“I don’t get it though,” Ino keeps on, reluctantly getting into a fighting stance despite his bored expression. “I don’t feel like i’m getting any better. Surely sparring won’t help unless it’s with someone, I don’t know, stronger than me…?”

And he’s clearly got at least some sense, cringing as he says the words, realizing how wrong they sound and how easily they could be misconstrued. “N-Not that you’re not strong, I mean, but, you know.”