"We won! We actually beat a genius! We can be number one at the Ninja Academy now!"

Lee was practically bouncing with joy.

Then he flashed his pearly white teeth, gave a big thumbs-up, and declared,

"Sakura, go out with me!"

"Absolutely not!"

Haruno Sakura didn't even hesitate.

She liked handsome, not just strong. And no matter how powerful Lee might be, a bowl-cut haircut wasn't going to win over a girl her age.

Sakura didn't even bother sparing Lee another glance. She joined her little fan club, crowding around Sasuke on the ground to fuss over him.

"Sasuke-kun, it must've been your shoes."

"You probably didn't have a good breakfast."

"Or maybe you trained too hard last night."

The girls' voices chattered non-stop.

Sasuke's expression grew darker by the second.

"Quiet!" he snapped.

"Hey, hey…" Naruto crouched next to him, jabbing Sasuke in the cheek with a finger. "Guess you won't be able to keep up with me anymore, huh?"

"You… idiot…" Sasuke gritted the words out between clenched teeth. "You think I won't "

"Whoa!" Naruto suddenly hopped back. "Man, your eyes look scary!"

Sasuke turned his head away and shut his eyes, still replaying in his mind the feel of Lee's sudden punch earlier. That instant jump in speed and strength… something wasn't right.

Meanwhile, Lee was squatting in the corner like a statue of despair. It took Tenten's exasperated sigh to snap him out of it she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off.

"Lee, don't embarrass Team 3!" she barked.

The crowd began to disperse now that the match was clearly over.

"Alright, show's over. My mom's waiting for me to get home for dinner."

"Same here. My dad's been working late every night and Mom's already mad."

"Woof! Woof!"

"Akamaru says it's not over yet!"

And indeed it wasn't.

Neji Hyuga stepped forward, his voice low and steady. "It's not over."

He extended a finger, pointing at the blond-haired boy.

"Blondie. You and me. I want to see how strong you really are."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Ooh, more action?!"

Then, noticing everyone staring at him, he blinked and pointed to himself. "Wait blondie? You mean me?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Neji said coldly. "Team 3 is going to the top of the Academy rankings."

Before Naruto could reply, a small figure stepped between them like a mother hen shielding her chick. Her face was flushed red.

"Neji-nii… please don't."

Neji's composure wavered for a fraction of a second before his voice grew even colder. "Hinata. Move. This is between men."

The arena went still. Even Tenten stopped her pep talk to Lee, walked over, rested a hand on Neji's shoulder, flicked her hair back, and smiled faintly.

"That's right. This is the official match between Team 7 and Team 3."

"Whichever team wins… will be number one in the Academy."

"Our two teams were already the strongest."

"Now let's settle it."

Her tone was so arrogant that the other students immediately bristled, muttering among themselves.

"Woof woof woof."

"Akamaru says you're full of crap."

Crunch crunch. "Shikamaru, what do you think?"

"I think I want to go home."

"Shino—"

"…Did someone just whisper in my ear? Wait Shino, when did you get here?"

Up in the stands, Gaara was itching to join in until Kankuro grabbed his shoulder. "You're about to become Kazekage. You can't be out there brawling with kids."

Reluctantly, Gaara backed down.

Naruto, of course, wasn't going to refuse a challenge. He pulled Hinata gently behind him and grinned at Neji. "I accept your challenge, Neji!"

After seeing Sasuke lose, there was no way Naruto was going to underestimate this.

If Sasuke was all hype, then he, Naruto Uzumaki, was the real deal he'd fought the former Raikage's predecessor head-on!

Time to let this smug Neji witness his unbeatable Body Outside the Body clone staff technique.

Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram.

"Come out, Monkey King Enma!"

Neji's eyes narrowed so it was the strongest Summoning Beast.

Poof! Smoke billowed.

The monkey king appeared, baring his fangs with a fierce roar. "Naruto, who's the enemy this time?!"

"Grandpa Enma, please transform into the Nyoi Staff! I've got a sparring match with a classmate!"

When Enma noticed the arena full of Leaf students, he folded his arms, frowned, and scolded, "Naruto, you should fight your classmates on your own."

Mentally noting to tell Hiruzen later that his grandson was getting too cocky, Enma stepped aside.

Besides if he fought, would these kids even scratch him? His diamond-hard body could tear down the God Tree itself.

With a sigh, Enma sat cross-legged, poofed himself away, and ended the summoning.

Naruto flushed with embarrassment.

The crowd erupted into cheers. They'd had enough of Team 7's "summon beasts" doing all the work.

"So both Naruto and Sasuke are just summoning brats after all!"

"Honestly, all their strength comes from their summons."

"Technically, bugs are summons too…"

"…Did someone just whisper in my ear again? Shino, when did you even show up?"

Fine. Naruto still had his Rasengan and Shadow Clones.

But before he could prepare another jutsu, Neji lowered his Gentle Fist stance and shook his head.

"Your mind's unsettled. Right now, you're not my match. We'll fight in three days."

"Then we'll see which team stands at the top of the Academy."

Neji's Byakugan flared, his killing intent whipping up a gust of wind as he turned to address the stands.

"If anyone else isn't satisfied… you're welcome to join the match."

Silence fell over the crowd.

Neji turned and walked away.

Tenten admired the sight of his retreating back before quickly grabbing Lee and hurrying after him.

At that moment, Team 3 Neji, Tenten, and Lee were the center of attention.

The sun sank low, casting long shadows.

The rest of the students drifted home for dinner, leaving only Team 7 in the empty arena.

"Tch. That was rough," Sasuke muttered. The Uchiha heir wasn't about to be rattled by one loss.

He leapt to his feet with a quick kip-up. "Next time, I won't let my guard down."

Sakura, finally stepping out of her fan club leader role, tapped her chin in thought. "There's definitely something strange about Team 3."

"I saw it too Lee suddenly got faster and stronger," Naruto said, raising his hand. "And Neji's hand turned black for a second."

Naruto paced in frustration. "Maybe I have gotten too full of myself lately. I still haven't mastered Flying Thunder God or Sage Mode."

He shook his head hard, trying to snap himself out of it.

Sasuke frowned. "We need to figure out what's going on, or that match in three days is going to be trouble."

"I… I have information…"

From the corner, Hinata peeked out shyly.

"Neji-nii said… the Hokage arranged for the three of them to train with the strongest man in the world…"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all turned to stare at her, blurting out in unison, "The strongest in the world?!"

Hinata edged closer to Naruto, tugging on his sleeve.

"Mm… that's what Neji-nii said. And the Hokage personally admitted it."

Sasuke looked away awkwardly. "Did Neji say where this 'strongest man' is?"

Sakura clicked her tongue. "If even the Hokage admits he's the strongest… does that mean we're not the Hokage's favorite kids anymore?"

Naruto and Sasuke didn't quite catch the implication, but Sakura understood all too well how much special treatment Team 7 usually got.

Inwardly, she panicked had the Hokage's favoritism shifted to Team 3?

"Ahem. I'm going to find time to visit this so-called strongest man," Sasuke said at last.

Uchiha Sasuke always a man of initiative.

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