Asuma Sarutobi eagerly stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves. "You actually came here looking for a beating, huh?"
Hearing Asuma Sarutobi's words, everyone in the classroom chuckled darkly. They'd been feeling annoyed already, so this bastard really showed up at the worst possible moment.
Seeing those first-years' smiles turning increasingly sinister, Shuunen hurried to interrupt, "Wait, I'm not here to fight you guys!"
He then shifted his gaze toward Seiki Shimaseki. "Seiki Shimaseki, control your lackeys!"
"You're not exactly subtle with your provocation," Seiki Shimaseki said with arms spread wide. "No 'lackeys' here—just my teammates."
"Of course, in someone's eyes, it becomes someone else's world. So someone like you wouldn't understand the meaning of comradeship anyway!"
Seiki Shimaseki's classmates wouldn't have turned on him for a single sentence. But that didn't stop them from feeling annoyed—and firing back with sarcasm.
"Yeah, where exactly are your 'teammates' now?"
"It seems your 'teammates' have all abandoned you!"
Shuunen felt suffocated by anger but couldn't retort.
Because when he mentioned wanting to restore the Uchiha's honor, those people calling themselves his companions didn't even try coming up with decent excuses—they either claimed family weddings or rushed off buying toilet paper during some sale.
Did they really think he was that dumb? At least invent more believable reasons!
Seeing Shuunen speechless, Asuma Sarutobi's eyes gleamed with mischief as he mockingly added salt to the wound, "Speechless because we hit the nail on the head? Tsk tsk, you really suck at making friends!"
Shuunen waved his hand in embarrassment. "Don't talk! I'm not here for you today!"
Then he widened his eyes and tried his best to look intimidating as he stared at Seiki Shimaseki. "If you fall, it's only right to rise from the same spot. Therefore, the honor lost to you will be restored by me personally!"
Seiki Shimaseki blinked. Even he found it hard to figure out what exactly the guy was thinking at the moment.
Well, you know how crazy people are—they think in ways no one can predict.
Thinking this, Seiki Shimaseki shrugged helplessly. "Okay then. How exactly do you plan to reclaim your honor?"
"I'll defeat you in front of everyone—" Shuunen declared proudly, yet before he could finish, the group behind Seiki Shimaseki all glared at him simultaneously. His morale instantly collapsed like air leaking out of a balloon. "I mean… engage in some friendly exchange."
Asuma Sarutobi scoffed nearby. "Still insisting you're not here to pick a fight!"
Shuunen twitched his lips. Of course he wasn't here to fight "you all"—one against sixty-nine? No sane person would take that fight!
Seiki Shimaseki smiled slightly. "A third-year fighting a first-year? That doesn't sound fair at all."
This troubled Shuunen slightly. Although Seiki Shimaseki hadn't participated in the last battle due to treating Mizuki, judging from their previous duel at school and Asuma Sarutobi's performance during the last brawl, it wasn't hard to infer the opponent's strength must definitely be considerable.
It would still be manageable if going all-out, but if restrained, he couldn't guarantee victory.
"Well… Well then, I won't use Body Replacement Techniques! That should make things fair, right?"
"That won't be necessary."
"Seiki raised his hands slightly above the desk. 'Just agree to one condition if I win.'"
Shuunen asked cautiously, "What condition? Let me make this clear first—I won't become your follower!"
In his mind, this despicable fellow must have been planning to subdue him all along.
"Of course not," Seiki replied with a helpless smile before turning serious. "I just hope that if you lose, you'll apologize to Mizuki, and also apologize to those students you've bullied before!"
Hearing Seiki's conditions, admiration in the classmates' eyes grew stronger while their gazes at Shuunen were filled with contempt.
Compared with this Uchiha member, their Class Rep seemed so much more magnificent!
Shuunen opened his mouth but couldn't speak immediately. He never imagined in a million years that the opponent would ask for something like this. After all, these people had nothing much to do with him—he was even completely unfamiliar with them! Why would someone go this far for strangers?
This was a golden opportunity to subdue an Uchiha clan genius!
Even as an opponent, Shuunen couldn't help but feel a surge of respect.
"Fine, I accept!"
"Okay, let's head out now."
Seiki didn't object to fighting; he'd turned down previous challenges from bullies mostly to keep the class united.
As for now, showing some strength now and then was essential to establishing authority.
Certainly, this decision was made based on prior knowledge of the opponent's strength gained from a group fight two days ago.
Elsewhere.
"Do you think Seiki-kun will be in danger?" Shizune asked, clutching her hands nervously.
"It's going to be tough; that bastard's strength isn't weaker than mine!" Asuma's face darkened.
"Oh well, that makes me feel better then." Shizune patted her chest relieved.
Asuma suddenly turned around, puzzled. He felt somehow offended.
...
For kids eager for attention, it wasn't uncommon to learn a couple of ninjutsu techniques and then show off all over campus.
However, this battle was different; one was an outstanding freshman who had been making waves since entering school, while the other was a brutal bully feared by students across all grades—so many people found it extremely intriguing.
By the time Seiki and Shuunen reached the playground, students were already crowding the railings of every floor in the classroom building, watching with excitement.
"Has that Uchiha Shuunen guy gone nuts? Daring to mess with first-year students again!"
"Who knows, anyway Uchiha members aren't exactly known for being mentally stable."
"Yeah, that bastard even stole my lollipop before! First-year student, defeat him for us!"
Uchiha Shuunen didn't know about those comments above, or perhaps even if he did, he wouldn't care.
After sealing the Mark of Opposition, Shuunen directly grabbed a bunch of shuriken from his Tool Pouch and hurled them toward Seiki.
[Shuriken Throwing Jutsu?] "If you had watched the battle two months ago, you'd know precisely this happens to be what I excel most at!" Seiki wielded a kunai effortlessly, easily deflecting each direction-bound shuriken thrown his way.
"If you don't have anything else—wait, what is this!" Seiki exclaimed in alarm as he realized that among the shadows of the last Shuriken he had just blocked, there was another hidden one.
He barely had time to react before throwing himself aside.
"Heh, this is the [Shadow Shuriken Technique], where the second Shuriken hides in the blind spot. You're impressive to dodge that. Too bad, though—one single mistake when fighting against an Uchiha means defeat!"
Shuunen smirked coldly, like he'd already predicted everything, and suddenly appeared exactly where Seiki had dodged. After sending him flying, Shuunen stepped down hard on him. "This so-called top rookie—this is all you've got? Before the name 'Uchiha,' you're nothing at all!"
Seiki burst into tears. "I'm truly too weak. Master Shuunen, please take me under your wing!"
Shuunen tilted his head back and laughed maniacally—"Hahahaha..."
"What's that moron laughing about?"
"Who knows? Maybe the shock was too much—he's gone mad!"
Muffled annoyances from nearby voices, along with a chilling sensation at his neck, abruptly snapped Shuunen back to reality.
Then he saw Seiki Shimaseki—the one who should have been beneath his feet—holding a Kunai pointed right at his throat.
"That was...Genjutsu?" Shuunen first looked stunned, then realization dawned. With anguish in his eyes, he glared at Seiki. "Why...how could you—a Medical Ninja—use Genjutsu?"
Seiki shrugged matter-of-factly. "As a Medical Ninja, learning a few Genjutsu techniques to help patients forget their pain seems perfectly reasonable, doesn't it?"
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