Chapter 41 Ah, I won
"This is Sasuke's 37th attempt to challenge Naruto."
Hinata spoke softly to the two girls who had fallen silent, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
How could that be?
Ino covered her mouth, looking at the blond figure with some shock.
While Naruto is indeed quite strong, it's not like Sasuke never won in the first 36 matches, right?
Sakura then remembered what her parents had said.
"Sakura, be careful of the boy with yellow hair and blue eyes. He is the evil nine-tailed fox in disguise."
Just then, Naruto turned around and waved to Hinata, indicating that he would do his best.
That face with fox whiskers came into Sakura's view once again.
"Because he is number nine..."
Sakura hadn't finished speaking when Ino covered her mouth.
"Ah! Sasuke, Ganbatte!"
Ino covered Sakura's mouth while leading her back to their original spot.
What are you doing?
Sakura glared at Ino with displeasure, completely unaware that Ino was actually helping her.
Are you trying to say that Naruto is the Nine-Tailed Fox?
Ino asked Sakura earnestly, her eyes fixed on Sakura's face.
Sakura turned her head away.
"Otherwise what?"
Ino rubbed her forehead, thinking how could she have such a foolish best friend? What a tragedy.
"First of all, Naruto is not the Nine-Tailed Fox. No matter what you think, you absolutely cannot say it out loud, or I will break off all ties with you."
Ino turned Sakura's head back and said in a serious tone.
Sakura felt a little wronged.
She had wanted to share with everyone why Naruto was so strong, but now even her best friend was scolding her.
A light mist appeared over her eyes.
"Oh dear, I may have been a little harsh, but you absolutely must not forget this."
Ino watched her best friend get upset again and felt speechless, but there was nothing she could do; she had to accept the friend she had chosen.
"Think about it, those were all Naruto's friends over there, and even you know about the rumors in the village that Naruto is the Nine-Tailed Fox. How could they not know?"
"Besides, even if Naruto really is the Nine-Tailed Fox, he's still our classmate. If the villagers are attacking him because of that, we can't afford to step on their landmine."
Ino's words gradually comforted Sakura, but she was still aggrieved. She nodded and then shouted in Sasuke's direction.
"Sasuke-kun, keep it up! You're the best!"
Ino's lips twitched slightly, and she joined in the cheering.
...
The center of the training field.
Sasuke gritted his teeth in disdain as he heard Kiba's cheers, while Naruto patted his head with a more pleased expression.
"Hey, Sasuke, kiba's cheering me on!"
"Words of encouragement that are meaningless and tedious."
Sasuke turned his head away, no longer looking at Naruto's smug face.
When Ino and Sakura cheered, Sasuke's lips unconsciously curled into a smile, and he put his hands in his pockets.
"As members of the noble Uchiha clan, it is natural for us to receive congratulations from others."
With these two girls leading the way, other girls who also had feelings for Sasuke joined in.
"Sad, let's get started."
Sasuke: I can barely contain my laughter, hahahahaha.
As the two raised their shuriken and distanced themselves from the dummy, the students who had been cheering them on fell silent, all watching the scene with bated breath.
Naruto pinched the shuriken between two fingers, adjusted the angle, and controlled his strength.
With a loud bang, two wooden shuriken were plunged deep into the dummy's groin, one on each side.
All the males present, including Hashirama in the sealed space, felt a chill in their groin.
Iruka's lips twitched, unsure how to comment.
Naruto did obey; the force wasn't enough to destroy the dummy.
However, now that dummy number 4 has a large gash in its crotch, wouldn't it be indecent to continue using it?
Mannequin #4: Luckily, I don't have a gender.
Sasuke's lips curled into a smile. "Heh heh heh, such a terrible shot. What do you have to compare with me?"
He loosened his sleeve, and two wooden shuriken fell out.
Iruka was still thinking about how to deal with Dummy Number 4 when he was startled by the two extra shuriken Sasuke had thrown.
Sasuke: You didn't expect that, did you? I didn't put those two shuriken back earlier, and this is exactly what I've been waiting for!
First, he lightly flicked out two shuriken with his right hand, and then the next two shuriken directly hit the first two flying in the air.
Four shuriken, propelled in pairs with rocket-like acceleration, were thrust into the dummy's eyes.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, before Iruka could stop it.
Afterwards, Sasuke casually put his hands back in his pockets, walked to Naruto's side, and said softly.
"I...I won."
Hmm, I almost couldn't suppress my laughter. Now is not the time; there are too many people, and it would be impolite to laugh now.
Naruto nodded, accepting the fact that he had lost.
After all, it was my first time using shuriken, so it was already good enough that I hit the target. Besides, Sasuke's skills were indeed very impressive.
"Wow, that's really impressive, Sass."
Sasuke covered his mouth, pulled Naruto back the shuriken, and then led Naruto to a quiet corner.
Iruka looked at Sasuke, who was hoarding shuriken, and sighed helplessly. "Uchiha clan, they're such a headache."
"Huh? Where is Sasuke taking Naruto?"
Sakura was very curious about where they went, but she was too embarrassed to follow them, so she went with Ino to find Shikamaru to ask him what was going on.
Shikamaru peeked through his closed eyes, glanced at Sakura, and then at Ino.
Sigh, women are such a hassle.
"I don't know, why don't you ask Hinata?"
Shikamaru truly didn't know where the two had gone; the only one here who was most likely to know was Hinata.
Hinata tilted her head and thought for a moment, and the image of Sasuke thinking he had won during their 28th match flashed through her mind.
...
"Um, maybe, perhaps they went to the restroom?"
Hinata's pupils shifted to the upper right corner as she spoke somewhat guiltily.
"Huh? Didn't they go to the toilet before training?"
Choji interjected.
"Oh, maybe they drank too much water?"
Shikamaru found an excuse for Hinata, then closed his eyes and continued sunbathing.
"Oh, I see. So guys also like to take their friends to the bathroom."
Sakura nodded, and then went to practice with Ino.
Strange sounds echoed from the distant grove of trees.
"Hahahaha, hehehehe. Cough cough, yahahahahahaha!"
Sasuke clutched his stomach, laughing wildly and unrestrainedly.
"I did it! I beat you, you idiot!!!"
He laughed as he pointed at Naruto, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Sigh, this child has had a tough time too."
Hashirama wiped away his tears with a handkerchief and began to celebrate for Sasuke.
After all, over the past three years, Sasuke has relentlessly challenged himself time and time again, and even Hashirama felt sorry for him after each failure.
He finally won today! Congratulations!
Naruto looked speechless. Was it really necessary?
However, he nodded nonetheless.
"Yes, yes, you finally beat me once."
"That's great, that's great."
Kurama watched speechlessly as Hashirama was moved by the success of the human child's hard work, and didn't want to comment further.
Uchiha kids, really, why are they so stubborn?
Look, her eyes are all red from crying...
Wait, it's red from crying?
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End of this chapter...