On the playground.

The students in the class all had their eyes focused on Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku.

They were extremely curious about the duel between these two.

"Shikaku, I won't show any mercy. If you can't hold on, remember to admit defeat!" Inoichi Yamanaka said with a smile.

"You too," Nara Shikaku replied with a smile.

"Let's begin!" Inoichi Yamanaka's smile disappeared from his face as he raised his right hand and formed a hand seal with his index and middle fingers, creating a confrontational gesture.

"Start!" Nara Shikaku raised his left hand and made the same hand seal.

In the next moment, the battle between the two was about to begin.

Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku seemed to have reached an agreement and decided not to use any secret techniques from their respective families. Instead, they charged at each other directly, using their hands and feet to collide in physical combat.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their hands and feet collided repeatedly, creating intense sounds. If someone didn't know better, they might have thought they were martial arts ninjas.

After a brief exchange, both of them stepped back simultaneously, reaching into their pockets and pulling out shurikens to throw accurately at each other.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The shurikens from both sides collided, producing a clear metallic clashing sound, displaying a balanced and evenly matched stance.

....

The duel between Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku drew exclamations from the students here.

They widened their eyes, afraid to miss any details.

At the same time, they were also contemplating in their minds whether they could keep up with the attacks if they were standing here.

This secretly made them feel uneasy.

The initial excitement they felt when they heard about the simulated duel gradually dissipated, replaced by anxiety and unease.

Teacher Yinsui's gaze remained fixed on the duel arena. He had a responsibility to ensure the safety of the students and prevent any accidental injuries.

"Their basic skills are indeed impressive!"

Teacher Yinsui silently nodded. When he chose the groups, it wasn't entirely random. He tried to select individuals he believed had similar abilities.

Only then could the true strength be tested!

Just like these two individuals...

"Hmm?!"

Teacher Yinsui suddenly furrowed his brow, sensing that something was amiss...

After the intense shuriken clash, Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku once again engaged in close-quarters combat. Their fists and feet collided, producing thudding sounds.

Both of them were swift and powerful in their movements, yet they didn't inflict any harm on each other. They maintained a stalemate.

Nara Shikaku accurately blocked Inoichi Yamanaka's swift straight punch with the palm of his hand.

Inoichi Yamanaka intercepted Nara Shikaku's powerful knee strike with his sharp elbow.

The two of them put on quite a lively show.

But the more Teacher Yinsui watched, the more it seemed like acting!

Of course, only Teacher Yinsui could see through this.

The rest of the students were exclaiming at the impressive strength of the two combatants.

Teacher Yinsui became increasingly suspicious. He felt that these two students weren't really dueling but rather performing, yet he had no evidence.

Just at that moment...

After a series of close-quarters attacks, both of them stepped back simultaneously and once again threw shurikens at each other.

The shurikens clashed accurately in mid-air.

This time, the effect was even more apparent.

Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku's shurikens they threw at each other didn't seem like they were meant to hit their opponents. It appeared more like they were aiming to strike the shurikens thrown by their opponents.

Clang! Clang!

As the sound of shuriken collisions continued...

Teacher Yinsui's expression became increasingly exasperated.

"Alright, stop! That's enough, it's a tie!"

Yinsui helplessly called off the simulated duel between the two. He felt that if he didn't intervene, these two could keep going until the end of the school day. Their acting skills clearly indicated that they were aiming for a draw.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku almost simultaneously stopped, showing no intention to continue the fight. They both turned towards Teacher Yinsui.

Then, the two of them locked eyes for a moment.

A faint smile curled up at the corners of their mouths.

They could see the understanding between each other in their eyes.

They walked forward, approaching each other until they were face to face. Simultaneously, they extended the hands that had just formed the hand seal, with those same two fingers directly hooking onto each other, resembling a locking mechanism.

This hand seal was the symbol of reconciliation among ninjas.

Ninjas perform the seal of opposition before a duel, indicating to their opponent that the battle is about to begin. After the fight, they perform the seal of reconciliation, symbolizing that they are still comrades and that any rift can be resolved.

Teacher Yinsui didn't miss the small movements between the two, but those things were no longer important. Even if these two put on a coordinated performance, it gave him a better understanding of their abilities and set a good tone for the simulated duel.

Teacher Yinsui gained some experience from this incident, realizing that next time during the simulated duel, he definitely couldn't group these two together.

"Next group..."

Teacher Yinsui's gaze moved towards the line, and after the incident between Inoichi Yamanaka and Nara Shikaku, he understood that he couldn't choose close friends who had too much understanding of each other. These young students had already learned how to put on a show.

"Araki..."

Teacher Yinsui's gaze immediately fell on Araki. He felt it was appropriate to call out Araki first since this student had a solitary personality and no friends, or rather, didn't have any friends at all. There would be no chance for them to collude and fake another round.

After all, this was a simulated duel at the ninja school. They couldn't cheat all the time; otherwise, it would lose its credibility.

After calling out Araki's name, Teacher Yinsui scanned the other students in the line, looking for someone suitable.

In an instant, he saw many eager eyes.

It left him bewildered...

When did Araki become so popular? No one paid attention to him before, but now there were suddenly many students, using their eyes to indicate that they wanted to be selected for the simulated duel.

Such a scene...

It puzzled Teacher Yinsui.

However...

He wasn't sure about Araki's true abilities, so he couldn't hastily choose his opponent for the match.

As he contemplated, his gaze landed on the person at the back of the line, who was also eager.

Why not let him go?

Even if Araki were to lose, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

After all...

The other person came from a prestigious clan!

"Hyuga Sora!"

Teacher Yinsui called out a name that shocked the entire class.