The blonde loser

At that moment, Iruka finally stopped misdirecting his hatred.

It was the Nine-Tails Demon Fox that had killed his parents, not Naruto!

He finally began to see Naruto for who he was and acknowledge him.

"Naruto, well done."

Iruka patted Naruto on the shoulder and spoke softly with a smile.

"Iruka-sensei..."

Naruto looked at him. There was no disgust or fear in those eyes.

There was only the same friendliness and acceptance he saw when Yecheng looked at him.

"Yeah!"

He, too, broke into a sunny smile.

The sparring continued.

"Next pair, Yecheng versus Ino Yamanaka!"

"Woohoo! Yes!"

Ino jumped up happily, while Sakura beside her was unbearably jealous.

Damn it, weren't we besties who were supposed to stick together?

Why couldn't I spar with Sasuke-kun, while Ino got to spar with Yecheng-kun?!

Hinata, standing nearby, looked envious too.

How nice. I'm so jealous that Ino gets to spar with Yecheng-kun.

Oh, right, Father told me to make friends with Yecheng-kun. He never forbade me from training with him after school!

The two of us eating together, shopping together, training together...

Th-th-that... wouldn't that be a date?!

At that thought, Hinata's little face immediately flushed red all the way to her ears.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation."

Ino smiled dreamily and said, "Yecheng-kun, here I come!"

As she spoke, she clenched a limp fist and punched at Yecheng.

Yecheng was amused by her movements.

He dodged easily.

"Ino, if you don't start taking this seriously, I'm going to make you suffer a little."

"Yes, please! If it's you, I'm willing to suffer anything."

Yecheng shook his head helplessly.

No wonder Uchiha Sasuke kept saying, "You're annoying." There really wasn't any good way to deal with a lovestruck girl like this.

After casually exchanging a couple of moves, he knocked her out of bounds.

"Yecheng wins. Form the Seal of Reconciliation."

Yecheng said, "Ino, ninja have to go to war. After you graduate from the Ninja Academy, is this how you're going to fight when you run into enemies outside the village?"

"Huh?"

Ino froze, not understanding what he meant.

Feigning indifference, Yecheng warned her, "If you keep acting like this, you'd better stay away from me.

"I don't want to grieve over some idiot's death someday, either."

With that, he released the Seal of Reconciliation and walked toward Hinata on the other side.

Then the two began whispering to each other.

Ino looked petrified, as though she were about to crack apart-the very picture of a blonde loser.

Watching from the sidelines, Shikamaru Nara slapped his forehead.

"Oh no. This is going to be a huge pain."

Choji Akimichi, standing beside him, was a little angry. Even the chips in his hand seemed to have lost their appeal.

"How could Yecheng-kun say that to Ino? No, I'm going to talk some sense into him!"

Shikamaru hurriedly grabbed him.

"No, no, you've got it wrong."

"How have I got it wrong? Look how dejected Ino is."

Choji was still angry.

At that moment, Ino swayed over like a walking corpse.

The three Ino-Shika-Cho families had been close for generations, and the three of them had been playmates since childhood, so they knew each other well.

"Ino, want some chips?"

Choji offered her his most treasured snack. This was the only way he knew to comfort people.

"...Shikamaru, did... did I do something wrong?"

"Actually, Yecheng said that for your own good!"

Seeing Ino on the verge of falling apart, Shikamaru hurried to comfort her.

"Think about it. We're going to become ninja and leave the village on missions. If we aren't strong enough, we might get killed before we even react when we run into enemies!"

Shikamaru did his best to reassure her.

"See, didn't Yecheng say it himself? He doesn't want to grieve over you. That means he doesn't want you to get hurt!"

"Huh? Is that what he meant?!"

Ino looked utterly bewildered.

"So that's it!"

Choji suddenly understood. Yecheng-kun was such a good person. He had nearly misjudged him.

I'll treat him to chips next time to apologize!

"Exactly!"

Shikamaru nodded emphatically.

This is when a strategist has to step up!

Watching Ino perk up again, Shikamaru finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, I'm going to do special training!"

Fierce determination blazed in Ino's eyes. "I'm going to beat Hinata and make Yecheng-kun acknowledge me!"

She was fired up!

Shikamaru, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately slapped his forehead and sighed inwardly.

Here comes the trouble, just as expected!

"...Next match, Hinata Hyuga versus Kiba Inuzuka."

"Oi! Is it finally my turn to take the stage?"

Kiba Inuzuka loosened up his arms and walked into the ring.

"Yecheng-kun, I..."

Hinata was nervous. Neji thrashed her at home, and Yecheng thrashed her outside. She really had little confidence in her own abilities.

"It's all right. You can do it."

Yecheng smiled and patted her head.

"Just fight the way you do when you train with me."

"Okay!"

Hinata nodded firmly.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation."

The two began fighting.

There was little suspense. The fight was almost entirely one-sided.

Without a dog, Kiba Inuzuka's fighting strength was reduced by at least half, while Hinata went all out from the start, launching a fierce Gentle Fist assault.

A string of strikes caught Kiba Inuzuka completely off guard, hitting his chakra points until he collapsed and could not get up.

"Hinata Hyuga wins! Form the Seal of Reconciliation."

The spectators were dumbfounded. Kiba Inuzuka was already one of the stronger students in their class, yet he had lost to Hinata so decisively.

Ino's mouth fell open in disbelief.

You've got to be kidding!

Hinata usually only fought Yecheng, so it hadn't been obvious. Who would have thought she was this strong?!

Could I really beat her?

Choji could not help trying to dissuade her. "Ino, Hinata looks really strong. Maybe you should just forget it?"

He really did not think Ino could beat Hinata. She ought to try thinking of another approach.

Shikamaru also said, "Training and all that is too much trouble. You could give Yecheng flowers. He's sure to like them."

Hearing that, Ino, who had still been somewhat dispirited, immediately perked up again.

That's right! My family runs a flower shop. I should be playing to my strengths!

Ino instantly regained her confidence. She was no longer that blonde loser!

Having watched their match, Yecheng also nodded to himself.

The training over this period had paid off.

In truth, Hinata had good natural potential. She had the Byakugan, and she could eat a lot.

In his previous life, there had been an old saying in martial arts circles: a martial artist's strength was three parts training and seven parts eating. You had to be able to eat to be able to fight.

The fundamental reason Hinata had seemed so weak in the original story was her personality.

Someone who was not strong enough on the inside could never become truly strong.

Now, with Yecheng slowly coaching her and guiding her training step by step, she was gradually developing courage too. In the future, she would certainly be much stronger than her original-story counterpart.

"Damn it, I really need to find a good dog!"

Kiba Inuzuka rubbed the spots where his chakra points had been struck to ease the pain.

"You still haven't found a dog you like?" Shino Aburame suddenly asked.

"You startled me! What the-Shino, you're here?"

Kiba Inuzuka jumped.

"Yeah, I've looked at lots of dogs, but I never get that feeling of being connected."

Hearing this, Yecheng immediately smiled. "Don't worry. You'll definitely find one."

"Here's hoping."

Kiba Inuzuka chuckled. "Then I'll come back and beat you!"

"Not happening."

Yecheng raised his index finger and wagged it, looking thoroughly punchable.

Beside him, Hinata was amused too and let out a soft giggle.

Going by the original story, Akamaru would probably be born in two or three years. By then, even Yecheng himself did not know how strong he would have become.

Even right now, Kiba Inuzuka would have absolutely no chance of beating him with Akamaru's help.

Ultimately, the Inuzuka Clan should not be the main attackers in battle.

With their extremely keen sense of smell and their ability to connect with their Ninja Dogs, they were practically born scouts.

The role they could play on the battlefield far exceeded their own fighting strength.