Chapter no.21 Naruto

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Chapter no.21 Graduating Class

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After eight years of being surrounded by the weak and the sycophantic, of enduring pointless conversations and meaningless praise, Sasuke Uchiha's ambition was finally beginning to take shape. The thought should've filled him with pride—being the strongest among his peers—but it didn't. It only fueled the constant reminder of how far he still had to go.

Compared to his older brother… no, he refused to even think of him as that anymore. Itachi was his enemy, nothing more. Compared to Itachi, Sasuke felt weak, insignificant. Itachi was already an Anbu captain at his age, while Sasuke was sitting here as a mere genin. The gap between them felt like a gaping chasm, one that he couldn't close fast enough.

Sasuke sat at his desk near the window, the sunlight slanting through the glass, illuminating his thoughts as he glared at the rest of his so-called classmates. The incompetent, the weak. None of them deserved to pass. They'd just die on the battlefield, leaving behind crying parents, sobbing families. He snorted. It wasn't like he cared for them, but the thought of others experiencing the kind of pain he went through, the loss of everything… he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

But then, the shrill voices hit his ears.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The girls. Every day, it was the same thing. Their pointless giggling, their desperate waves, their pathetic attempts to catch his attention. If anyone deserved to die, it was them. Annoying pests. He wouldn't mourn them.

He turned his head toward the window, tuning them out as he always did, letting the noise fade into the background. What did it matter? He had more important things to think about. He closed his eyes, his mind wandering to what he should train today. Ninjutsu? Taijutsu?

But then… silence. Why was it suddenly so quiet?

He opened his eyes just in time to hear a loud thud beside him.

Some guy, fully dressed in battle armor, sat down next to him. The chair wobbled under the guy's weight, the suit clinking with every movement. Sasuke's gaze immediately locked onto the insignia on his shield—a lion.

A clan symbol. But one he didn't recognize.

Who was this guy?

He glanced around the room. Everyone was staring at him, as confused as he was. Why was he here? Why was he in the graduating class?

Sasuke didn't like this. Not one bit.

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Naruto felt like a bottle about to burst, completely full and ready to overflow. Guess that's what he deserved after eating 25 bowls of ramen. New record! He rubbed his stomach, grinning to himself—until he noticed something was off. The class was way quieter than usual.

"Hey, do I have something on my nose?" Naruto asked, looking around, confused by the silence. As soon as he spoke, everyone's jaws practically hit the floor.

"Naruto?!" a few students gasped.

He removed his helmet manually, not by unequipping it—he still needed to breathe, after all.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied, wiping away some sweat. He couldn't help but wonder, How did Oscar manage to stay in that armor for so long without getting all sweaty? Seriously, that guy must have been built differently.

Then, of course, someone had to pipe up. "You know this is a class for graduating students, not failures."

Some jerk in the back thought he was funny. Naruto huffed, his hand instinctively reaching for his headband. Should I get this helmet engraved or something? This is getting really annoying.

Just as he was about to show them his headband, he heard it—Kiba's voice cutting through the room like nails on a chalkboard.

"Hey, don't bully that loser. He probably thinks wearing some stolen armor is gonna make him Hokage."

A bunch of the class laughed. Too many for Naruto's liking. His glare shot straight to the source—Kiba Inuzuka. Messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with those weird slit pupils, and that stupid smug grin on his face. He had those red fang markings on his cheeks like all the Inuzuka, and he was decked out in his usual dark pants and that fur-lined coat.

Naruto didn't steal anything.

"I didn't steal nothing, Dog Breath," he growled, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "This armor is from my master."

Kiba… Kiba was complicated. There were times they'd skip class together, pulling pranks and causing trouble like a couple of idiots. But for some reason, Kiba always had this need to put Naruto down, like he had something to prove. Normally, Naruto would laugh it off, maybe prank him right back, but today? Today, Kiba's words cut deeper than usual, and Naruto couldn't shake off the anger bubbling up inside him.

This armor represented that he was the Squire of Oscar.

Naruto clenched his fists, the rough metal of the gauntlets digging into his skin. He could feel the heat rising in his chest, the familiar burn of frustration trying to take over. He wasn't about to lose control, not here, not in front of these idiots. He'd just show his headband, prove them wrong, and shut them all up.

But Kiba wasn't done. He never knew when to stop.

"What master? You've always been the dead-last loser. But seeing that stupid piece of crap armor…"

Kiba's laugh echoed in the room, but it felt hollow, and for once, no one joined in. The rest of the classmates weren't laughing. They were watching Naruto, their eyes wide, like they were seeing something different for the first time. Naruto could feel their stares, but he didn't care. All he could focus on were Kiba's words, repeating over and over in his head, cutting deeper each time.

Naruto's fists clenched harder.

"And I think your master is just as big of a loser as you are," Kiba added, his voice dripping with arrogance.

Naruto heard the words, but they didn't register at first. It was like his brain was trying to process what had just been said, like a delayed explosion. He could feel the anger shifting into something sharper, colder.

Oscar… Kiba insulted Oscar.

Naruto's body went still, his mind narrowing in on Kiba. Everyone else faded into the background. Naruto didn't care about them. The only thing that mattered was shutting Kiba up.

But of course, Kiba didn't stop there. He never knew when to stop.

"Oi, couldn't find a better sword to go with your stupid costume? You know what, I'll be generous. Why don't I give you a proper dagger, better than that broken, crappy sword you probably took off a beggar—"

That was it. Naruto could barely hear the rest of Kiba's sentence because the blood was pounding in his ears, his vision narrowing until all he saw was his fist connecting with Kiba's face with a satisfying crunch.

Kiba didn't even get to finish his insult before he was sent flying out of his seat.

Coincidentally, the door of the classroom swung open just as Kiba went flying through it. Sakura and Ino, mid-argument, barely had time to duck as Kiba soared over them, crashing into the hallway with a resounding thud.

"Hey, what the—" Sakura began, but her words caught in her throat the moment she locked eyes with Naruto. Her face paled, and before she could comprehend it, her legs gave out from under her. She hit the floor hard, trembling uncontrollably, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Sweat beaded across her forehead, her entire body frozen in place.

The entire class felt it.

A suffocating, overpowering force filled the room, pressing down on them like an invisible weight. It wasn't just fear—this was something darker, something far more sinister than they had ever felt before. It was as if they were standing before a monstrous entity, far beyond the realm of anything they could understand. Their instincts screamed at them to run, to escape, but their bodies were paralyzed, locked in place by a terror so primal it clawed at the edges of their sanity.

Naruto's chakra—unbeknownst to him—had changed. After absorbing the soul of the Asylum Demon, the yin traces of that unholy presence had seeped into his chakra. Now, with his anger flaring, his killer intent created an illusion so powerful that the entire class could see it: the dark, oppressive image of the Northern Asylum, and more terrifyingly, the looming presence of the Stray Demon.

None of them, least of all the genin in the room, had ever encountered anything like this before.

Except for one boy in the back of the class.

Naruto pulled his chakra back, stopping the flare of killer intent, allowing the class to breathe again, though they still remained frozen from the experience. He concentrated the remaining chakra into his ankles, just like Iruka-sensei had taught him.

"You bastard!" Kiba roared, his voice feral as he took a stance. Blood dripped from his broken nose, his eyes wild with fury.

Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu!

His chakra surged, and his nails and fangs grew longer, more animal-like. In an instant, he lunged at Naruto, looking like he wanted to rip him apart.

Naruto's body flickered—Shunshin no Jutsu. The wind whipped through the hallway, rustling Sakura and Ino's hair behind him.

Before Kiba even realized what was happening, Naruto was right in front of him. The moment his body flickered, everything around him blurred—just a tunnel of light and shadow as the distance between them disappeared in an instant. Naruto's fist shot upward with all the momentum he'd built, the force driving straight into Kiba's jaw. He could feel the bone crack under his knuckles, the shock of impact vibrating up his arm.

Kiba's head snapped back, his eyes wide in shock as his body lifted off the ground from the sheer force of the uppercut. His tooth flew out in a slow arc, spinning through the air like time had slowed down just to show the full effect of the hit.

Naruto didn't stop.

He was on Kiba in a heartbeat, pinning his hands under his knees. His breath came out harsh and ragged, his chest rising and falling as he towered over Kiba, looking down at his bloodied face. Rage pulsed through him like a tidal wave—too strong, too wild. His hand shot into his inventory without thinking, and before he knew it, his hand axe was there, heavy in his grip.

He raised it high above his head, the blade gleaming. His vision blurred with red—anger so intense that it clouded everything. Naruto didn't care about the class, about the gasps he could faintly hear. He didn't care about Kiba.

He insulted Oscar.

He insulted Oscar's sword.

Naruto could recite the precepts of a knight, tell himself it was about honor, but no...this wasn't about precepts. This was personal. Oscar meant something to him—more than he even realized until now—and Kiba's insult wasn't just words. It cut deep, deeper than Naruto could've imagined. This wasn't about some stupid rivalry. This was about Oscar's honor, and he saw nothing but red.

He brought the axe down, intent on making sure Kiba felt every ounce of his rage.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Naruto's wrist, stopping the blade inches from Kiba's face. He blinked, the red haze clearing just enough for him to recognize the chakra surging through the hallway.

Iruka-sensei.

He wasn't shouting, wasn't angry. His voice was calm, but there was something heavy in it.

"Naruto," Iruka said, not looking at Kiba, but directly at Naruto. "Please stop this."

Naruto looked at Iruka's hand on his wrist, then down at Kiba, his face a mess of blood and fear. His breath caught in his throat. What...what had he almost done?

He pushed himself off Kiba, standing up slowly, his hand still gripping the axe.

The room was silent. No one dared to speak, but Naruto could feel their eyes on him. Did he care? Hell no. Let them think what they wanted. Did he regret what he did to Kiba?

Not one bit.

As far as Naruto was concerned, it was justified. Kiba could talk all the crap he wanted about him, but the moment he insulted Oscar? That's when he crossed the line.

Naruto sat back down at his desk, feeling the weight of the room pressing in on him. He didn't care. He'd defend Oscar's honor a thousand times over if he had to.

As he sat down, his heart still pounding in his chest, Naruto felt something else. A gaze, stronger than the others. He turned to see Sasuke, his eyes locked on him, intense and unblinking.

Wait...what the hell?

"Why are your eyes red, teme?"

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 12, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!