One afternoon during physical training class,
the sun had warmed the training field until it felt pleasantly cozy. The children stood in several rows, waiting for Teacher Ibuki to announce the day's lesson.
Teacher Ibuki stood at the front of the group with a faintly mysterious smile on his face.
"Today, I've invited some special guests to help guide everyone."
He paused, trying to build a little suspense.
The result was total silence below. No one played along at all.
Teacher Ibuki gave an awkward laugh. "They're outstanding upperclassmen and upperclasswomen. They've studied for several years longer than you and have more experience. Today, they'll give a demonstration first, then split up to guide you in groups."
The moment he finished speaking, a wave of muttering rose from the lines.
"So it's just upperclassmen?"
"I thought he brought in jōnin."
"At least bring in a genin or something. What's so special about upperclassmen..."
The smile on Teacher Ibuki's face stiffened. He raised his voice. "Quiet down. The upperclassmen have also trained very hard. They've studied for years longer than you have, so they're more than qualified to guide you."
The field went quiet for one second.
Then someone muttered under their breath, "But the last exam was way cooler when Uchiha Toru and the others fought..."
"Yeah, that Fire Style was awesome."
"Can the upperclassmen even do that?"
A cross-shaped vein bulged on Teacher Ibuki's temple. Taking a deep breath and forcing his smile to stay in place, he turned and beckoned toward the edge of the field.
"Alright, let's welcome the upperclassmen in!"
Five older students walked in from the side.
Three boys and two girls, all dressed neatly in training clothes, each wearing that unmistakable look of "I'm a senpai."
The one at the very back was a black-haired boy with white eyes. His name was Hyuga Kazuki, a member of the Hyuga main family and one of the stronger students in his grade.
His gaze swept over the younger children, ready to enjoy a few admiring looks.
Then his body suddenly stiffened.
Among the crowd, a child in a red shirt was yawning.
Hyuga Kazuki's pupils shrank slightly.
It was him.
That little brat from the hallway.
That day, he and the others had been in the middle of "teaching Hyuga Shota a lesson," and everything had been going just fine—until this red-shirted brat had shown up out of nowhere.
He had attacked for half a day and hadn't even touched the edge of the kid's clothes.
Kazuki's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly adjusted it.
Teacher Ibuki clapped his hands.
"Alright, upperclassmen, please demonstrate some basic taijutsu for everyone. Watch carefully."
The older students walked into the middle of the field and began their demonstration.
Every movement was neat and proper.
Their motions were standard, their posture correct.
When they finished and came back to a ready stance, they waited for applause.
The training field was silent for two seconds.
Then a few scattered claps sounded.
Teacher Ibuki's smile stiffened again. "So? What does everyone think?"
A few seconds later, someone muttered, "That's it?"
"Not as good as when Kakashi and the others fought in the last exam."
"Yeah, Kakashi and Uchiha Toru's match was what you'd call impressive."
"Shin-chan's was good too, even though he lost."
"The upperclassmen's movements... kind of seem slow?"
Teacher Ibuki's smile vanished completely.
The upperclassmen didn't look too pleased either.
The tall, skinny boy in front frowned and stepped forward.
"What did you just say?"
The line of children went silent for a second.
Then someone muttered quietly, "Just telling the truth..."
"Telling the truth?" The tall boy let out a cold laugh. "Then why don't you come up here and try it?"
The class fell quiet again.
Then people started egging others on.
"Kakashi, go!"
"Uchiha Toru, get up there!"
"Shin-chan! Shin-chan!"
The shouting grew louder and more chaotic.
Teacher Ibuki opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but realized the situation had already gotten completely out of hand.
As a chūnin, he should have been able to stop them—but would using force really be what a teacher ought to do?
The last time Asuma and Obito got into a fight, he hadn't handled it well.
Could he handle this one?
While Teacher Ibuki hesitated,
the tall, skinny boy folded his arms and looked at Class A with a provocative smile.
"What's wrong? A second ago, you all had plenty to say."
The class fell silent.
Everyone's eyes landed on the three people in front.
Kakashi stood near the edge of the line, one eye lazily looking into the distance, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Uchiha Toru had his head lowered, apparently thinking about something.
And Shin-chan was squatting on the ground, playing a game of "hide-and-seek with no one there" by himself.
"Kakashi!" someone shouted.
Kakashi didn't move.
"Uchiha Toru!"
Uchiha Toru looked up, glanced at Teacher Ibuki, then lowered his head again.
"Shin-chan!"
Shin-chan lifted his head and looked around blankly. "Huh? Who called me?"
The students egging them on were getting impatient.
"They're looking down on our class! Go teach them a lesson!"
"Yeah, show them how strong Class A is!"
"Kakashi, if you go, you'll definitely win!"
At last, Kakashi turned his head and glanced at the upperclassmen.
Then he looked away again.
"How boring."
Just two light, dismissive words.
The students urging them on froze, then turned to Uchiha Toru.
Uchiha Toru said quietly, "Um... the teacher hasn't said it's okay yet..."
"Who cares about the teacher? Just go!"
Uchiha Toru shook his head and took a small step back. "I don't want to fight."
Then they turned to Shin-chan.
"Shin-chan."
"Yeah?"
"You go!"
Shin-chan looked up, glanced at the older students, then at the classmates urging him on, and tilted his head as he thought about it.
Then he stood up and patted the dust off his butt.
Everyone stared at him.
Shin-chan took one step forward.
Then another.
Until he reached the front of the line.
Then he yawned.
"What a pain."
The students who had been egging him on fell silent.
A few seconds later, the tall boy let out a cold laugh. "Anyone who wants to challenge us, come on up."
The class went silent for a beat.
Then Guy stepped out.
"I will."
Clenching his fists, Guy strode forward. "Youth means challenging the strong. senpai, please teach me."
The tall boy glanced at him, a trace of disdain curling at his lips.
"Sure."
Guy rushed in and threw a punch, but the boy sidestepped easily and slapped him across the back with a return strike.
Guy staggered, caught himself, then charged again.
Twenty seconds later,
Guy was lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
"I... I lost..."
The tall boy just smiled and said nothing.
Then Obito charged forward. "My turn!"
Fifteen seconds later,
he was on the ground too.
The tall boy flicked his hand and smiled. "Next?"
The class went quiet.
One of the older students beside him laughed and said, "That's all? Weren't you all talking pretty big just now?"
Another added, "First-year brats, huh? All talk."
"But I guess that's normal. They're only five. How strong could they really be?"
Laughter broke out.
The tall boy's gaze swept across the crowd. "I heard there's an Uchiha in your class too. Why doesn't he dare come out?"
~~~
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