There was also another change in the pecking order for Taijutsu duels.
Choji was now dead last in the taijutsu rankings.
People used to call him fat but his face seems a bit more normal lately.
He ate more than ever and skipped practical classes whenever possible to the point his clan was forced to intervene and force him to attend them.
Even then Choji would get tired just from a warmup jog.
Sorry dude, diabetes is a bitch! I promise I'll fix ya back after you fail the exam but I needed to open a spot on the teams.
The alternatives I could think of involved either ruining Sakura's genius which would mean one less potential waifu on my team or Haguromo forbid… hurt that cute pup Akamaru.
As for Naruto, I don't believe stopping the plot would have resulted in him failing for real. Rock Lee graduated last year with absolutely 0 talent in ninjutsu and genjutsu, Naruto can more than make up for a weak clone jutsu with just his astronomical chakra reserves and taijutsu strength and endurance.
A Jinchuriki at the end of the day is a weapon that must be sharpened for the use of the village.
I have some standards, and don't wanna hurt innocent women or a puppy unless absolutely necessary so the big guy was unfortunately the sacrificial lamb.
Despite being a victim of bullying Choji would also frequently take out his sorrow on others smaller than him so I don't have that many regrets.
This will break the Ino, Shika, Cho combo, I'm pretty sure at this point I will at least get grouped with a girl, probably two, as for which ones, it's out of my hands now. There is also a female jounin sensei I wouldn't mind getting matched with...
Though we talked from time to time I don't think anyone was suspicious of me, except maybe Shikamaru, I sometimes caught him side-eyeing me, the timing was probably too much of a coincidence for his taste.
Since no one else seemed affected and after he'd subtly prevented Choji from meeting me his condition didn't improve he kept to his theories inside his head.
As for Iruka-sensei, he was very pleased with the results of the past weeks.
"How are you feeling Sakura?"
"Better than ever sensei, I have more energy and I'm strong enough to beat Ino now" Sakura smiles.
"I was a bit afraid Sakura would put on some muscle like Yami but I'm very satisfied with the outcome"
"Wait what! That was a possibility???" Sakura's eyes blaze but she can't decide whether to direct the rage at me or Iruka-sensei.
"Hahaha, to be honest, I only recently found out how to keep the muscles from showing too much sensei, I started doing the same to myself so my strength growth is larger than it shows."
"Very good Yami, I advise you to head to a shop and get a set of weights for you to wear at all times. It's a good way to practice one's body harder while remaining low-key"
Ahh the Rock Lee special, I know just the shop to visit.
"What now sensei?" - I ask
"Keep doing what you're doing, and remember that power is nothing without control so work more on your techniques and don't go overboard with your Kekkei Genkai, speaking of, since it's never before seen and yours, you can come up with a name for it"
"Hmm, how does "potential release" sound sensei?"
"Perfect, we'll call it that from now on, I'm assigning Ino to your group next, practice together"
"No... why does it have to be Ino sensei? can't it be anyone else?"
"Sorry Sakura it's just how it is. Behave and fix that petty rivalry of yours, there's no telling when you'll need to protect each other's back on a mission while surrounded by enemies."
"Ehhhh, that would be the worse sensei"
Honestly, It's not unlikely we end up together in the same team at this rate.
I don't think I'd be able to stand the two of them together for an entire mission if all they do continues to be arguing over everything.
That afternoon during taijutsu practice. Ino approaches me and Sakura.
"I knew somehow you had to be cheating Sakura!"
"It's not cheating, I'm just stronger than you now, muahahaha"
"We'll see how long that lasts, 'potential release' was it Yami? Don't you dare hold back or I'm telling Papa"
"Don't worry Ino, I'll be fair about it, we're waiting for Hinata before we start our practice"
"Is Hinata cheating too? You were training her even before Sakura weren't you?"
"No, Hinata doesn't know and I've done nothing to her, I wouldn't dare without her clan or sensei's approval"
Over these weeks I've finally managed to break completely Sakura's and Hinata's crushes, I don't detect their hormones jumping when they see Sasuke or Naruto but while I've made them very comfortable with my presence they still don't see me as more than a classmate and a friend.
Practice went fine and with Ino added into the mix we can now have proper 2v2s or separate 1v1 fights among us.
While our techniques aren't the greatest I enjoy our improvements and seeing the girls starting to grow closer to Hinata.
It did hurt a bit to leave her behind when we had to 'potential release', so we started doing that part of the program out of school.
Walking together down the street some old ladies would comment on how cute we looked together and how I was gonna crush some hearts when I got older.
After a couple of those scenes, we decided to mostly just sit in a park or on top of a tree when partaking of the highest obscenity known to man, holding hands.
Ino still talked about Sasuke a fair bit but without Sakura feeding that topic it would quickly run out and we'd talk about our families, our future as ninjas and our favorite foods. Our appetites were growing wild with all the hormones we were charged with and we'd happily and comfortably sit and talk for hours before heading home.
I didn't notice when it started but these days even after I was done with the hormone rounds Sakura would maintain her hold on my hand.
"Say Yami, what are your ninja dreams?" Sakura asked one day.
"Me? All I want is to live healthy and surrounded by beautiful girls. My dream has already come true now that I think about it but I have to keep working hard to defend it"
Sakura blushed tomato red with the answer and I've never seen her hormones spike this hard on their own.
Ino didn't blush half as hard but her face didn't seem as disgusted as her words made her sound.
"You remind me of this perverted frog guy my dad tells me stories about constantly, why can't you just stay quiet and be as cool as Sasuke? You already look as good as him."
Ahh yes... I can understand their hormones but I'll never understand the female mind and how some can find love in being ignored, neglected or abused.
Daddy issues shouldn't be able to cover every case…