Cheers erupted from the crowd of students as Akira defeated Mitsuaki.
Seeing the outcome, Shinnosuke couldn’t hide his frustration.
He stepped into the center of the training ground and challenged Akira, determined to restore the honor of the fourth-years.
Akira chuckled and turned toward Tsunade.
“Want to test his strength?” She rolled her eyes.
“He’s challenging you.” Akira spread his hands helplessly.
“Most of my techniques are pretty lethal.
It’s easy for me to go overboard.” Hiruko immediately stepped forward, eager to volunteer.
“I’ll see what a fourth-year is capable of.” Akira raised an eyebrow.
He had complete confidence in Tsunade, but not nearly as much in Hiruko.
Still, since Hiruko was stepping up on his behalf, he couldn’t very well discourage him.
He lowered his voice.
“Be careful.
If things go south, retreat.” Hiruko nodded before walking calmly to the center of the training ground.
He formed the Seal of Confrontation and looked at Shinnosuke.
“If you want to challenge the top student of our grade, you’ll have to get through me first.” Shinnosuke frowned at the unremarkable white-haired boy standing before him.
Another civilian shinobi…
Can’t you civilian shinobi show at least a little respect to those from ninja clans?
Why are you all so ridiculously confident?
It wasn’t that he looked down on civilian shinobi.
The reality was that clan children generally enjoyed a significant advantage in strength.
So when an unknown civilian challenged him, it felt more like an insult than anything else.
He ignored Hiruko’s challenge entirely and looked past him toward Akira, who was chatting with Tsunade.
“Akira, do you really think just anyone is qualified to challenge me?” Akira’s expression immediately darkened.
Hiruko had already formed the Seal of Confrontation, yet Shinnosuke hadn’t even acknowledged it.
Coldly, Akira replied, “Sarutobi Shinnosuke…” “You’re the challenger now.” Shinnosuke clenched his teeth.
After a brief pause, he finally turned back toward Hiruko and reluctantly returned the Seal of Confrontation.
“I hope you don’t disappoint me, junior.” “Otherwise…” “I’ll be very angry.” Hiruko simply smiled without saying a word.
That only irritated Shinnosuke even more.
Another arrogant brat.
Exactly the type he hated.
For Academy students and even fresh genin, combat was fairly straightforward.
The Three Basic Techniques, shuriken, kunai, and taijutsu.
There weren’t many flashy tricks.
The duel began exactly as expected.
Both sides opened with shuriken.
The first exchange tested nothing more than throwing accuracy.
Whoever had poorer fundamentals would quickly be forced on the defensive.
Fortunately, Hiruko’s shuriken accuracy far surpassed that of most children his age.
He had practiced relentlessly.
Afterward, they closed the distance and clashed with kunai.
This was where taijutsu decided everything.
Being younger, Hiruko lacked Shinnosuke’s physical strength.
After several exchanges, his kunai was knocked from his hand exactly as expected.
He let out a startled cry…
…and actually turned around to retrieve it.
The surrounding students gasped.
Akira instinctively prepared to intervene.
Shinnosuke suspected it might be a trap.
But confident that he was stronger than Hiruko, he attacked anyway.
Hiruko slipped past him with a clever feint.
Just as Shinnosuke turned to continue his assault— A handful of sand exploded into his face.
His eyes instantly shut tight.
Damn it…
I’ve lost.
Before he could recover, Hiruko drove a sharp elbow straight into his chest.
The impact knocked Shinnosuke flat onto his back.
It took him a long while to catch his breath.
“Hiruko wins!” The second-years erupted into thunderous cheers.
One student defeating a fourth-year might have been a fluke.
But when two students managed it…
That wasn’t coincidence anymore.
It meant only one thing.
Class 2-A was incredible.
By the time Shinnosuke regained his vision, Hiruko was already forming the Seal of Reconciliation.
For a brief moment, Shinnosuke wanted to shout, “That doesn’t count!
Let’s do it again!” “I still haven’t used my trump card!” “I just learned Fire Release: Burning Ash!” But deep down…
He knew he’d already lost.
If this had been a real battlefield, he would already be dead.
Enemies wouldn’t wait for you to use your secret technique.
If you never got the chance to use it…
Then you effectively didn’t have one.
…Still…
I learned the pocket-sand trick.
So technically I gained something.
If I gained something, I didn’t really lose.
That’s a tiny victory.
Comforting himself with that logic, Shinnosuke forced himself to smile.
He completed the Seal of Reconciliation with Hiruko before returning to Mitsuaki’s side.
Lowering his head, he apologized.
“Sorry, Mitsuaki.” “I couldn’t get revenge for you.” Mitsuaki simply smiled.
“It’s okay, Shinnosuke.” “You did great.” Shinnosuke’s face burned with embarrassment.
He had actually lost to a lowerclassman.
And a civilian shinobi at that.
He silently resolved to add two extra hours to his daily training.
He must have gotten lazy recently.
Nearby, little Mame rubbed her stomach.
“I’m getting hungry.” She looked toward Mitsuaki.
“We missed dinner because of this.” “Want to go grab something to eat?” The moment Shinnosuke heard those words, his wallet seemed to cry.
The last time they’d gone out together, Mame had eaten through nearly all the allowance he’d spent months saving.
The Akimichi clan really could eat.
At that moment, Akira approached with Hiruko and Tsunade.
“If you don’t mind,” he said with a smile, “come eat at my place instead.” “I hunted a giant wild boar yesterday.” “There should be more than enough for everyone.” Mitsuaki studied Akira for a moment before glancing at his companions.
When he noticed the anticipation written all over Mame’s face, he smiled.
“It would be our pleasure.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ With a single invitation from Akira, everyone headed to his house.
“So this is our top student’s home?” “It’s so simple.” “Quit staring and come help!” “This boar’s heavier than it looks!” The courtyard quickly became lively.
Some people butchered the meat.
Others built the fire.
Some mixed seasonings.
Others cleaned up.
They were all shinobi trainees, so everyone worked efficiently.
Before long, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air.
As dusk settled over the land, everyone gathered around the bonfire in Akira’s yard.
Laughter echoed through the night.
The warm flames illuminated one youthful face after another.
While Tsunade wasn’t paying attention, Akira secretly smeared a streak of soot across her cheek.
Completely oblivious, she continued eating barbecue with perfect composure.
Beside her, Hiruko struggled desperately not to burst into laughter.
Little Mame from the Akimichi clan focused solely on eating.
Shinnosuke had long since let go of his earlier frustration and now had his arm slung around one of the boys from the 207 group, loudly chatting about who knew what.
Everyone laughed together.
Then— “Okay!” Mitsuaki suddenly called out.
Everyone turned toward him.
He sprinted into the crowd and threw himself straight into Shinnosuke’s arms.
A bright flash lit up the night.
Click*.* The camera captured the moment forever.
Tsunade, her face smeared with soot.
Akira, wearing a brilliant smile.
Hiruko, desperately holding back laughter.
Mame, completely absorbed in her food.
Shinnosuke, caught off guard.
Mitsuaki sitting in Shinnosuke’s arms.
And all the other classmates laughing around the bonfire.
The scene became a single old photograph, preserving one carefree evening from their childhood.