Shisui's Mystery!

I spent two days sleeping in a daze. During that time, someone seemed to be moving around beside me. Someone examined my arm, and someone pressed something against my chest. It was cold, and I could feel it faintly, but I was too drowsy to wake up.

The only times I was briefly conscious were when my teacher called me to get up and fed me. Even then, I only had a hazy memory of it. I couldn't even remember what I'd eaten before drifting back to sleep.

By the third day, I finally woke up completely.

It might have been early morning, or it might have been the middle of the night. I opened my eyes and found my mind clear and my body strong. Even my stomach was growling!

I sprang out of bed, feeling as if I'd been reborn after a good night's sleep. I was bursting with energy, with strength to spare!

I was back at full health!

I jumped off the bed and stretched my stiff back. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, and stars flashed before my eyes!

I was starving!

I steadied myself, then hurriedly picked up the kerosene lamp on the table and searched the room.

After a long while, I found some fresh food and water in the innermost storeroom. They looked like they'd just been brought in. The meal was exquisite, and dewdrops still clung to the fruit and vegetables, glistening like crystals!

Wow, fresh vegetables were the hardest things to transport during wartime!

My teacher sure knew how to enjoy himself!

I looked at the sumptuous food, unsure whether it had been prepared for me. I hesitated, not daring to take a bite.

But in the end, hunger won out!

"Orochimaru's put you through all that, and you're still hesitating to eat his food? I'm starting to think you've been brainwashed!" I stopped hesitating, sat cross-legged, and stuffed rice ball after rice ball into my mouth—

I was gonna eat, eat, eat!

Once I'd eaten my fill, the anxious feeling finally faded. I sat back down on the bed and quieted down, turning my attention back to my body.

As my chakra circulated, I was surprised to discover that my body was in even better shape than before!

Previously, the chakra flowing through me had encountered a few blockages and sluggish spots. But now, it seemed those places had all been cleared. My chakra flowed continuously through every part of my body, warm and soothing. It felt wonderful!

"What's going on?"

I thought about it for a moment, then suddenly remembered the Nintaijutsu my teacher had taught me—

When activated, that technique seemed to have a healing effect, gently nourishing my chakra pathways.

"Could the Nintaijutsu have done this?"

My eyes flickered as I recalled that wondrous sensation. I also remembered the sequence of Hand Seals.

"Maybe I should try it again?"

I closed my eyes and formed the Hand Seals by instinct. When I reached the final "Snake" seal, I hesitated, feeling as if I'd forgotten something. But before I could think it through, my hands had already locked together!

"Snake seal!"

As the technique activated, my chakra began boiling in an instant. Heat built up inside me, and strength gathered throughout my body. Even a faint, misty blue vapor appeared on the surface of my skin in places where my chakra was most concentrated!

My muscles tensed and released. The fighting spirit was back!

I stood up, a little flame flickering in my eyes, and fixed my gaze on a battered wooden chest in the corner!

"You'll do. Let's see how this works!"

I clenched my right hand, lunged forward, and slammed my fist into the chest!

With a BOOM, the chest caved in. My punch had smashed a huge hole in it!

"Hahaha!"

I was thrilled!

With that kind of force, if I'd used my bare hand before, I'd have scraped the skin off, if not broken a bone!

But now, I didn't feel the slightest pain!

I—I even—

I hurried to pull my hand out and check it, only to find that my fist was inexplicably stuck in the chest!

QAQ How could this happen?!

I struggled for ages but couldn't get free. In the end, with no other choice, I started breaking the chest apart!

I gathered chakra in my right hand and forced it inward! As I tore at the chest, I heard a metallic creaking sound from inside!

"So there—there was another layer inside?" I was shocked. I put both hands to work, straining with all my strength until my face flushed red! The chest groaned and cracked, and I ripped it completely apart!

A flurry of papers burst out from inside!

I sat on the floor, panting, but a goofy grin tugged at my lips. Before long, it turned into laughter, and I even sprang onto the wall and ran around like a maniac!

"I finally have some strength!!!"

My eyes grew misty with excitement I couldn't contain!

Taijutsu, one of the three major arts of the Shinobi World, was a combat style in which speed, strength, and stamina determined victory!

I'd finally mastered it!

Before, because my body was so weak, I'd always been wary when facing people at my level. I could only rely on a lot of ninjutsu and various ninja tools to keep my distance and avoid close combat as much as possible.

But now...

I felt the chakra flowing through my pathways and clenched my fist, making it crackle loudly!

If I could control it better, then maybe I could make a name for myself in Taijutsu, too! I could become Little Moon, a master of both ninjutsu and Taijutsu!

What a huge step forward!

I crouched on the ceiling, gazing at my small, delicate hands, my eyes bright.

"With this technique, as long as I have chakra, I'll never be at a disadvantage!"

Just as I thought. Talent... hard work... none of it mattered as much as choosing the right path!

I grinned for a while, then quieted down again.

Because I knew I hadn't figured out this technique on my own. Someone else had taught it to me—my teacher, Orochimaru.

My feelings about Orochimaru were still complicated.

He was an extreme person, and it was hard to say whether he was good or evil. But there was no denying that he could see someone's qualities at a glance, then teach them according to their nature and help them become who they truly were.

There weren't many people capable of doing that.

"Hmph. No wonder he's the biggest human trafficker around." I pushed down the respect I felt for him, still refusing to acknowledge him as my teacher.

That was what he got for always putting me through the wringer!

Thinking about Orochimaru's methods, I shivered.

Who knew what other tricks he had waiting for me?

I had to stay alert. Definitely stay alert!

I nodded, leaped down from the ceiling, and landed in a pile of white papers.

"Huh?"

I looked down and realized that I'd torn the chest apart and sent all the waste paper inside flying everywhere.

I looked around at the chaotic room and finally felt a little panicked!

It was that suffocating feeling you got when your parents left while you were still asleep, then you woke up at noon, not only without cleaning but also having eaten all the snacks in the fridge and left your room in a complete mess!

"I'm doomed!"

I hurried to clean up, picking up the papers one by one. Then something caught my eye—a name I recognized.

I picked up the sheet and took a closer look. A name I knew all too well was written on it.

"Uchiha... Shisui?"

I was even more puzzled.

"What's Shisui's file doing in here?"

I examined the page carefully. It was an ordinary student record, listing Shisui's grades at the academy in ninjutsu, Taijutsu, genjutsu, battle strategy, written exams, and so on—

Of course, he'd gotten perfect scores in every single subject.

There was even a red circle around the genjutsu section, marking it as an area of special interest and a reason to promote him further!

I rolled my eyes and snorted. What was so impressive about that?

I'd graduated as the top student in my class at the Ninja Academy, too!

Looking at the papers scattered all over the room, I suddenly grew curious.

Uchiha Shisui was always so mysterious—not that mysterious was the right word. He was downright sneaky! He always talked in circles, and there was something about him you could never quite see through!

Now that I had his records, I could take a good look and see if there was any dirt to dig up! Heh heh heh~

So I sprang into action. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, I'd gathered dozens of sheets bearing Uchiha Shisui's name!

"I wonder why the teacher kept Shisui's records. Is he thinking of taking Shisui on as a student, too?"

I thought about it. Considering how obsessed Orochimaru had been with the Uchiha Clan in the original story, it was certainly possible!

After all, Shisui... was an even more gifted genius than Itachi.

I nodded, picked up the stack of papers, and gave a sly grin.

"Heh heh. Let's see if you've got any little secrets, Shisui~"

Even the most outstanding person couldn't be perfect across dozens of records, right?

I opened the first page and took out a pen, ready to copy down anything interesting. But the moment I saw the first line, my expression changed and I frowned.

"What... is this?"

Every subject on the page had the words [Absent from Class!] written in red ink, filling every single space!

"This isn't just being absent. He basically never went to class!"

I refused to believe it and picked up another sheet. It, too, was covered in red writing, with [Missed Exam!] marked beside every grade.

"He didn't even take the exams?"

If I'd been a little pleased with myself before, now I was completely astonished.

I went through the pages one by one. Without exception, almost every record was filled with [Absent from Class], [Missed Exam], and [Failing]—only a handful still showed perfect scores across the board.

I held back my unease and turned to the last page. It was a record of the Ninja Academy graduation exam.

And written across it in glaring red characters were the words [Graduation Not Approved!]!

At the sight of those strange words, I couldn't help laughing.

"What? A genius boy couldn't graduate on time because he skipped class and exams?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The more I saw, the less I understood Shisui. I was amused, but there was also something unsettling about it, as if I'd been played!

I laid out the report cards and carefully added up the scores. Then I was surprised to discover that Shisui's total score each time was just enough to let him advance to the next grade. In other words, he'd scraped by with the bare minimum—the legendary "sixty is all you need"!

"Wow, you were controlling your scores this whole time!"

I understood him even less now.

I lined up the report cards and realized that the longest stretch covered more than three years! That meant Shisui had spent at least three years without graduating!

I was completely baffled!

With Shisui's talent, he could have graduated early whenever he wanted. He could even have applied to become a ninja directly!

But not only had he refused to graduate early, he'd deliberately stretched out his time at the academy, staying among ordinary students, even those with no talent at all. He'd dutifully attended class and taken the exams one year at a time—

How had I not noticed this when we were classmates?

Why had he done it?

I scratched my head, unable to make sense of it. In the end, I gathered all the papers and secretly hid them under my bed, planning to ask him about them when I got a chance to return to the village!

Who knew what went on in that guy's head all day?

After all that, my teacher still hadn't returned. I sat on the floor, bored, and only then realized that I was covered in sweat.

Then I caught a whiff of myself. I stank!

"How long has it been since I took a bath?" I worked it out. It had been at least four or five days since I'd started learning Nintaijutsu!

I stood up and looked around for a place to wash.

"There's nowhere to bathe here. I need to find somewhere with water."

Suddenly, an image flashed through my mind: a pool of deep blue water, a pair of cold eyes, and then the meridian-blocking strike that had come at me out of nowhere—

I jerked, and my stomach started hurting! I lifted my shirt and, sure enough, saw a few faint fingerprints, almost faded away.

"It was an acupoint strike!"

"So it really wasn't a dream!"

I'd been sleeping in a daze these past few days. I'd almost forgotten about it!

I'd spied on someone bathing by the pool, tried to threaten him, and ended up getting beaten instead!

What a disgrace!!!