Chapter 7: Fighting Sasuke
The next morning, sunlight bathed the land.
Konoha Village looked full of vitality under the golden rays, like a vigorous young man brimming with life.
At the Ninja Academy.
"Huh? Naruto, what are you doing here?"
Shikamaru walked in with his hands behind his head, looking lazy as ever.
"I passed the exam! I'm a real ninja now!" Naruto declared proudly, pointing at the headband on his forehead.
"Wow! Mingyu's here! Mingyu's here!"
A chorus of excited squeals erupted. Sakura, Ino, and several other girls stared with sparkling eyes as Mingyu walked through the door.
Mingyu could only smile awkwardly. Being too handsome is such a pain sometimes.
"Big Brother Mingyu! I heard you got first place in the exam yesterday. You're so amazing!" Sakura said, eyes shining.
"Of course! Big Brother Mingyu is the best! I heard the examiner was completely shocked. As expected of my Onii-chan!" Ino added happily.
"Uh… it was just luck. Pure luck," Mingyu replied with an embarrassed laugh as he walked in.
Seeing Naruto, he smiled and said, "Congratulations, Naruto. You're a ninja now too."
"Thanks, Mingyu. If it weren't for what you said yesterday, I…"
If Mingyu hadn't encouraged him, Naruto might have lost all his motivation and become someone who hated the world. It was Mingyu's recognition that had given him back his confidence.
"It was all because of you. I didn't do much. No matter what, as long as you believe in yourself, you'll definitely succeed!"
The rest of the class watched the two of them with puzzled expressions.
What's going on between these two?
While everyone else was in high spirits, Sasuke sat with a dark, unhappy face. Ever since he heard that Mingyu had taken first place yesterday, he hadn't slept well all night.
"Mingyu, I challenge you!"
Uchiha Sasuke stood up and declared directly.
"Hmm?"
Mingyu was slightly surprised, but he quickly understood. He knew Sasuke's personality well — proud and arrogant. Since Mingyu had outperformed him in the exam, Sasuke was clearly furious.
In Sasuke's mind, he should have been number one.
"Sasuke, what are you doing? Why are you challenging Mingyu?" Sakura said, clearly annoyed.
"Yeah! How could you possibly be a match for Big Brother Mingyu?"
"You're overestimating yourself if you think you can fight him."
The girls immediately started protesting. In their eyes, Mingyu was practically a god. How could they let Sasuke challenge him?
"Hmph! Do you dare or not?" Sasuke ignored them, staring coldly at Mingyu.
To be honest, he was extremely unhappy. As the genius of the Uchiha clan, he refused to let anyone surpass him.
"Why wouldn't I?" Mingyu nodded.
He knew that with Sasuke's stubborn personality, if he refused today, the boy would keep bothering him. Besides, with his current strength, defeating Sasuke — who hadn't even awakened his Sharingan yet — would be effortless.
"Fine!"
Sasuke shouted and immediately jumped down to the open space below the podium.
"Go for it, Big Brother Mingyu! Beat Sasuke into a pulp!"
"Uh…"
Mingyu was speechless. Wait, isn't "Second Pillar" my private nickname for him? How did they find out?
Once they were facing each other, Mingyu gave a polite bow.
"Please."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment the words left his mouth, Sasuke moved. Several kunai appeared in his hands and flew toward Mingyu as he charged forward.
"Want close combat?"
Mingyu smiled faintly. With a flick of his right hand, a dagger appeared in his grip.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He effortlessly blocked all the kunai, then rushed toward Sasuke.
His speed was at least half again as fast as Sasuke's.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two figures clashed repeatedly in the air.
After just a few exchanges, Sasuke's expression changed drastically. Every time he struck, it felt like hitting a steel plate. His hands were going numb from the impact, while Mingyu looked completely unaffected.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Realizing he was losing in taijutsu, Sasuke switched to ninjutsu. A massive fireball erupted from his mouth and roared toward Mingyu.
Mingyu didn't panic at all.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade Dance!"
Countless wind blades materialized in the air and slammed into the fireball. The wind blades were far too powerful — the fireball was torn apart in seconds, and the remaining blades shot straight toward Sasuke.
"What?!"
Sasuke's face filled with terror. He felt like he was about to be shredded by the wind blades. His whole body began to tremble.
"What are you two doing?!"
At that critical moment, a furious shout rang out. Iruka stormed into the classroom.
"It's nothing. We were just having a friendly spar," Mingyu said casually. With a wave of his hand, the wind blades vanished. He then returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.
Sasuke, on the other hand, stood frozen in place, fists clenched tightly, his body shaking with unwillingness and frustration.
He had lost.
And he had lost miserably.
He was unwilling to accept it, but the truth was right in front of him.
Iruka sighed softly as he looked at Sasuke, then turned to Mingyu.
"Alright, from today onward, you have all graduated from the academy. You will now be assigned to proper teams with jonin instructors. Based on your abilities, the school has decided to form teams of three."
"Teams of three?"
Everyone looked surprised. Sakura, Ino, and especially Hinata all glanced toward Mingyu with hopeful eyes.
If only I could be in the same team as him…
Mingyu didn't really care which team he got. In the end, cultivation depended mostly on himself. Who taught him didn't matter much.
Iruka began announcing the teams. The first few were normal names, until he reached Team 7.
Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke.
"Ugh, why am I with them?" Sakura muttered in disappointment.
Naruto, however, looked overjoyed — he was in the same team as Sakura. Sasuke, meanwhile, never took his eyes off Mingyu.
Team 8: Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino.
"I'm not in the same team as Big Brother Mingyu…" Hinata said, visibly disappointed.
Mingyu felt a little disappointed too. He had hoped to be grouped with Hinata.
Teams 9 and 10 were announced next, but Mingyu's name still hadn't appeared. The entire class grew more and more surprised.
All the other students had been assigned. Only Mingyu was left standing alone.
"Iruka-sensei, you haven't assigned Mingyu yet!" Naruto asked, confused.
Everyone turned to look at Iruka.
"Ahem… Due to Mingyu's special circumstances, the school has made different arrangements for him. Class dismissed for now. Mingyu, come with me."