NARUTO: Starting with Hinata

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"Only the weak talk about their fate all the time."

Shiki shook his head and said, "Strong people don't need excuses."

"What did you say?" Neji stopped, staring at him with wide eyes, "Are you saying I'm weak?"

"That's right." Shiki nodded calmly.

Hinata looked at his profile, her expression uncertain, and subconsciously grabbed the corner of his clothes.

"Weak?" Neji was stunned for a moment, then laughed angrily, "I'm not weak; in my eyes, everyone here is weak!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto burst out angrily, but Chouji quickly held him back.

"Don't be impulsive!" Shikamaru grabbed Naruto with one hand and Sasuke with the other, attempting to calm them down.

Sakura and Ino also rushed over to help, hoping to avoid a full-blown fight.

"Students from other classes are so rude!" Iruka frowned, looking displeased.

"Oh? You think my words are rude? Bring it on—I could take on ten of you!" Neji, long frustrated, finally lost his temper.

"I'm too lazy to argue. You're not even worth the effort." Shiki said, stepping toward him.

Neji sneered and unleashed a rapid strike with both palms, fast enough to slice through the air.

Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

Shiki responded with just one punch.

Fist met palm.

Crack!

A bone broke.

Neji's face went pale, sweat beading on his forehead as he was blasted backward by an overwhelming force.

Iruka stood frozen, shocked.

In an instant, he moved to catch Neji, but as he did, pain shot through his arms.

Damn it!

Iruka quickly channeled chakra to resist, but the force still made him stumble, nearly falling to the ground.

Hinata was left staring in awe, her heart pounding. It dawned on her that Shiki had been holding back significantly during their training.

---

"It's over; let's go." Shiki said, patting Hinata's head gently.

Hinata, still in shock, didn't have time to blush. By the time she processed what was happening, Shiki had already walked away.

She glanced at the unconscious Neji, hesitated, then finally followed after him.

Ino, Sakura, Kiba, and the others instinctively moved aside, allowing them to pass.

Only Naruto stood there, his body trembling with excitement. He gave a thumbs-up and said proudly, "You're worthy of being my lifelong rival!"

Sasuke looked on, feeling unnerved. It seemed to him that Shiki had grown stronger again.

With my Sharingan, can I really surpass him? At that moment, his faith in the invincibility of the Sharingan began to waver.

Shino let out a long breath, realizing that his biggest obstacle in becoming the strongest insect controller was now his own brother.

So, if he defeated an opponent before even using insects… did that still count as an insect controller?

---

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene unfold in his crystal ball, leaning in closer with a rare look of astonishment.

"He's already mastered super strength?" As the Hokage, he prided himself on his composure, but he couldn't help being surprised.

Super strength might look simple, but it's difficult to achieve, even for experienced shinobi. Tsunade herself had risen to prominence in part due to this skill.

"It was indeed the right choice to make him Tsunade's student." Sarutobi mused with a smile, feeling pleased with his decision.

Then his expression hardened, "Bring Mizuki in for questioning."

With his keen mind, he quickly pieced things together. It was likely Mizuki had influenced Shinnosuke, but they'd been unlucky enough to encounter real geniuses, leading to his failure.

Sarutobi pulled out a mission report. Recently, Mizuki's team had been on a scroll-retrieval mission, during which his companion had died under suspicious circumstances.

"How terrifying." Iruka muttered, finally regaining his senses. The indirect impact alone had almost left him humiliated.

Iruka looked at Shiki with new respect. He regretted having doubted Shiki's abilities.

A phrase echoed in his mind: "Genius is just the threshold to meet me."

---

"This concludes today's practical lesson." Iruka announced, lifting the unconscious Neji, "I'm taking him to the hospital."

After a quick check, Iruka found that, aside from a fracture, Neji wasn't seriously injured. In front of a medical ninja, he'd be back to normal within half a day.

As Iruka left, the students of both classes remained standing in stunned silence. It wasn't until Shiki turned to leave that everyone finally began to disperse.

---

"Oh my god!"

"That was insane!"

"It felt like a dream!" Voices murmured with lingering fear.

"Why?" Mizuki whispered, his eyes bloodshot. He had assumed Neji was unbeatable—then Shiki had entered the picture.

Whose protégé is this? Oh, right, Iruka's. How infuriating! Rage twisted Mizuki's face, and he wanted nothing more than to take out his anger on Iruka.

"You're under arrest, Mizuki."

Two Anbu members appeared beside him.

"Wh-what?" Mizuki stammered, trembling with fear. Did they know he'd killed his injured teammate during the mission?

"Please come with us." One of the Anbu said, taking him by the wrist.

"Wait!" Mizuki struggled, desperation filling his voice, "I've done so much for Konoha! I've bled for this village! You can't do this. I demand to see the Hokage!"

Meanwhile, Shiki and his friends reached the school gate. Shiki glanced around, noticing that most seemed lost in thought, especially Hinata and Sasuke.

He could guess what they were both thinking.

"I'll treat everyone to ramen." Shiki said with a small smile.

"Yes!" Naruto immediately shouted. Ichiraku Ramen was his favorite.

"Shiki, you worked hard today and defeated Neji again. Let me treat you this time." Ino said, coughing lightly.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but held back. She wanted to point out that defeating Neji hadn't been particularly hard for Shiki.

"It's my treat." Shiki insisted.

Shiki glanced at Hinata and spoke.

Ino noticed his subtle action.

What does that mean?

She immediately responded with a firm expression, "No!"

Shiki paused but could only nod.

Hinata's secret appetite had already been revealed to Hiashi and others, so there was no need to hide it from Ino and the rest.

Hopefully, her wallet would hold up.

But as a princess of the Yamanaka clan, it should be manageable.

At Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

Since they finished class early, the shop was empty at the moment.

"Order whatever you want. Don't be shy." Ino said generously.

"Thanks, Ino!" A light sparked in Chouji's eyes.

Ino shivered but kept calm.

As part of Ino-Shika-Cho, they ate out often, so she was well aware of Chouji's appetite.

"Hinata, don't worry." Shiki picked up a pair of chopsticks, "Neji will be fine."

He controlled his strength carefully.

Using the power of two beetles, supplemented by his natural strength, if he went full force, Neji would probably be reminiscing with Hizashi now.

"Eat as much as you want. " Shiki added, "We're all friends; it's okay."

Hinata nodded at his hint.

Ino, however, was puzzled by their conversation.

No matter how big Hinata's appetite was, could it really rival Chouji's?

"Uncle, I'll have a bowl of tonkotsu ramen." Shiki ordered.

"Me too." Ino chimed in.

Shiki glanced at her, and she smiled brightly.

This is what they call teamwork.

"Shiki." Naruto leaned over and asked, "What was that punch you used earlier?"

The others looked on with curiosity.

"That's called 'Super Strength.'" Shiki explained, "My teacher taught me."

"I've decided!" Sakura suddenly declared with determination, "I'm going to learn medical ninjutsu too!"

She wanted to heal Sasuke whenever he got hurt—and if he resisted, use her strength on him.

Now was fantasy time.

Shiki wasn't sure if Tsunade would take Sakura as her apprentice again, but he knew her medical talent was good enough to succeed even without Tsunade.

Shiki finished his bowl and set his chopsticks down, as did everyone else, except for Hinata and Chouji.

Kids usually didn't eat much.

But soon enough, questions started bubbling in their minds.

Empty bowls piled up in front of Hinata and Chouji.

Ino instinctively checked her wallet.

What now?

Seems like she didn't bring enough money....