"..."
"Are you sure you want to give me all your pocket money?"
Taking half would make Aoba feel a little more at ease, but taking it all. Let alone himself feeling a little guilty, he also worried whether that crazy Uchiha Itachi, the ultimate little bro-con would come knocking on his door.
"You don't have to worry about that. I don't usually use pocket money anyway. If you need money, my family still has plenty saved up. As long as you spar with me every day, it's fine."
Seeing Sasuke put on a "I have no interest in money" expression and then taking out the remaining 1,000 ryo, Aoba couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration.
He simply stopped being polite and directly took the money from Sasuke's hands.
"Alright, then this time, I'll make sure your face is symmetrical," Aoba got into position, but who would've thought that Sasuke would quickly step back half a step, his face slightly red.
"Not this time!", He wasn't that stubborn. He couldn't even see how the other party attacked. In terms of taijutsu, the gap between him and Aoba was simply too big.
He couldn't win at all.
He'd just go back and learn a few tricks from his brother before challenging him again. Anyway, Aoba said as long as he got money, it was fine.
"Not this? Then what do you want to compete in?"
"Shuriken throwing!"
Sasuke regained his confidence. In the entire Konoha, when it came to shuriken throwing, no one could surpass the Uchiha clan.
Although his shuriken was easily deflected by Aoba's stone just now, he felt that if it were him, he could definitely do the same.
Sasuke's confident look was kind of cool, but with his uneven eyes, it was hard to keep a straight face.
Of course, Aoba would never refuse a match where he could practically earn free money.
"Then tell me, what are the rules?"
"See that tree over there?"
Sasuke raised his hand and pointed at a tree not far away.
Aoba followed his gaze and suddenly noticed that there were two targets hanging on that tree.
However, these two targets weren't hanging on the side facing them but were positioned on the tree trunk's sides. Only the edges of the targets were visible.
If they threw shuriken from the front using conventional methods, there was no way to hit the targets.
'Interesting.'
Aoba's lips curved slightly, "Alright, what are the rules?"
If it was a shuriken competition, he couldn't even think of a way to lose.
Sasuke also smiled confidently. He took out four shuriken from his ninja pouch and said, "It's simple. From this position, as long as you can hit the bullseye with a shuriken, you win."
"Is that so? Then this seems pretty easy. You go first."
"Hmph! You sure talk big," Sasuke crossed his arms with a displeased look, "You're not thinking the difficulty is too high and are afraid of embarrassing yourself, are you?"
"No, I'm just afraid that if I make a move, you'll get so nervous that you underperform, and then you'll just find excuses again."
Aoba put on a 'this is for your own good' face.
"You!", Sasuke glared at Aoba, pouting, "Fine! Today, I'll show you the Uchiha clan's shuriken technique."
Facing the big tree, Sasuke stared at the two targets on it, holding two shuriken in each hand before swiftly swinging his arms.
Swish!
Swish!
Two shuriken flew out to the sides.
Then, he immediately swung his arms again, sending two more shuriken flying even faster, chasing after the first two in midair.
Clang!
Clang!
The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed.
The two shuriken that had been flying to the sides suddenly changed direction in midair, shooting toward the bullseyes on the tree's sides that were completely out of sight.
Then—thunk! thunk!—both hit the targets. Whether they were dead-center or not was uncertain.
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he immediately ran toward the tree.
"I'll go check for you!"
This was the first time he had seen real shuriken throwing, and they could even change direction.
Sasuke saw Naruto dashing away like the wind, and before he could call him back, Naruto had already arrived.
For a moment, Sasuke felt his heart tighten.
Although he had been practicing this technique regularly, this was the first time he showed it in front of others. He knew he had hit the targets, but he wasn't completely sure if they were bullseyes.
"Wow!!!"
"Both of them hit the bullseye!"
Naruto's excited shout reached them, and Sasuke, who had been tense, finally relaxed. His lips curled into a smile.
He regained his previous confidence.
It seemed like people in the village really knew how to change expressions.
Aoba caught every shift in Sasuke's expressions.
At that moment, Naruto ran back, looking worried.
"Aoba, this guy seems pretty strong."
"Hmph! Now you're scared, huh? Skipping stones earlier was just child's play. This is the true strength of the Uchiha clan," Now that he knew the result, Sasuke puffed up with pride again. Both of his shuriken had hit the bullseye.
A flying dragon pressing down, he couldn't see how he could possibly lose.
"Heh!", Aoba chuckled. Sasuke's expression reminded him of the nickname he had in the original story.
'Sunny Sasuke!'
"What are you laughing at?", Sasuke frowned. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"You threw four shuriken just now, right?"
"So what?"
"Hmm~"
Aoba simply picked up two stones from the ground, tossed them lightly to gauge their weight, and smirked.
"Then I'll just use these two."
"What?"
Sasuke froze, then his face turned red, "You bastard! Are you looking down on me…?"
Before he could finish, Aoba had already thrown the stones.
Under Sasuke and Naruto's wide-eyed, slack-jawed expressions, the stones curved midair and struck the targets' bullseyes.
That's right. They knew at a glance the stones had hit the bullseye because Sasuke's shuriken were sent flying, and the two stones were now embedded in the targets.
"Th-this… how is this possible?"
"Why… why did the stones curve?"
Sasuke stared at Aoba in disbelief. Even his older brother needed to use shuriken collisions to alter their trajectory.
'Could it be… this guy is stronger than my brother?'
"Aoba hit the bullseye with just two stones, so Aoba is stronger. That means Aoba won the match," Naruto, snapping back to reality, cheered and danced as if he had won himself.
Aoba didn't mind but instead looked at Sasuke, who was drowning in self-doubt, and asked with a smile.
"So, who won this match?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and squeezed out a few words between clenched teeth.
"You won!"
"Alright, as long as you admit it! I'll be heading off then," Aoba beamed with joy. He had unexpectedly earned 2,000 ryo today, and this might become a regular income source. He was in a great mood.
But just as he turned to leave, he was called back, "Wait a minute, Aoba!"
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