The Anbu's report naturally made its way to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Early the next morning, before he'd even eaten breakfast, Sarutobi Hiruzen began using his Crystal Ball to observe Akiyama Shun.
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He saw that Akiyama Shun was still practicing the Shuriken Manipulation Technique without pause.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched with great satisfaction.
"He's already so proficient, yet he's still reviewing it constantly. What a promising young talent~"
At the small training ground at Yuhi Kurenai's house, Akiyama Shun was practicing nonstop.
Yuhi Shinku had made it clear the night before that Akiyama Shun could come here to train whenever he wanted.
Since he'd said that, Akiyama Shun naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony.
Now he could finally train to his heart's content!
Akiyama Shun really had to say, [Uchiha Itachi (Ninja Prodigy)] was an excellent ninja.
First of all, he had a wide range of skills, which could quickly improve his combat strength. Most importantly, he didn't have any Kekkei Genkai-type skills!
Once you learned them, you could use them!
Besides mastering ninjutsu, Akiyama Shun also spent a great deal of time training his mind and body, using that to strengthen his chakra.
His talents in all areas were starting to show. Whether it was the Will of Fire or basic skills like shuriken throwing, he was already more than capable, and he'd begun to make a name for himself.
All that remained was the final—and most crucial—thing for a ninja.
Ninjutsu!
He had enough chakra to perform the Three Body Technique perfectly. If he graduated under normal circumstances, Akiyama Shun would definitely pass with flying colors. But if he wanted to graduate early, that still wasn't enough!
He needed enough chakra to perform two B-rank jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique and Great Fire Dragon Technique!
He already knew both jutsu. All he lacked was chakra!
As Akiyama Shun trained with complete focus, time flew by.
During that time, the school held several other small exams.
They tested the students' aim with the three ninja tools, as well as their physical fitness.
Without exception, Akiyama Shun took first place in all of them.
Kakashi came second, always falling just short of Akiyama Shun.
Yuhi Kurenai also did very well. Perhaps because Akiyama Shun inspired her, she'd consistently stayed in the top five.
With each exam, more and more people came to recognize Akiyama Shun's talent as being in a league of its own.
One evening.
As Akiyama Shun headed home after school, the corner of his eye caught sight of a strange green creature. It had no head, its two "arms" stuck straight up, and it staggered as it walked.
Akiyama Shun turned and saw Might Guy walking on his hands.
He was muttering something about, "If I don't complete five hundred handstand laps, I'll do five hundred push-ups!"
Might Guy hadn't yet become the man who opened the Eight Gates and kicked Six Paths Madara to the ground with Night Guy, earning the title "the strongest Taijutsu ninja" from him.
Right now, he was just your average dead-last, with terrible grades across the board, and he was still being bullied every day by those Konoha trouble-makers.
Looking at Might Guy, Akiyama Shun sighed.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered playing the Naruto mobile game.
He remembered getting pulled across half the screen by "Youth Bro's" ultimate move after using a substitution, its wild suction dragging him right in.
He also remembered being chased all over the arena by "Tenacious Red Dog," running around for more than fifty seconds in an exhausting battle of wits, only to get kicked to death in the end.
Of course, those were just memories. He didn't miss them at all.
As Akiyama Shun reminisced, Might Guy began to sway. In the end, he couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Hahahaha, this dead-last didn't accomplish anything, did he?"
"Can't even do Taijutsu!"
"Isn't his dad that eternal Genin? He'll probably be an eternal Genin too."
"Hahahahaha!"
Lying on the ground, Might Guy clenched his teeth and balled his fists when he heard their jeers. But he just stayed there, making no move to fight back against the three brats mocking him.
Akiyama Shun watched for a moment without saying anything, then simply walked over to the brats.
They were still laughing at Might Guy. They didn't notice Akiyama Shun until he walked right up to them.
The three brats jumped when they saw him.
They all knew Akiyama Shun—or rather, it was hard not to.
Kakashi's reputation was simply too great, and Akiyama Shun, a civilian-born ninja, had outperformed him in every exam. Naturally, his own fame had grown along with it.
On top of that, his "civilian-born ninja" status meant parents often brought up his name to compare him with their own children.
"A-Akiyama Shun, what are you doing?"
Might Guy turned around at the sound of his name. Though they were in the same class, they hardly ever interacted.
Then again, Might Guy hardly interacted with anyone. He always trained alone, and he couldn't understand why Akiyama Shun had come over.
Akiyama Shun didn't answer. He glanced over the three brats, trying to figure out which one seemed like the leader.
Two of them looked toward the strongest-looking brat. Akiyama Shun grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.
"Wah! What are you doing?!"
Akiyama Shun held him up like a little chick, then dropped him in front of Might Guy.
"Apologize."
Akiyama Shun didn't do this to get close to Might Guy, or for any other reason.
He simply couldn't stand seeing things like this.
His reputation as a genius had already begun spreading throughout Konoha. If he didn't act a little arrogantly and do the things he liked—
then what was the point of being a genius?
"S-sorry!"
The ringleader was so frightened by Akiyama Shun that he stammered out an apology to Might Guy, then scrambled to his feet and ran off.
With their leader gone, the other two brats shot Akiyama Shun a terrified glance before scrambling away too.
As they ran, Akiyama Shun heard the ringleader start crying.
After dealing with them, Akiyama Shun glanced at Might Guy, who was still on the ground.
Besides gratitude, there was something else in Might Guy's eyes, some emotion Akiyama Shun couldn't quite place.
"Th-thank you..."
"No need to thank me. Next time, remember to fight back yourself."
After helping Might Guy to his feet, Akiyama Shun turned and went home to continue training.
Might Guy sat on the ground, watching Akiyama Shun walk away. A sudden surge of fervor welled up inside him.
He was grateful for Akiyama Shun's help, but at that moment, his mind was filled with something his father had once said: "If you want to become number one, you have to challenge number one."
If he became number one, then, like Akiyama Shun, he wouldn't have to put up with people looking down on him anymore.
All right!
From now on, he'd train even harder!
He'd surpass Akiyama Shun!
"Five hundred frog jumps around Konoha!"
Akiyama Shun, already on his way home, had no idea that Might Guy had set his sights on him because he'd helped him.
Inside the Hokage Building.
After watching the whole thing through his Crystal Ball, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"Sure enough, he's a good kid, full of the Will of Fire."
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