Infected by Chizhao's burning fighting spirit, Naruto nodded heavily, cheering for her:
"Go Chizhao! Go for it!"
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Chizhao and Sasuke arrived at the designated spot for the mini-test.
Sasuke looked at Chizhao provocatively, toying with a Shuriken in his hand:
"Finally, I can compete against you."
Chizhao glanced at the crowd, noticing the rookie trio among them, and a polite smile touched her lips.
"Then I'm honored to have been remembered by you for so long."
Sasuke's mouth drooped, having been provoked in return, and he 'tsk'ed' in displeasure.
Mini-test begins!
Almost at the same moment the words fell, Sasuke threw one Shuriken, then immediately pulled out two more from his leg pouch, throwing them with perfect form.
During this, the three Shuriken collided, using each other for leverage, and successively embedded themselves in the center of the target.
Immediately, cheers from his fangirls erupted.
"I advise you to give up early, lest you make a fool of yourself."
Sasuke stood with his hands in his pockets, an arrogant expression on his face, glancing at Chizhao disdainfully, ready to leave with a flourish.
However, just as he turned, four sounds of objects embedding into the target came from behind him.
Among the students watching, gasps of surprise broke out again.
"Four bullseyes... so amazing..."
"That girl actually got one more than Sasuke..."
"Hahaha, it seems that Uchiha kid has met his match."
Naruto stood excitedly outside the field, loudly cheering for Chizhao. He didn't forget to make a face at Sasuke, deliberately trying to annoy him.
Iruka also praised the scene repeatedly.
He looked at the Shuriken on the target and shouted to the crowd:
"Shiratori Chichao, Uchiha Sasuke have completed the test, scores..."
"Wait a moment!"
Before Iruka could finish his announcement, he was loudly stopped by Sasuke.
The target, which originally had three Shuriken, suddenly had two more.
The atmosphere of the test immediately became heated.
"What?! Five Shuriken! Is that even possible?"
"As expected of Sasuke! So cool!"
Shikamaru listened to the exclamations from the bustling crowd, pressing his temples in annoyance:
"This mini-test is such a pain."
Then his gaze involuntarily turned to Chizhao, watching her next move.
"I underestimated you, but what will you do next..."
Facing Sasuke's disdainful gaze, Chizhao didn't care in the slightest.
She had endured Jiraiya's devilish training; this was child's play to her.
However, winning against such an arrogant Sasuke right now might bring unnecessary trouble.
"Dead-last's best friend?"
Upon hearing this, Chizhao, who had originally planned to stop, was provoked by the remark and changed her mind at the last minute.
She frowned, displaying an aura unbefitting a child, and her tone was firm:
"Naruto is not a dead-last."
As soon as her words fell, Chizhao drew two Shuriken from her leg pouch and threw them at an incredibly fast speed.
The two Shuriken landed precisely in the bullseye; at this point, the target already had six Shuriken embedded.
Sasuke snorted, naturally unwilling to be outdone, and aiming at the bullseye, he rapidly threw his Shuriken.
Immediately, their competition entered a white-hot stage.
The other students around them were dumbfounded by this over-the-top duel between elementary schoolers; even Iruka forgot that this was just a regular mini-test.
"Boom!"
The two targets, filled with Shuriken, shattered under everyone's gaze.
After a brief silence, an astonishing cheer erupted from the surroundings.
Iruka's mouth twitched as he looked at the mess on the ground, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
He didn't expect this batch of students to be so formidable; when they grew up, wouldn't they all be Kage-level strength?
He cleared his throat and loudly announced the results of this "epoch-making battle."
"Shiratori Chichao, Uchiha Sasuke, tied for first place with 10 points!!"
Once again, the entire field erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
As for why it was 10 points, it was because this elementary school test only had a maximum of 10 points.
Sasuke, panting, looked at the mess in front of him and gave the girl beside him a meaningful glance:
"Next time, we'll definitely decide a winner!"
With that, he huffily put his hands in his pockets and, surrounded by many girls, left the scene.
This kid, still holding a grudge, huh.
"Chizhao, you're amazing! You actually tied with that arrogant Sasuke for first place! That's incredible!"
Naruto suddenly came over, cheering with exaggerated gestures, seeming even happier than she was.
"That was truly amazing, please have these potato chips, to celebrate your excellent results!"
Chizhao politely declined the potato chips Choji offered and saw Shikamaru slowly walking over.
"Although it's troublesome, at least the results are good; you're quite capable."
Chizhao scratched her head awkwardly, when suddenly Sakura pounced, hugging Chizhao tightly. Her cute little face was filled with admiration, and she unconsciously leaned closer to Chizhao.
"Hey, hey, Chizhao, you're so amazing, you actually tied with Sasuke-kun! Can you teach me! Please teach me!"
Before Chizhao could respond, Ino, like a little adult, emerged from behind Sakura, grabbed Sakura's collar, and pulled her off Chizhao.
Ino put her hands on her hips and said grumpily:
"I say, Sakura, if you want to become strong, you need to rely on yourself! Chizhao must have gone through extremely rigorous training to become so outstanding!"
Chizhao, whose heart was touched, looked at Ino with gratitude.
Oh my goodness, Ino is practically a big sister who understands me! She spoke right to my heart!
"Uh... that... Chi... Chizhao..."
Just as Chizhao was overwhelmed with emotion by Ino's words, a faint voice from behind her made her almost think she was hallucinating.
She turned around and saw the small Hinata standing a meter away from her, shyly looking at the ground, nervously fiddling with the hem of her clothes.
"Hinata! Are you also here to congratulate me?"
Chizhao took a step forward to Hinata, looking at her tomato-like cheeks, and patiently waited for her to finish her next sentence:
"Yes... yes... Chizhao is very... amazing... so..."
"Hey! Chizhao! The test is over, let's go eat lunch!"
Hinata was interrupted by Naruto's shout from behind. She shyly buried her head even lower, nervously fidgeting with her fingers, her eyes flustered.
Oh, why is this little girl so shy?
Sunlight streamed down as Chizhao took Hinata's hand and slowly walked towards the crowd.
Her steps were light, and a brilliant smile bloomed on her face:
"Let's go, let's eat together, we can chat slowly!"
Hinata looked at Chizhao's gentle smile in front of her, leading her towards the other classmates, and her heart suddenly became nervous again.
"Don't worry, everyone is very nice! I'm here!"
Her voice was soft and warm, like a spring breeze caressing Hinata's heart, making her feel incredibly comfortable.
Hinata nodded slightly, she looked up at Chizhao's back.
The sunlight shone on her, as if draping her in a golden cloak, making her look so dazzling.
And Sasuke, who saw all of this from a distance, revealed a complex emotion in his eyes.
He glanced around, then stubbornly lowered his eyelids, disappearing alone from everyone's sight.