"Sasuke! I've been waiting for you for a long time," Aoba looked at Sasuke and shouted loudly.
However, upon hearing this, Sasuke's advancing body slowed for a moment, and his eyes were filled with confusion.
Aoba's behavior today felt somewhat abnormal.
Tenten and the other two, who had been surrounding Sakura, were also momentarily stunned.
And in that brief moment, Sakura seized the opportunity to escape the encirclement.
The three quickly reacted, but when they looked over, they found that Sakura had already hidden on the other side of Aoba.
Seeing Tenten and the others about to move in to capture Sakura, Aoba, in order to divert their attention, directly walked toward Sasuke.
"You… are you alright?", Sasuke stopped in his tracks, looking at him suspiciously.
'In the past, Aoba always acted disinterested in my challenges. Why is he so enthusiastic today?'
'Is it a trap?'
When Aoba stood not far from Sasuke, a melancholic look appeared on his face, slightly altering his entire demeanor, "Sasuke, in this past year, among my peers, I have searched for opponents but found none, sought rivals but was denied, wished for defeat but remained undefeated. It has been an unbearable solitude."
"For this reason, I have always regarded you as my greatest opponent, my fated rival, my dearest friend. Now that you have awakened the Sharingan, I hope that in today's battle, you will let me enjoy myself to the fullest."
Looking at Aoba's melancholic and lonely expression, as if lamenting the loneliness of standing at the top, Ino and Sakura, both natural fangirls, were the first to lose control, holding their faces with both hands, eyes sparkling with hearts.
Hinata and Tenten also blushed slightly, as Aoba had always been gentle, optimistic, and cheerful.
He had never displayed such a melancholic aura before. This contrast struck straight at the hearts of the four girls.
As for interrogating Sakura, that was already forgotten. Their little heads had been overpowered by their emotions.
The early maturity of the girls in the ninja world had its advantages.
Sasuke's body also trembled slightly, not because he thought Aoba was handsome, but because he was excited, thrilled.
For most kids his age, recognition from others was extremely important, especially recognition from someone they saw as strong.
He never expected that the opponent he once deemed unattainable actually held him in such high regard.
How could he not be excited?
"Hu—", Sasuke clenched his fists and exhaled deeply. His expression became serious, but the confidence and arrogance in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
A single tomoe appeared in each of his eyes as he spoke.
"Aoba, before today, you were also my greatest opponent."
"In our battles over the past few months, I have never won, and you have never lost. But from now on, that will change."
"With the power of the Uchiha, defeating you will be a piece of cake! This is the invincible Sharingan, the strongest power of the Uchiha clan!"
Aoba tried his best to control his facial expression, preventing himself from bursting into laughter.
It was clear that Sasuke was already intoxicated by the power of the Sharingan. Someone had to wake him up.
However, since Sasuke had just saved him from a humiliating situation, he would go easy on him later. Just enough to knock some sense into him without causing serious injury.
"In that case, let me see the power of the Sharingan," Aoba moved several steps to the side, distancing himself from Tenten and the others to avoid accidentally hurting them.
Uchiha Sasuke snorted coldly and also moved closer to Aoba.
"You'll see soon enough!"
"Wait a minute, I think we forgot something," Just as they were about to start, Aoba suddenly remembered something.
"What is it?", Sasuke asked, puzzled.
"You forgot—sparring with me costs money."
"...", Sasuke clenched his fists, his gaze toward Aoba now filled with fury.
'What happened to the greatest opponent? The fated rival? The dearest friend?'
'Why does a spar suddenly require payment?'
The key issue was… he had rushed out today and forgotten to bring money…
"I didn't bring any money today. I'll owe you and pay double tomorrow."
Aoba gave him a look of approval, then couldn't help but explain further, "Sasuke, I ask you for money actually for your own good."
"?"
"…Are you sure?"
Sasuke widened his eyes, feeling like this guy had no shame at all.
Aoba patiently guided him.
"Well, think about it. With your current personality, once you gain a bit of strength, you'll start thinking you're really powerful and will inevitably provoke others."
"If you run into someone with a good temper like me, it's fine; you just lose a bit of money. But if you encounter someone with a violent temper, getting beaten up would be the least of your concerns, you might even lose your life."
"I'm teaching you a lesson: challenging people without knowing their strength or having intelligence on them comes at a cost. Since you're still young, this is like spending money to buy experience. The more setbacks you suffer now, the more cautious you'll be in the future."
"Taking a loss now is actually a blessing, understand?", Thinking about how Sasuke, after obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan, stormed into the Five Kage Summit, Aoba couldn't help but laugh inside.
That was one of the times the 'Pillar Boy' got beaten the worst.
If not for Onoki and the others lacking intel on Uchiha Obito, he would have been finished on the spot.
"Is… is that so?", Aoba's long-winded speech had confused Sasuke. Although he felt something was off, his tone had softened slightly.
"Then… I'll give you a little extra tomorrow."
Aoba's face remained unchanged, but inside, he was delighted.
He had just wanted to fool around a bit, but he hadn't expected an extra reward.
'As expected, the Uchiha are easy to fool. Maybe I should be nicer to Sasuke in the future and mess with him less. After all, he is already not that smart.'
"I'm glad you understand my good intentions. Let's begin!", Aoba got into position.
Sasuke's eyes lit up. He immediately pushed all of Aoba's previous words to the back of his mind, no longer bothering to analyze them.
'Fighting is thrilling!'
"Then let's go!", Sasuke reached into his ninja pouch.
"Wait!", From within the forest, a blond figure swiftly leaped across the branches, and in just a few moments, he landed between Sasuke and Aoba.
"Uzumaki Naruto!", The moment Sasuke saw Naruto appear, his killing intent surged once more.
"Uh…", Naruto had planned to make a dramatic entrance, but Sasuke's glare startled him.
He immediately lowered his gaze.
Uncle Guy had told him that when fighting against a Sharingan user, he must avoid eye contact and instead focus on their body movements to predict attacks.
It sounded simple enough. Naruto's confidence returned.
"Sasuke, I told you, if you want to challenge Aoba, you have to get past me first!"
"Then I'll grant your wish!", Sasuke's crimson eyes locked onto Naruto, his killing intent surging as he charged forward.
"Bring it on!", Naruto charged forward as well.
"Leaf Whirlwind—Ah!"
BANG!
Just as Naruto lifted his leg, he was sent flying.
"...", The scene fell into complete silence.
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