Eh! I Have a Plan!

The morning theory class ended, and Hikawa arrived at the Ninja Tool Throwing lesson he had been looking forward to.

Under Eiichirō's lead, everyone came to the training ground.

The Ninja Tool Throwing lesson was divided into two parts: the first and second periods.

The first period was Eiichirō explaining the key points.

The second period was everyone practicing ninja tool throwing.

Hikawa listened with extreme seriousness.

After all, this concerned whether he could quickly obtain new word entries.

In contrast, Sarutobi Asuma had already mastered the relevant techniques of ninja tool throwing before even enrolling.

Moreover, as the son of the Hokage, he had a private tutor, and a Special Jōnin at that.

In the entire class, aside from Hatake Kakashi, he was confident he could defeat any student.

But... Asuma stared at Hikawa and Yuhi Kurenai, a look of unwillingness on his face.

Why?

It was him who came first!

Asuma burned with jealousy.

In the past, Kurenai always stood with him, but today she stood by Hikawa's side.

Hey! I have an idea!

Asuma thought of a way to win Kurenai back.

Simple—wasn't it just a matter of defeating Hikawa?

In the world of shinobi, the most important iron law was that the strong rule.

Besides, the gap between Hikawa and him was huge.

He was guaranteed to win.

"Now begin the ninja tool throwing practice."

Eiichirō said as he set up a row of wooden posts. "If there's anything wrong, I'll point it out."

"Sensei, I'll go first!"

Asuma lifted his head and said loudly.

With that, he shot Kurenai a look that said, 'Watch me perform.'

Hikawa recalled a saying: the fighting cock among roosters.

Asuma was now completely bursting with hormones.

But Kurenai didn't understand his hint and showed a puzzled expression.

Thud, thud, thud—three sounds.

Asuma flicked his wrist stylishly, and all three kunai struck the bullseye.

He turned around, looking smugly at Hikawa, then froze entirely.

Kurenai was leaning in, quietly saying something to Hikawa.

"Not bad!"

Eiichirō led the applause.

Asuma couldn't muster any joy at all.

The excitement was theirs; he had nothing.

Had his strategy gone wrong? That didn't make sense.

"Thank you, Kurenai."

Hikawa said after listening to her private coaching.

As for Asuma's three perfect hits, no one found it surprising.

Because he was the Hokage's son.

Hikawa picked a wooden post nearby.

Following the technique Kurenai had taught him, he threw the kunai.

The kunai hit, but it was still some distance from the bullseye.

"Is that it?"

Asuma, who had been watching him closely, couldn't help but say.

"Keep it up!"

Kurenai clenched her little fist and said.

"..."

Sarutobi Asuma saw this and fumed.

Why him?

Bro, you can't even breathe.

Ninja Tool Throwing class ended.

Hikawa's progress bar had already reached 10%.

E-rank Ninja Tool Throwing only required basic proficiency in shuriken and kunai, so it wasn't that difficult.

"Kakashi! Let's have a youthful duel!"

A green blur flashed past Hikawa's eyes.

He looked up instinctively and saw Might Guy.

In the original story, this was the real man who, with the Eight Gates, nearly kicked his way to the finale.

It was just that his behavior and personality were a bit abstract.

"Next time for sure!"

Hatake Kakashi used the Body Flicker Technique and bolted.

After enrolling, because he'd shown exceptional strength, he'd been hounded by Might Guy.

At first, he'd been interested enough to fight him a few times.

But Might Guy was like an unkillable cockroach, full of passion every single day, finding new ways to challenge him to spar.

How could he put up with that?

"Such speed!"

Might Guy's eyes lit up, a grin spreading across his face. "As expected of my lifelong rival!"

Hikawa watched him chase while the other fled, and thought of his own plan to train his body.

But training with Might Guy? He couldn't handle it.

Not just mentally, but physically too.

Might Guy, who'd pushed the Eight Gates to their limit, had talent in taijutsu that absolutely dominated the ninja world.

Following his training methods, Hikawa felt he wouldn't even last a week before Yuhi Kurenai would be mourning him.

"Hikawa!"

Sarutobi Asuma blocked Hikawa's path and said, "I challenge you to a duel!"

This was inspiration he'd just gotten from Might Guy.

"Asuma."

Yuhi Kurenai asked, a little dissatisfied, "Aren't you just bullying him?"

She'd had a decent impression of Sarutobi Asuma before, but now she thought he was being unreasonable.

Hikawa had only been exposed to ninja knowledge for less than two days; he was basically no different from an ordinary person.

"I... that's not what I meant!"

Sarutobi Asuma realized his mistake and quickly explained, "I can wait until the end of the term to duel!"

Love had gone to his head.

Sarutobi Asuma was actually a decent person in the original story.

It was just that right now, he was being rebellious.

But you couldn't really blame him.

Kids, after all, act without restraint.

As for this duel, it came at just the right time.

With the system he'd just gotten, was he supposed to sell himself short?

And Sarutobi Asuma really was a good touchstone—a decent unit of measurement for an ordinary genius.

"No problem."

Hikawa agreed.

The end of the term was about three months away.

If he had a cheat and still couldn't beat a six-year-old Sarutobi Asuma, he might as well go find Tsunade and smash his head against a wall until he died.

Yuhi Kurenai hesitated, worry showing on her face.

"Great!"

Sarutobi Asuma was instantly excited.

But he completely failed to notice the change in Yuhi Kurenai's attitude toward him.

After setting the duel date with Sarutobi Asuma, Hikawa found himself with a bit more motivation.

He returned home, ate dinner, and then ran to the small woods outside to continue training.

That night, Hikawa took a bath, lay down on the bed, and opened the system.

After a full evening of training, the progress bar for 'Ninja Tool Throwing' had increased by another 5%.

At this rate, he'd acquire the entry in about a week.

But looking at the current situation, he still had too few entries.

Hikawa decided to wake up early tomorrow and start physical training—first get the entries out of the way.

Then, watching the progress bar would give him more motivation.

Besides physical training, there was also the classic Three Body Technique study and Chakra control practice.

Hikawa thought about his future plans, exhausted in both body and mind, and drifted into sleep.

"Hikawa... Hikawa..."

In the quiet night, a faint voice suddenly echoed.

Hikawa sat up abruptly and couldn't help rubbing his eyes.

What's going on?

Not sleeping in the dead of night, mumbling like a summoning ritual?

Just then, the voice stopped.

"...?"

Hikawa instinctively looked toward the window.

Under the moonlight, an extremely faint trace of Chakra outlined a line of text.

"Sunday, 9 AM, meet at Konoha Knowledge Bookstore."

It lasted only a few seconds before the Chakra slowly dissipated, gone without a trace.

Hikawa's heart jolted.

This was a Kumogakure ninja contacting him!

Finally, the undercover agents were going to meet?

It's just... the location wasn't a rooftop—the vibe was off.

He wondered which Kumogakure ninja would be the contact.

The most vivid impressions Hikawa had of Kumogakure were the omnipresent conceptual god Hentai Raikage and Samui, who rivaled Tsunade.