Chapter 30: I, Uchiha Sasuke, Acknowledge You as the Strongest
Silence. Silence was tonight's Cambridge.
Uchiha Sasuke stood frozen in place, shoulders trembling slightly. Clearly, his heart was experiencing intense struggle. He tried opening his mouth several times, but his throat seemed blocked, unable to produce sound.
Uchiha Itachi stood to the side without speaking, only quietly watching him, waiting for him to make his own decision.
Time passed minute by minute. Sasuke remained silent. Watching this awkward display, Hyuga Kiyonari suddenly felt a mischievous impulse surge through his heart.
"Sasuke," Kiyonari deliberately adopted a comforting tone, "feeling embarrassed is fine. After all, it was just a verbal agreement—we can pretend it doesn't count."
He paused, continuing. "Besides, honestly, I don't really care about this wager. You don't need to take it too seriously."
"What do you mean?" Hearing this, Sasuke ground his teeth audibly. "Are you looking down on me?"
Kiyonari quickly waved his hands. "No, no. I just think..."
"Enough!"
Sasuke rudely interrupted Kiyonari's words. "I, Uchiha Sasuke, am not someone who reneges on debts! Accepting defeat when losing a wager is perfectly natural!"
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, face flushing crimson. Then, under Hyuga Kiyonari's extremely anticipatory gaze, Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he shouted with all his might:
"In the matter of archery, I, Uchiha Sasuke, acknowledge you as the strongest!"
The voice reverberated through the training ground like exploding thunder, startling birds roosting in the forest.
After shouting that sentence, Sasuke seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He suddenly crouched down, burying his face deeply in the crook of his arm. From the bit of visible profile, he'd already turned into a ripe tomato.
"Sasuke, you..."
Kiyonari suppressed his laughter, preparing to say something comforting, when laughter suddenly emerged from nearby bushes.
Sasuke's body instantly stiffened. He whipped his head around, eyes sharply fixed on the bushes.
"Who's there!" His voice carried some anger and... mortification.
"Come out," Uchiha Itachi said calmly. "Hiding and watching isn't a good habit."
Rustling sounds came from the bushes. Then two girls pushed aside the foliage and emerged.
One was a long-haired blonde girl with an embarrassed smile on her face. The other was a short-haired pink girl with a butterfly-like hair ornament, head lowered as she hid behind.
Hyuga Kiyonari recognized them—Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.
Ino brushed grass from her clothes, laughing awkwardly. "Um... sorry, sorry. We weren't deliberately spying. Just passing by and saw you competing, couldn't help stopping to watch for a bit."
Sasuke's expression grew even uglier, eyes nearly spewing fire.
"You... how much did you hear?" Sasuke asked word by word.
"Hear what? We didn't hear anything." Ino blinked, but the laughter she couldn't suppress still betrayed her.
Sakura hid behind Ino but kept sneaking glances at Sasuke. Though Sasuke's current expression was frightening, Sakura found him even more handsome.
This cold side really stirred the maiden's heart.
"Alright, Sasuke." Itachi had no choice but to step forward with a few comforting words.
Ino smiled, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Kiyonari and Sasuke, excitement flashing in her eyes.
They're both so handsome... one's a cool beauty, the other's a gentle hottie. If they both chased me together...
Thinking this, Ino unconsciously covered her face, sinking into an inexplicably embarrassed state. Her cheeks flushed as her lips couldn't help curving upward.
Sakura noticed Ino acting strangely and asked in confusion. "Ino, what's wrong?"
Ino immediately snapped out of her fantasy, quickly waving her hands. "Noth-nothing! Just suddenly thought of something."
For Sasuke, Itachi's words still carried weight. He just stopped being angry, but couldn't say he looked favorably on these two suddenly appearing girls.
He disliked being watched, especially when they'd overheard what he'd just... If only he hadn't suggested any competition!
"You two, leave here quickly." Sasuke coldly drove them away.
Hearing Sasuke's words, loss welled up in Sakura's heart, but she still obediently nodded, preparing to leave. But Ino wasn't so compliant—she pulled Sakura's hand and instead walked toward them.
"Wait, Ino!" Sakura panicked slightly. "Let's just leave..."
"Leave what?" Ino said with a smile. "I still want to get to know them."
She pulled Sakura before the three of them. "Hello, I'm Yamanaka Ino. This is my friend, Haruno Sakura."
Sakura got dragged over by Ino but didn't dare look at them, only saying quietly, "H-hello."
Sasuke didn't acknowledge them, clearly still dwelling on earlier.
"I'm Hyuga Kiyonari."
"I'm Uchiha Itachi. This is my younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke." Itachi patted Sasuke's shoulder. "You all look about the same age. Perhaps... you'll be in the same class when you start school."
Ino's eyes instantly brightened, exclaiming delightedly, "That would be wonderful!"
Simultaneously, she didn't forget to help her bestie, inconspicuously tugging Sakura's hand.
Then Sakura took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and looked toward Sasuke. "Um... Sasuke-kun, your archery is amazing."
Hearing this, discomfort flashed across Sasuke's face as he turned away. "Still not enough. I lost to Hyuga Kiyonari."
Though Sasuke's attitude remained cold, Sakura's heart sweetened from his response.
Hyuga Kiyonari glimpsed Sakura's secretly pleased expression, could almost guess what she was thinking, and imperceptibly stepped back half a pace.
Sure enough, at this age Sakura... her emotional intelligence was practically identical to those guys who deeply believed "if the goddess hasn't blocked me, she must like me." No wonder she could say that classic line during Team Seven days.
Fortunately... she didn't take a liking to me. Scary.
Kiyonari immediately changed topics. "Itachi-senpai, can you teach me Shadow Clone Jutsu now?"
Uchiha Itachi nodded slightly. "Shadow Clone Jutsu only requires the Ram seal. The technique's difficulty lies in distributing chakra. For each shadow clone created, chakra must be evenly divided... As a Hyuga clan member, precise chakra control shouldn't be difficult for you. You just need more practice. I'll demonstrate now."
"What about Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Kiyonari asked somewhat curiously. "Since regular Shadow Clone Jutsu can also create multiple clones, why does a separate Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu exist?"
Uchiha Itachi explained. "Shadow Clone Jutsu first divides chakra evenly, then creates corporeal clones. Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu eliminates the chakra division process."
"If the user's chakra is only enough to produce three shadow clones, attempting to create a fourth will fail. But Multiple Shadow Clone lifts this restriction—clone numbers only follow intent. Once exceeding the user's tolerance range, it causes chakra depletion or even overdraft."
"Therefore, this technique is classified as forbidden."
***
20+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces