Hey! I Have a Plan!

After the morning theory class ended, it was time for the Ninja Tool Throwing class Hikawa had been looking forward to.

Led by Eiichirō, everyone arrived at the training grounds.

The Ninja Tool Throwing class was divided into two sessions.

The first session was for Eiichirō to explain the key points.

The second session was for everyone to practice throwing ninja tools.

Hikawa listened with utmost attention.

After all, this concerned whether he could quickly obtain a new tag.

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

And as the Hokage's son, he had a private tutor who was even a Special Jōnin.

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

But... Sarutobi Asuma stared at Hikawa and Yuhi Kurenai, his face full of unwillingness.

Why?

He had clearly been there first!

Jealousy burned in Sarutobi Asuma's heart.

Yuhi Kurenai had always stood with him before, but today, she was standing beside Hikawa.

Hey! I have an idea!

Sarutobi Asuma thought of a way to win Yuhi Kurenai back.

It was simple. He just had to defeat Hikawa, didn't he?

In the ninja world, the most important ironclad rule was that the strong were respected.

Besides, there was a huge gap between Hikawa and him.

He was guaranteed to win.

"Now, we'll begin the ninja tool throwing practice."

As Eiichirō spoke, he set up a row of wooden targets. "If there's anything wrong, I'll point it out."

"Teacher, I'll go first!"

Sarutobi Asuma raised his chin and shouted.

After speaking, he gave Yuhi Kurenai a look that said, 'Watch me perform.'

Hikawa recalled a phrase: the fighting rooster among roosters.

Sarutobi Asuma was completely overflowing with hormones right now.

But Yuhi Kurenai did not understand his signal and looked confused.

Thud, thud, thud—three sounds rang out.

With a suave flick of his hand, Sarutobi Asuma sent three kunai flying, all of them striking the bullseye.

He turned around and looked at Hikawa with a smug expression, then froze on the spot.

Yuhi Kurenai had lowered her head and was quietly saying something to Hikawa.

"Not bad!"

Eiichirō took the lead in applauding.

Sarutobi Asuma could not feel happy at all.

The liveliness belonged to them; he had nothing.

Had his strategy gone wrong? That made no sense.

"Thank you, Kurenai."

After listening to Yuhi Kurenai's private explanation, Hikawa spoke.

As for Sarutobi Asuma hitting the target three times in a row, no one found it surprising.

Because he was the Hokage's son.

Hikawa found a nearby wooden target.

Following the techniques Yuhi Kurenai had taught him, he threw a kunai.

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

"That's it?"

Sarutobi Asuma, who had been watching him closely, could not help saying.

"Keep it up!"

Yuhi Kurenai clenched her little fist and said.

"..."

Seeing this, Sarutobi Asuma was furious.

Why?

Brother, he could barely breathe.

The Ninja Tool Throwing class ended.

Hikawa's progress bar had reached 10%.

E-rank Ninja Tool Throwing only required basic proficiency with shuriken and kunai, so it was not that difficult.

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

A green blur shot past Hikawa's eyes.

He subconsciously looked up and saw Might Guy.

In the original work, he was the true man who had nearly kicked the finale into existence with the Eight Gates.

Though his behavior and personality were rather eccentric.

"Next time for sure!"

Hatake Kakashi directly used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

After enrolling, he had displayed extraordinary strength and been latched onto by Might Guy.

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

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

How could he stand that?

"What incredible speed!"

Might Guy's eyes lit up, and he broke into a smile. "As expected of my lifelong rival!"

Watching one chase while the other fled, Hikawa remembered his plan to exercise.

But he would not be able to endure training with Might Guy.

Not just mentally, but physically as well.

Might Guy, who could train the Eight Gates to its peak, undoubtedly possessed physical combat talent unmatched in the Ninja World.

Following his training regimen, Hikawa felt that Yuhi Kurenai would be mourning him in less than a week.

"Hikawa!"

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

Might Guy had just given him the inspiration.

"Asuma."

Yuhi Kurenai asked with some displeasure, "Aren't you just bullying him?"

Her impression of Sarutobi Asuma had been fairly good before, but now she felt he was simply making trouble for no reason.

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

"I... I didn't mean it like that!"

Sarutobi Asuma realized the problem and hurriedly explained, "I can wait until the end of the term to duel!"

Love had gone to his head.

Sarutobi Asuma was actually not a bad person in the original work.

He was just genuinely rebellious right now.

But he could not really be blamed.

Kids were always reckless in what they did.

As for this duel, it had come at exactly the right time.

Could the system he had just obtained possibly let him suffer?

Besides, Sarutobi Asuma was indeed a good touchstone, someone he could use as a measuring unit for a normal genius.

"No problem."

Hikawa agreed.

The end of the term was about three months away.

If he still could not beat six-year-old Sarutobi Asuma after getting a cheat, he might as well find Tsunade and smash his head into her.

Yuhi Kurenai seemed to want to say something but held back, concern showing on her face.

"Excellent!"

Sarutobi Asuma immediately became excited.

But he did not notice Yuhi Kurenai's changed attitude toward him at all.

After setting the date for the duel with Sarutobi Asuma, Hikawa gained a little more motivation.

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

After nightfall, Hikawa took a bath, lay on his bed, and opened the system.

After a night of training, the progress of the 'Ninja Tool Throwing' tag had risen by another 5%.

At this rate, he would probably obtain the tag in about a week.

But judging by the current situation, he still had too few tags.

Hikawa decided that starting tomorrow, he would get up early to exercise. He would obtain the tag first and worry about the rest later.

With the progress bar in sight, he would have more drive as well.

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

Thinking about his future plans, Hikawa fell asleep, exhausted in both body and mind.

"Hikawa... Hikawa..."

In the quiet night, a faint voice suddenly rang out.

Hikawa abruptly sat up and could not help rubbing his eyes.

What was going on?

Who was summoning souls in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?

Just then, the voice came to an abrupt stop.

"...?"

Hikawa subconsciously looked out the window.

Under the moonlight, faint Chakra outlined a line of words.

"Meet at Konoha Knowledge Bookstore at nine o'clock Sunday morning."

It only lasted a few seconds before the Chakra slowly dissipated and vanished.

Hikawa's heart jolted.

This was a Kumogakure ninja contacting him!

Were the undercover agents finally going to meet each other?

It was just... the location was not on a rooftop. The vibe was all wrong.

He wondered which Kumogakure ninja was coming to make contact.

What Hikawa remembered most clearly about Kumogakure was the ever-present conceptual god Hentai Raikage and Samui, whose figure did not lose to Tsunade's.