Konoha Ninja School, playground.
Tanaka's class was split into pairs for testing. To everyone's immense relief, Youyu wasn't participating in any actual combat tests. The thought of facing him in a sparring match was terrifying; the last thing any of them wanted was to risk Youyu taking one of his drunken swipes at them.
After all, this was the same Youyu who had severely injured Kakashi Hatake, once hailed as one of Konoha's strongest geniuses and inheritor of the "Konoha White Fang" technique. Even Sarutobi Asuma, the Hokage's own son, had barely escaped a similar fate. Compared to them, the rest of the students felt like mere side characters in a nightmare where Youyu was the big, looming threat.
With Youyu sitting this one out, the test progressed smoothly, students taking their turns without fear. Soon enough, the first round of testing came to an end.
"Smack-smack—" Tanaka clapped his hands, bringing the students' attention back to him. "Alright, the first round is over. Now we'll begin the second round of testing," he announced, taking out a new score sheet.
"Wait… a second round?" one student whispered, looking around in confusion.
"Why is there another round? My older brother never mentioned a second test like this!" another protested, dread settling in their hearts.
Tanaka quickly cut through the chatter. "The second round is the ring battle. One student will guard the ring, and everyone else will challenge them."
As he looked down at the list, Tanaka's face twitched. He could already feel the wave of fear coming.
"The defender in this test will be… Youyu!"
The playground fell silent. A light breeze blew through, and in the quiet, there was only the sound of Youyu taking a drink.
"Ha—did someone call me?" Youyu exhaled, the faint smell of sake hanging in the air as he looked around in confusion.
Kurenai's eyes sparkled with admiration as Rin leaned over to explain the situation to Youyu.
"Are you kidding?" one student muttered, fear evident in his eyes. "We're supposed to challenge Youyu?"
"That's basically a death sentence!" another whispered, wiping the sweat forming on his brow.
Tanaka sighed to himself. Of course, no one wanted to face Youyu. If he had to go up against the boy himself, he wouldn't dare either. Two years ago, Youyu had seriously injured a fellow teacher; who knew how strong he was now? And to think that anyone could expect a drunken Youyu to hold back was wishful thinking.
Tanaka was about to announce a possible alternative when a voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Wait a moment! I'll challenge Youyu!"
Everyone turned, eyes wide with shock, as they saw Uchiha Obito glaring defiantly at Youyu, his Sharingan activated.
"Huh? Obito's going to challenge Youyu?"