"What happened? Is it my turn?" Sasuke asked calmly, pushing himself off the tree trunk with a slight frown of confusion.
A tick mark formed on Iruka's forehead, but he suppressed his irritation in front of the other classes and said lightly, "Yes, it's your turn. Hurry up."
"…Oh."
Sasuke scratched the back of his neck and strode to the center of the training field with his usual cool detachment.
At that moment, Neji Hyuga from the parallel class walked into the arena, calmly taking his place opposite Sasuke.
"Neji, are you planning to spar with Sasuke Uchiha?" Mizuki asked, half in surprise and half in curiosity.
"Yeah," Neji replied without looking back, his gaze locked firmly on Sasuke.
Sasuke sensed Neji's intensity and found it strange. They had only met briefly two days ago, and he didn't recall doing anything to provoke the Hyuga.
Whatever. I'll deal with it.
"Ready!" Iruka's command came crisply as both Sasuke and Neji raised one hand to their chest in the academy's traditional sign of preparation, resembling a half-formed "tiger" seal.
Whispers came from the nearby students, still mocking Sasuke under their breath, unaware of his real abilities. But Sasuke didn't react—his mind was already in combat mode.
"Begin!"
Iruka swung his arm down. Neji lunged instantly, aiming his right palm at Sasuke's shoulder—the Hyuga clan's signature Gentle Fist technique targeting tenketsu points.
Though Sasuke had no intention of revealing too much, his taijutsu had been polished under the Uchiha's strict clan regimen and real-life training. Neji wouldn't find it easy.
Smack!
Sasuke intercepted Neji's hand mid-air and fluidly spun into a high-speed right kick aimed at Neji's midsection.
Neji sensed the danger, abandoned the palm strike, and leapt back with Hyuga agility.
"You're fighting like you've got a personal score to settle," Sasuke said, tilting his head slightly. "Did I offend you somehow?"
"There's no personal grudge between us," Neji replied flatly, slowly raising his arms into a refined Gentle Fist stance. "But…"
Mizuki smiled off to the side. The joint training session was his idea—to showcase his class's top student in front of Iruka.
"…Because of you," Neji continued, "Lady Hinata is being forced to train harder every single day. I'm here to defeat you. To prove to Clan Head Hiashi that you're not someone she needs to chase. Hinata doesn't need to protect herself with you around—I'll protect her."
"Byakugan, activate!"
Veins bulged around Neji's eyes as the dojutsu awakened, revealing the intricate chakra pathway system beneath the skin.
The students watching gasped, especially those familiar with the Hyuga clan's legendary Byakugan.
Hinata, in Iruka's class, was frozen in place. Her heart beat faster hearing Neji's words.
"N-Nii-san… Good luck," she said softly, then quickly added, "You too, Sasuke."
Although Hinata's voice was barely above a whisper, Neji caught it clearly. He smiled faintly at her before returning his focus to Sasuke.
Now Sasuke understood Neji's hostility. In the canon timeline, Neji had once resented Hinata due to family tensions surrounding the main and branch families. But with Hizashi Hyuga (Neji's father) still alive—thanks to a different outcome during the Cloud incident—Neji had grown closer to Hinata instead of resenting her. Perhaps… even overprotective.
So that's why.
Sasuke's lips curved in a barely-there smirk. "So Hiashi's turned Hinata's training into punishment. Harsh, even for a clan head."
"Gentle Fist Style—Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!"
Neji raised one hand high while extending the other forward, darting in like a blur of white robes. His palms struck like a relentless wave of chakra-imbued precision attacks.
Iruka instinctively stepped forward to intervene, but Mizuki blocked him.
"Iruka-sensei, relax. Neither of them has surrendered. You'd ruin a good hands-on combat drill if you stop them now."
Iruka struggled for a moment but paused as he saw how the fight was progressing.
Sasuke, undeterred by the flurry of attacks, avoided each palm with seamless counters, his hands appearing to leave afterimages.
Neji's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth and pressed harder.
"Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms!"
He moved faster, trying to strike sixteen precise tenketsu in one smooth sequence. But every single attempt was parried, sidestepped, or blocked.
Impossible.
Neji stared in disbelief as Sasuke caught his arm mid-strike. A single bead of sweat fell from his brow to the ground. Not one of his strikes had landed.
"You care about your cousin. That's fine," Sasuke said calmly. "But if Hinata's trying to get stronger for her own sake, that's not something you need to interfere with. You won't always be there to protect her."
With that, Sasuke twisted Neji's arm slightly, swept his legs with a low kick, and sent him crashing to the dirt.
Neji lay stunned for a moment, thinking over Sasuke's words. When he finally looked up, Sasuke was already extending a hand.
After a pause, Neji took it. Sasuke pulled him up with a firm grip.
"The winner—Uchiha Sasuke! The match is over. Both sides, form the Seal of Reconciliation."
Iruka smiled as he watched the mutual respect between the two elite students. It wasn't just the strength that moved him—it was the maturity.
Mizuki's expression, meanwhile, had soured. He had wanted Neji to humiliate Sasuke in front of Iruka. But the match had gone completely the other way—Neji was shut down with nothing but pure taijutsu. No Sharingan, no flashy ninjutsu—just skill.
Still, Mizuki held in his frustration. He couldn't afford to offend either of these rising stars.
After performing the reconciliation seal, Neji walked back toward his class, deep in thought. Sasuke returned to the tree and leaned against it coolly, unaffected.
The classmates who had earlier mocked Sasuke now kept their heads down. Some avoided his gaze. Their laughter had stemmed from a belief that Sasuke, as a surviving Uchiha, must be arrogant but not truly strong.
But now, having witnessed firsthand the way he handled Neji—who had activated the Byakugan and used Gentle Fist with full force—no one dared to speak ill of him anymore.
"Heh. Iruka-sensei, your class is full of hidden talents," Mizuki said with a forced chuckle. "Looks like you've been teaching them well."
Iruka didn't catch the sarcasm. He simply smiled and replied, "The school year's just begun. I just got lucky to have such capable students."
Corrected:
*Kurozawa Ren is Sasuke*