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Arc I Chapter 10

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The boy attacked head on. Bad choice. Asami counterattacked, defeating the boy instantly. "The next, please."

Asami was bored, immensely bored.

Throwing a few kunai and shuriken didn't bring any form of joy or fulfilment.

Evading attacks she could see coming from light-years away didn't represent a challenge. Their attacks were slow, so painfully slow. They were too incompetent to land a hit. How boring.

Asami dodged the incoming attack. She responded with a swift roundhouse kick. "The next, please."

Asami enjoyed the sparring matches initially. Her blood boiled in anticipation. The addictive rush of adrenaline invigorated her. But her foolish hopes were crushed by reality. The matches ended up being a disappointment. They bored her.

Another boy entered the circle. He gave up immediately.

Asami sighed. "The next, please." Shouldn't they run out of people?

Following the group phase, she now fought an endless line of inept opponents. The sparring matches were one-sided massacres. Nobody could give her a run for her money. Her opponents lacked the strength to defeat her, even when they used stupid lines like "I will stop you" and "Your resistance is futile". They didn't stop her a second.

Asami tripped her current opponent, striking him with her elbow from above. "The next, please."

Even the sadist in her admitted that terrorising little children provided limited entertainment. Playing with them, taunting them lost their appeal. Why she hadn't left yet? She had no idea.

Asami sighed. She rammed her knee into her opponent's stomach. The poor boy got knocked out. "The next, please."

A boy stepped forward. It was the Uchiha boy from before. He masked his fear, but he stood his ground. He dared to defy her. The boy challenged her.

Asami smirked. He had guts, not that it would help him.

Asami charged. She opened with a kick, and she missed. Her kick had missed her target, hitting nothing but empty air. The Uchiha boy dodged.

Surprise was written all over her face. Asami failed to comprehend what happened. She missed. She missed. She truly missed …

Apparently, the Uchiha boy possessed a modicum of skill. He deserved a little reward for his accomplishment.

Asami raised her hand. "I forfeit. I had enough fun for today. So bye bye. See you later."

Asami returned home. Okaa-san promised to cook her something delicious today, which made her happy. Miam miam. Her tummy was hungry. Getting something to eat was very, very, very, very important. More important than a stupid little tournament.

A week later, Asami received her official admission letter. She was accepted by the academy, placed into one of the more privileged classes.

In the years to come, Asami should detect an interesting correlation between coming from a clan and receiving a place in one of the better classes. But Konoha's wide-spread clan clientelism was another story for another time.

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"Sasuke, tell me, why are you in a so bad mood? You haven't touched your food. You are so silent today. Did something happen during the admission exam?" Mikoto looked concerned.

The entire family ate dinner, but Sasuke refused to eat. He just stared at his food.

Sasuke deliberated. Should he tell the truth, or not? Yes, or no? Yes, or no?

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, okaa-san, something happened at the examinations. I am angry. Angry, because, because, ehmmm."

"Did some of the other children bully you because you are an Uchiha? Don't bother with these idiots. Ignore them. Be proud of your lineage and who you are ..." Mikoto was about to start one of her feared monologues, but Sasuke interrupted her just in time. That was close.

Sasuke sighed. "No, nothing like that. I am angry because I was beaten in the final match by a girl."

"A girl?" Mikoto blinked while Itachi stiffened. It was her, wasn't it?

His father looked up from his newspaper. Fugaku narrowed his eyes, strongly disappointed by his son. He had expected more from his son. "So you lied when you told me you had won all of your matches?"

Sasuke froze. "I didn't lie. I won, technically. I was declared the winner, but she could have easily beaten me if she wanted. "

"She withdrew after having played enough with me. She is like Itachi. Just meaner, and a girl.", Sasuke sulked.

Fugaku's eyebrow shot up. His curiosity was piqued. "She is like Itachi?"

Sasuke crossed his arms."Yes, she looks like a smaller version of Nii-san, and she also fought like him. Always perfect, always a step ahead of you, always better than you in everything."

Fugaku asked, "Do you happen to know her name?"

Sasuke might be his less talented son, but he was still a pure-blood Uchiha. He was not someone who could be defeated by a normal girl,

"Her name? I think her name was Minami Asami", Sasuke mused.

"Minami, Minami, Minami, Minami", Fugaku mumbled. He had the uncanny feeling he heard the name somewhere before. But in the end, the Uchiha patriarch gave up. He had better things to do.

The next day, Fugaku visited an old friend of him, a fellow Uchiha and infamous womanizer that plagued Konoha in the past. They talked together about the old times.

Fugaku asked Sakutaro about a certain love adventure he had during his younger years. Because apparently, he had a daughter.

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