SWNOVELXO Chapter 8: CHAPTER 8
"Asuma, are you sure you want to challenge Kakashi?"
The teacher's voice carried a hint of warning.
Asuma froze for a split second.
His gaze swept toward Kakashi—calm, unreadable, hands casually in his pockets. The genius everyone talked about. The boy his own father compared him to.
Regret prickled at the back of Asuma's neck.
But it was too late. Hong was watching. Everyone was watching.
If he backed down now, he'd never live it down.
- "Of course, Sensei."
Asuma clenched his teeth, chewing on the piece of grass in his mouth for effect.
"Gotta stretch my muscles. Can't be like certain people who quit before even trying."
His eyes flicked briefly to Haneda as he spat out the last part.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd:
- "Whoa, the Hokage's son versus the genius…"
"Kakashi is Sakumo-sama's kid, though. He's on a different level."
"Yeah, but Asuma's still from a big clan… This could get interesting."
The teacher turned to Kakashi.
- "Kakashi, what do you say?"
Kakashi didn't hesitate.
- "…Fine."
A single word, calm and soft.
They moved to the center of the training field, standing opposite each other.
---
Asuma tried to steady his breathing, but his palms were sweaty around the kunai.
This wasn't just any opponent—this was Hatake Kakashi, the top student of their year. The name every parent mentioned.
Don't think about that.
Asuma's jaw tightened.
- For my pride… For Hong… I can't lose!
The teacher raised the flag.
- "Begin!"
---
Asuma charged first, kunai flashing.
Metal clashed with a sharp clang, sparks flying as Kakashi parried with effortless precision.
Kakashi's gaze sharpened. He'd already spotted Asuma's openings.
He could end this in one move. But—his father's words echoed in his mind:
"Don't humiliate your comrades. Power should protect, not crush."
He hesitated for half a heartbeat.
Asuma caught it.
- "Now!"
He lunged, striking again and again. Kunai slashed through the air in a flurry.
But Kakashi… didn't falter.
A twist of the wrist, a sidestep, and every strike missed by a hair's breadth.
---
From the sidelines, Hong's voice rang out:
- "Come on, Asuma!"
Her cheering lit a fire in his chest.
She's watching! She's watching me!
Asuma smirked, spinning his kunai like a showman.
- "What's the big deal about this so-called genius? He's nothing special."
Kakashi ignored the taunt. His mind was elsewhere.
If this were a mission, he'd already secured victory.
But this wasn't life or death—it was a spar.
What's more important… the mission, or your comrades?
That single thought held him back—just long enough for Asuma to push harder, kunai whistling past Kakashi's face.
- "Is this the famous Kakashi? Hah! Guess you're just hype!"
Asuma's grin widened as his confidence swelled.
Kakashi exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.
Enough.
---
Poof!
A wooden log dropped where Kakashi had stood.
Asuma's blade bit into it with a dull thunk.
He blinked in shock.
- "Wha—Substitution? When—?!"
A voice, cold and calm, murmured behind him:
- "If this were real… you'd be dead."
A kunai pressed lightly against Asuma's neck.
The breath froze in his throat.
The teacher's voice cut through the silence:
- "Winner—Hatake Kakashi!"
---
Cheers erupted immediately.
- "Wow! So cool!"
"That speed! I didn't even see him move!"
"Kakashi's amazing—so calm and precise!"
A chorus of squeals followed:
- "Kakashi-kun! You're the best!"
"He's soooo cool!"
"Don't fight me for him—I saw him first!"
Asuma's stomach twisted into knots.
Each cheer for Kakashi stabbed like a kunai.
Especially Hong's—her eyes shining, fixed on Kakashi.
His fists clenched until his knuckles went white.
Humiliation, anger, jealousy—boiling in his chest.
---
Kakashi walked back, stopping in front of him.
Expression unreadable, he extended a hand for the seal of reconciliation.
- "Good match."
But to Asuma, that hand felt like an insult.
A reminder that no matter how hard he tried, he was still beneath this guy.
Beneath the genius.
- "Enough!"
Asuma slapped his hand away, voice trembling with fury.
"Don't act like some noble hero, son of that man! I don't need your pity!"
The world seemed to freeze.
Kakashi's fingers curled slightly. His eyes—still and cold—shifted to Asuma.
That man.
Everyone knew what Asuma meant.
A whisper of tension rippled through the class.
White Fang—the name no one dared mention.
Even the teacher stiffened, heart pounding.
A Hokage's son. The White Fang's son.
If this blew up…
- "Asuma!"
The teacher's voice cracked like a whip.
"That's enough! This is a school, not a place to insult families!"
But Asuma wasn't done.
His vision tunneled on Kakashi as rage spilled over.
- "Why?! Why is everyone praising him? Why does Hong look at him like that?!"
Words twisted into venom.
- "White Fang's a disgrace! A failure who threw away the mission for his comrades—and dragged Konoha down with him! Even his own allies blamed him! He's trash! Trash of the Leaf!"
---
The air turned to ice.
Kakashi's hand dropped.
The seal of reconciliation fell to the dirt.
Inside his head, the words echoed, tearing at old wounds.
White Fang… a disgrace…
The whispers, the stares, the villagers pointing fingers.
His father's tired smile when he came home.
That bitter laugh as he said, "It's nothing, Kakashi."
The betrayal—those he saved condemning him.
---
Kakashi's bangs shadowed his eyes.
The question clawed its way back, burning hotter than ever:
"Ninja… what's more important? The mission… or your comrades?"