While Keiko was in a meeting at the hospital, Hanfu lay comfortably on the tatami, squinting as he counted the "stars."
The Chakra Refinement Technique, the Three Body Technique, the Great Fireball Technique, Ninja Tool Throwing Technique (Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon), and Tōton. Near the Green Light Orb in his mind floated six pale blue Light Spots and a single Red Stardust!
Beautiful!
As Hanfu marveled at the sight, he suddenly noticed something was off.
There seemed to be one missing.
Right, what about the incomplete Kunai Throwing Technique he'd collected from that girl Anko?
Had it disappeared?
Or had it merged with Ninja Tool Throwing Technique?
A few days ago, when he collected Tōton, Hanfu had learned that the Collection Technique could merge things. It could combine identical Kekkei Genkai, and now it seemed it could do the same with identical techniques!
Hanfu's imagination ran wild. If I collect the Great Fireball Technique from a hundred people and merge them, will my fireball become even more powerful than Uchiha Madara's Great Fire Annihilation?
Hanfu was itching to try, but unfortunately, he could only use the Collection Technique three times a day, and he could collect from the same person only three times!
So, for now, Hanfu needed to collect as many different techniques as possible and build up his "collection." Later, he could pick out the most useful ones, collect them repeatedly, and specialize in them.
In short: build high walls, store up provisions, and bide his time!
After counting the stars, Hanfu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. With no other choice, he climbed off the tatami.
When he reached the backyard, he saw his little brother gripping a wooden sword and going at a wooden post. The gentle moonlight spilled down, stretching the boy's shadow long across the ground.
Hanfu stepped down from the veranda. The night breeze stirred the grass in the backyard, brushing lightly against his ankles and making them itch.
"Big brother."
Gekko Hayate turned at the sight of Hanfu and called out between breaths. Then he turned back and continued whacking the post.
Hanfu circled the post, feeling a little bored. But, honestly, his hands were itching.
After all, he'd collected Ninja Tool Throwing Technique. As the saying went, returning home in glory was like wearing fine clothes in the dark. Hanfu tried to hold himself back, but couldn't, so he went inside and dug out a Ninja Tool Pouch.
It had belonged to Gekko Hoshino. It was a little old, and inside were some discarded kunai and shuriken. Some were covered in cracks, while others had rusted edges.
Hanfu strapped the Ninja Tool Pouch to his thigh. Then, thinking it best to avoid accidentally hurting his little brother, he climbed over the wall into the neighboring backyard and let loose.
He pulled out a kunai and hurled it at the wall without even looking.
Clang!
The kunai cut through the air in a dark blur, slammed into the wall, then bounced down onto the grass.
Hitting a wall wasn't satisfying at all.
Hanfu ran over to retrieve the kunai, then drew a target on the wall: a large circle around a smaller one, with an even smaller one inside that. There were nine circles in all, and the one in the very center was tiny, barely the size of a thumb.
Then, with a serious look, Hanfu backed up ten steps. After a moment's thought, he walked forward five.
"Then, I'll—" He spat.
Hanfu spat a glob of sour-pickled phlegm onto the ground. Damn it, is chuunibyou contagious too?
Hanfu shook his head, then drew a kunai and shuriken and swiftly flung them out in a flurry.
In just two or three seconds, amid a clatter of metal, he'd sent every ninja tool in the pouch flying.
But...
If you ignored the target, Hanfu's throwing form was textbook-perfect. His balance, from his limbs to the fine movements of his wrist and fingers, was flawless!
But Hanfu knew that most of the kunai and shuriken he'd thrown had missed the target entirely. And as he threw, he'd clearly felt his body stiffen, as if the system had taken control of him and forced him into the throwing motions.
Frowning, Hanfu walked over to retrieve the tools from the grass and glanced at the wall. Sure enough, most of the marks left by the kunai and shuriken were outside the outermost circle. His results were utterly miserable!
"Why is my aim so ridiculously bad?"
If he ever ran into an enemy, he'd be so furious with himself he'd die.
Hanfu cleared his mind and kept practicing.
As the number of throws grew, the feeling of being "controlled" inside Hanfu gradually faded, just as expected. The stiffness in his body eased, replaced by a sense of familiarity that felt as if it had been with him from birth. The tiny marks left by the kunai and shuriken on the wall also began to draw closer to the tiny center circle!
An hour later.
Clang!
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Hanfu threw five kunai in quick succession, alternating hands. Every single one hit the tiny circle in the center!
"So that's how it works!"
Hanfu finally understood. Although the Collection Technique had given him direct mastery of Ninja Tool Throwing, he still needed to practice for an hour to truly make it his own and hit the mark every time!
There really was no such thing as a free lunch!
Hanfu sighed.
Now, Hanfu toyed with a kunai in his hand, his fingers tracing the cracks and rust along its surface. He could feel the kunai breathing, crying out, listening to his wishes—as if it had become an extension of his body!
Hanfu savored the strange sense of familiarity, then lightly tossed it.
The instant the kunai left his hand, Hanfu's fingers gave a subtle flick, adjusting its trajectory. With a clang, the kunai traced a graceful arc and embedded itself at the very top of the target, exactly where he'd imagined it would land—not a hair off!
Hanfu continued practicing, moving back from five steps to ten, then fifteen. In just half an hour, he could hit whatever he aimed at again!
That was the stuff!
Hanfu finally let a smile spread across his face.
It was no exaggeration to say that, with his current Ninja Tool Throwing Technique, he'd already surpassed every student at the Ninja Academy. Even Uchiha Shisui... probably?
Uchiha Shisui was certainly talented, but he hadn't been tempered by war. His Kunai Throwing Technique probably hadn't yet reached the level it would in his prime.
So...
"I'm the coolest kid at the Ninja Academy!"
Hanfu rubbed his aching, swollen arms. If Gekko Hoshino hadn't trained him over the past year, he wouldn't have been able to keep up Ninja Tool Throwing for more than two hours. But now, all that effort had paid off.
After quietly collecting every ninja tool from the grass, Hanfu thought for a moment, then used a kunai to scrape every mark off the wall.
Once he'd finished, Hanfu clambered back over the wall into his own yard like a dog.
His little brother was still whacking the post. Sweat drenched his face, but his eyes were unwavering, utterly focused.
On a whim, Hanfu pulled out a kunai and tossed it at him.
Whoosh!
The kunai cut through the air, shooting straight toward the edge of the wooden sword in Gekko Hayate's hands.
Hearing the whistle of the blade, Gekko Hayate turned on instinct. Using the momentum from his waist and abdomen, he swung the wooden sword sideways.
Thwack!
The kunai struck the edge of the wooden sword dead on, then bounced to the ground.
Gekko Hayate staggered half a step backward. Looking down, he saw a deep, jagged crack in the blade of his wooden sword.
"Big brother..."
Gekko Hayate stared blankly at the wooden sword in his hands. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened, and then he cried out excitedly, "Amazing! Big brother, you're incredible! How did you do that just now? Amazing!"
Hanfu sighed, unable to resist showing off. "Little bro, there's a reason behind everything. You can't just brute-force your way through. You have to look past appearances and see the truth. You have to be observant, pay attention, and, most importantly, work efficiently!"
Gekko Hayate nodded as if he understood, then shook his head.
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it. I'm going to wash up." Hanfu waved and sauntered away.
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