I'm Poisoned

Naruto took a deep breath, gripped his kunai, aimed at the target, and threw it with all his might.

The first one missed, grazing the edge of the target as it flew past.

"I... my hand slipped," Naruto hurriedly explained.

The second one was even further off-target than the first, nearly flying into the neighboring target.

"I was just too nervous," Naruto said, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

The third one didn't miss, but the force was too weak; it fell to the ground halfway there.

"..." A heavy silence fell over the group.

Naruto grew anxious, his face turning bright red as he shouted, "I still have my ultimate move!"

He grabbed the remaining six shuriken, ignoring any semblance of proper form, and threw them all at once with his eyes squeezed shut.

As a result, most of them lost momentum in mid-air and landed scattered in front of the target, not a single one even grazing the edge.

The watching students, having had their expectations raised and then dashed time and time again, were left speechless.

Seriously, man...

With that stance you took earlier, we actually thought you had some real skills.

And this is it?

Every time it's like this, with no turnaround—it's going to be hard for us to trust you again.

Naruto stood frozen in place, his face flushed; even with his thick skin, he felt utterly humiliated at this moment.

Qiushui spoke up at the right time, saying gently, "Failing a throw is perfectly normal. Everyone, don't take it to heart. As long as you practice diligently, you will hit your target soon enough."

Only then did the students withdraw their attention and continue lining up to take their turns.

In the subsequent throwing practice, most people performed averagely, with nothing particularly eye-catching.

Except for Uchiha Sasuke, the best performer turned out to be Aburame Shino.

He was calm and focused when he threw; four out of his five shuriken landed steadily near the bullseye. His movements were clean and precise, causing Qiushui to take an extra look.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka refused to yield to one another, provoking each other while secretly glancing toward Sasuke. However, when it was their turn, whether due to nerves or some other reason, both of their accuracy levels were quite mediocre.

For the remaining two lessons, Qiushui had them alternate between running and shuriken throwing.

Qiushui began teaching them some techniques. He stood in front of the line, demonstrating while explaining: "When running, don't just breathe through your mouth. Inhale for three steps, exhale for two. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth; this prevents your breathing from becoming chaotic and helps you last longer. Don't swing your arms too wide—that wastes energy. Keep your arms relaxed and swing them forward and back, not side to side."

If it were before, even with the Talent Aura bonus, his explanations would have been no different from other teachers, but having just obtained the Master-level Shuriken Throwing Technique yesterday, it came in handy perfectly.

Naruto listened very carefully, meticulously recalling his own running posture and breathing method, which were the exact opposite of what Teacher Qiushui had described.

Have I been training all these years for nothing?

He felt a bit dejected inside.

Qiushui continued, "When throwing a kunai, don't keep your wrist stiff. There should be a flicking motion at the very last moment of release so that the kunai flies steadily."

He picked up a shuriken to demonstrate, then corrected their postures one by one. His movements were simple and clear, and his explanations were easy to understand.

After some of the boys finished another ten laps, one of them said in surprise, "Hey, do you guys feel like it's actually not that tiring if you run the way Teacher Qiushui said?"

He wiped the sweat from his face, still panting, but his eyes were filled with disbelief.

In the past, he would have already collapsed on the ground, but today he was only breathing heavily.

Another boy took up the conversation, looking at the kunai on the target not far away, and said, "Yeah, yeah, I feel the same. I only hit once earlier, and it wasn't even in the center. Now I've hit twice in a row, and both were in the center."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Qiushui stood to the side, silently observing the students' throwing training.

Compared to the disastrous scene at the beginning, there was a clear improvement; at least most people could now get their kunai onto the target.

He nodded slightly.

In truth, Qiushui had been fully capable of explaining all these techniques and rules from the start, but he had intentionally withheld them.

Because for some things, the effect is best only after one has experienced them personally before hearing the explanation.

Let the students fumble on their own, make mistakes, and feel failure first. Once they have doubts and comparisons in their hearts, that is when a few words of guidance will truly be heard and remembered.

If all the techniques were poured into them at the beginning, it would just be a pile of hollow theories that would be forgotten entirely in a couple of days.

Some truths are better understood through a fall than through a hundred repetitions.

Naruto Uzumaki stood alone in front of a target, holding a kunai in his hand, his gaze fixed intently on the distant bullseye.

He replayed the techniques Teacher Qiushui had just explained in his mind, adjusting his hand gesture over and over again before throwing the kunai, but unfortunately, the results were minimal.

The ground was already littered with the kunai he had failed to land.

Qiushui walked over to his side and said gently, "Naruto, don't be too anxious."

Naruto turned his head, a rare look of confusion appearing in his eyes: "Teacher Qiushui... am I just that hopeless?"

He was truly starting to doubt himself.

From the start of class until now, he hadn't hit a single target with his ninja tools—he was even worse than the girls.

Qiushui shook his head and comforted him, "Nothing is ever successful on the first try. Behind every seemingly effortless feat lies countless hours of practice."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Keep practicing. I'll watch from the side and help you correct your form."

Naruto nodded, gripped his kunai tightly, and prepared to throw it.

"Your stance is wrong."

Qiushui gestured for him to stop, then picked up a kunai to demonstrate slowly, saying, "Clamp the handle between your index and middle fingers, and press your thumb against the ring. That's how you keep it steady."

Naruto stared at his hand gestures and clumsily adjusted his own fingers.

The kunai spun halfway in his hand and nearly fell; he hurriedly grabbed it, realized that wasn't right, let go, and began fiddling with it again.

After struggling for a good while, he finally looked up at Qiushui and asked, "Is it like this?"

Qiushui took a glance and said, "Your finger placement is correct, but you're gripping it too tightly. Loosen it up a bit—think of it like holding chopsticks, not clenching a fist."

Naruto loosened his grip, looked down to inspect it, felt satisfied, took a deep breath, raised his arm, and aimed at the target—

With a forceful flick, he threw it.

The kunai traced a somewhat crooked arc through the air, and then—

"Thwack."

It embedded itself into the very edge of the target.

Although it was only the edge, and although it was crooked, it had indeed stuck.

Naruto froze for a second.

Then, he jumped into the air.

"Yay! I hit it! Did you see that, Teacher Qiushui? I hit it!"

Qiushui raised his thumb and praised him sincerely, "Naruto, well done."