Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

But then a problem arises: the cake is too big. If only a dozen or so small candles representing age are symbolically inserted in the center of the cake, it will look particularly lonely and out of place.

"It looks really strange to just stick a few candles in it," Yamanaka Ino said, hands on her hips, examining the cake.

“Yes, it feels empty,” Tian Tian agreed.

Just as everyone was struggling with the decision, Nara Shikamaru, who was quick-witted, yawned and said, "Well, since the cake is so big, why don't we just stick all the candles we brought in on it and light them? It'll look more lively and avoid any waste."

The suggestion was immediately approved by most people; after all, more candles create a better atmosphere!

Iruka-sensei thought it was a good idea, solving both the aesthetic problem and avoiding waste, so he readily adopted it. "Okay, let's do it that way! Naruto, Kiba, you two have plenty of energy, so the task of lighting the candles is yours!"

"Huh? Why us?" Naruto's face fell.

He looked at the large bag on the table, containing at least a hundred thin candles, and felt a chill run down his spine.

His teeth fell, and he said, "Yeah, Iruka-sensei, how long are we going to keep this up?"

"Enough nonsense, this is a mission!" Iruka said sternly, but his eyes were smiling. He knew these two kids couldn't stay idle, so he was just giving them something to do.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and Kiba's reluctant expressions, and then glanced at the astonishing number of candles in the bag. It wasn't that he felt sorry for the two of them, but he wondered how long it would take them to finish lighting the candles so clumsily.

"I'll help." Sasuke stepped forward and picked up a box of matches from the table... No, he didn't need matches at all.

Sasuke formed hand seals with fluid and swift movements, then shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A series of soft popping sounds rang out, and a row of candles lit up, their orange flames leaping merrily—a far more efficient method than using matches.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Sakura, Ino, and the other girls immediately had hearts in their eyes.

"As expected of Sasuke!" The other students exclaimed in amazement.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's precise control of Fire Release techniques, momentarily stunned, then slapped his forehead in realization, "That's right! The Uchiha clan is most skilled in Fire Release!"

As if he had discovered a new continent, his eyes searched through the crowd and quickly locked onto you hiding in the corner.

"Nagi-chan! Help me!" Naruto rushed over without thinking, grabbed a handful of candles from the candle pack, and held it up like a strange bouquet.

"Use your Fire Release techniques to set all of these on fire for me!"

Looking at the densely packed candles in front of him, and then at Naruto's expectant eyes, he remained silent for two seconds.

Then, you extend your right index finger, and chakra slightly gathers at the tip.

Without forming hand seals or even calling out the name of the technique, he simply swept the tip of the candle in Naruto's hand lightly with the cluster of eerie blue flame at his fingertips.

The wicks of the entire bundle of candles were ignited simultaneously in an instant, and the flames shot up with a "whoosh," startling Naruto so much that he almost dropped the candles.

"It's lit...it's lit! So fast! Thank you, Nagi-chan!" Naruto looked at the large bunch of blazing torches in his hand, both surprised and delighted.

Kiba Inuzuka, who was standing nearby, felt a little resentful upon seeing this.

"Hey, Nagi! Help me out too!" Kiba grabbed a bunch of candles and came over, looking at you expectantly.

You felt somewhat helpless, but you still used the same method. A flash of blue flame appeared at your fingertips, and Bangya lit the candle in his hand as well.

Thus, the following scene unfolded: Sasuke used a simplified version of the Fireball Jutsu to efficiently and stylishly light rows of candles.

Naruto and Kiba, each holding a large bundle of burning candles, were so excited they forgot themselves.

The lit candles need to be placed on the cake.

However, Naruto and Kiba clearly overestimated their coordination abilities and underestimated the danger of holding dozens of burning candles at the same time.

"Haha, Kiba, let's have a contest to see who can stick it in the fastest!" Naruto, holding his torch, excitedly rushed towards the cake.

“Let’s have a contest! Akamaru, let’s go!” Kiba was not to be outdone, so he picked up Akamaru and followed with another bundle of torches.

The two darted around the long table where the cakes were displayed and among the surrounding crowd.

They clumsily tried to stick the candles into the cake, but because they were carrying too many and were clumsy, melted wax kept dripping onto the floor. To make matters worse, sparks kept falling off the candles as they ran and bumped into each other!

"Hey! Naruto! Watch out!" Ino screamed as she swatted a spark that had landed on her blonde hair.

"Ya! You idiot! My new dress!" Sakura angrily dodged away.

The scene began to become chaotic and out of control.

Meanwhile, Iruka, with his back to the brewing disaster, was engrossed in his notebook, his brow furrowed, muttering to himself, "Hmm... should the next game be a relay race or a guessing game of ninjutsu? I need to get everyone involved..."

He was completely absorbed in planning the next steps, oblivious to the raging war behind him.

Choji Akimichi was munching on potato chips when he suddenly sniffed hard and looked at Shino Aburame next to him with a puzzled expression. "Shino, can you smell the aroma of barbecue? It smells pretty good."

Shino Aburame calmly analyzed, "Judging from the composition of the odor molecules and the diffusion trajectory, Choji, this is not the smell of barbecue. It is the smell of burning cotton, wood and pigment. Simply put, the auditorium is on fire."

Choji said "Oh," as if suddenly realizing something, and continued to stuff the potato chips in his mouth, chewing them a couple of times.

Suddenly, he froze, his eyes widened, and he spat out the potato chip crumbs he had just swallowed. "Wh...what? Fire...on fire!"

Just as Choji screamed, Sakura Haruno was the first to fully realize what was happening and sound the alarm.

She pointed to a ribbon on the corner of the long table that had caught fire from sparks, which had already ignited the tablecloth covering it. "Fire! Fire!"

The joyful atmosphere of the birthday party vanished instantly.

"Fire!"

“Run!”

"Water! Quick, get some water!"

Everyone scattered like startled sparrows. Some went to find buckets of water, while others stood frozen in fear. Naruto and Kiba, for example, were still holding candles and looking around blankly, not understanding how the fire had started.

Teacher Iruka was finally jolted awake from his game planning. When he looked up, he saw a flame that was growing larger and larger on the long table not far away.

"Calm down! Everyone calm down! Don't panic!" Iruka shouted to maintain order while quickly forming hand seals, "Water Release: Water Chaos Wave!"

A stream of water spurted from his mouth and rushed towards the flames. Instead of being extinguished, the flames shot up even higher as if they had been doused with oil.

"What's going on?" Iruka was dumbfounded. Although his water jutsu wasn't top-tier, it should have been more than enough to extinguish such a small fire!

In the crowd, Nara Shikamaru glanced at you standing not far away and sighed helplessly, "That's why helping an idiot like Naruto will definitely bring even bigger trouble."

The fire style you used is not ordinary fire.

In pursuit of ultimate temperature and combustion efficiency, the properties of chakra were modified, resulting in higher flame temperatures, greater adhesion and sustainability, and even the ability to resist the impact of ordinary water flow to a certain extent.

When you lit the candles for Naruto and Kiba just now, those sparks naturally carried this property as well.

Naruto and Kiba finally stopped. Looking at the still stubbornly burning flames, they were initially panicked, but when they saw Iruka-sensei already working hard to put out the fire, they inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Ya scratched his head, "It seems... I've gotten into trouble?"

Naruto stared at the flames, and a strange thought suddenly popped into his head. His eyes lit up. "Hey, Kiba, what if the Ninja Academy burns down too? Does that mean we won't have to go to school anymore?"

The moment that dangerous thought left his mouth, Naruto felt a murderous gaze fixated on him.

He turned his head stiffly, only to meet Iruka-sensei's face, which was contorted with anger.

Iruka, while futilely spraying water, clearly conveyed, "Naruto Uzumaki! You just wait!"

Naruto shrank back in fright.

Just as Iruka's water jutsu was proving ineffective and the flames were about to ignite the hanging decorative banner.

Sai, who had been quiet all along, had already unrolled the scroll and brushes. "Super Beast Imitation Painting - Water Snake!"

He wielded his brush, and with a few strokes, several lifelike ink snakes leaped from the scroll, nimbly lunging towards the flames.

After a burst of steam, the flames were completely extinguished. A corner of the long table was charred black, and the tablecloth and ribbons were reduced to charred remains. The air was filled with the smell of burning and steam, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Chapter 357 Revenge

A perfectly good birthday celebration turned into a fire drill in the blink of an eye.

The students were still in shock, while the culprits, Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka, stood there with unrepentant expressions.

"You two!! After school tomorrow! Clean the auditorium for a month! No! Two months!! Now! Immediately! Go stand there as punishment! Reflect on your actions!!!" Iruka pointed to the door, his chest heaving violently, feeling that his teaching career was undergoing an unprecedented test.

Naruto and Kiba, looking like wilted eggplants, groaned and drooped their heads, reluctantly making their way out.

Faced with Iruka's fury, they dared not utter another word.

Iruka's anger was clearly not yet fully vented. He stared at Naruto and Kiba, especially at the wax still on their hands, and suddenly realized a crucial question.

"Wait! Don't rush to make you stand in the corner! Tell me, who was it! Who was so eager to stir things up that they used ninjutsu to light such a huge bunch of candles for you? Did they think the fire wasn't big enough?!"

Naruto and Kiba, who were about to slip away, froze on the spot, their faces turning deathly pale in an instant.

Oh no! Iruka-sensei has hit the nail on the head!

Although Naruto and Kiba are usually reckless and mischievous, they still have a basic sense of loyalty.

If they were to expose you now and make you suffer the same punishment, that would be incredibly unmanly of them!

Moreover, their intuition told them that if they really betrayed you, their fate would be ten times worse than it is now.

It may not only come from Iruka, but also from some troublesome individuals.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing the same resolve in each other's eyes: They would rather die than tell!

"It was...we set it on fire by accident!" Naruto said stiffly, trying to cover it up, but his stammering tone was unconvincing.

"Yes! Yes! It's about using...using matches!" Ya quickly chimed in, his eyes darting around.

Iruka could tell they were lying from their guilty looks, and he was so angry he almost laughed. "Matches? Light dozens of candles with one match? Do you think I'm an idiot?! Tell me! Who is it?"

Naruto and Kiba kept their mouths tightly shut, like two quails, determined not to speak.

You don't like owing favors, and you especially don't like dragging others down with your actions, even unintentionally. Making Naruto and Kiba take the blame is against you.

You raise your arm, ready to admit it.

Both arms were firmly held down by hands from different directions at the same time.

Your left wrist is tightly gripped by a hand with distinct knuckles. You turn your head slightly and meet Nara Shikamaru's eyes. He shakes his head at you.

You turn to the other side, and what comes into view is Uchiha Sasuke's handsome face.

Shikamaru and Sasuke, who were holding your arms, immediately became aware of each other's presence the very next second after they finished their actions to stop you.

Their eyes met briefly in the air before they simultaneously released each other, the movement so quick it was almost hasty.

Shikamaru quickly put his hands back in his pockets, and Sasuke straightened his face again, though his eyes flickered slightly.

“It’s me.” Sasuke stepped forward. “I used Fire Release to light the candles for them. I didn’t expect them to run around with the candles.”

Naruto and Kiba were also dumbfounded, staring blankly at Sasuke. They hadn't expected Sasuke to take the initiative to take responsibility.

Iruka was stunned, his anger freezing on his face.

It's Sasuke? How could it be Sasuke? Iruka's gaze swept suspiciously across Sasuke, Naruto, and Kiba's faces.

He wasn't stupid; he vaguely sensed that things weren't so simple. But Sasuke's willingness to admit it, coupled with his frank attitude, left him unsure how to proceed further.

After all, it was Sasuke's birthday today, and Sasuke was usually a good student who didn't cause him any trouble, so it was really difficult for Iruka to unleash his fury on him.

Iruka took several deep breaths, trying to calm his agitated heart. His expression changed several times before finally settling into a helpless sigh.

“Sasuke, even you can’t… sigh…” Iruka rubbed his temples. “Today is your birthday, and I don’t want to spoil the fun, but Fire Release techniques are strictly prohibited from use within the Ninja Academy, especially in places like the auditorium! It’s too dangerous! Do you understand?”

Sasuke nodded slightly. "Mm."

"Luckily, Sai was here today, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable!" Iruka glanced at the charred area with lingering fear.

"The main responsibility for this incident lies with Naruto and Kiba running around recklessly! But..."

His stern gaze swept over Naruto, Kiba, and...you who had remained silent all along.

Iruka knew perfectly well that you were definitely involved, but since Sasuke had stepped in to take the blame, he couldn't point it out.

"The main purpose today is to make everyone happy and celebrate Sasuke's birthday. We'll put the punishment aside for now! But..."

"Come to my office after school tomorrow! We need to have a serious talk about safety and discipline! Now, let's move on to the next part!"

This is the biggest concession Iruka can make.

He felt that ever since he took on this year's batch of problem children, his daily blood pressure and hairline had been undergoing severe tests, even more exciting than going on an S-class mission.

Upon hearing that they didn't have to stand in the corner as punishment, Naruto and Kiba felt like they'd been granted a pardon and quickly slipped back into the crowd, afraid that Iruka might change his mind.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down!" Iruka tried to rouse himself and restore order. "Although there was a slight mishap, our good wishes remain unchanged! Now, let's have our birthday boy, Sasuke, cut the cake for everyone!"

Everyone's attention was finally drawn to the cake.

Sasuke was indeed a little disappointed that the wishing segment was disrupted.