Rogue Villagers of Konoha

The news from the Anbu was naturally reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Early the next morning, before even eating breakfast, Sarutobi Hiruzen began observing Akiyama Shun's movements through his crystal ball.

The result was that he saw Akiyama Shun still tirelessly practicing the Shuriken Manipulation Technique.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched with great satisfaction.

"To be so skilled already and still constantly reviewing, what a truly promising seedling~"

In the small training ground at Yuhi Kurenai's home, Akiyama Shun was practicing incessantly.

Last night, Yuhi Shinku had explicitly stated that Akiyama Shun could come here to practice whenever he needed.

Since he had said as much, Akiyama Shun naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony.

Now, he could finally train to his heart's content!

It must be said, Akiyama Shun truly felt that the [Uchiha Itachi (Ninja Rookie)] ninja profile was excellent.

First of all, the skills were numerous, allowing for a rapid increase in combat power, and most importantly, there were no Kekkei Genkai-restricted skills!

Once learned, they could be used immediately!

In addition to mastering ninjutsu, Akiyama Shun also spent a significant amount of time training his spirit and physique to cultivate his chakra.

Currently, his talents in various aspects were beginning to show; whether it was the Will of Fire or fundamentals like shurikenjutsu, he was sufficient in all, and had already built up a certain reputation.

Next, only the final—and most crucial—point for a ninja remained.

That was ninjutsu!

His current chakra was enough for him to perfectly execute the Three Basic Jutsu. If he were to graduate normally, Akiyama Shun would certainly graduate with perfect marks, but if he wanted to graduate early, this was not enough!

He needed at least enough to perform two B-rank ninjutsu: the Shadow Clone Technique and the Great Fire Dragon Technique!

He already knew these two ninjutsu; all he lacked was the chakra!

Time passed quickly while Akiyama Shun was diligently training.

During this period, the academy also held several other minor exams.

These included throwing the three types of ninja tools and a physical fitness assessment.

Without exception, Akiyama Shun took first place in all of them perfectly.

Kakashi was in second place, always being overshadowed by Akiyama Shun.

Yuhi Kurenai's grades were also quite good; perhaps because of Akiyama Shun's encouragement, she never fell out of the top five.

With these exam results, Akiyama Shun's tier-breaking talent was recognized by more and more people.

One evening.

As Akiyama Shun was walking home from school, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a strange green creature—it had no head, two "arms" stretched high, and it was walking with a wobbly gait.

Akiyama Shun turned his head and discovered it was Might Guy, walking on his hands.

He was muttering something about "If I don't walk 500 laps on my hands, I'll do 500 push-ups!"

The current Might Guy was not yet the "strongest taijutsu ninja" who would open the Eight Gates, kick Madara Uchiha to the ground, and be crowned as such by the man himself.

Right now, he was just a standard dead-last, with poor grades in every aspect, and he was bullied daily by those bratty villagers of Konoha.

Looking at Might Guy, Akiyama Shun sighed.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered playing the Naruto mobile game in the past.

He recalled being pulled across half the screen by the "Youth Brother's" ultimate move and its violent suction.

He also recalled being chased all over the arena by the "Perseverance Red Dog," struggling through a 50-second mind game, only to be kicked to death by the opponent in the end.

Of course, memories were just memories; he didn't miss them at all.

While Akiyama Shun was reminiscing, Might Guy's body suddenly began to sway, and finally, unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Hahahaha, didn't this dead-last fail to do anything?"

"His taijutsu is pathetic too!"

"Isn't his dad that eternal genin? I bet he'll be an eternal genin too."

"Hahahahaha!"

Lying on the ground, Might Guy gritted his teeth and clenched his fists upon hearing these taunts, but he simply remained on the ground, not retaliating against the three bratty kids mocking him.

Akiyama Shun watched for a moment, said nothing, and simply walked toward the group of brats.

The brats were still mocking Might Guy until Akiyama Shun stood before them, at which point they finally reacted.

The moment they saw Akiyama Shun, all three brats were startled.

They all knew Akiyama Shun—or rather, it was very difficult not to.

It was mainly because Kakashi's reputation was too great, and since Akiyama Shun, a civilian ninja, had outperformed Kakashi in every metric, his own fame naturally grew alongside it.

Coupled with the "civilian ninja" halo, many parents frequently mentioned Akiyama Shun's name, using him as a benchmark to compare against their own children.

"Qi... Akiyama Shun, what are you doing?"

Hearing that name, Might Guy also turned his head to look. Although the two were in the same class, they rarely interacted in their daily lives.

Or rather, Might Guy rarely interacted with anyone; he always trained alone, and he couldn't fathom why Akiyama Shun would come here at this moment.

Akiyama Shun did not answer the question, instead sweeping his gaze over the three bratty kids to see who looked like the ringleader.

When the other two children glanced toward the strongest-looking brat, Akiyama Shun grabbed the boy by the collar and hoisted him into the air.

"Whoa!! What are you doing!"

Akiyama Shun carried him like a small chick, then tossed him down right in front of Might Guy.

"Apologize."

Akiyama Shun wasn't doing this to curry favor with Might Guy or for any other ulterior motive.

He simply couldn't stand to watch such things.

Now that his reputation as a genius was beginning to spread throughout Konoha, if he didn't act a bit arrogant and do as he pleased, wouldn't he be wasting his status as a genius?

"I... I'm sorry!"

The ringleader was terrified by Akiyama Shun; after stammering an apology to Might Guy, he scrambled up and ran away.

With the leader gone, the other two brats cast a fearful glance at Akiyama Shun before scrambling away in a panic.

As they fled, Akiyama Shun even heard the ringleader start to cry.

Having resolved the matter, Akiyama Shun glanced at Might Guy, who was lying on the ground.

Beyond gratitude, there were other inexplicable emotions in the boy's eyes.

"Th... thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Remember to fight back next time."

After pulling Might Guy to his feet, Akiyama Shun turned and headed home to continue his training.

Might Guy sat on the ground, watching Akiyama Shun's retreating back, a sudden surge of heat rising within his heart.

He was very grateful for Akiyama Shun's help, but at this moment, his mind was filled with his father's words: "If you want to become the best, you must challenge the best."

If he became the best, he could be just like Akiyama Shun and would no longer be looked down upon by these people.

Very well!

From now on, he would train even harder!

He would surpass Akiyama Shun!

"Five hundred laps of frog-leaping around Konoha!"

Akiyama Shun, having already left, did not know that because he had helped Might Guy, he had now become the boy's target.

Inside the Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had watched the entire process through his crystal ball, nodded in satisfaction.

"As expected, he is a fine child filled with the Will of Fire."