"Oh? Thank you, Hinata."
Naruto, who was still thinking about his teacher, quickly accepted Hinata's handkerchief and thanked her.
Hinata blushed and shook her head, indicating it was fine.
Their interaction was completely under Ino's gaze, who was covering her mouth.
"Naruto, do you want to have a match with me?" Sasuke, who had rested well, spoke to Naruto.
"Eh?!"
For a moment, Shikamaru, Hinata, and the others all looked at Sasuke with surprised expressions, their eyes full of doubt.
Shikamaru frowned and said, "Sasuke, why did you suddenly have this idea?"
"Because with no teacher recently, I feel the training progress has been a bit slow." Sasuke explained with his usual expression, which was also his inner thought.
"So, you want to see your progress by challenging someone?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
Although Sasuke was the last to become a disciple of Shinji, his training progress had surpassed Shikamaru and Choji. It was not an exaggeration to describe Sasuke as a desperate fighter.
Naruto's training progress had always been ahead of theirs. Naruto would occasionally show off in front of Sasuke, leading Sasuke to be almost constantly in training.
"Smug Sasuke, bring it on, I'm not afraid of you." Naruto finished speaking and immediately stood up to respond.
"But don't cry if I beat you up later, that would be embarrassing."
As soon as these words came out, Sasuke, who had only intended to challenge him, immediately reacted.
"Loser, dealing with you is just a matter of minutes."
"Damn it, we'll see about that!"
Naruto's anger instantly surged with Sasuke's words, and he decided to teach Sasuke a lesson.
"Hey! You two!"
Shikamaru stood up somewhat helplessly. He came between the two confronting Sasuke and Naruto, and separated them.
It was initially fine, but now both of them were clearly hot-headed.
"If you want to challenge, at least wait until sensei comes back, okay?"
Shikamaru brought out Shinji as a trump card, as Naruto would definitely listen to Shinji.
Sasuke respected Shinji and would not cause trouble most of the time.
As expected, as soon as these words were spoken, Naruto and Sasuke's tempers somewhat weakened.
"Alright, Shikamaru, I agree to their challenge."
A voice sounded, and the little brats, who had been in an awkward atmosphere, instantly turned their heads to look.
"Sensei!" Naruto shouted happily.
At this moment, Shinji was standing on the tree where they had just rested, watching them with his arms crossed.
"Mm."
Shinji nodded to Naruto and the others, then spoke again, "Since I have been away for so long, you two can indeed use a challenge."
"Let me see if you two have made any progress recently."
After speaking, he jumped down from the tree and led them to an open space.
Shinji looked at Naruto and Sasuke and said, "However, since it's a challenge, I will set up rewards and punishments. No objections, right?"
"No problem!" Naruto, who was confident he wouldn't lose to Sasuke, immediately raised his hand in agreement.
Sasuke nodded lightly, as this met his requirements.
"Alright, the loser will have sixty extra assignments every day this week." Seeing that both agreed, Shinji stated.
Then, he gestured for the two to step forward and stand ready.
Once Naruto and Sasuke were prepared, Shinji raised his hands high and then brought them down sharply.
"Begin!"
As Shinji's words fell, Sasuke's figure instantly disappeared from the spot, kicking at Naruto's figure.
Naruto's pupils constricted. Sasuke was much faster than before. In his haste, he didn't think of dodging but quickly extended his arm to block, instantly intercepting Sasuke's kick. Naruto was pushed back three or four meters.
Shinji on the sidelines nodded. Sasuke's speed was good, and Naruto's reaction was not bad either.
Naruto shook his slightly numb arm, and the look in his eyes towards Sasuke changed. Such speed and strength showed that Sasuke was no longer the same as before.
Naruto no longer underestimated Sasuke, pulling out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch behind him and throwing it at Sasuke.
Sasuke quickly used Body Flicker Technique again to dodge, then charged towards Naruto.
This time, Naruto was prepared. The moment Sasuke charged over, he reacted, throwing a punch that almost disfigured Sasuke.
Sasuke's offensive was instantly disrupted, and Naruto seized this opportunity to attack. He suppressed Sasuke, then kicked him several meters away.
'Damn it! Why is Naruto's taijutsu so strong?'
Sasuke, who had flipped over and stood up, thought with great frustration as he looked at Naruto's figure.
He had initially thought he could defeat Naruto by relying on the Body Flicker Technique he had recently learned, but he ended up being suppressed.
Without overthinking, he immediately formed hand signs and used Ninjutsu.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A two-meter-wide giant fireball instantly spewed from Sasuke's mouth, flying towards Naruto.
Compared to his previous fireballs, this one was much stronger.
"Hehe, I've been waiting for you!"
Naruto quickly created two Shadow Clones, gathering Wind Chakra in his hands and blowing it towards the ground.
Whoosh—
Sand and dust filled the air.
Shinji saw Naruto quickly form hand signs and activate Ninjutsu towards the rising sand and dust.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!
Several wind blades, enveloped in sand and dust, covered Sasuke's two-meter-tall fireball, rendering it harmless.
Amidst the swirling dust, Sasuke shot several shuriken, cautiously observing his surroundings.
He naturally knew Naruto's usual tactics.
The next moment, he sensed movement behind him, and a smirk appeared on his lips.
A kunai swiped backwards, just as Naruto's figure appeared behind him.
Hinata, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but cry out.
The next second, Naruto's figure suddenly went "poof" and dispersed into smoke.
"What?!"
Seeing that it was a Shadow Clone, Sasuke immediately felt a bad premonition.
Just as he was about to make a move, Naruto suddenly burst out from the swirling dust behind him, delivering a flying kick.
"Take this! Naruto Taijutsu Secret Art! Backstab!"
Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his back, then his entire body was sent flying, forming a parabola as he fell towards the ground.
"The match is decided!" Shinji spoke from the sidelines.
Hearing this, Sasuke propped himself up and punched the ground.
"Damn it!"
"Smug Sasuke, I'm not a one-trick pony." Naruto swaggered over and said.
"Tch, I was careless this time. It won't be the same next time."
Although Sasuke was indignant, he still conceded defeat.