"Hmph, even if I can't use secret techniques, it's still uncertain who'll win or lose," Faced with Tenten's provocation, Ino naturally wouldn't back down.
"Hehe, I'll let you taste how amazing my throwing technique is in a bit," Tenten scoffed disdainfully.
"Hmph!", Ino snorted lightly and ignored Tenten.
Seeing the two finally quiet down, Iruka also wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
'These young people…'
Really, comparing people only brings anger. They're already this young and starting to get jealous of each other, and he was already almost twenty without even a girlfriend.
Even Mizuki has a pretty childhood friend, after all.
Iruka could only sigh sadly in his heart.
He glanced again at the other students, "Do any of you have other questions?"
Seeing all the students shake their heads, Iruka finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He opened the roster in his hand and loudly announced.
"First match: Nara Shikamaru!"
"Versus Inuzuka Kiba!"
Inuzuka Kiba immediately jumped up in excitement, "Shikamaru, let's go!"
"What a drag~"
The two walked one after the other into the circle.
Iruka stood in the center of the circle.
"Both sides, form the Seal of Confrontation!"
The Seal of Confrontation was a rule for sparring between ninjas.
It represented that this was merely training, sparring. Not a life-or-death battle. [T/N: I know it is not entirely true but since author has written it, I won't change]
Inuzuka Kiba immediately formed the seal, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Shikamaru was sluggish, as if all his strength had been drained.
The two first tested with shuriken, then clashed with kunai, and finally, Shikamaru accidentally stepped outside the circle and lost the match.
After completing the Seal of Reconciliation, they stepped down.
The whole match didn't even last three minutes.
The audience booed for a refund.
Even Iruka, standing on the side, had his mouth twitch, 'They didn't even bother acting?'
But if they weren't anxious, there was no point in him being anxious either.
"Next group, Akimichi Choji!"
"Versus Aburame Shino!"
The two entered the circle at the same time.
In the end, Aburame Shino used Clone Technique and Substitution Technique to confuse Choji's vision, then used his passive skill "Breath Concealment" to silently press a kunai against Choji's waist.
Seeing this, Iruka nodded with satisfaction, 'Finally, someone proper.'
After the two stepped down, the next group was called up.
"Next match, Hyuga Hinata!"
"Versus Haruno Sakura!"
Hinata and Sakura, who were sitting around Aoba, stood up at the same time.
The two little girls glanced at Aoba, then walked into the white circle.
Sakura bowed slightly, her expression serious, "Hinata, even though you're strong, I won't give up easily."
Hinata was stunned for a moment. It was her first time seeing Sakura so serious. She bent slightly in return: "Me too!"
At Iruka-sensei's call, the two little girls shyly formed the Seal of Confrontation, then slowly took their stances.
"Aoba, do you think Sakura can win?", Ino scooted her little butt over to Aoba's side.
She still hoped Sakura would win since she was closer with her, but Hinata was just too strong.
"Of course not. Hinata has trained in Gentle Fist since young, and with Aoba's guidance. Sakura only learned basic Taijutsu. Hinata's definitely going to win!"
Tenten, watching Ino's actions, also leaned over.
"Aoba, what do you think?", Ino ignored Tenten and asked Aoba for his opinion.
"Hinata will win…", That was an objective fact, and Aoba couldn't deny it, "But it won't be an easy win."
"Sakura's that strong?", Tenten was a little surprised.
Aoba smiled, "You'll see soon."
BOOM!
A shockwave suddenly sounded.
It drew everyone's attention.
In the center of the field, Sakura had punched the ground.
The spot she hit, with her small fist as the center, showed spiderweb-like cracks.
Hinata had already flashed to the edge of the field, her expression serious.
'That punch… it is lucky I dodged it. Otherwise, I probably would've needed Aoba-kun's help to heal me…'
Still, this might not be a bad thing either.
"This… this is monster strength?", Ino and Tenten both looked at Aoba in confusion.
"More or less entry-level."
Sakura had only grasped the surface. If it had been a true monster punch, it wouldn't be cracks. It'd be a big hole.
But it was the result of Sakura's effort and sweat during this time.
The beginning is always hard. Once she's through the door, the rest gets easier.
The surrounding students, who were enjoying the show, were stunned at first.
Then they all started chanting together without planning it.
"Sakura!"
"Sakura!"
After watching so many Transformation and Shuriken Techniques, there was finally something explosive.
They were all amazed by Sakura's punch.
Sakura, however, bit her lip. It wasn't easy to time that punch, and Hinata still dodged it.
"Didn't expect you to be this strong, Sakura," Hinata was also surprised. After playing together for so long, she had never noticed.
Sakura exhaled deeply and smiled, "If a flower never blooms, what's the point of being one?"
Hinata's gaze softened slightly, but soon turned sharp. Veins bulged from her eyes to her face.
"Sakura, you're strong, but in this battle, the winner will be me!"
'Aoba belongs only to the strong!'
Sakura looked at the suddenly terrifying Hinata, and her gaze grew even firmer, "I won't give up!"
The two little girls clashed again.
The surrounding students began to feel a little afraid.
They didn't expect Sakura and Hinata to be such scary girls.
Even Sasuke started to understand why Aoba thought he and Hinata were on different levels.
Because his Sharingan had already told him, Hinata in her current state was strong and terrifying.
The match quickly reached a conclusion. In terms of strength and combat experience, Hinata completely overwhelmed Sakura, who was a small fry.
In the end, due to lack of chakra and no substitute jutsu, Sakura was smoothly comboed out of bounds by Hinata.
The two performed the Seal of Reconciliation, stepped down afterward.
It was Ino and Tenten's turn.
"Hinata, you did great just now," Aoba gave a thumbs-up to Hinata.
Being praised made Hinata smile shyly.
But she couldn't smile for long.
Aoba was gently patting Sakura's cherry blossom-like hair, comforting her emotions.
This was the ninja world. Even though Sakura had worked so hard and had good talent, Hinata wasn't just hardworking, she had cheats.
Sitting on the side, Hinata looked at Aoba gently comforting Sakura.
She was completely thrown off.
For a moment, she didn't know whether she had actually won… or lost.
But she didn't stay down for long. Aoba gently held her left hand.
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