The Only One

"Kid!" Yang Xing didn't answer the snot-nosed kid. He gathered up a few training shuriken and kunai and asked casually, "How long have we known each other, since I started training with weapons?"

"Hmm! Let me count. One, two, three..." The kid moved his fingers as he counted, taking it very seriously. It was rare to see him so earnest about counting on his fingers.

Yang Xing put the kunai and shuriken into the pouch at his waist, then sighed softly and faced the kid. "It's been a year, hasn't it?"

"No, thirteen months. A year and one month." The kid turned to him, looking utterly serious.

"You're pretty good at math."

"Hehe!"

"Quit grinning, you little idiot." Yang Xing could understand how the useless teacher of his class felt. He sighed inwardly, then couldn't help saying, "Look, I can't teach you much by having you follow me around. You should know my skills are the worst in our year."

The kid tilted his head, thought for a moment, then shook it and answered earnestly. "That's not true. You taught me to use shuriken and kunai, Yang Xing. I'm the best in my class now."

"That's because you have more potential than I do."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Yang Xing found it funny and couldn't help laughing at himself. "Your physical ability is several times better than mine."

Before the kid could say anything, a loud notification rang out from inside Yang Xing's body.

A physique weaker than the kid's. The weakest human. Achievement unlocked. Achievement reached: 1. All system attributes increased by 10 percent. Four achievements remain until the next stage.

"System, what's wrong with you? What kind of ridiculous achievement is this? The weakest human? Are you mocking me? You... Forget it. I'll forgive you for the ten percent bonus to my attributes. Though, what good is ten percent anyway?" If the system were a man, Yang Xing might have strangled the bastard.

Wait, what if it were a woman?

If she was pretty, he might consider it. If she wasn't, he'd beat her to death!

"Yang Xing, you're graduating soon, aren't you? I heard it from the teacher today," the kid said, interrupting his thoughts. "That's amazing! You'll get to train with a high-ranking ninja."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll be there soon too." Yang Xing wasn't in the mood to answer. He just wanted to soothe his wounded heart, and the kid in front of him clearly wasn't going to help.

The snot-nosed kid looked dejected. "I still have another ten years to wait."

"Ten years will fly by."

"I blink every day when I sleep. Why hasn't it gone by yet?"

"That's because you're a kid. Agh! Don't ask me why, you dumb little brat." Yang Xing couldn't take it anymore. He realized that if they kept talking, his intelligence would take a hit. He stood up and waved. "My head hurts. I'm going home."

"Oh. But it's not even noon yet."

"You're so annoying."

After walking several meters, Yang Xing realized how quiet it had become behind him. He turned around and saw the dejected look on the kid's face. He couldn't help shaking his head with a wry smile and muttering, "Looks like we were meant to meet."

A year ago, after realizing he was terrible at using chakra, Yang Xing had decisively switched to Taijutsu. Unfortunately, he'd been a shut-in in his previous life, and his body was abnormally weak. He was also pretty lazy, so he'd given up on Taijutsu halfway through. If he wanted to get stronger, he had to train, so he'd chosen the most basic weapon skills. Weapons were only a support skill, but they were the only thing Yang Xing could train in.

But he never expected that weapon training would help him befriend a kid. The kid had seen him training, then started admiring him before he was even three years old. That was how this incredibly frustrating situation had begun.

Yang Xing stopped and turned around. His expression grew serious as he spoke with fervor. "Itachi, shuriken training is about real combat. You won't improve by just throwing them at stationary targets. Find some fast animals to practice on—the faster, the better. People are fine too."

He waved and walked away with easy confidence, leaving the snot-nosed kid behind, staring after him and nodding.

The weather was clear, with a few white clouds drifting lazily across the sky.

"Ah, it'd be nice to turn into a cloud. Just float around and do nothing. I wouldn't have to get dragged out of bed at six in the morning either. Six o'clock! Kids who don't get enough sleep don't grow tall." Yang Xing yawned and glanced at the bespectacled teacher walking quietly in front of him. "Do you understand, teacher?"

The bespectacled teacher said nothing.

Although he'd told Yang Xing about this yesterday, he hadn't wanted to wake him so early. But right now, he just wanted Yang Xing to improve quickly. The kid wasn't even capable of escaping when faced with an enemy.

Unfortunately, Yang Xing didn't understand the teacher's good intentions at all.

"You're sure that girl is cute?" Yang Xing walked with his hands behind his head, lazily gazing up at the sky. "It's not that I don't trust you, teacher. I just have serious doubts about your eyesight. I don't mean your vision, of course. I mean your sense of beauty. You know what I mean?"

The teacher felt his head was about to explode. Who on earth could keep this kid in line?

"That's enough! Can you behave yourself for a few minutes?" The bespectacled teacher finally snapped. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Yang Xing. "Yang Xing, I'm begging you. Be quiet for a little while. At this rate, you'll never become that person's student."

"I never said I wanted to be anyone's student."

"Just wait. You'll understand when we get there." Seeing Yang Xing pout, the bespectacled teacher grew dejected again. His gait grew even more listless.

Well, maybe that person was the only one who could keep this kid in line. Probably.

A small hill rose abruptly from the flat ground, dividing the forest and opening onto a plain. It also created a perfect training ground in a low-lying area. The breeze here was light, and the surrounding trees made it very secluded.

"We're here. Remember, when you see that person, you have to..." The bespectacled teacher watched as Yang Xing took off running ahead. He froze for a moment, then hurriedly called out, "Hey, wait until I finish! You were acting like you couldn't be bothered just a moment ago!"

But it was clearly no use.

After a few running strides, Yang Xing stepped onto the lush green grass. Only then did he realize how vast and beautiful the place was.

He hadn't known there was a place like this so close to Konoha. He'd never found it before. What a waste! He could practice throwing weapons here from now on.