"The sun is shining above, flowers are smiling at me. The little bird says, early, early, early. la~~ Lalala~~~"
Ryoma could be seen humming a song leisurely as he walked on the road to the ninja academy.
Last night, of course, he had not continued his battle of wits with the mask.
Therefore, today he was truly not late.
Life is precious indeed. Who wouldn't want to enjoy some good fruit juice without any trouble?
Walking along the road, he met the grandma in the village who often needed help. This time, Ryoma had ample time to escort the grandma to where she needed to go.
"Ah, today's good deed points, plus one."
"~~I want to blow up the school~~ always being late every day~~ After pulling the string, I run away. Teacher Itō gets blown sky high~~"
The melodious singing grew fainter and fainter as Ryoma's receding figure went further and further away.
...
Today, Teacher Itō felt capable again.
Because in his class, the two famously tardy kings had, for the first time ever, both arrived at school on time.
Although it was said that Obito had managed to be so punctual today precisely because he did not encounter the old ladies he usually needed to help.
Still, this was enough to make Itō Makoto happy.
Looking at the lively students of his class before him, Itō once again felt that he could certainly make them all grow into excellent ninjas.
Teacher Itō was once again brimming with confidence.
These were all eager, hungry children.
How lovely. How outstanding.
"All the children will surely perfect themselves and grow strong under my earnest teachings." Itō continued mentally pumping himself up.
Until he saw that man.
The man not being late today, was standing in the middle of the playground with a look of utter boredom.
Nara Ryoma.
"This guy really knows how to get on people's nerves."
In an instant, the confidence Itō had just ignited was snuffed out.
Well, to be honest, he wasn't all that confident he could teach every student well.
At least when it came to Ryoma, this guy who only knew how to sleep in class, he truly had no ideas left.
"What's with that expression anyway? Does he think today's practical combat assessment is child's play? Even Obito-kun is full of energy and drive today. How come this guy still looks so detached?"
Finally, after one ten-thousandth of a second, Teacher Itō made a great decision.
He decided to make Ryoma realize just how big the gap had grown between him and the other students in the class.
He wanted Ryoma to understand that even if he came from a great clan, even if he had access to abundant training resources, if he didn't train seriously, there would definitely be no good fruit juice for him to enjoy!
"I believe Ryoma will certainly discover his own shortcomings during this practical combat assessment and find the true path he must walk."
Teacher Itō's heart was filled with fighting spirit as he cheered himself on.
At this moment, Nara Ryoma had no idea that his dedicated teacher, Itō, had already written the script for his practical combat assessment.
Itō's eyes swiftly scanned over the students.
They finally settled on a boy who looked very confident.
"You're the one."
Having decided, Itō took a deep breath and loudly addressed all the students.
"The practical combat assessment begins now. Students whose names are called, please come to the center. The rest of the students, prepare yourselves where you stand."
The previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent. The eyes of the young boys and girls were filled with passion and excitement.
Was it to prove themselves?
Or to gain recognition from others?
The reason was unknown.
"First match, Nara Ryoma versus Tobitake Tonbo."
Hearing these two names, the surrounding classmates clearly began to stir.
"The Nara kid is in for it. He actually has to fight that Tobitake Tonbo guy. I feel like that guy's arms are harder than my head."
"Yeah, this Ryoma guy only knows how to sleep in class. He's the man who earned the title 'King of Slacking Off.' How could he possibly beat Tobitake Tonbo? Look at him, he's probably praying not to get beaten up too badly later, haha."
Waves of voices, either watching the fun or taking pleasure in his misfortune, reached Ryoma's ears.
One was the sleep maniac from the Nara clan. Although from the Nara clan, whether it was theoretical knowledge or the essential subjects for ninjas, from mastering ninjutsu and taijutsu down to the application of shuriken, Ryoma seemed to have inherited none of the Nara clan's excellent genes.
In school, he shared the honorary title of 'dead last' with Uchiha Obito, a position no one could challenge.
The other was an excellent seedling from a civilian family, performing well in all subjects at school with stable grades in the upper-middle range.
Anyone could tell who would win without even looking.
Itō listened to the voices of the children around him and looked at Ryoma with determined eyes.
"Come on, Ryoma. Let the storm ignite your fighting spirit. Let the pressure become your driving force forward. Let the mockery awaken your will."
Teacher Itō's heart roared fiercely.
Choosing Tobitake Tonbo was, on one hand, because Tonbo's daily performance showed great diligence, plus his sensory abilities were exceptionally outstanding. His usual training in taijutsu was also very serious. Combined with his remarkable sensory abilities, suppressing Nara Ryoma would definitely not be a problem.
On the other hand, it was because Tobitake Tonbo came from a civilian family. He was usually very confident. Having him defeat Ryoma and appropriately he would surely more easily ignite Ryoma's fighting spirit.
If you still don't work hard after this, even the Nara clan's reputation won't be able to save face.
Itō's CPU was running at high speed.
He even began to feel that reforming Ryoma would happen today.
At this moment, Anko, standing next to Ryoma, advised him, "Hey, don't push yourself too hard. If you can't handle it, just surrender quickly. That Tobitake Tonbo guy is not easy to deal with, and he hits pretty hard too. Don't get yourself hurt."
Shizune also chimed in from the side, "Yes, yes, Ryoma-kun. It's just an assessment. Don't get hurt. Just do your best."
Ryoma looked helplessly at the two little girls with worried expressions on their faces.
"What, you two have so little faith in my strength? Ah, this is truly saddening."
After saying that, he turned around, leaving only a faint sentence behind. "Don't rush. I'll be right back."
Walking to the center of the field, Ryoma looked at the blue-clothed boy in front of him, half of whose face was wrapped in layers of white bandages. He couldn't help but ask a question.
"Hey, aren't you hot? Wrapping yourself up so tightly under such a big sun?"
Tobitake Tonbo smiled confidently. "You don't need to know the reason. Only someone stronger than me can ask me questions. And you will never know the answer."
"Because I am stronger than you. That is the proof."
Confident smile .jpg
To tell the truth, for a fleeting moment, Ryoma suddenly kind of liked this guy.
There aren't many people as confidently arrogant and awesome as him.
How come you act like the protagonist, dude.
Seriously, dude, your cool factor was this high since childhood. It's a bit hard to handle.
So this catchphrase was cultivated since childhood. No wonder the Sand-nin during the Chunin Exams for the Kazekage's son got pinned against the wall. They really weren't wronged.
With this aura, forget about you, little Sand-nin. Even if you turned around and got Naruto himself, he'd be pinned to the wall, the kind you can't scrape off.
But then again, liking him? It was just that fleeting moment.
Nara Ryoma looked up and grinned at Tobitake Tonbo, revealing his white teeth.
"What a coincidence. In real life, I love putting confident, cool-factor boys in their place."
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