"That's what you said."
"Since Ebara and his student are so cocky, I say we allow it."
Koharu Utatane, silent until now, fanned the flames from the sidelines.
Before, she just disliked Ebara.
Now, she downright hated him.
The Third didn't respond, merely turning his gaze to Ebara.
Ebara nodded confidently at him.
"You sure you don't want to reconsider?" the Third asked, his tone heavy.
Ebara was handing his opponents ammunition.
When the time came, even if the Third wanted to protect him, it'd be tough.
"No worries."
"Minato's got confidence in himself, and I've got confidence in him," Ebara said, hyping Minato up.
I have zero confidence! Minato thought, his face drooping.
Stuck with a teacher who loved to stir trouble, he had no choice.
"Fine, have it your way," the Third said, shaking his head.
He didn't believe Minato could take on ten opponents.
Since Ebara was so stubborn, the Third wasn't going to fight tooth and nail to save him.
"I'll make sure they go easy on him," Shimura Mahaya said with a sinister grin.
In his eyes, the moment the Third agreed, he'd already won.
Soon, Mahaya picked ten students from his class.
Hating Ebara to the core, he chose the ten strongest.
Most towered over Minato.
Standing across from them, Minato looked small and helpless.
The students in Ebara's class grumbled on Minato's behalf.
"Shimura Mahaya's so shameless."
"Can Minato hold up?"
"Maybe. He did say he'd take on ten."
"Bullshit, you believe Teacher Ebara's words?"
"Exactly. Minato's so gentle—how could he say something that arrogant?"
"Teacher Ebara's hyping himself up at Minato's expense!"
The class shook their heads, almost none believing Minato could win.
Except one.
"You're all wrong. Sure, Teacher Ebara's got a few screws loose, but Minato's different. He's normal."
"If he didn't contradict Ebara, that means he's confident," Nara Shikaku said, eyeing Minato.
Though Shikaku said this, no one believed him.
"Maybe Minato's just backed into a corner by Ebara and can't speak up."
"Yeah, after Ebara's big talk, what can he say?"
"That's ten people! Even ten pigs would be tough to beat."
"It's over. Minato's gonna be a laughingstock."
No one trusted Shikaku, and definitely not Minato.
As for Ebara? Even less.
After half a year with him, their biggest takeaway was: distrusting Ebara was the greatest trust they could give him!
"Mahaya's going too far…" Even Homura couldn't stand it.
"Hmph! Ebara brought it on himself!" Koharu said, fully supporting Mahaya's actions.
When it came to enemies, you had to crush them completely.
"Kid, following that idiot teacher is your biggest misfortune."
"Feel free to beg for mercy later—we won't hold back."
"Where should we break you, huh? Haha!"
Several kids from Mahaya's class led the taunts against Minato.
They were raring to go.
Mahaya had promised them big rewards for crushing Minato quickly.
"While I don't agree with most of what you said," Minato replied, "you're right about one thing. Following Teacher Ebara is kind of unfortunate."
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Begin!"
The Third stood expressionless in the center, announcing the start.
He didn't leave the field.
In his view, the fight would be over in seconds.
He stayed to ensure Minato didn't get hurt too badly.
The moment the Third's words landed, the ten kids from Mahaya's class charged like ravenous tigers, surrounding Minato instantly.
They gave him no chance to escape.
A burly kid, looking more like a teenager than a five-year-old, led the attack.
He lunged forward, closing the gap in one step.
His right fist, fingers clenched, aimed straight for Minato's face.
To the adults, his speed wasn't impressive.
But among peers, it was untouchable.
Some even sighed, thinking the fight was already over.
Minato moved.
With a spin of his foot, he effortlessly dodged the sure-hit punch.
As the kid lost his target and balance, Minato bent his arm and landed a sharp elbow strike to the kid's chest.
"Hngh—"
The kid let out a pained grunt, stumbling back six or seven steps before collapsing.
Thud!
The sound, neither light nor heavy, sent ripples through the crowd's hearts.
"This kid…" The Third's eyes narrowed.
Minato's calm, precise reaction gave off the air of a battle-hardened ninja.
Even in Konoha's war-torn years, such poise was rare in a child.
Maybe… this kid really could take on ten?
The Third wavered.
But the other nine kids from Mahaya's class didn't.
After a brief shock, they swarmed Minato.
Fists and slaps rained down on him.
Minato seemed to lose his earlier agility, unable to dodge.
"Tch!" Koharu shot Ebara a smug glance. "Thought he was hot stuff."
"Don't speak too soon, or you'll eat your words," Ebara said nonchalantly.
Koharu was about to snap back when Homura gasped beside her. "Substitution Jutsu!"
Koharu laughed mockingly. "How could he use Substi—"
The rest of her words caught in her throat.
The Minato surrounded by the kids had turned into a log.
The real Minato appeared outside their circle.
Calmly, he crouched and swept his leg.
A low sweep kick knocked three kids to the ground.
Those hit felt like their shins had been struck by an iron rod, numb and powerless.
One kid who wasn't swept reacted fast, aiming a kick at Minato.
Minato's right arm shot out, coiling like a snake around the kid's leg just before it hit.
With a fierce yank—
"Ahh!"
A blood-curdling scream rang out.
Pull too hard, and you'll tear something…