Amidst the cheers of his classmates, An Yan defeated Koken Uchiha.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke felt a surge of indignation. He jumped into the center of the training ground and challenged An Yan, wanting to redeem the honor of the fourth-year students.
An Yan smiled and turned to Tsunade. "Want to test your skills against him?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "He challenged you, not me."
An Yan spread his hands. "Most of my jutsu are extremely lethal. It's hard for me to hold back."
Hiruko stepped forward, eager for a chance. "I'll test the strength of a fourth-year."
An Yan raised an eyebrow. He was confident in Tsunade's abilities, but less so in Hiruko's. However, since he was stepping up for him, he couldn't crush his confidence. He just whispered, "Be careful. Retreat if you have to."
Hiruko nodded, turned to face Shinnosuke, and said calmly, "If you want to challenge our year's number one, you have to get through me first."
Shinnosuke frowned at the plain-looking, white-haired kid. Another commoner ninja.
Can't you commoners show some respect to those from ninja clans? Why are you all so arrogant?
It wasn't that Shinnosuke looked down on commoner ninja, but there was generally a large gap in their abilities. So, when faced with an unknown commoner, he felt he was being underestimated.
"An Yan, do you think just anyone can challenge me?"
Hiruko was already in the center, having formed the Seal of Confrontation, but Shinnosuke ignored him, turning instead to An Yan, who was laughing with Tsunade.
Hearing Shinnosuke's words and seeing Hiruko being disrespected, An Yan's temper flared. He said coldly:
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke, right now, you are the challenger!"
Shinnosuke gritted his teeth, turned back to Hiruko, and formed the seal, saying through clenched teeth:
"I hope you don't disappoint me, junior. Otherwise, I'll be very angry."
Hiruko simply smiled without a word.
This infuriated Shinnosuke. Another arrogant one, just like An Yan. The type I hate.
For academy students and even Genin, fights were predictable: the three basic jutsu combined with shuriken, kunai, and taijutsu. There was rarely anything special.
Their fight began the same way, with an exchange of shuriken to test their fundamentals. Poor fundamentals would get you kited, but Hiruko's accuracy was far above his peers; he had worked hard on it.
Then came the close-quarters kunai fight, a test of taijutsu.
Hiruko was younger and weaker than Shinnosuke. After a few clashes, his kunai was predictably knocked away. He cried out in alarm and turned to retrieve it.
The onlookers gasped, and An Yan prepared to intervene.
Shinnosuke suspected a trick, but confident in his superior strength, he pressed the attack. Hiruko dodged with a feint, and just as Shinnosuke was about to attack again, a handful of sand hit him in the eyes.
As Shinnosuke covered his eyes, a chill went down his spine. Not good. I'm going to lose.
Hiruko struck with an elbow to the chest, sending Shinnosuke to the ground, where he lay gasping for breath.
Hiruko was victorious. The students erupted in a massive cheer. One person defeating a fourth-year might be a fluke, but two was a pattern. It could only mean one thing: Year 2, Class A was awesome!
When Shinnosuke could see again, Hiruko was already forming the Seal of Reconciliation.
Shinnosuke wanted to shout, "This doesn't count! Let's go again! I haven't even used my ultimate move, the Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning I just learned!"
However, he knew he had lost. If this were a real battlefield, he would be dead. The enemy wouldn't care if you had used your ultimate move or not.
Well, even though I lost, I learned the sand-in-the-eyes trick. So I gained something. Gaining something means I didn't lose; I actually won. A small victory.
Shinnosuke comforted himself, forced himself to his feet, returned the Seal of Reconciliation, and walked back to Koken's side, apologizing. "I'm sorry, Koken. I couldn't get revenge for you."
Koken smiled and comforted him, "It's okay, Shinnosuke. You did great."
Shinnosuke's face burned with embarrassment. He had actually lost to a younger student, and a commoner at that. He decided to add two hours of training to his daily routine. He must have been slacking off.
Nearby, Akimichi Yone rubbed her stomach. "Today's fight made us miss dinner time. I'm hungry. Should we go get something to eat?"
Hearing this, Shinnosuke felt his wallet shrink. The last time they went out, he had spent all his savings. The Akimichi clan could really eat.
At that moment, An Yan walked over with Hiruko and Tsunade. "If you don't mind, you can eat at my place. I just hunted a giant wild boar yesterday. There's enough for everyone."
Koken looked deeply at An Yan, then at his companions. Seeing the hopeful look on Yone's face, he smiled. "It would be our honor."
So, with a call from An Yan, everyone went to his house.
"Wow, is this the top student's house? It's so simple."
"Stop gawking and help out! This boar is heavy!"
Amidst the chatter, everyone divided the tasks. Some cut the meat, some started the fire, some mixed the seasonings, and some cleaned up. They were all ninja, and they worked efficiently. Soon, they were eating grilled meat.
As twilight deepened, they gathered around the bonfire in the courtyard, laughing and joking. The firelight illuminated their young faces. An Yan had secretly smudged some soot on Tsunade's face, but she was completely unaware, calmly eating her meat. Hiruko was trying his best not to laugh.
The Akimichi girl was silently devouring her food. The Sarutobi boy had let go of his grudge and was laughing loudly with 207. It was a joyous gathering.
Just then, Koken shouted, "Okay!"
Everyone looked at him. He ran towards the group and dove into Shinnosuke's arms. A flash of light, the sound of a camera shutter, and the moment of laughter was frozen in time.
Tsunade with a sooty face, An Yan with a bright smile, Hiruko holding back laughter, the Akimichi girl eating, a flustered Shinnosuke, Koken in his lap, and all the other laughing classmates.
All captured in an old photograph.
-------
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