Hikari studied the tense Sasuke, unable to figure out what his deal was.
Was he still resentful?
Did he want a rematch?
Unable to make sense of the situation—and needing to grab some leaves downstairs anyway—she decided to see what he was up to.
"Fine."
Seeing Hikari agree, Sasuke visibly relaxed.
The two then left the classroom one after the other.
Naruto's gaze lingered on Hikari's retreating figure, a strange, unidentifiable emotion churning inside him. It felt like something that belonged to him had been snatched away by someone he disliked.
Sakura and Ino felt the exact same frustration.
"What's going on?"
The two girls exchanged bewildered glances, looking like a pair of flustered clown girls.
Why was Sasuke seeking out Hikari? Was he… going to confess?!
Remembering Sasuke's nervous expression, their love-struck brains simultaneously conjured up a terrifying thought.
"N-No way!"
Ino clapped her hands over her ears, her face morphing into the classic "distraught wojak" meme. She couldn't accept this.
Sakura's green eyes flickered red. "Why would Sasuke like her? She beat him up so badly!"
Outwardly, Sakura maintained some semblance of composure, but her inner self was already screaming.
Does Sasuke actually like violent girls?!
The more you hit him, the more he falls for you?!
Their delusional theories spiraled further out of control. After a silent exchange, the two formed a temporary alliance with eerie synchronization and bolted out of the classroom.
Seeing Sakura and Ino rush out, Naruto gritted his teeth, tossed his bag aside, and chased after them.
Meanwhile, a petite blue-haired girl with Byakugan rested her head on the desk, silent and lost in thought.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Kiba and Shikamaru helped themselves to the chips in front of Chōji, munching loudly.
Now this was entertaining.
"Shikamaru… crunch… should we follow them too?" Chōji mumbled through a stuffed mouth, his round face brimming with curiosity.
"Arf! Arf!"
Akamaru pawed impatiently at Kiba's head.
Shikamaru didn't feel like moving, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. With the other two egging him on, he finally gave in.
"Let's go!"
Kiba, tired of waiting for the lazy genius, grabbed both Shikamaru and Chōji by their collars and dragged them out.
The moment they reached the courtyard, they spotted three familiar heads—pink, blonde, and another blonde—peeking out from behind a flowerbed, teeth gritted as they glared at two distant figures.
Soon, three more heads joined them in the bushes.
"Shikamaru? Chōji? What are you doing here?" Ino whispered in shock.
"Shhh!"
Kiba pressed a finger to his lips.
Everyone—even Akamaru—fell silent, focusing intently on the scene ahead.
---
"What do you want?"
Hikari stared at Sasuke.
He hadn't said a word since they left, leading her far away before she could even collect the leaves she needed. Whatever this was, he was being way too secretive about it.
After scanning their surroundings to confirm they were alone, Sasuke finally spoke, his voice stiff:
"Hikari Tsuchigumo… I… I want to… apologize to you."
"Huh?"
Hikari raised an eyebrow.
Sasuke's face was now bright red, and she had no idea what kind of act he was putting on.
"I'm sorry. I… broke the rules during yesterday's combat training by using ninjutsu. I put you in danger. This—this is my apology letter. Please… accept it."
Stumbling through his words, Sasuke pulled out a crudely written note and thrust it at her, turning his face away like the whole thing was beneath him.
Hikari nodded in understanding.
"Iruka-sensei made you do this?"
"...Yes."
With the apology out of the way, Sasuke seemed to relax slightly.
After the combat session yesterday, Iruka had punished him for illegally using ninjutsu against Hikari—forcing him to write a 3,000-word reflection and personally apologize to the "victim."
Apologizing to the girl who had humiliated him in battle?
For someone as prideful as Sasuke, this was worse than death.
But he couldn't refuse Iruka's orders.
He had disgraced the Uchiha name by resorting to a cheap ninjutsu ambush—and still lost. If his father found out, the disappointment would be unbearable.
Just imagining that look in Fugaku's eyes made swallowing his pride and apologizing seem… slightly less painful.
"Alright, whatever."
Hikari's response was utterly indifferent.
She had expected Sasuke to challenge her again, not waste her time with something this pointless.
Sasuke froze.
He had braced himself for mockery, for humiliation—but instead, Hikari dismissed him like he was nothing.
She wasn't forgiving him. She just didn't care.
Her apathy was worse than contempt. To her, their fight—even his Fireball Jutsu ambush—had been nothing more than a child's tantrum.
That kind of disregard was a thousand times more insulting.
"You bastard…!"
Sasuke's teeth ground together.
The son of the Uchiha clan head, the undisputed top student of the class, the boy everyone admired—he was being treated like background noise?!
His pride shattered into dust.
"What's your problem?"
Hikari watched as Sasuke's face turned even redder, his jaw clenched so tight she half-expected him to awaken his Sharingan right then and there.
Was he having a rabies episode or something?
Wait, no—was he actually about to unlock his Sharingan?!
Hikari nearly laughed.
In the original timeline, Sasuke hadn't awakened even a single tomoe until after his entire family was slaughtered and Itachi tortured him with Tsukuyomi. His talent was, frankly, garbage.
And now that she understood the relationship between chakra and vitality, Sasuke's importance in her eyes had plummeted to zero.
Without sufficient chakra reserves, the Sharingan was practically useless. Even the Mangekyō's power came at the cost of blindness—and without Hashirama's cells, even Madara would've been crushed by the First Hokage.
Obito's Kamui only seemed invincible because of Zetsu's enhancements.
And the Rinnegan? Overrated. The only reason Nagato could wield it was because of his Uzumaki stamina. Anyone else would've been drained dry after a few techniques.
"Are you done?"
Her impatience was plain on her face.
This Sasuke—still untouched by tragedy—was just a half-baked version of the vengeful prodigy he'd become. And honestly?
She wasn't interested.
Rustle.
Sasuke pulled out another letter from his pocket.
This one was neatly folded, sealed in an envelope, and labeled in bold characters:
CHALLENGE.
Holding the apology in one hand and the challenge in the other, Sasuke declared with all the gravitas of a stage actor:
"Hikari Tsuchigumo! I challenge you—IN THE NAME OF THE UCHIHA!!!"
"Pfft—"
The sheer cringe of the moment broke her.
She suddenly wished she could record this and play it at his future wedding.
Sasuke would probably flee the village and never come back.
---
(End of Chapter)