After the team assignments ended, instructors gradually arrived one after another to collect their students.
Each Jonin or Chunin entering the classroom instinctively glanced toward Yoruha first.
Curiosity was unavoidable.
After all, direct promotion from academy graduate to Chunin—and immediate transfer into the Hokage’s office—was practically unheard of within Konoha’s history.
One team after another departed.
Eventually, only Team 7 remained inside the classroom.
And Yoruha.
The large room became unusually quiet.
Sunlight filtered lazily through the classroom windows while Yoruha rested with his head on the desk as though completely disconnected from the surrounding world.
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki occasionally glanced nervously toward him.
Every time Naruto confirmed Yoruha was still sleeping peacefully, he subconsciously relaxed slightly.
At least while asleep—
Yoruha did not feel dangerous.
Nearby, Sasuke Uchiha stared at Yoruha silently for a very long time.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Thoughtful.
Cold.
Eventually, Sasuke stood up.
Immediately, Sakura Haruno followed him anxiously.
“Sasuke-kun?”
“Where are you going?”
Naruto’s expression changed instantly after noticing Sasuke walking toward Yoruha.
“Sasuke!”
“What are you doing?!”
“Don’t go over there!”
Naruto’s panicked reaction only made Sasuke more suspicious.
Still, Sasuke ignored him completely and continued forward with his hands inside his pockets.
He stopped directly beside Yoruha’s desk.
“Yoruha.”
“You seem to be hiding something.”
Yoruha did not even open his eyes.
To be honest—
He currently lacked interest in interacting with most characters from the original story.
His mentality had gradually changed after inheriting Akainu’s overwhelming power and battle instincts.
Many things that once felt important now appeared distant and insignificant.
Seeing himself ignored completely, Sasuke’s gaze darkened slightly.
Behind him, Naruto wanted desperately to stop this situation.
Unfortunately, memories of last night’s horrifying scene remained too vivid.
Mizuki’s blood-covered body.
The crater.
The terrifying punch.
Naruto simply lacked the courage to approach further.
Meanwhile, Sakura looked curiously at Yoruha.
“Yoruha-kun…”
“How did you become a Chunin immediately?”
“And why are you the only member of your team?”
“Isn’t that strange?”
This time, Yoruha finally reacted.
He slowly lifted his head as if waking from a nap and lazily wiped imaginary drool from the corner of his mouth.
His expression carried obvious impatience.
“I don’t know.”
“That was the Hokage’s decision.”
“Not mine.”
Sasuke’s brows twitched slightly.
Why did Yoruha ignore him completely earlier—
Yet respond immediately once Sakura spoke?
The subtle difference irritated him instinctively.
“You don’t know?”
Sasuke frowned coldly.
“No one in academy history skipped directly from graduate to Chunin.”
“How could you not know the reason?”
His voice carried frustration and unwillingness.
At the end of the day—
Sasuke was still twelve years old.
And like many gifted children, he possessed strong pride.
Yoruha glanced at him calmly.
“I truly don’t know.”
Then he added indifferently:
“And even if I did…”
“…what does it have to do with you?”
Silence.
Sasuke and Sakura froze briefly.
Objectively speaking—
Yoruha was correct.
Regardless of how strange his promotion seemed, it had nothing to do with Team 7.
Still, Sasuke remained dissatisfied.
“You hid your strength at the academy, didn’t you?”
“Why?”
“Did you think nobody in class was worthy of your attention?”
Yoruha looked at him quietly for several seconds.
Then answered honestly:
“Perhaps.”
The answer hit harder than expected.
Sasuke’s expression stiffened instantly.
Yoruha did not mean it arrogantly.
From his perspective, it was merely reality.
Before inheriting Akainu’s power, he indeed lagged behind Sasuke significantly.
But now—
The gap between them resembled heaven and earth.
Until Sasuke eventually received Six Paths power from Hagoromo Otsutsuki far in the future—
Current Sasuke simply could not threaten Yoruha whatsoever.
Not even remotely.
Sasuke clenched his fist tighter.
“How would you know if we never fought?”
Defiance filled his voice.
He could not tolerate someone his own age standing above him so casually.
Especially another classmate.
But Yoruha ignored the provocation entirely.
Instead, he asked calmly:
“You seem very obsessed with surpassing others.”
Sasuke froze slightly.
Then Yoruha continued quietly:
“There’s no meaning in that.”
“If you truly want strength…”
“…your only opponent should be yourself.”
“Even if you surpass everyone around you…”
“Would that allow you to surpass the person you actually want to defeat?”
The words struck Sasuke like lightning.
His pupils contracted violently.
“How…?”
“How does he know?”
For years, Sasuke’s entire existence revolved around one person.
Itachi Uchiha.
The brother who massacred the entire Uchiha Clan.
The monster Sasuke desperately wished to kill someday.
Meanwhile, Sakura stared at both boys in confusion.
“…What are you even talking about?”
Yoruha remained calm.
But Sasuke’s heart trembled heavily.
Yoruha’s words exposed his mindset completely.
All this time—
What was he actually doing?
Competing with academy students?
Trying to prove superiority over children his own age?
Could defeating them possibly close the gap between himself and Itachi?
Of course not.
The only thing that mattered was continuous self-improvement.
Sasuke stared intensely at Yoruha.
“How did you know?”
This time, his tone became much more serious.
Yoruha answered casually:
“It’s not difficult to investigate.”
“After all…”
“…you’re an Uchiha.”
Sasuke’s expression changed slightly.
“The Uchiha…”
Ever since the massacre, very few people willingly mentioned the clan name around him.
Most villagers avoided the topic entirely.
Hearing it spoken so naturally again felt strangely unfamiliar.
Sasuke slowly tightened his fist.
Then looked directly at Yoruha.
“I want to challenge you.”
“I want to know whether you truly deserve Chunin rank.”
“And I want to know…”
“…how far I still am from becoming strong enough.”
“That man was already a Jonin.”
“If I can’t even surpass a Chunin…”
“…then defeating him is impossible.”
“Sasuke…”
“…please prove it to me.”
Behind him, Naruto nearly jumped in panic.
“Sasuke, are you insane?!”
“Do you even know how strong this guy is?!”
Naruto almost blurted out Mizuki’s incident instinctively.
“Mizuki—”
But halfway through the sentence, he abruptly covered his mouth.
Iruka specifically warned him never to reveal last night’s events casually.
Still—
Keeping the secret inside was becoming painful.
Sasuke immediately noticed Naruto’s reaction.
“You’ve seen his strength?”
Yoruha also turned slightly toward Naruto.
The moment their eyes met—
Naruto nearly panicked completely.
“I-I didn’t see anything!”
“Don’t say weird stuff!”
His terrified denial only made Sasuke more suspicious.
Yoruha looked at Naruto thoughtfully.
“…Is Naruto usually this timid?”
Objectively speaking, Naruto at this age actually frightened easily during genuine danger.
Even during the future Land of Waves mission, the appearance of real enemy ninja initially froze him in fear.
Last night’s scene was far more horrifying than ordinary combat.
A single punch reduced Mizuki into a bloody wreck.
The psychological impact on Naruto was naturally enormous.
Yoruha eventually looked back toward Sasuke calmly.
“You’re still very far away.”
Sasuke’s expression darkened instantly.
“How would you know?!”
“You’ve never seen my real strength!”
From Sasuke’s perspective, Yoruha merely sounded arrogant and mysterious.
Maybe Yoruha was not truly that strong at all.
Perhaps this special treatment came from hidden political reasons.
So Sasuke challenged directly:
“Or are you afraid?”
The classroom suddenly fell silent.
Then—
BOOM.
A terrifying pressure exploded outward instantly.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop violently.
Sasuke’s pupils shrank.
For one horrifying moment—
It felt as though countless corpses surrounded him.
Blood.
Death.
Murderous intent so overwhelming it nearly became physical.
His body froze completely.
Breathing became difficult.
Even his thoughts slowed.
The pressure crushing his mind resembled falling directly into hell itself.
Under extreme emotional shock—
His Sharingan activated instinctively.
A single tomoe rotated inside crimson eyes.
Sasuke staggered backward violently.
His legs nearly gave out completely.
“Sasuke-kun!”
Sakura screamed in shock and hurriedly caught him before he collapsed.
Meanwhile—
Yoruha merely rested his head back onto the desk calmly.
As though nothing happened at all.