Konoha: I Have a Gravity Training Room

Just as he was about to counterattack, Xia Mu saw Xia Mu rapidly form hand seals again. His eyes locked onto Sasuke, and Sasuke instantly felt the world spin around him.

"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"

"Damn it, a genjutsu attack..."

Sasuke immediately steadied his mind and swiftly disrupted his own Chakra, instantly breaking free from the genjutsu. But a huge foot came straight at him, kicking him flying.

Everyone had already been left dumbfounded.

They had never expected Xia Mu's wind-like chain of attacks to suppress Sasuke from start to finish. Sasuke had already been sent flying twice, and even his seemingly powerful Great Fireball Technique had done nothing. It felt as though Xia Mu had already surpassed Sasuke.

But how was that possible?

Sasuke was a genius of the Uchiha Clan!

Sasuke could hardly believe it either. He climbed back up, his face full of unwillingness, but he had no choice but to become even more cautious. When Xia Mu suddenly raised his hand, Sasuke instinctively leaped a great distance backward.

But Xia Mu said, "Iruka-sensei, I'm out of Chakra. I surrender."

"Nani?! Xia Mu, you bastard, are you messing with me?!"

Sasuke was furious. "You kicked me flying twice, my Great Fireball did nothing, and now you're telling me you surrender? What kind of sense does that make?! Keep fighting me!"

But Xia Mu had already formed the Seal of Reconciliation, leaving Sasuke unable to vent his anger.

The other boy had said he was out of Chakra, and he definitely could not use those attacks from before anymore. There seemed to be no point in continuing. Sasuke could not exactly force him to fight.

With no other choice, Sasuke could only form the Seal of Reconciliation with a dark expression.

Seeing the look on Uchiha Sasuke's face, Xia Mu rarely offered some comfort. "Sasuke, even though that genjutsu isn't high-level, it still uses quite a lot of Chakra. Besides, I'm not very talented at genjutsu and practiced it for a long time. You broke free so quickly, so there was nothing I could do. There's no point in continuing."

The main thing is, if we keep going, you'll lose. Wouldn't that expose me?

Better forget it!

Hearing that, Sasuke finally felt a little better. Maybe he was actually pretty good, considering he had broken free from the genjutsu instantly.

However, Xia Mu added, "But Sasuke, your mental state is pretty poor. Otherwise, you shouldn't have fallen for such a low-level genjutsu so easily. That isn't good. You've got dark circles all around your eyes. If you don't sleep properly, it can be dangerous in battle."

After saying that, he turned and left the field, receiving applause from his classmates at just the right moment.

Although Xia Mu had surrendered, it somehow did not feel like he had lost. In any case, he had earned the respect of his classmates.

After all, Xia Mu seemed to be the first person to beat Sasuke into such a state. It was a pity that Xia Mu had too little Chakra; otherwise, Sasuke might have lost terribly.

Only Shino and Ino, who knew the truth, remained calm: perhaps Xia Mu simply did not enjoy playing ninja make-believe.

At that moment, Naruto jumped out again. "Iruka-sensei, since Xia Mu surrendered, can I challenge Sasuke? I'm super strong today! I'll definitely win, dattebayo!"

Iruka had a headache whenever it came to that blond brat. He instinctively looked at Sasuke and saw him nod, so he agreed. "All right. Since Sasuke doesn't object, the second match will be Sasuke versus Naruto. Form the Seal of Confrontation."

"Ha ha ha! Sasuke, prepare yourself, dattebayo!"

Naruto eagerly stepped onto the field. The moment he formed the Seal of Confrontation, he pounced forward, only to be kicked flying by Sasuke in the next second.

Sasuke sneered. "I was already furious because Xia Mu surrendered. Since you came looking for a beating, how could I not oblige you? Your attacks aren't even remotely comparable to Xia Mu's, and you think you can defeat me?"

What followed was naturally Naruto getting beaten up in every possible way.

Although Naruto really could take a beating, he was still young at this point and had suffered from long-term malnutrition. He was nowhere near as tough as he would be later on, and before long, he was beaten into a miserable state.

By the time Iruka announced the end of the match, Sasuke's gloomy mood had improved quite a bit.

Still, Sasuke felt that something was off about Xia Mu. Even if Xia Mu claimed to be out of Chakra, he had looked completely relaxed just now. How did he look even slightly drained? Was this guy deliberately hiding his true strength? And he had deliberately beaten Sasuke up first, then pretended to surrender to hide it? Was he treating people like idiots?

Little Strong Gathering

But for some reason, Xia Mu having little Chakra seemed perfectly natural.

Since when had everyone accepted that as a given?

Something was seriously wrong!

Sasuke's intuition was correct.

In fact, it was the result of Xia Mu's deliberate efforts. Ever since he had surrendered during his first-year match against Sasuke, he had claimed that his Chakra was insufficient. During Outdoor Class, he had always acted like he had very little Chakra as well. After enough repetitions, everyone had grown used to it. Now Xia Mu had used several ninjutsu and even genjutsu, so was it not only natural that he ran out of Chakra?

Besides, Xia Mu was only seven years old. Having little Chakra was normal, right?

As for how he had managed to suppress Sasuke just now, it was merely some clever trickery. It was not worth taking seriously.

"Damn it! That smug bastard Sasuke, dattebayo!"

Naruto cursed resentfully under his breath, but in the end, he still slunk off the field. Then he shamelessly sidled up to Sakura again, but Sakura had spent the entire time watching Sasuke. Only Hinata was worried about Naruto's injuries.

Sigh, those complicated relationships were enough to give anyone a stomachache.

Still, with another handful of sunflower seeds, it would probably be quite entertaining.

The following matches were nothing worth watching. Even when Shino faced Kiba Inuzuka, Shino won effortlessly, leaving Kiba Inuzuka beaten without the slightest temper left.

Oh, right. That guy had not gotten his dog yet. He would probably only start raising Akamaru at age nine.

But even if Kiba Inuzuka had a dog, he would still be nowhere near Shino's match.

Xia Mu was absolutely certain of that!

After the boys finished, it was the girls' turn. The first match was a battle between close friends: Ino Yamanaka versus Sakura.

There was no need to wait for the Chunin Exams. It was already a hair-pulling battle at this point. But everyone guessed wrong, because as soon as the match began, Sakura was knocked flying and could not get up for a long while.

Iruka was immediately frightened and decisively declared Ino the winner, then prepared to send Sakura to the hospital.

However, Ino walked over to Sakura and held out her fair little hand. "All right, I didn't use that much force. It'll stop hurting soon. But Sakura, you're really weak. You've been in school for a year and haven't improved at all."

Sakura clutched her stomach, but the pain really did fade quickly. Clearly, Ino had held back.

Besides, she felt that Ino seemed different today. Not only had she not called her Forehead Girl, but she had even reached out to help her up.

That was very abnormal!

"Ino Pig, what's wrong with you?" Sakura's tone was hostile, but there was concern in her words.

"Are you asking to be scolded? Get up already, Forehead Girl. I'll tell you privately later. Everyone's watching!"

Veins bulged on Ino's forehead. She simply reached down and pulled Sakura up, then led her off the field hand in hand, as though their previous unpleasantness had never happened.

Sakura stood there in a daze for a moment, staring blankly at the hand holding hers, feeling as if an age had passed.

Outdoor Class ended quickly, and Iruka announced that school was over. The students scattered in a rush; nothing was more important than going out to play.

Xia Mu gathered several of his friends together. "Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, you're free tomorrow, right? Come to my house. I want your help trying out a game. As payment, I'll treat you to a meal."

Shino and Shikamaru said nothing, but they nodded readily in agreement.

Choji could not help drooling. "Xia Mu, you're treating us again? Hehe, don't worry. I'll save room and come to your house tomorrow. Maybe I just won't eat dinner tonight!"

Ino was extremely curious. "What are you treating us to that would make a glutton like Choji willing to skip dinner? And shouldn't the important thing be the game? What game are we playing? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Xia Mu did not explain. "Just come. You'll definitely like it. Even if you don't like the game, you'll like my cooking."

Choji added, "That's right! Xia Mu's cooking is amazing!"

Hearing that, Ino nodded and agreed. She did not want to help at the flower shop during her day off, nor did she want to continue that devilish training. She would treat it as a day of rest.

But when she thought about playing a game, she hurriedly asked, "Can I bring Sakura with me?"

Sakura pointed at her own nose in surprise. She had not expected Ino to invite her along. Ino really was acting strange.

The moment Naruto heard that, he poked his head over. "Nani, nani? You're going to Xia Mu's house to play a game? Xia Mu's treating everyone too? Sakura and everyone else are going, so I can go too, right? Xia Mu, Xia Mu, can I go too?"

Xia Mu found it hard to refuse him for a moment. Thinking of the card game he wanted to promote, and how this was a good chance to build relationships with this group of Little Strongs and introduce Tenten to them, he agreed.

"All right, all right. Then Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, all of you come too. What about you, Sasuke? Are you coming to my house tomorrow morning?"

"My house?" Sasuke instinctively wanted to refuse, but he still felt that something was off about Xia Mu and wanted to investigate further, so he agreed. "Fine. I'll go take a look at your house tomorrow."

When Sakura heard that Sasuke was going too, she was immediately overjoyed, while Naruto looked thoroughly displeased.

But Xia Mu did not care. After telling them where he lived, he headed home first, intending to discuss tomorrow's ingredients with Tenten. After all, two big eaters would be visiting tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Xia Mu went to the market to buy supplies, leaving only Tenten at home.

As for the Little Strongs, they first gathered at the school entrance, then Shino led them to Xia Mu's house. Along the way, they kept guessing what game Xia Mu wanted to treat them to, and they were also curious about what Xia Mu's home was like.

Before long, they arrived at the courtyard gate, and Shino immediately knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming!"

A girl's voice came from inside, surprising everyone even more. Then they saw a cute girl with twin buns open the door. She was wearing an apron, clearly having been busy just moments ago.

Shino nodded in greeting. "Tenten, I brought everyone."

Ino said happily, "Tenten, I didn't expect you to be home. Where's Xia Mu?"

Tenten smiled and welcomed everyone into the courtyard. "Xia Mu went shopping. He said there would be two big eaters at lunch, so he had to buy more to make sure everyone was properly fed. Sit down first. In a while, I'll introduce you to the card game Xia Mu invented. You'll definitely like it."

As she spoke, she skillfully poured drinks for them.

Other than Shino and Ino, everyone else curiously studied Tenten, guessing whether she was Xia Mu's younger sister or older sister.

Naruto was the first to lose patience. "Um, who's this girl with the buns?"

Ino immediately made a grand introduction. "Ahem! The cute girl with twin buns standing before you is named Tenten. She's a senior one year above us, and she's Xia Mu's girlfriend!"

So she was his girlfriend... Wait a second!

G-g-girlfriend?!

"Nani?! Xia Mu's girlfriend?! Xia Mu already has a girlfriend?!" Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

Ninja Kill

Even Shikamaru and Choji were shocked.

The two of them were Xia Mu's friends, yet they had only found out now. Even Ino had learned about it before they had.

Looking at Shino's calm expression, it was obvious that guy had known for a long time too.

Sasuke also stared wide-eyed. He had originally wanted to observe Xia Mu and learn where Xia Mu's clever fighting methods came from. He had never expected that guy to have a girlfriend.

How was he supposed to describe it? Surprising? Very... something?

He could not explain it. Anyway, Xia Mu seemed like a pretty mysterious person!

Tenten's face reddened slightly, but she spoke generously. "Xia Mu and I only confirmed our relationship recently. Please take care of us in the future."

"Of course, of course! Please take care of us too!"

Everyone hurriedly responded, or else they would seem rude.

Shikamaru looked at Shino. "You knew already, didn't you?"

Shino displayed obvious pride. "Of course I knew. I deserve quite a bit of credit for Xia Mu and Tenten getting together."

Oh, so you were involved too. You really did not treat us as friends. Something this big, and you never told us? Could they still get along properly after this?

This was not a suitable topic to discuss, though. Tenten was right there, and they could not make her uncomfortable.

Tenten directly took out a scroll and opened it. After forming several hand seals, she pressed a palm against the scroll, and with a bang, a box appeared.

Everyone was even more surprised. They had not expected Xia Mu's girlfriend to know Summoning Jutsu. Not bad, Xia Mu really had good taste. Not many people their age knew Summoning Jutsu.

"This is the card game Xia Mu invented. It's called Ninja Kill."

Tenten opened the box and began introducing it. "I'll give you a simple explanation. This card game is mainly divided into several types of cards, including identity cards, character cards, health cards, skill cards, ninja tool cards, and so on. There are four battle modes: one versus one, one versus many, many versus many, and Ninja Village mode. The first three do not require identity cards. You only need to draw character cards and battle according to those characters' skills.

"The fourth, Ninja Village mode, is based on the story of Ninja Village Defense Battle. Enemy village ninja and Rogue Ninja have infiltrated the village, while usurpers and spies cause trouble in the shadows. The village's Kage and companions must fight the enemies. The identity cards are divided into Kage, companion, enemy ninja, Rogue Ninja, usurper, spy, and so on. Enemy ninja, Rogue Ninja, and spies win as long as they kill the Kage. Usurpers must eliminate everyone else to win. The Kage and companions must eliminate all enemy ninja, Rogue Ninja, usurpers, and spies to win."

As she spoke, she handed out more detailed rules.

Everyone's interest was immediately piqued. It was their first time seeing a game based on ninja fighting.

What was more, they could even play some kind of village defense battle.

It sounded fun just hearing about it.

Tenten took out all sorts of cards again. The identity cards needed no further explanation, while health cards represented HP. Character cards were hero characters selected from history textbooks, and some even possessed secret techniques.

For example, Uchiha characters had the Sharingan. By discarding two red cards, they could activate the Sharingan. After that, they could ignore normal attacks, and against ultimate attacks, they only needed to discard one card as a dodge.

For example, Hyuga Clan Byakugan characters could activate the Byakugan by discarding two black cards. Then, by continuing to discard cards, they could view other players' hands at any time. Against normal attacks, they could discard any card as a dodge.

There were also characters from clans such as the Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, Yamanaka Clan, and Aburame Clan, as well as characters from other villages.