Everyone had long grown accustomed to Naruto's goofy antics, so no one was particularly surprised anymore. However, Sasuke Uchiha raised an eyebrow in irritation.
Damn it…
How could this so-called fried chicken attract more attention than me? This is absolutely unforgivable.
How could such a passionate craving be outdone by a mere piece of fried chicken?
Just as Naruto formed a little figure with his fingers, preparing to grab the chicken leg on the table, a hand swooped in and snatched it away.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Where's the chicken leg? Where did my chicken leg go?
The strange song he had been humming began to fade away...
"It's gonna explode... I'm melting... Melting... Wait, WHERE'S MY CHICKEN LEG?...."
In an instant, Naruto pinpointed the thief who had pilfered his chicken leg. It was none other than that damned smug Sasuke.
"You smug bastard, Sasuke! Why did you steal my chicken leg?"
With an air of arrogance, Sasuke took a generous bite of the chicken leg. As he chewed, he mimicked Naruto's odd tone, musing, "Naruto, you idiot... You are not worthy of this beautiful chicken leg..."
"AHHHHH... SASUKE..."
Sasuke's eyes lit up with delight.
Did that idiot Naruto just call my name? Hahaha...
And thus, the banter continued...
"Naruto..."
"Sasuke..."
"Naruto..."
"Sasuke..."
"...…"
The class had lunch amidst this bizarre atmosphere, with students chuckling at the unusual exchange.
When Iruka-sensei returned to the classroom, he sensed something was amiss.
Why were Naruto and Sasuke glaring at each other like that?
Could it be that these two had gotten into a fight? How troublesome...
"Alright, class. This afternoon, we'll be conducting a sparring practice. Since we've had several training sessions already, everyone should be familiar with the rules. Now, let's head to Training Ground 3..."
At the training ground, Iruka-sensei held up a sparring chart while the students eagerly prepared for the upcoming matches.
"Kato Mori versus Aoi Sakai."
The two students quickly stepped out of the crowd at the sound of their names. After a brief bout, Aoi narrowly defeated Kato.
"Baika Umino versus Yamamoto Sagiri..."
......…
In the summoning space, Madara observed the ongoing ninja sparring exercises with mild curiosity.
However, after watching for a while, he quickly lost interest, deeming these kids far too weak.
Hirofumi, equally unimpressed by this childish display, gathered his chakra and appeared in the summoning space.
"Madara. Aren't you watching these academy students' sparring matches?"
Madara reclined in a rocking chair, looking rather relaxed.
"Kids playing around... You call this sparring? Ninjas nowadays are pathetically weak. Back in my day, when I was their age, I wielded the Uchiha fan in my left hand and the Uchiha scythe in my right. I fought my way from the Uchiha clan to the Senju clan, killing without a second thought. Did you know that? I didn't even bat an eye..."
"But then, didn't your eyes got dry?"
"What the heck... I said I didn't blink while killing, and you're asking if my eyes are dry?"
Hirofumi nodded innocently.
"Yeah. I'm just curious... After all, the Uchiha and Senju clans were quite far apart, right? Wouldn't your eyes feel dry after fighting that distance?"
"What the heck... My eyes are the Sharingan. Even if I didn't blink for an entire day, it'd be fine..."
"Oh, I see... So, the Sharingan has that kind of ability? That's really something new."
For some reason, Madara always felt easily provoked by Hirofumi.
This annoying brat was even more irritating than the simple-minded Hashirama.
Madara clearly intended to show off his strength, but in front of Hirofumi, the conversation had devolved into a debate about whether his eyes were dry.
After chatting with Madara for a while, Hirofumi exited the summoning space, as he still needed to participate in sparring.
As anticipated, the final two left standing were Sasuke and Hirofumi.
No one was surprised by this outcome, as these two had always been at the top of their class.
With a fierce fighting spirit, Sasuke glared at Hirofumi.
Since Hirofumi had reappeared in class, Sasuke felt something had changed within him.
That strange feeling had never existed before...
After forming their respective seals, Sasuke charged swiftly toward Hirofumi without hesitation.
As usual, he leaped into the air, delivering a powerful flying kick aimed at Hirofumi.
Based on past experiences, Sasuke figured Hirofumi would struggle to block this move. To his surprise, Hirofumi casually extended his arm and effortlessly intercepted Sasuke's kick.
BANG!
The two separated after the strike, both momentarily stunned.
'Damn it... This guy's strength and reaction speed have improved...'
Sasuke was bewildered.
"You've definitely gotten stronger, Hirofumi..."
Hirofumi was equally surprised. He was aware he'd grown stronger, but he hadn't anticipated blocking Sasuke's attack so easily.
In the past, defending against Sasuke's strikes had been a challenge...
"You're not bad either. Your strength has also increased significantly..."
"Hmph. Let's go again..."
"Bring it on..."
Thus began a fierce exchange of punches and kicks. The surrounding students, along with Iruka-sensei, watched in astonishment.
Iruka, in particular, hadn't expected Hirofumi to have improved so drastically.
"These two kids probably already possess the strength of genin...
Sasuke has consistently grown stronger, but I didn't expect Hirofumi to improve so quickly as well. It looks like both will become outstanding ninjas in the future."
At that moment, Hirofumi's thoughts were singular: childish...
Sasuke's combat experience was simply too immature.