Soon.
The students lined up neatly, quietly waiting for Iruka to call the names.
"To ensure fairness, we'll use a draw to decide opponents this time!"
Iruka brought out a cardboard box.
Inside were slips of paper with every student's name.
Reaching into the box's opening and fumbling around for a bit, Iruka pulled out two slips of paper.
"First match: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba!"
After Iruka's announcement, Kiba immediately stepped onto the field, ready.
Naruto, holding his head, also swaggered into the field with an arrogant stride.
"Naruto, you better take this seriously. Someone else is watching today," Kiba said earnestly.
Naruto grinned cheekily: "Hehe, no need to tell me! This Naruto-sama will definitely teach you a lesson!"
Three minutes later.
Naruto left the field with a bruised and swollen face.
"This..."
"Isn't this a bit too miserable?"
Kakashi, standing to the side with his hands in his pockets, muttered quietly.
To be honest, Kakashi had always been puzzled.
Logically, Namikaze Minato's talent shouldn't be weak.
And also…
Uzumaki Kushina was also from the Uzumaki Clan, possessing a strong bloodline.
The product of these two people should, in theory, be very strong.
But Naruto didn't seem to have inherited any talent, not even the looks.
'Even if no one guided him, he shouldn't be at this level.'
'He's just fighting completely randomly!'
"Naruto! You! Have you been slacking off on training again recently?"
Iruka was so angry he stamped his feet.
This Naruto truly made him love and hate him at the same time!
Naruto, his face swollen like a steamed bun, mumbled indistinctly: "Huh? Training? We have to train in private too?"
Kakashi: "..."
Iruka: "..."
The group of Konoha's students: "..."
"Cough! Cough!"
Iruka coughed loudly twice to ease the awkwardness.
"Next match: Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino!"
Hearing these two names, the entire line instantly erupted!
"Whoa! It's these two!"
"Good grief, this is going to be good!"
"Honestly, them fighting is way more interesting than the boys fighting!"
"I bet they'll start pulling hair later, what about you?"
"Hehe, it would be great if their clothes get torn."
A group of people, especially the boys, started discussing excitedly.
Sakura and Ino were naturally the more outgoing ones among the girls.
And they often argued over Sasuke!
Putting these two in a match together...
To be honest, even Shikamaru and the others wondered if Iruka had arranged this on purpose.
"Hey, don't go easy on me. I'm going to teach you a proper lesson in front of Sasuke!"
Sakura started with a fierce statement as soon as she entered the field.
Ino also put her hands on her hips: "Bring it on!"
Iruka walked to the middle, repeatedly and emphatically stressing to both: "Stop when appropriate. Don't go all out. No cursing. Understood?"
"Less talk! Just start already!"
Iruka: "..."
Three seconds later.
"Begin!"
Whoosh!
The moment the word fell, Sakura and Ino, standing on opposite sides of the field, immediately charged at each other.
Fists, elbows, legs...
They began an intense, fierce battle!
"This..."
"They're actually fighting better than the boys did?"
Seeing the impressive Taijutsu the two were displaying, Kakashi and the other students were stunned!
Fists meeting flesh solidly!
A proper back-and-forth!
It's way better than the earlier fight between Naruto and Kiba!
Three minutes later.
Both Sakura and Ino were marked with minor injuries.
Both were panting heavily, neither willing to yield.
"Ino-pig! I didn't expect you to be this good!" Sakura wiped a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth and shouted.
"You too! You've exceeded my expectations!" Ino also laughed arrogantly.
At the sidelines.
"Hey, Iruka, better stop them now, or they'll start pulling hair soon."
Kakashi could tell at a glance that neither of them had much Chakra left.
And probably not much strength either.
If they can't use Taijutsu and still need to decide a winner, they'll probably resort to hair-pulling and slapping.
"Alright, you two, stop! It's a draw!"
Iruka quickly stepped onto the field, ending the duel between the two.
Then the next match, and the next after that...
Over ten matches were conducted in a row, most of them quite decent.
And then...
"Uchiha Sasuke! Versus... versus Takumi!?"
After reading out this match-up, even Iruka looked a bit flustered!
The entire playground erupted once more!
"Whoa! Naruto's jinx actually came true!"
"Yeah! That crow's mouth Naruto!"
"This is bad! Takumi fighting Sasuke? Isn't that just asking for a beating?"
"Their strength isn't even on the same level!"
"Takumi has such bad luck! To actually get matched with Sasuke!"
"It's over, he's definitely going to lose miserably..."
The students discussed animatedly.
And at this moment, Takumi also looked very nervous!
Because…
Just as Choji and the others had said earlier.
Such bad luck!
For Sasuke.
After all, his strength and Sasuke's simply weren't on the same dimensional level!
"Hey, so, do you want me to go easy on you?"
Sasuke had a completely confident and relaxed attitude.
Swaggering with his hands in his pockets, he stepped onto the field.
"Uh... I think... that won't be necessary..."
Takumi didn't know how to warn Sasuke, so he could only say that.
"Tch, then I'll show you what I can do!"
Sasuke's expression immediately changed, revealing that signature 'Uchiha Young Master' look.
Resentful, arrogant, displeased...
As if someone had killed his father or something!
Both sides took their positions on the field.
Iruka walked over and sternly emphasized: "Remember, this is just a spar. Don't get serious."
Clearly, this was directed at Sasuke.
After all, as the genius of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke's strength was evident to all.
If he didn't control his strength properly, Takumi might get injured!
"Then... begin!"
The moment the word fell.
Whoosh!
Sasuke turned into a blur, instantly flashing from his original spot!
"So fast!"
"Sasuke, so cool!"
"As expected of the Uchiha Clan's genius. That speed is something we can't even hope to reach!"
"So cool, Sasuke!"
A group of boys exclaimed in admiration.
Meanwhile, the girls were practically swooning!
Sakura and Ino, watching Sasuke's movements, were almost drooling!
"So this is Uchiha Sasuke's strength?"
"Truly impressive."
Kakashi, observing from the side, couldn't help but frown slightly, offering sincere praise.
It felt like Sasuke was on a completely different level compared to the others.
...
"So, can you dodge this?"
Sasuke taunted by circling around Takumi without actually attacking.
Because Sasuke wanted to provoke Takumi, and he wanted to end the fight in one move.
However…
For Takumi, who had experienced two Fist Emperor simulated lives, one where he even became a true Fist Emperor, the current Sasuke seemed practically stationary!
His movements, and even his signature Uchiha smirk, were all clearly visible to Takumi!
"He's coming!"
Whoosh!
Sasuke's blur turned into a gust of wind, instantly lunging towards Takumi!
Then…
His fist was raised fiercely, aiming straight for Takumi's jaw!
However, the next second…
Thud!
Sasuke's fist was caught mid-air by Takumi.
Takumi's face was calm, as if nothing had happened.
But it was different for Sasuke.
That punch felt like he had hit a solid rock!
His fist was in excruciating pain!
He couldn't help but let out a sharp cry of pain!
"Hiss~~~~ Ah!!!"
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER