Sasuke shook his head. "I've been caring too much about that dead last. But… he is definitely not as weak as everyone imagines!"
Sasuke looked at some ninjutsu scrolls lying quietly on the ground. "No, I can't just stop here." He gritted his teeth and took out a new scroll. "A C-rank Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu, and a C-rank Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu? Although they are C-rank like the Great Fireball Technique, they are much more difficult to learn. Not only do they require a lot of ninjutsu skill, but they also require a lot of chakra…"
Sasuke hesitated for a moment. Of course, it was right to learn more powerful ninjutsu. But sometimes, if you exceeded your limits, not only would you fail to improve, but it would harm your body and hinder your practice.
But at this moment, a night breeze suddenly blew past, blowing Sasuke's clothes and hair. Sasuke suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked up in the direction of another part of Konoha Village. That's where he had gone yesterday… to Naruto's home.
"Naruto… why do I suddenly have a bad feeling? He seems to be getting stronger every day, every night, every moment!"
Sasuke clenched his fists but still opened the scroll. *'Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu.'* Although his chakra and physical strength were exhausted, Sasuke did not stop at all. He immediately gritted his teeth and continued to practice according to the contents of the scroll. "Naruto, I will definitely fight you again, and then… defeat you!"
Soon, Sasuke's stubborn voice was heard in the Uchiha compound's training ground late at night.
"Fire Style! Phoenix Fire Technique!"
"Hateful…"
"Fire Style! Phoenix Fire Technique!"
…
The next day, as luck would have it, the class at the Ninja Academy was focused on ninja sparring. Naruto was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and couldn't help but raise his arms and shout "Banzai!"
"Great! Hooray!"
Iruka-sensei frowned and said, "Naruto, what are you so excited about?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke without hesitation, clenching his fists with confidence. "Because… today I will defeat Sasuke, fair and square!"
Suddenly, everyone was stunned and looked at Sasuke in unison. Sasuke's expression was as cold as usual. He had already guessed what Naruto's reaction would be. And… he was the same; he had already ignited his fighting spirit and was eager to try!
"Hmph, you're the dead last. Don't overestimate your abilities!"
"What did you say, Sasuke teme?!"
Iruka-sensei couldn't help but sigh. "Could you two please be quiet for a moment?"
Naruto and Sasuke then snorted and turned their heads away at the same time.
Ino and Hinata were now standing shoulder to shoulder. Since Sakura had ignored her, and she had already apologized and it was now irreversible, Ino was helpless. "Those two guys are really in sync…"
Hinata also blushed and said, "Hmm yes.."
Sakura thought about what Iruka-sensei had said yesterday and originally wanted to change her mind about Naruto, but when she saw his arrogant attitude towards Sasuke, she was still very annoyed. It was not easy to change a person's temperament.
Iruka-sensei coughed and said in a deep voice, "Ninja sparring in a ninja academy is, of course, for actual combat, but on the other hand, it's also for mutual learning and improvement. It's not for you to settle your personal grudges. Naruto, Sasuke, for the sake of fairness, ninja sparring is done by random drawing. I won't deliberately let you two fight!"
"…Oh."
"Hmph."
Iruka-sensei sighed. "Alright, Naruto, you go first."
Naruto walked forward under everyone's curious gaze, fumbled in the lottery box for a while, and prayed silently in his heart. *'Sasuke, Sasuke… I want Sasuke…'* He finally chose one and then raised his hand suddenly. "It's decided! This is the one!"
Iruka-sensei took it and took a look, his face suddenly changing! "This… this is…"
Naruto couldn't help but feel happy when he saw the look on Iruka-sensei's face. "Could it be… Is it really Sasuke?!"
Iruka-sensei turned Naruto's lot over and showed it to everyone. The name on it was… Hyuga Hinata.
"Ah—" Naruto and Hinata opened their mouths at the same time. Uchiha Sasuke frowned. Obviously, he was also eager for this battle with Naruto.
Iruka-sensei saw what they were both thinking. "Ahem, ninja sparring is a form of training, not a way for you to fight! The draw results are as they are, and we must abide by them. Now, Naruto, Hinata, get ready to begin!"
Although Naruto felt frustrated and helpless, he could only nod and say, "Yes, Iruka-sensei."
Hinata's face turned red with shame, and she lowered her head and responded softly.
Yamanaka Ino, in the crowd, couldn't help but burst out laughing. Hinata glanced at her and knew she was making fun of her, and her face turned even redder.
Shikamaru yawned beside her, but Choji secretly asked while eating, "Ino, what are you laughing at?"
Although Ino didn't want to hang out with these two useless guys, the relationship between their three families was very special. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio had already become the three mainstay families of Konoha Village. Because of her parents, Ino had been familiar with these two since she was a child.
Ino rolled her eyes at them. "You two wouldn't understand even if I told you! One knows how to eat, the other only knows how to sleep. You don't understand the complexities of love"
Choji didn't take it seriously. "Hey, don't say that. That day, Sakura wanted to hit Naruto, and Hinata stood in front of him. Everyone saw it. Hinata likes Naruto very much, right?"
Ino was surprised. "Huh? I didn't expect you to actually reach there. Congratulations. You're more mature than shikamaru "
Shikamaru rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Choji is the type who is rough on the outside but delicate on the inside. As for me… I don't understand things about women, and I don't want to understand them. It's so troublesome…"
Ino shook her head. "You deserve to be single for the rest of your life."
Shikamaru smiled and said, "Thank you very much for your blessings."
Ino was speechless. She couldn't help but glance at Sakura again and saw that she also had her eyes wide open, not blinking, and was obviously very interested in these two. *'Sakura…'*
At this time, Naruto and Hinata had walked to the center of the venue and stood facing each other. Iruka-sensei called out, "Form the seal of opposition, and after the sparring is over, form the seal of reconciliation."
Naruto and Hinata both formed the seal of opposition.
"Naruto-kun… I am sorry…"
Naruto smiled and said, "Hinata, even though you have helped me a lot. I will not hold back. !"
Hinata lowered her head and blushed, but she nodded resolutely. "I… I'm the same…"
"The sparring begins!"
Following Iruka-sensei's order, the much-anticipated battle broke out in an instant.
__________________________
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