Chapter 27: Chapter 12: Sports Festival!
The academy was bustling with activity as parents and children filled the grounds. Today marked an important occasion—the first sports festival for the second-year students. Excitement and anticipation filled the air as families gathered to watch their children compete. The chatter of proud parents mixed with the laughter of the kids, all eagerly awaiting the start of the event.
Yuto, Naruko, and Hitomi stood at the center of the crowd, looking around at the sea of people. Yuto adjusted his goggles, glancing at his friends with a confident smirk.
Naruko, with a competitive glint in her eyes, stretched her arms. "Today's the day I show everyone what I'm made of!"
Hitomi, who was standing beside her, scoffed. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Usuratonkachi. You're going to trip over your own feet before you impress anyone."
Naruko shot her an annoyed look. "Oh yeah? I'll beat you in every event! Just wait!"
Yuto tuned out their usual banter, focusing on the challenge ahead. 'This is my chance to see how much stronger I've gotten,' he thought, glancing over at the pamphlet listing the day's events. 'The obstacle race, kunai throwing, A Team battle, and the final event… perfect.'
He couldn't help but feel a sense of calm despite the competitive atmosphere. He knew his abilities had progressed tremendously. The goal was simple—place in the top three, with the secret hope of taking first place. Yuto glanced at his quest screen briefly, mentally preparing himself. 'The rewards are too good to pass up. I need to focus. The only one's who are equal to me and can defeat me are these two. I will have to give my all to win this.'
Naruko and Hitomi continued to argue, their competitive energy palpable as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, neither willing to back down. Yuto rolled his eyes at them but couldn't help feeling a sense of camaraderie as the trio stood together. They had been through a lot, and today, they were going to push themselves even further against each other.
Iruka stood at the front of the crowd, microphone in hand, his voice booming across the academy grounds. "Parents, please make your way to the benches outside the fence, and students, line up for the first event," he directed, ushering the parents away with supportive words to their kids.
The students began to organize themselves into a line, murmurs of excitement and nervous energy filling the air. Iruka then explained the rules. "The obstacle race will start here at the academy grounds. You'll head through the forest to Training Ground 1, make your way around the lake, and return to the academy. The first to cross the finish line will win."
Yuto glanced at Naruko and Hitomi. "Good luck," he said calmly.
"Same to you," Naruko grinned, her eyes narrowing as she turned to Hitomi. "But you're going down, Teme."
Hitomi's gaze sharpened, sparks practically flying between her and Naruko. "Not if I beat you first, Usuratonkachi."
Both girls glared at each other, the competition between them palpable. Yuto sighed inwardly. 'These two never change,' he thought. Still, he knew that no matter how much they argued, they were all going to give it their all today.
As Yuto's gaze shifted over to the rest of the students, he noticed Shikamaru standing lazily at the back, looking like he could fall asleep at any second. 'Must be nice to be so relaxed,' Yuto mused with a slight smile.
His attention was drawn to Hinata, who was nervously scanning the crowd. When her eyes met Yuto's, her face turned a deep shade of red, and she quickly averted her gaze, staring at the ground. 'She's always so shy,' Yuto thought, slightly puzzled by her behavior.
A slap echoed through the area as Sakura fired herself up, her eyes locked on Ino. "I won't lose to you, Ino-pig!" she yelled, recalling their bet. Ino smirked back, her confidence evident.
Ino caught Yuto's eye and waved enthusiastically. "Yuto-kun! Good luck!" she called out, her tone bright and friendly.
Yuto waved back awkwardly, feeling a little uncomfortable. 'What's with her? She's been acting like this ever since she forced me to be her friend. And is she… hitting on me? At nine?!'
Before he could dwell on it further, Iruka's voice rang out again. "Alright, everyone, get in position!"
Yuto shook off his thoughts, focusing on the task ahead as Iruka pulled out a small explosive tag to signal the start. The students tensed, muscles coiled, waiting for the bang.
As soon as the tag went off with a loud crack, they shot forward. Parents cheered from the sidelines as the students raced with all their might. But unsurprisingly, Yuto, Naruko, and Hitomi quickly pulled ahead, their feet pounding the ground as they led the pack with ease.
The obstacle race had officially begun.
As Yuto, Naruko, and Hitomi raced neck and neck through the academy and out toward Training Ground 1, they pushed themselves hard to maintain the lead. Suddenly, the ground beneath Naruko gave way, and she instinctively jumped sideways, barely avoiding a deep hole.
"Whoa!" Naruko shouted, landing on her feet. "What's with these traps?!"
Hitomi, too, narrowly escaped a similar hole by leaping forward. "Don't fall behind, Usuratonkachi!" she called, a competitive edge in her voice.
Yuto, meanwhile, sidestepped an incoming wooden trunk that had been set to trip him up. With a calm expression, he swiftly jumped onto a tree branch, his mind focused. 'Good, I can take the lead if I use the tree walking technique.'
With that thought, he began using chakra to his advantage, launching himself from tree to tree, his movements smooth and calculated. Behind him, Naruko and Hitomi noticed what he was doing.
"Yuto's cheating!" Naruko called, though it was more out of frustration than real accusation. Without wasting time, she pumped chakra into her feet, following him into the trees. "Two can play that game!"
Hitomi, not one to be left behind, did the same, her eyes gleaming. "I'll show you who's better!"
As the trio dashed through the treetops using their chakra, they left the other students far behind. The clan kids seemed somewhat impressed but still struggled to keep up, while the civilian kids began murmuring that the trio was cheating, unaware of the advanced techniques at play.
'This is my chance to get ahead,' Yuto thought, as he effortlessly kept his lead.
Yuto suddenly dodged and dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding a barrage of red paint bombs exploding in the air where he had been just moments before. 'Paint bombs? Must be to simulate bleeding,' he thought as he quickly assessed his surroundings. He pushed chakra into his legs and sprinted toward Training Ground 1, where a new set of obstacles awaited.
In front of him was a pit filled with barrels, spaced apart just enough to make it difficult to cross. Yuto knew immediately what the challenge was—if he stayed on any barrel for too long, it would spin and send him tumbling into the pit. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air, landing briefly on a barrel before propelling himself again, barely giving the barrels time to react to his weight.
Behind him, both Hitomi and Naruko followed suit. "Don't think you're leaving us behind, Yuto!" Naruko shouted as she mirrored his movements, determination written all over her face.
Hitomi, ever focused, landed gracefully on the barrels, her eyes narrowed as she maintained perfect balance. "If you fall now, it's over," she muttered to herself, leaping from barrel to barrel with ease.
'They're good,' Yuto thought, sparing a quick glance at his friends as they cleared the obstacle just as quickly as he did.
Yuto's foot suddenly slipped on one of the barrels. His sharp eyes immediately noticed it was coated in oil. 'Crap, this is bad,' he thought quickly, but his reflexes kicked in as he channeled chakra to his feet. He applied the same principles as tree walking—too little chakra and he'd fall, too much and he'd blast away. With a controlled burst, he launched himself toward the next barrel.
Behind him, Hitomi was already in action. Seeing Naruko fumble, Hitomi sprang from Naruko's shoulder to propel herself toward another barrel. Naruko's eyes flared in frustration. "Oi, Hitomi! What was that?!" she yelled, but her anger made her chakra control slip. She was blasted off her barrel, mirroring Yuto's earlier move, but quickly regained her balance, grumbling as she leaped.
Hitomi glanced back with a smirk. "Sorry, Usuratonkachi, just had to give myself an advantage."
Naruko growled, "You're so dead for that, Teme!" but her eyes showed the same competitive fire. Yuto, listening to their banter, smiled inwardly. 'These two will never change.'
As Yuto approached the next obstacle, a projectile field loomed ahead. He quickly observed the pattern of the paint bombs firing and stopping, mentally counting the intervals. 'They stop for seven seconds,' he noted, timing his movements carefully.
As the first volley of paint bombs flew through the air, he darted forward, reaching the first wooden wall just in time. He pressed his back against it, feeling the vibrations of the projectiles whizzing past. "Okay, just like the last one," he murmured to himself, his heart racing.
He repeated the process, timing his sprint with precision. Each time the paint bombs halted, he took off again, using his chakra control to maximize speed and minimize energy expenditure. He reached the third wall without getting hit, glancing back to see Hitomi using the same technique.
Naruko, however, was a different story. Instead of hiding behind the walls, she was zigzagging through the paint bombs with surprising agility, dodging them left and right. "Come on, Hitomi! Keep up!" she shouted, her voice full of determination.
Hitomi frowned slightly, her competitive nature flaring up. "I'm trying! But you can't just rely on luck, Usuratonkachi!"
Yuto chuckled, admiring Naruko's speed. 'If only she had better chakra control,' he thought, recognizing that her natural talent for speed was overshadowed by her inability to maintain it consistently. His own advantages lay in his chakra control as he used the technique he made where if he used tree walking technique and used more chakra then necessary, then he could get an explosion boost. He called it Chakra Burst. 'At least I can hold my own,' he mused, feeling a surge of determination.
As Yuto approached the last obstacle, a field brimming with spinning training dummies, he took a moment to assess the chaotic scene. The dummies swayed back and forth, their wooden fists and feet swinging wildly. "Just like the sparring with the girls," he thought, recalling how they'd moved during their training sessions.
Steeling himself, Yuto remembered the academy's taijutsu techniques. 'I can't let them get the better of me,' he resolved. As the first dummy lunged, he raised his arms and blocked the punch with a satisfying thud. Before he could celebrate, a kick came from another dummy, forcing him to jump backward.
"Focus, Yuto!" he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath. He observed the patterns, just like he had in previous sparring sessions, and began to time his movements.
With renewed confidence, he maneuvered between the dummies, blocking and dodging with calculated precision. "Just like the academy taught," he said aloud, blocking another punch while deftly jumping over a spinning kick. He landed behind the two dummies and continued to advance steadily.
Hitomi watched Yuto for a moment, analyzing his movements. "That's it! If I can just mimic him…" she thought, quickly adopting his technique. She moved with purpose, blocking a punch and jumping gracefully out of the way of a kick, following closely behind him.
Meanwhile, Naruko was in her own world, charging headfirst into the chaos. "You think I'm scared of some wooden dummies?" she shouted defiantly, throwing punches and kicks with reckless abandon. "I won't let you beat me!" With each swing, she became increasingly frustrated at the dummies' relentless attacks, unaware of the more strategic approach her friends were taking.
"Careful, Naruko! They'll wear you out!" Yuto called out, his voice filled with concern as he glanced back, dodging another kick with ease.
"I'll show you!" Naruko shouted back, her determination shining through as she powered on, the thrill of competition fueling her every move.
The other students passed the projectile race just in time to see the monster trio pass the last obstacle.Yuto focused intently as he approached the lake, he saw the stone tiles in the lake bobbing rhythmically up and down. He felt the adrenaline surge through him as he took a deep breath, his heart racing. "I need to be quick," he thought, eyes locked on the first tile.
With a powerful leap, he landed on the first stone just as it began to sink. He immediately pushed off, jumping onto the second tile, feeling the cold breeze against his skin. "Keep going, Yuto!" he encouraged himself.
Behind him, Hitomi was close on his heels, her determination palpable. "I can't let him get too far ahead!" she thought, pushing her legs harder.
Suddenly, Naruko arrived, fueled by fierce resolve. "I'm not losing to you two!" she shouted, her chakra bursting around her legs. With a burst of speed, she shot past Hitomi, determined to catch Yuto. "Teme! You better watch out!"
Hitomi's eyes widened in surprise as Naruko used the same explosive chakra technique she had in the barrel obstacle. "Where are you going, Usuratonkachi?" Hitomi called after her, but the blonde was already sprinting ahead, intent on taking the lead.
Yuto could hear Naruko gaining on him. "She's not going to give up that easily," he thought, a mixture of admiration and exasperation filling him. "I have to maintain my speed!"
With each jump, the tiles wobbled precariously beneath him, but Yuto's focus sharpened. He could see the finish line approaching, the cheers of the crowd fueling his resolve. "I'm almost there!" he thought, feeling a surge of energy as he landed on the final tile.
Just as he leaped toward the shore, he glanced back and saw Hitomi and Naruko in hot pursuit, both tied together as they looked at yuto. "This is going to be close!" he thought, the excitement propelling him forward as he raced toward victory.
Yuto felt the surge of adrenaline as he noticed Hitomi and Naruko closing in beside him. "It's now or never!" he thought, determination flooding his veins. As they approached the finish line, he poured every ounce of chakra into his legs, launching himself forward. He reached out, fingers brushing against the tape, while Hitomi and Naruko landed beside him in a tie.
The trio tumbled to the ground, panting heavily, the cheers from the crowd echoing in their ears. Yuto glanced at his friends, and they erupted into laughter, the thrill of the race overwhelming them.
"I can't believe we did it!" Yuto exclaimed, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Of course we did! You're just lucky I wasn't a second faster!" Naruko shot back playfully, sticking her tongue out.
Hitomi added with a chuckle, "Next time, I'll definitely win!"
Iruka's voice boomed through the excitement, declaring, "Yuto takes first place, while Naruko and Hitomi are tied for second!"
As the crowd cheered, Yuto noticed a few civilians glancing at Naruko with conflicted expressions. He frowned slightly but quickly turned back to his friends. In this moment of victory, nothing else mattered—only the laughter and camaraderie shared between them.
(Pls give me some power stones!)
(Find out next time on Naruto:Eye system)