Ninja Academy Fight Incident

Ninja Academy Fight Incident

It was happening again. Naruto instinctively protected the important parts of his body as he felt fists and kicks rain down on him.

Naruto had grown used to this treatment. Not only was he attacked, but he was mocked as well.

No one sympathized with him. When the adults saw it, some of them were even pleased. These bullies were so arrogant precisely because no adult had stopped them.

After bullying him, they felt no guilt whatsoever. Instead, they laughed loudly, and some even compared their results.

The good and evil in human nature showed themselves especially purely at this age, and during this period, adults' guidance was particularly important to a child's growth.

It was precisely because the adults had previously indulged their bullying of Naruto that this scene had happened—and it would not be the last time...

Naruto had actually gotten used to it. It did not matter. A beating would pass soon enough. It was just that he would definitely be late again today.

Most of the time, Naruto really was late because he had overslept, but sometimes it was because accidents happened on his way to school, especially when he came by the main road.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?!"

At that moment, a shout came from the distance. Naruto's heart trembled, and he involuntarily turned toward the source of the voice.

There, someone who often stood punishment with him came into view—Kiba Inuzuka. There seemed to be others behind him as well.

Naruto's body hurt terribly, but his eyes were incredibly bright at that moment. He stared for a long time, then realized...

Ayato was not there?

Naruto suddenly did not know what he was feeling. In that instant, it felt as though his heart had become empty. No, perhaps Ayato did not know?

But they all knew. Even lazy Shikamaru knew, so could Ayato really not know?

Naruto searched for excuses for him in his heart, yet he could not help feeling sad.

"Hm? Kid, don't stick your nose into other people's business!" the older student leading them said viciously as he glared at Kiba.

"What do you mean, sticking my nose into it? He's our classmate!" Kiba glared right back at him like a hunting dog.

"Um, seniors, class is about to start already. Could we end things here?" Shikamaru pulled Kiba back, glanced at Naruto's condition, and a cold gleam stirred in his dead-fish eyes.

Still, Shikamaru was confused. Ayato had clearly left first, but there was no sign of him nearby. Had he looked in the wrong place, or was Ayato hiding somewhere?

As for running away, Shikamaru had never considered that possibility. Ayato did not seem like that sort of person.

"Class? We're already late anyway. What does it matter if we go a little later? What's more important than beating up a monster?" The older student laughed together with the others.

Kiba and Shikamaru's expressions changed immediately.

"You bastards!" Kiba's explosive temper could not take it anymore. If Shikamaru had not been holding him back, he would have already rushed in.

Sweat appeared on Shikamaru's forehead. Comparing the people on their side with the other side's size, the opponents were probably Third Grade or Fourth Grade students. There were also more of them. If they really fought, they would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Hmph? You little brat actually dared to insult us. You must have fallen into becoming that monster's lackeys! Maybe that entire class has already been completely controlled by the monster!"

"Monster, monster. Is that the only word you know?" Kiba said irritably, turning to look at Shikamaru as if asking him to let go.

"Hey, you don't need to help me." Naruto still could not see Ayato anywhere. His gaze had dimmed somewhat, but seeing the others about to clash with these larger students, he could not help shouting.

"Shut up. Who said I was helping you? If we back down now, it'll be First Grade as a whole that loses face!" Kiba retorted without any politeness.

At that moment, Shino Aburame and Sasuke Uchiha had also arrived. After hearing what had just been said, they silently took their places behind the First Grade group, making their stance clear.

Naturally, Shikamaru noticed. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. It seemed this class was better than he had imagined.

With that, the gap in numbers was not so great anymore. Winning was still basically impossible, but at least they had a little more confidence.

"Seniors, even if you win now, people will only say you bullied the weak. So could we call it here this time?" Shikamaru silently assessed their fighting strength. It was still insufficient. It would naturally be best if things ended like this.

"Huh?" The older student looked around. Without them noticing, quite a few people had gathered to watch, and the number of people on the First Grade side was nearly equal to theirs.

Just as Shikamaru had said, even if they beat these First Grade kids, they would be accused of bullying the weak. But if they left now, that would be humiliating too.

"You people have definitely all been bewitched by that monster! We're driving away its influence for you!" The older student suddenly had an idea. He shouted loudly, found an excuse for his side, and immediately made his move.

This little brat in front of him was too annoying. If he kept talking, there would definitely be trouble. It was better to attack immediately and not give him time to keep speaking.

"Tch, what a pain." Seeing this, Shikamaru stopped wasting his breath. Reasoning with these people was completely useless. They simply wanted to bully the weak, and no amount of talking would change that.

"See? There's no point trying to reason with these bastards!" Kiba complained. Seeing that Shikamaru was no longer holding him back, he ignored the difference in size and charged forward.

Shikamaru curled his lip. Looking at the situation, he said, "Choji, we're going too."

"Oh, okay. We should've gone in a long time ago." Akimichi Choji had somehow already put away his snacks. He had wanted to fight the moment he saw Naruto being bullied. After all, Naruto was his good partner in the Punishment Standing Group. Without Naruto, would he not have to stand there all alone?

There were several people in the Punishment Standing Group, but Naruto was practically a regular. The others sometimes would not be punished alongside him.

Shino Aburame did not say anything. He silently stepped in front of one of them.

As for Sasuke, he stood coldly before another person and sneered, "Bullying the weak isn't good. Let me be your opponent!"

"Everyone..." Naruto did not know what to say at that moment. His eyes felt a little wet. They had all come to help him. He could not keep being like this—he had to fight alongside them!

Yet reality was that the First Grade group was quickly driven back across the board. Although they all came from clans and had received some combat instruction, none of them had experienced real fighting.

The older students had already received practical combat instruction. More importantly, their bodies had developed for several more years. In terms of size and strength, they were simply not something the First Grade students could compare to. At this age, growth was the most important thing!

Development came first, training second. No training could be allowed to affect development during this period!

It could be said that at this age, competition was particularly simple: strength and size. As for technique, everyone still needed further training.

Still, two people stood out. Sasuke was struggling somewhat, but he truly held his opponent back head-on. Even with a gap in strength and speed, he was indeed worthy of being from a distinguished clan.

The other was Shino Aburame. It was not his personal combat ability that was strong, but his insects. Although his opponent was an older student, he was still a child. Faced with so many insects, his face had turned pale with fright.

Shino even had time to help the people beside him.

Unfortunately, even so, First Grade was still far weaker overall. Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Naruto were no match for their opponents, and bruises slowly spread across their bodies.

"Damn it, where is that Ayato? If he were here, he should be about as strong as Sasuke. He could definitely hold everyone off until the teacher came..." Shikamaru could not help complaining as he looked at the two extra opponents on the other side. He clicked his tongue. If they had only been short one or two people, then with Sasuke and Shino, they might actually have been able to win.

Still, Shino usually seemed so inconspicuous. Who would have thought he was this strong?

But it was too late now. They were probably in for a brutal beating today. It was all Ayato's fault.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked in surprise at the little girl with white eyes who usually got shy whenever she saw him. She had run over to help him.

He did not know why she was here, but she had definitely come to help him. He could not let her get hurt! Naruto made up his mind and moved around Hinata, protecting her.

Hinata had finally gathered the courage to come help Naruto, only to find that she was being protected again. She felt a little disappointed, yet also thought that Naruto-kun really was Naruto-kun. He was so dependable.

Soon, Naruto seemed to sense something. He turned toward a direction, his eyes bright because he felt a familiar presence.

"Hold on, I'm here!" Ayato finally arrived at the scene. He looked at the situation in surprise, not expecting so many people to be involved. But seeing their injuries, his eyes turned completely cold.

The next moment, Ayato joined the battle!

"You finally showed up," Kiba said through his bruised and swollen face. He had taken the worst beating, but when he looked at the bite marks on his opponent's body, he laughed a few times. The other guy had not gotten off much better!

Shikamaru, meanwhile, looked doubtfully in the direction Ayato had come from. Why had he come from there? Before Shikamaru could think further, his distraction earned him a punch to the face. His taijutsu had not been very good to begin with, and he had let his mind wander...

Shikamaru immediately stopped thinking about it and pounced forward viciously.

The people on the other side were beginning to regret things too. Why did more and more people keep joining in? And why were they like cockroaches, impossible to knock down? They really were monsters!

When Ayato had first enrolled, his Chakra reserves had already been equivalent to those of a Third Grade student. That meant his physical constitution had already been roughly at a Third Grade level back then. Training might have been secondary, but Ayato had started early enough~

And now another half semester had passed. Ayato was not one to stand still. He had also mastered Lightning Release Massage, further accelerating the speed of his physical improvement. His current constitution was no weaker than these older students before him, perhaps even slightly stronger.

Most importantly, unlike Naruto and the others, Ayato had honed his combat experience through sparring with Rock Lee. He was also someone who could skillfully use the Three Body Technique. Dealing with a few students was easy for him.

In fact, he did not even need the Three Body Technique!

By comparison, although the other side consisted of older students, anyone still hanging around here at this time was not much of a student. They had learned the Three Body Technique, but aside from the Transformation Technique, they basically could not use the others properly.

Their only real advantage was the developmental edge gained from being a few years older. They could rely on that advantage against others, but against Ayato...

And so—

Ayato charged into them like a tiger among sheep. Within a few exchanges, the advantage between First Grade and Third Grade had completely reversed.

He dodged, then punched. If one punch was not enough, he followed with a kick, directly knocking down an opponent. The other First Grade students stared in dumbfounded shock.

Are you sure he's in the same First Grade as us, rather than some High Grade genius who slipped in?

Naruto's eye twitched as he watched. Why did this scene remind him of Ayato giving him a thorough beating? Though somehow, it felt a little different.

"Isn't this way too ridiculous? He probably wasn't even using his full strength during the Midterm Exam, was he?" Shikamaru's mouth twitched as well. He should have come with Ayato earlier. No, wait.

Shikamaru frowned. With that kind of strength, Ayato had not needed to wait until now to make a move. And the direction he had just come from...

"No way..." Shikamaru looked at Ayato. If his guess was right, then it was no surprise that Ayato had reached this level.

But why work so hard? There was nothing wrong with working hard, but Ayato was the same age as them. How had he managed to keep it up?

Sasuke also watched the scene and suddenly realized that the gap between himself and first place might be far greater than he had imagined. Watching Ayato's meticulous dodges and efficient, swift punches, his eyes stung. How was he supposed to catch up to such a gap...?

No, he could not lose confidence. He was a descendant of the Uchiha. He had to become the best. He had to surpass him!

Sasuke encouraged himself, though the results did not seem especially effective.

Ayato's arrival also made the First Grade students gradually stop fighting. After all, Ayato had taken all the opponents for himself. Most of them were already sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.

"There's still you." Ayato shook out his hand. This level did not even count as a warm-up. They were far worse than Rock Lee.

The remaining student looked at his companions groaning on the ground, unable to understand. They had clearly held an overwhelming advantage just moments ago. How had this person changed the entire situation in an instant after arriving?

"M-Monster!" he shouted despite himself. A First Grade student this strong—what else could he be but a monster? How could a person possibly defeat a monster?

Ayato paused. He had been called a monster too, just like Naruto. But the meaning behind the word was probably different for the two of them.

Still, those two words made Ayato give him a "brilliant" smile.

"Thanks for the compliment!"

Hearing that, the student could not take it anymore. Terror appeared in his eyes, and he turned and ran, abandoning his companions on the ground.

Ayato moved in the next instant, shooting forward like an unbridled wild horse and rapidly closing in on the fleeing student.

"N-No, don't come any closer!" The other student's voice was already trembling.

But nothing could stop Ayato's steps. Coldness filled his eyes. Had they not imagined this moment when they bullied Naruto?

Iruka's voice seemed to reach Ayato's ears, as though he were shouting for him to stop.

But stop? How could he?

Ayato quickly caught up with him. The student had completely lost any will to resist. The moment Ayato caught him, he was already scared out of his wits. After a few casual punches, Ayato picked him up and threw him beside the others who had fallen.

Looking at his handiwork, Ayato grinned. Sure enough, a family had to be neat and complete!

After finishing all that, Ayato looked at the furious Iruka approaching them and smiled, speaking first.

"Sorry, Iruka Sensei. It seems we've caused you trouble."