Sasuke Uchiha automatically tuned out Sakura Haruno's cheers.
He looked at Shihui Aburame and began weighing his advantages.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, although he had not awakened his Sharingan, he had learned Uchiha-Style Taijutsu at an early age.
The Aburame Clan had no taijutsu of its own, so Shihui Aburame could only learn basic Konoha-Style Taijutsu.
As for ninjutsu, Sasuke Uchiha was even more confident.
He had already mastered the Three Basic Techniques and was learning the Uchiha Clan's signature ninjutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
I have the advantage!
Sasuke Uchiha could not think of a reason he would lose.
"Begin!"
Umino Iruka spoke with an expectant expression.
Judging by Sasuke Uchiha's and Shihui Aburame's usual performances, this was bound to be a fierce clash between evenly matched opponents.
As their teacher, he was delighted to have two such outstanding students in his class.
Sasuke Uchiha charged at Shihui Aburame.
But compared with Naruto Uzumaki's recklessness, his approach was quite methodical.
He formed hand seals as he ran.
With a poof, two clones appeared.
Sasuke Uchiha leaped into the air.
The three of him switched positions in midair in a dazzling display.
"So strong!"
Kiba Inuzuka spoke with a shocked expression.
Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head.
The clones his Clone Technique produced were downright freakish.
Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga moved in perfect sync, instinctively sitting up straight, worry showing on their faces.
Sasuke Uchiha saw Shihui Aburame frown.
The corners of his mouth could not help curling upward.
This is the invincible Uchiha!
He flicked both hands, sending six kunai straight down.
Since this was a school sparring match, they were wooden.
The three Sasuke Uchihas attacked along with the kunai.
In an instant, Shihui Aburame was surrounded and in imminent danger.
"Thirty percent."
After closing in, Sasuke Uchiha suddenly heard Shihui Aburame speak.
Thirty percent of what?
Before he could puzzle over it, a fist appeared before his eyes.
The fist made intimate contact with his face.
Hot blood surged up.
A spurt of blood shot from Sasuke Uchiha's nose.
His entire body flew backward.
Sasuke Uchiha hit the ground, his mind completely blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What just happened?
The training ground fell silent all at once.
Sakura Haruno's little mouth hung wide open.
Wasn't he just about to win?
How had Sasuke-kun ended up lying on the ground in the blink of an eye?
Finding strength from who knew where, Naruto Uzumaki jumped straight up.
He had fought Shihui Aburame to a draw.
But Sasuke Uchiha had not lasted even a second.
By rearranging the equation, he reached a conclusion.
He was stronger than Sasuke Uchiha.
Naruto Uzumaki chuckled goofily.
Suddenly, he felt that the places Shihui Aburame had hit earlier no longer hurt.
"Yay!"
Ino Yamanaka came to her senses and happily flashed a V sign.
Hinata Hyuga instinctively let out a breath.
She silently thought that Shiki-kun really was the strongest.
For once, Shikamaru Nara began thinking things over.
Was Sasuke Uchiha that bad?
Clearly not.
He would have had an easy time fighting the other students.
The only explanation was that his opponent was too strong.
Shihui Aburame was a little surprised.
Was just thirty percent of my strength this ridiculous?
Good thing I held back the other seventy percent.
The strength granted by the White Boar Gu and Black Boar Gu was really quite good.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Shihui Aburame tilted his head and asked.
Hearing this, Sasuke Uchiha immediately flushed red.
He had finally gotten the opportunity he had waited so long for, only to lose so utterly!
Fuck!
If only I had the Sharingan too... A flood of emotions poured into his eyes, and then nothing happened.
"The Seal of Reconciliation."
Umino Iruka recovered from his shock.
He had not expected Sasuke Uchiha, whom he had such high hopes for, to be knocked to the ground with a single punch.
Shihui Aburame held out his hand. Sasuke Uchiha glanced at it, then climbed up on his own.
After making the Seal of Reconciliation, he said resentfully, "I'll definitely win next time!"
Shihui Aburame nodded calmly.
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were practically identical in their refusal to admit defeat.
No wonder they became such close buddies in the original story.
Sasuke Uchiha stood where he was, looking conflicted.
"Just say whatever you want to say."
Shihui Aburame noticed his expression.
"What was that punch called?"
Sasuke Uchiha asked, holding his nose.
"A basic attack."
Shihui Aburame answered without thinking.
Now that's some fancy execution from a Naruto player!
"...?"
Sasuke Uchiha looked puzzled.
That name was far too strange.
But Shihui Aburame had already stepped off the stage.
Didn't that trigger an achievement?
Looks like I'll need to beat him a couple more times.
While Shihui Aburame was mulling it over, several lines of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Achievement unlocked: "Punching Asura, kicking Indra." Reward obtained: Jade Skin Gu.] [Jade Skin Gu: a rank-one Gu, an enhanced version of Copper Skin Gu with greater defensive power.] [Jade Skin Gu, White Boar Gu, and wild boar tusks can be refined together into the rank-two White Jade Gu.] [Suitable wild boar tusks currently missing. Combined refinement unavailable.]
Shihui Aburame could not help freezing for a moment.
Now that's what you call a surprise!
If he remembered correctly, the White Jade Gu had twice the defensive power of the Jade Skin Gu.
As for how strong the Jade Skin Gu's defenses were, he would have to find a way to test them.
Besides that, he also needed to prepare some jade.
The Jade Skin Gu needed to consume two taels of jade every ten days.
The spending money Hinata Hyuga had given him would come in handy.
"Shiki!"
Naruto Uzumaki slung an arm around his shoulders and declared proudly, "That's my lifelong rival for you!"
"Does anyone else want to issue a challenge?"
Umino Iruka clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back and asked, "If not, I'll call on people at random."
"I want to challenge Ino Yamanaka."
Sakura Haruno stood up and spoke.
The two of them had nearly started fighting while cheering earlier.
"Ino."
Shihui Aburame said, "Good luck."
This was returning the favor.
"I'll do my best!"
Ino Yamanaka immediately grew excited.
Sakura Haruno's eyes reddened with envy.
At this rate, she would awaken the Sharingan.
She wanted encouragement from Sasuke-kun too.
But right now, he was drawing circles on the ground, radiating resentment.
He was not casting a curse, but reviewing the fight.
Shihui Aburame watched Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno with interest.
He loved watching women fight.
They did not use ninjutsu-or rather, neither knew any-and both used Konoha-Style Taijutsu.
In the end, Ino Yamanaka held a slight edge and won the sparring match.
"Damn it!"
Sakura Haruno spoke through gritted teeth.
"Try harder next time."
Ino Yamanaka smiled and slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't get cocky yet!"
Sakura Haruno gave a little huff and turned her face away as she spoke.
But once they left the field, Ino Yamanaka let go of her and ran over to Shihui Aburame.
Sakura Haruno curled her lip.
She had known this would happen.
"Hinata Hyuga versus Kiba Inuzuka."
Seeing that no one else was issuing a challenge, Umino Iruka began calling names.
Shihui Aburame instinctively looked at Hinata Hyuga.
Unlike the Sharingan, which required a stimulus to awaken, the Byakugan would awaken naturally after extensive training.
But she was still young and had not yet awakened her Byakugan.
Even so, Gentle Fist still offered a considerable advantage.
It was just that Hinata Hyuga's personality meant she could not bring it out fully.
(End of chapter)