But...
He hadn't even fought yet...
And it was already over?!
Sora Hyuga suddenly felt all his hot blood pent up in his chest, with no way to vent it.
It was as though a powerful punch had landed straight on cotton.
No!
He hadn't even had time to clench his fist!
"Damn it!"
Sora Hyuga's brows knitted tightly. In name, he had clearly won, yet he felt none of the joy of victory. Instead, he felt as though someone had made a fool of him.
He wanted to show off in front of the whole class, but now he had lost his chance.
He wanted to take advantage of Araki offending Kushina to strike a blow against Araki and win Kushina's favor.
Unfortunately, he had been given no opportunity to perform.
Especially with his back to the students present, he had no idea what looks they wore. For just a moment, he felt like a clown.
At that thought...
An irrepressible anger surged in Sora Hyuga's heart.
This should clearly have been a scene of him teaching Araki a lesson, yet Araki had defused it so cleverly that he instead felt he had lost face. His blood surged at once, and he abruptly turned to glare at Araki's retreating back.
Suddenly.
Sora Hyuga stepped forward and rushed toward Araki.
He swung his right hand, clenching it into a fist and driving it straight toward the back of Araki's head with what looked like tremendous force.
"Gasp..."
When the students present saw this, their eyes all widened, and they involuntarily cried out in surprise.
It had happened far too suddenly.
So suddenly that none of the students had reacted.
Their eyes had kept up.
Their thoughts had not.
All they could do was witness it happening.
They watched helplessly as Sora Hyuga punched toward the back of Araki's head.
"Hm?"
Just then, Ibuki-sensei's brows knitted tightly, and his expression darkened. He had never imagined that someone would dare to strike like this right in front of him, utterly disregarding the rules of the mock duel.
Whoosh!
Ibuki-sensei darted forward, stirring up a rush of air.
Almost in an instant.
Ibuki-sensei appeared behind Araki.
His raised left hand gripped Sora Hyuga's wrist tightly, holding him firmly in place and preventing anything further from happening.
"Sora Hyuga, what are you doing? The mock duel is already over, and you're trying to ambush your classmate?!"
Ibuki-sensei reprimanded him with extreme severity.
He had taught at the Ninja Academy for many years and had never encountered anything like this.
It made him furious!
If he did not treat this seriously, the rules of the mock duels would become meaningless, and more people might commit such violations in the future.
Continuing to attack after a mock duel had ended already violated its rules, let alone attacking someone from behind while they were completely unaware.
"The mock duel wasn't over! I made the Seal of Confrontation!"
Sora Hyuga spoke stubbornly.
His hand was now firmly gripped, and he could no longer make any move.
Besides, he knew that with Ibuki-sensei intervening, there was no possibility of continuing to attack Araki.
Having ultimately failed to strike a blow against Araki, Sora Hyuga still felt some regret.
"You already made the Seal of Reconciliation!"
Ibuki-sensei glared at Sora Hyuga. He was usually very fond of this child, but what he had just done truly infuriated him.
Not only that.
Judging from Sora Hyuga's defense.
He had not recognized his mistake at all and was still trying to argue his way out of it. This was an extremely serious incident.
"I didn't take the initiative to make any hand seals..."
Sora Hyuga's voice grew much quieter. He understood the reasoning, and under Ibuki-sensei's furious glare, his defiance instantly weakened.
"No matter what, Araki already conceded, and you already made the Seal of Reconciliation. As the victor, you should not have behaved that way. I want you to apologize to Araki right now!"
Ibuki-sensei spoke coldly, his eyes still glaring at Sora Hyuga.
He had to set an example with today's incident.
Otherwise, he would have to worry about students ambushing one another every time he held a mock duel. Not only would that make discipline difficult, but it would also greatly harm the spirit of the ninja way.
"But I didn't even hit him..." Sora Hyuga muttered, deeply unwilling.
"Do you need me to say it again?"
Ibuki-sensei's tone was icy. Combined with his seemingly murderous gaze, it put tremendous pressure on Sora Hyuga.
"I understand..."
The corner of Sora Hyuga's mouth twitched sharply. He knew that if he did not apologize, this would be difficult to resolve, and he did not dare oppose Ibuki-sensei too much.
With no other choice, he pulled his arm out of Ibuki-sensei's loosened grip, then started walking toward Araki, who had already turned around without any change in expression.
Hmph!
Ignorance is bliss!
This guy probably doesn't even know what just happened!
But...
Feeling the gazes the surrounding students cast his way, Sora Hyuga grew even more displeased.
He clearly should have been the star today.
Yet somehow, he felt as though he had become a clown.
And the root of all this...
Was the classmate named Araki standing before him.
Chapter 19: Someone Is Following Me!
Sora Hyuga now even wanted to kill Araki. As he saw it, Araki was the reason he had ended up in such an embarrassing state.
If not for Araki...
He should have been basking in the students' admiring gazes right now!
That would have been an entirely different outcome!
But...
Now he had to apologize to Araki!
Sora Hyuga knew he had done wrong, and he admitted his mistake, but he was unwilling to apologize to Araki. He did not regret what he had done.
If Ibuki-sensei had not sternly demanded that he apologize...
He would not have bothered with Araki at all!
At that moment.
Under the students' gazes.
Sora Hyuga walked up to Araki.
His pale white eyes, without black pupils, stared fixedly at Araki.
"I'm sorry!"
Sora Hyuga spoke bitterly, bowing to Araki as he spoke.
This series of actions was not an expression of remorse toward Araki at all, but an answer to Ibuki-sensei.
As Sora Hyuga straightened, he was relatively close to Araki and quickly said something in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"If Ibuki-sensei hadn't stopped me, you'd already be lying on the ground."
With that.
Sora Hyuga walked straight past Araki.
He returned to the line with his head held high and his chest out, showing none of the dejection from his apology. Instead, he carried himself like a victor.
"Is that so?"
Araki's face remained expressionless, and there was no fluctuation of emotion in his indifferent eyes. He merely parted his lips and spoke softly in a voice only he could hear.
Those words seemed like a response to Sora Hyuga, but the other boy could not hear them at all.
Only Araki himself knew...
The moment Sora Hyuga charged toward him, he had sensed an abnormal movement in the air behind him.
Over these years of arduous training late at night, he had assessed many beasts in the forest not through sight, but through his body's sense of the air currents around him.
Sora Hyuga was very fast.