Chapter 24: You Knocked Her Out Again

PS: I am changing his name to Shishou because the Chinese name Zhixiang (志向) can be phonetically and meaningfully adapted to Japanese as Shishou (ししょう). The characters 志 (zhi) and 向 (xiang) in Chinese correspond to "shi" and "shou" in Japanese readings, respectively. This maintains both the sound and the meaning, making Shishou a suitable Japanese equivalent of Zhixiang.

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Ino Yamanaka couldn't help but be impressed. "You've really got some skills!" she said, watching Sasuke Uchiha perform the Fireball Jutsu.

As Sasuke formed the hand seals, Shishou Aburame stood still, not making any moves. "Ha! You must be scared stiff. This time, you're definitely going to lose," Sasuke thought, feeling a sense of triumph as he saw Shishou standing frozen.

"Sasuke is so cool!" several girls, including Sakura Haruno, screamed in excitement as they saw Sasuke perform a ninjutsu they couldn't yet do.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu..." Sasuke began, but before he could complete the last hand seal, Iruka Umino appeared beside him in an instant, grabbing Sasuke's hands and interrupting the jutsu. "Shishou Aburame wins!" Iruka declared.

"Hmph." Sasuke scowled, clearly displeased. He looked across at Shishou with a frustrated expression. "Wait a minute... Shishou wins?" Sasuke suddenly realized what had happened, looking at Iruka in disbelief. "Shouldn't I have won?"

The crowd, including Sakura and her friends, were equally confused. "Sasuke was about to win. Why did you stop him, Iruka-sensei? How did Shishou win?" Sakura thought but didn't dare to voice her doubts.

"Ino, what's going on?" Ino asked Nara Shikamaru, who was standing nearby, holding an unconscious Hinata Hyuga.

"Shikamaru might be lazy, but his intelligence is unquestionable," Ino thought.

"Shishou won this time, that's for sure," Shikamaru said, pointing upwards. "Look up there."

Ino's eyes widened in shock as she looked up. Above them hovered a massive swarm of insects, ready to strike.

"What is that?!" The sight of the insects made the crowd shiver with fear.

Sasuke glanced at Shishou, gritting his teeth before leaving to continue training his Fireball Jutsu. "Next time, I will definitely defeat Shishou!" he vowed.

Watching Sasuke leave in frustration, Shishou smiled. Despite Sasuke's arrogance, his relentless drive to improve was something Shishou admired. It was this trait that made Sasuke grow stronger after each defeat, unlike Naruto Uzumaki, who couldn't match Sasuke's resolve.

"Shishou's insects intercepted Sasuke's shuriken and then flew up into the air," Shikamaru explained. "We were all too focused on their close combat to notice. Shishou had already prepared his insects, waiting for the right moment. If Sasuke had finished his jutsu, the insect swarm would have attacked, causing Sasuke's Fireball Jutsu to explode and hurt him."

"So, Shishou won," Shikamaru concluded, seeing Ino and the others' stunned faces.

"Ew, gross!" Ino shuddered at the sight of the insects. "I hate bugs."

"Don't worry," Shishou reassured, stepping off the stage. "I keep my insects in a gourd and only breed one queen. These insects are chakra-induced and will die soon after being used. I feed their remains to other insects, so nothing is wasted."

Ino's expression softened slightly, but she still seemed uncomfortable. Seeing this, Shishou quickly changed the subject. "How's Hinata?"

"She hasn't woken up yet," Ino replied.

"Still not awake?" Shishou gently patted Hinata's cheek, examining her closely.

"Mm... Ugh..." Hinata slowly opened her eyes, only to see Shishou staring at her intently. Her face turned bright red, and she fainted again.

Shishou sighed. "Again?" Ino exclaimed. "You knocked her out again!"

"How is this my fault?" Shishou scratched his head, feeling helpless.

The next day, Iruka announced everyone's final grades for the semester. Shishou, having defeated Sasuke, unsurprisingly ranked first in their class, earning a set of shuriken as a reward.

Not needing the shuriken, Shishou gave them to Naruto, who was deeply moved. It was the first time anyone had given him something.

Sasuke, having lost to Shishou, didn't make it into the top ten. He showed no reaction, but secretly trained harder at night, determined to defeat Shishou one day. Wealthy from his family's inheritance, Sasuke wasn't interested in the shuriken reward.

Due to the inclusion of academic grades, Shishou and Kiba Inuzuka only made it into the top ten, while Hinata and Sakura were in the top fifteen. Ino, upset about not making the top fifteen, vowed to improve next time. Shikamaru and Choji Akimichi, uninterested in grades, continued their usual routines—Shikamaru napping and Choji eating chips—much to Iruka's frustration.

However, his biggest frustration was Naruto. Poor in academics, shuriken throwing, and taijutsu, Naruto unsurprisingly ranked last. Undeterred, Naruto flaunted the shuriken Shishou had given him, making Iruka grit his teeth in annoyance.

Finally, Iruka announced the end of the school year, marking the start of the winter break. The class cheered in excitement.

"Yay!!!" Shishou joined in, feeling happy. He finally had time to do what he wanted.