheng planned to take that approach to improve Sasuke's opinion of him.
He only needed a dozen or so more fate points for another ten-pull, and he was looking forward to it.
Since the students had volunteered to fight, Iruka, their taijutsu teacher, could hardly object. He naturally took on the roles of referee and supervisor.
In truth, though, he favored Sasuke. After all, Sasuke came from a ninja clan and had trained since childhood. With Uchiha Itachi as his older brother, he was bound to be strong.
As for Yecheng, although Lady Tsunade had accepted him as her apprentice, that was only because she valued his talent, not his strength.
When someone had only just learned the Chakra Scalpel ninjutsu, using it against an opponent was still difficult. It was nowhere near as lethal as a kunai, and it was easy to injure yourself.
"Form the Seal of Confrontation."
Yecheng and Sasuke formed their hand seals, and the match officially began.
Sasuke Uchiha's gaze sharpened, and he immediately stepped forward to attack.
He was fast, his attacks sharp, decisive, and well organized. He was considerably stronger than Hinata and had clearly done plenty of training at home.
Unfortunately, his opponent was Yecheng.
With the aid of the Six Eyes, Yecheng saw through every move Sasuke made in advance. He dodged easily while reaching out to tap Sasuke's vulnerable spots.
This was the Hyuga Clan's pressure-point technique, which Yecheng had learned through his Six Eyes after sparring with Hinata. He simply wasn't using chakra.
Otherwise, just two strikes to his pressure points would have put Sasuke on the ground.
After several exchanges without landing a solid hit, Sasuke grew anxious.
"Coward! Are you just going to keep dodging?"
Faced with such an obvious taunt, Yecheng smiled calmly. He dodged Sasuke's fist, braced his foot against Sasuke's, and used his momentum to push and flip him.
Sasuke felt the world turn upside down before he hit the ground.
His vision swam.
Fortunately, Yecheng had eased up in time. Otherwise, that move alone would have left him in serious trouble.
"Yecheng wins. Form the Seal of Reconciliation."
Looking at Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground in a daze, Yecheng stepped forward and offered his hand.
He chuckled. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Sasuke pressed his lips together, took his hand, and pulled himself to his feet.
They hooked their fingers together, forming the Seal of Reconciliation.
"I'm fine. I'll win next time."
He refused to concede.
"Yeah, I'll look forward to it.
"After all, you're from the Uchiha Clan. You'll get stronger quickly. I can't let myself fall behind."
To Sasuke's surprise, Yecheng actually nodded in agreement!
Anyone could have heard that he had only been putting on a brave front.
Sasuke had expected to be mocked, then go home and ask his brother for special training, improve by leaps and bounds, and return to defeat his opponent and put him in his place!
He hadn't expected Yecheng not only to refrain from mocking him, but to agree with him and even praise his clan's bloodline.
Yecheng, you... you've earned my recognition!
Sasuke immediately smiled, then quickly suppressed it and gave a smug little "hmph."
"I'll count this as your win."
[Earned Sasuke Uchiha's recognition. Favorability increased. Fate points +12] [Current fate points: 94] [Current lifespan: 17]
The next ten-pull was already within reach!
Taijutsu class continued.
With Yecheng and Sasuke leading the way, everyone else began sparring too.
Although they didn't cause as much of a stir as those two, everyone was still giving it their all.
A scene brimming with vitality, with everyone striving to get ahead, unfolded before his eyes.
Iruka nodded approvingly.
He enjoyed teaching and nurturing students. He liked watching them grow stronger bit by bit, and it brought him great joy.
Naruto went to trade blows with Sasuke as usual, while Sakura once again stopped Ino.
Yecheng approached Hinata again and smiled. "Your family can't control what happens at school, can they?"
Hinata had still been agonizing over how to apologize to Yecheng. At his words, she immediately smiled too.
He didn't blame her.
They began practicing taijutsu together and continued until the sun sank low and it was time for the Ninja Academy to let out.
At the school gates, Hyuga Kō, whom Yecheng had met yesterday, stood waiting quietly.
Seeing Hinata follow Yecheng out through the gates, he frowned slightly, then stepped forward.
Hyuga Kō had thought that after the way he had treated Yecheng yesterday, the boy would recognize the difficulty and stay away from the young lady.
He hadn't expected him to be so shameless, still pestering the young lady relentlessly.
It seemed he would have to report this to the clan head and let him decide.
Seeing Hyuga Kō approach, Yecheng said, "Looks like we can't eat together today, Hinata."
Hinata felt disappointed. She had been hoping to share another meal with Yecheng-kun.
"Mm. Uncle Xiao, let's go."
Hinata stepped forward and left first, giving Hyuga Kō no chance to speak.
She feared he would say something unpleasant, hurt Yecheng, and cause him to distance himself from her.
Yecheng chuckled indifferently, then turned to head home.
It seemed the Hyuga Clan wasn't doing all that well in Konoha. He had become Tsunade's apprentice that morning and even eaten lunch with the Third Hokage. The news should have spread long ago, yet Hyuga Kō still looked as though he knew nothing.
The Hyuga Clan residence.
Dinnertime.
Hinata gazed at the small bowl of rice and six small dishes before her, lost in thought.
The meal certainly qualified as sumptuous. Its only shortcoming was... the portions were a little small.
Compared with this, yesterday's nine bowls of ramen had been much more satisfying.
Hinata said nothing. She simply maintained her proper sitting posture and ate in small bites.
This was how she always ate, anyway.
She had no idea when she would next get to go out for a meal with Yecheng-kun.
After dinner, Hinata couldn't help rubbing her stomach. It felt empty inside.
After experiencing what it felt like to be full yesterday, eating so little now felt almost like not eating at all.
Hinata was troubled.
Just then, Hyuga Hiashi spoke.
"Hinata, you are the Young Lady of the Hyuga Clan, a member of the Main Family, and its future clan head. You cannot make friends with just anyone."
He looked at Hinata, his expression cold and his tone stern.
"Do you understand?"
"...Yes."
Hinata lowered her head, not daring to look at her father again.
Of course she understood what her father meant. She couldn't be friends with Yecheng-kun anymore...
At the thought, Hinata's nose stung, and a sense of grievance welled up inside her.
But she couldn't cry. That would only bring Yecheng-kun more trouble.
Seeing Hinata shrink back like that only made Hyuga Hiashi angrier.
He decided to use something stronger to spur Hinata on hard.
Before you continue