Life at the Ninja Academy was always so simple and unadorned.
Naruto had occasionally thought about skipping classes, but to cultivate the persona of a good student, he had maintained the good habit of never being late and never leaving early.
On this particular day, he arrived at the classroom and sat down as usual.
He had barely warmed his seat when Sakura approached, offering him a glass of freshly squeezed juice, her expression shy and hesitant.
"Naruto-kun, drinking some juice in the morning is good for your health."
This was the tenth day Sakura had brought him a morning drink.
"Thank you, Sakura." Naruto accepted it with a gentle smile. "But you don't have to keep bringing them. Orange juice isn't cheap, you know."
"It's okay, it's okay! We have a lot of orange juice at home. It's all leftover… no, no, I mean, we just had extra! It would go to waste if no one drank it," Sakura explained in a fluster, silently berating herself for misspeaking. Normally, she was quite straightforward, but in front of Naruto, she unconsciously became shy and lacked confidence.
"Alright then, thank you." Naruto accepted Sakura's kind gesture.
As he did, he noticed a gaze on him and turned his head. It was the Hyuga girl with the short, lavender hair—Hyuga Hinata.
"Morning," he said, offering Hinata a warm smile.
She immediately lowered her head, steam practically erupting from the top of it.
The moment Naruto saw Hinata, he recognized her as the Byakugan-wielding girl he had rescued several years ago. She had a gentle and kind nature; he wondered if she had changed at all since then.
He had learned from Rock Lee that Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family's head. Like Sasuke, she was a core figure within her clan. Naturally, she would have access to substantial clan resources, so her strength definitely wouldn't be weak.
Naruto retracted his gaze and waited for Iruka's lesson to begin.
"Alright everyone, today we'll be conducting practical combat exercises," Iruka announced warmly as he entered the classroom.
The words had barely left his mouth when the classroom erupted into a clamor, like a pot of boiling water with the lid suddenly removed. This would be their first official combat practice since entering the Ninja Academy.
All eyes focused on Naruto and Sasuke, anticipating the performance of these two geniuses.
"Combat practice, huh? The number one spot in our year is mine," Sasuke declared, a wild smirk playing on his lips.
"Fledgling hawks are fearless because they don't yet know fear," Naruto replied with a calm smile, his expression unchanged.
"Actually, I've been saving that line for a while," Sasuke admitted, his cool demeanor shattering for a second. He sighed, then his expression turned serious. "Naruto, this time I'm taking off all my weights. Be careful."
Sasuke was planning to get serious. It made sense; since Sasuke had started his intensive training, they hadn't had a truly all-out fight with no holding back.
Naruto nodded with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Don't you dare underestimate me. Maybe this time, I'll even force you to use Kyoka Suigetsu."
Out on the training field, under Iruka's direction, one-on-one battles were about to begin. The first pair consisted of two unremarkable students whose names Naruto hadn't even bothered to remember yet. The two background characters launched into a fierce, clumsy brawl. Since their Academy training had only just begun, they weren't proficient with kunai or shuriken. The fight was quite unsightly, and many students were starting to drowse off.
Naruto, however, watched with keen interest.
"Next up, Hyuga Hinata versus Murakami Ten!"
A Hyuga clan member in combat. Like many other students, Naruto's spirits lifted.
"The Hyuga clan excels at Gentle Fist. That Byakugan of theirs, like our Uchiha's eyes, is an extremely rare Kekkei Genkai. It can see a person's chakra pathways and has incredible insight," Sasuke murmured.
"How does it compare to your Sharingan?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Naturally, it can't compare to the Sharingan," Sasuke declared, tilting his head proudly. "Although the Hyuga and Uchiha are both renowned as great clans, the Hyuga clan doesn't actually have any truly top-tier powerhouses. And the Byakugan's ability is really just limited to insight; its upper potential is nowhere near the Sharingan's."
At that moment, Sasuke resembled a proud peacock.
His words are definitely a little biased, Naruto thought to himself, turning his attention to the ongoing match.
Hinata was now engaged with the other student. She adopted a peculiar fighting stance, her eyes turning a solid white, veins bulging by her temples. Perhaps because he was facing a Hyuga, Murakami Ten looked extremely nervous. For an ordinary commoner to defeat someone from a prestigious clan was an incredibly difficult feat, but if successful, it would definitely garner significant attention.
He gripped his kunai and, summoning his courage, charged at Hinata.
"So slow. To my eyes, it's like watching a snail," Sasuke commented. "If the Hyuga clan can't even defend against an attack like this, I'll be sorely disappointed."
Facing her opponent's attack, Hinata remained unruffled, dealing with it calmly. Every punch, every movement, was filled with a subtle grace. Her actions seemed slow, yet each one perfectly neutralized her opponent's offense.
This continued for nearly a minute.
Sasuke frowned. "Is this all the Hyuga clan is capable of? I could take down an opponent like this with a single punch."
"That's the essence of the Gentle Fist," Naruto observed thoughtfully, watching Hinata. "The Hyuga's Gentle Fist can neutralize an opponent's force, even redirecting it for their own use, achieving the principle of using a small force to overcome a much larger one." Naruto mused aloud, "Hinata has barely moved from that spot."
"Rather than saying they're evenly matched, it's more like Hinata is using Murakami Ten for practice. This might be her first real combat experience."
Hearing this, Sasuke focused his gaze and noticed that Hinata was indeed pivoting on one foot, only moving the other to respond to attacks. The dirt around her right foot had been scuffed into a small circle, just large enough for one person.
"Hmph. The Hyuga clan does have some skill after all," Sasuke grumbled, his face flushing slightly.
Naruto, on the other hand, looked pleased. Hinata had grown stronger.
Before long, Hinata defeated Murakami Ten. The latter was left panting heavily, completely exhausted, while Hinata stood composed, not even flushed or out of breath.
"They weren't on the same level. Plus, she was holding back her true strength," Naruto remarked.
"Next match: Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto!"
As Iruka finished speaking, the training ground fell silent. An instant later, an uproar ensued.
"It's finally our turn. Let's go, Naruto!" Sasuke stood up, full of fighting spirit. The looks of admiration from the surrounding students made him momentarily forget himself. "I'll show you the power of these eyes!"
You haven't even damn well awakened your Sharingan yet, Naruto almost deadpanned internally. The Uchiha clan's greatest inherent flaw was this kind of foolish arrogance.
"Arrogance will be the stumbling block that brings you down."
Naruto walked into the center of the field, a gentle smile on his face, looking like a graceful young nobleman. The image was somewhat incongruous with the setting, as if a young master had come to the Ninja Academy on a sightseeing trip.
"I've waited a long time for this day," Sasuke said, a roguishly charming smirk curving his lips, which elicited squeals from many of the girls. He took out a kunai and settled into a fighting stance.
"Let me see the caliber of an Uchiha genius. I hope you can give me a good fight."
Naruto slowly closed his eyes.
Everyone, including Sasuke, wondered why Naruto would do such a thing.
But in the next moment, they were all stunned by what Naruto did.
Not just the students, not just Sasuke, but even Iruka!
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