CHAPTER WORDS -1470
AN:- THIS CHAPTER HAS SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE STORY, SO MAKE SURE TO READ IT PROPERLY.
Chapter 4: Entering The Woods With The Genius Girl
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Natsuki Matao walked into the arena, preparing wooden shuriken and kunai in his ninja tool bag. These were toys, with their sharp parts ground down, making them low-impact weapons.
Standing across from each other, Natsuki thought of an idea that would allow him to not be suspicious enough. He and Ruri solemnly formed a hand seal according to the rules.
"Begin."
Taiga Fujimura, the homeroom teacher, called out loudly as the two got into position.
As soon as he finished speaking, before Natsuki could even make a move, Ruri swiftly pulled out several wooden shuriken from her tool bag. They sliced through the air, racing toward Natsuki's vital points with precision. Natsuki was slightly taken aback, rolling to the side. Although it looked clumsy, he barely evaded Ruri's first round of attacks.
Just as he was about to stabilize himself, Ruri had already slipped out of his line of sight. He felt a gust of wind behind him and turned around, only to see a leg aimed straight at his chest, sending him flying.
He was defeated in an instant.
"Damn, I thought I could hold on a little longer, but Ruri-san is indeed very strong…"
Natsuki covered his face, standing up from the ground as if he had been robbed of his dreams. A bitter and unwilling expression crossed his face. Ruri didn't acknowledge Natsuki's disappointment. After glancing at him for the last time, she lifted her chin and arrogantly walked out of the arena, not caring about Natuski any more.
"Don't be discouraged, Natsuki. You're one of the most hardworking students I've seen, and you will surely become an amazing ninja in the future. Don't take this loss seriously, as Ruri is a genius, her coming in first during the Practical is a proof of that."
Taiga Fujimura appreciated Natsuki's serious attitude in class and his love for reading. He feared that the quick defeat in this practical session might discourage him, so he came over to pat his shoulder and offered some comfort.
"I'm fine, Fujimura-sensei." Seeing Dissatisfaction on Natsuki's face and his attempts to shrug Taiga off, Taiga chose not to press further.
"That's good. Just go rest and don't think too much about it."In his eyes, Natsuki had worked hard to improve himself, and the effort he had put in was surely not known to others. To end up being defeated in two moves during a real fight must have hit him hard.
However, against a talented person like Ruri, Taiga Fujimura knew that Natsuki managing to last even one move was already impressive.To him, Ruri's strength was not much different from that of the village's lower-ranking ninjas.Natsuki's swift defeat was a natural outcome.
Natsuki walked back to his place, where Ayane nodded at him, giving her condolences, he knew back, acting out a forced grin. Just as he planned, showing that he isn't good enough to fight against Ruri was all part of his plan.
Time passed slowly, and the day ended. After quickly finishing dinner, Natsuki decided to do some training today and went to the clearing in the forest behind the school to practice with the wooden stakes, as he usually did.
Natsuki's speed was incredibly quick. As for the strength of each strike, judging by the impact against the wooden stakes, every hit he delivered was formidable. With a focused expression and steady breathing, Natsuki adjusted his breathing rhythm while striking the wooden stakes, ensuring he maintained speed and power while conserving stamina to prolong his fighting time.
While he was sweating, and decided to take a small break and drink water, he suddenly heard a sharp sound cutting through the air. A kunai flew toward him, prompting Natsuki to jump back quickly to avoid being struck.
Immediately alarmed and trying to calm his bumping heart, Natsuki looked deeper into the woods.It was now after eight at night, and only the moonlight faintly illuminated the dark forest.
A small figure emerged from the shadows, her long black hair dancing in the evening breeze. Her pitch-black pupils were exceptionally bright, and her sharp gaze made Natsuki tense up.The girl was none other than his deskmate, Ruri Uchiha.
Natsuki scratched his head and forced a relaxed smile as he spoke. The fact that this girl threw a kunai at him without warning made her lose all points with him instantly. but knowing he has to say something, he speaks up:
"Oh, it's you, Ruri-san. What brings you here so late? To be honest, I'm feeling a bit unsatisfied after being easily defeated by you today, so I came here…"
Before he could finish, Ruri coldly interrupted, "Fight me with all your strength."
"Uh? All my strength? That was my full strength earlier…"
Natsuki stuttered, seemingly confused by Ruri's words. this is getting more troublesome, how did she figure out that Natsuki didn't use his full strength, and even if she somehow did Figure out, WHY the hell would she attack him all of a sudden?
she must have some ulterior motive.
"I said, fight me with all your strength!"
"Ruri-san, what exactly do you mean…?" Seeing Natsuki hesitating and pretending not to understand, Ruri's cold expression showed a hint of impatience.
She pulled out a kunai and swiftly aimed it at Natsuki's neck.Unlike the wooden training tools from earlier, the weapon in Ruri's hand was lethal, capable of easily slicing open Natsuki's throat.What was most terrifying was the speed at which Ruri attacked; it was even faster than during their practice earlier.
Natsuki felt a sense of Danger. For the first time in his life, his life was in danger, and he was not ready to die yet.
He grabbed his own kunai and blocked Ruri's attack just in time.The two kunai clashed, creating sparks.The two pairs of silent, dark pupils pierced through the night air, locking eyes with each other, both revealing a serious demeanor.
"Ruri, are you Fucking Mad or something?" Any and all forms of formality is dropped by Natsuki. he doesn't care if she might Reveal him hiding his powers to the village, the fact that she aimed at his neck was all he needed to know-
This women CANNOT be trusted.
"Hmph!" Still as cold as ever, Ruri used her long black hair to cover herself, thrusting the kunai toward Natsuki's heart from a dangerous angle.Natsuki barely managed to block it, quickly creating a safe distance between them, his expression growing more angry.
he exhales his breath, remembering his training.
Rule 1:- Always be calm in dangerous situations. Rule 2:- Access the situation.Natsuki realized that his speed and strength were not inferior to Ruri's. However, Ruri had much more combat experience, and he understood that the gap in practical experience made his chances of winning very slim.
Fortunately, after a brief test, Ruri chose not to continue attacking. Instead, she looked at Natsuki curiously, her arrogance slightly diminishing as she asked:
"How strange. You're clearly strong, so why do you hide your strength?"
This question was hard to answer, and this just is a catalyst to piss him off even more-
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY WOULD YOU TRY TO KILL ME YOU PHYCHO WOMEN? YOU UNSTABLE MOTHERFUCKIN-" Due to me experiencing Killing intent for the first time and almost dying, my emotions are out of control, causing me to scream profanities at her.
Her expression goes from Aloof to shock, but she changes back into her aloof with an air of indifference-
"Forget it. Since I know you're hiding your strength, I've achieved my goal, so I'll leave it at that." With that, Ruri turned and walked away without looking back.
"..."
his mouth opens in shock, with him not being able to speak, gaping like a fish. What the hell just happened? Natsuki tries to think about what just happened. Somehow, Ruri Found out that he was hiding his strength, and he tried to kill him to unleash that strength.
being seen through by a child—something even the chunin-level teacher, Taiga Fujimura, hadn't noticed—Natsuki realized one thing: even if they were just kids, they were still ninjas and should not be underestimated. the fact that a 6 year old was ready to kill just so she could confirm her suspicions makes it even more clear to Natsuki-
He needs to get off this damn village as soon as possible.
THE END
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AN:- HOW DID YOU LIKE IT? THIS IS THE BIGGEST CHANGES I HAVE MADE IN THIS TRANSLATION, AND THIS IS GONAN CHANGE TYHE ENTIRETY OF THE STORY, SO STAY TUNED.