The Mystery of Shisui!

I drifted in and out of consciousness for two days. During this time, it felt as though people were pacing around me; someone had grabbed my arm to examine it, and someone had pressed something cool and damp against my chest. I had faint sensations of all this, but I was too drowsy to wake up.

The few moments of clarity came when my teacher called for me to wake up and fed me, but even those memories were hazy. I didn't even know what I was eating before I drifted back into a deep sleep.

By the third day, I finally woke up completely.

Whether it was dawn or the middle of the night, I opened my eyes and felt my mind clear and my body strong—my stomach was even growling loudly!

I leaped off the bed as if reborn, my body brimming with inexhaustible energy and vitality!

This young master has returned to full health!

I jumped down, stretched my stiff back, and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, with stars dancing before my eyes!

I was starving!

I steadied myself and hurriedly grabbed the kerosene lamp on the table to rummage through the room.

It took a long time, but I finally found some fresh food and water in the innermost storage room. It looked like it had just been delivered; the meal was exquisite, and the fruits and vegetables were still glistening with dew!

Good heavens, in times of war, fresh vegetables are the hardest things to transport!

My teacher certainly knows how to live well!

I stared at the fine food, hesitating for a moment, unsure if it was meant for me and afraid to dig in.

But in the end, hunger conquered all!

"You've already been tortured by Orochimaru to this extent, yet you're still hesitating to eat his food? I really suspect you've been brainwashed!" I stopped hesitating, sat cross-legged, and stuffed my mouth with rice balls—

I'm going to eat, eat, eat!

Once I was full, the feeling of lightheadedness finally faded. I sat back on the bed, calmed down, and began to sense my body once more.

As my chakra circulated, I was astonished to find that my physical condition was actually much better than before!

Previously, when my chakra flowed, it would encounter blockages and stagnation, but now, those areas seemed to have been cleared. It flowed through every part of my body in a warm, incredibly comfortable, and endless stream!

"What is going on?"

I pondered for a moment and suddenly thought of the Nintaijutsu my teacher had taught me—

When that technique was activated, it seemed to have a healing effect, gently nourishing the meridians.

"Could it be the result of the Nintaijutsu?"

My eyes flickered as I recalled that profound sensation and the sequence of hand seals.

"Should I try it again?"

I closed my eyes and performed the seals based on muscle memory. When I reached the final "Snake" seal, I hesitated, feeling as if I had forgotten something, but there was no time to think; my hands were already locked together!

"Snake seal!"

As the ninjutsu activated, my chakra instantly boiled. Heat surged through me, and power gathered in every part of my body. In areas where the chakra was most concentrated, faint, misty blue steam even appeared on the surface of my skin!

My muscles tensed and relaxed. The will to fight had returned!

I stood up, my eyes burning with a small flame, and locked onto a dilapidated wooden crate in the corner!

"I'll use you to test the waters!"

I clenched my right hand, took a sudden step forward, and slammed my fist into the crate!

With a "boom," the crate collapsed, and I punched a massive hole right through it!

"Hahaha!"

I was overjoyed!

With that kind of force, if it had been my own hand, even if it hadn't fractured, the skin and flesh would surely have been shredded!

But now, I felt absolutely no pain!

I, I even—

I rushed to pull my hand out to check the damage, only to find my fist inexplicably stuck in the crate, unable to come out!

QAQ How could this happen, ahhh!!

I tried with all my might but couldn't break free. Finally, out of options, I started tearing the crate apart!

I focused chakra into my right hand and shoved hard! As I tore through it, I heard a metallic creaking sound coming from inside!

"So, there was another layer inside?" I was shocked. I used both hands to exert force, my entire body straining until my face turned red! The crate groaned and cracked, and I ripped it completely open!

In an instant, papers flew everywhere!

I sat on the floor panting, but the corners of my mouth curled up into a silly grin, eventually turning into a loud laugh. I was so happy I scrambled up the wall and started running around like a madman!

"I finally have strength!!!"

My eyes welled up with tears; I couldn't suppress the excitement!

Taijutsu, one of the three great arts of the ninja world, a technique where speed, strength, and endurance determine the victory of a battle!

I have finally mastered it!

Before, because of my physical weakness, I always had reservations when facing opponents of the same level. I could only rely heavily on ninjutsu and various ninja tools to keep my distance, trying my best to avoid close-quarters combat.

But now...

I feel the chakra flowing through my meridians and clench my fist tightly, causing my knuckles to pop with a sharp crack!

If I can master this better, then perhaps I, too, can achieve greatness in taijutsu! I could become Little Moon, a master of both ninjutsu and taijutsu!

What a massive improvement this is!

I crouch on the ceiling, looking down at my youthful palms, my eyes shining bright.

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

Truly, talent... hard work... none of it compares to choosing the right path!

As I revel in my joy, I suddenly quiet down.

Because I know that this technique was not something I realized on my own, but something taught to me by someone else—my teacher, Orochimaru.

Thinking of Orochimaru, my feelings remain incredibly complicated.

Although he is an extremist, and his morality is ambiguous at best, it cannot be denied that he has an uncanny ability to instantly discern a person's true nature and teach them accordingly, helping them become their true selves.

On this point alone, there are very few who could ever match him.

"Hmph, he truly is the greatest human trafficker." I suppress the layer of awe in my heart, refusing to acknowledge him as my teacher out loud.

After all, he is always putting me through the wringer!

I think of Orochimaru's methods and instantly shiver with cold.

Who knows what kind of twisted schemes he has waiting for me next!

Vigilance, I must remain vigilant!

I nod, leap down from the ceiling, and land amidst a pile of white paper.

"Huh?"

I look down and realize that after I tore that box apart, the scrap paper inside had fluttered everywhere, littering the floor.

I look up at the chaotic room and finally feel a small pang of panic!

It's that suffocating feeling you get when your parents leave the house while you're still sleeping, and when you wake up at noon, you haven't cleaned up, you've eaten all the snacks in the fridge, and you've even left the room in a total mess!

"I'm done for!"

I hurriedly start cleaning up, picking up the papers one by one, when something catches my eye—a very familiar name.

I pinch that sheet and look closely; a name I know all too well is written there.

"Uchiha... Shisui?"

I am even more confused now.

"Why would that little creep Shisui be on this?"

I read through the paper carefully and discover it is nothing more than a standard file, recording Shisui's grades at the academy, including his ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, combat strategy, and written test scores—

Of course, without exception, they are all perfect scores.

Even his genjutsu column is circled in red, indicating it is a priority for special attention and potential promotion!

I roll my eyes and snort, unimpressed.

I graduated at the top of the ninja academy class, too!

Looking at the room full of scrap paper, I suddenly become interested.

You have to understand, Uchiha Shisui is always acting all mysterious—no, "mysterious" is too kind; he's just plain shifty! He always speaks in riddles and gives off a vibe that you can never quite see through!

Now that I have his files, I must take a good look and see if there's any dirt I can dig up! Hehehehe~

I start sweeping through the papers like a whirlwind, and within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I have collected dozens of sheets bearing the name Uchiha Shisui!

"I wonder what the teacher wants with Shisui's files. Does he want to take Shisui as his apprentice?"

I think about it, and considering Orochimaru's obsession with the Uchiha clan in the original story, it might actually be possible!

After all, Shisui... is a genius even more outstanding than Itachi.

I nod, grab the dozens of papers, and flash a devious grin.

"Hehehe, little creep Shisui, let me see if you have any little secrets~"

With dozens of pages here, even the most outstanding person can't be flawless, right?

I flip to the first page, pen in hand, ready to take notes, but the moment I see the first line, my expression changes and I furrow my brows.

"What is... this?"

I see that on the entire sheet, every column for his coursework is marked with the words [Absent!] written in red ink, densely filling every single space!

"This isn't just 'absent,' it's like he never attended class at all!"

Refusing to believe it, I pick up another sheet, and that one is also covered in red ink, with all his grades labeled as [Missed Exam!].

"He didn't even take the exams?"

If I was feeling a bit of schadenfreude before, I am now completely and utterly stunned.

I flipped through the pages one by one, only to find that without exception, every single page was filled with records of [Truancy], [Absent from Exam], and [Fail]. Only a sparse few pages maintained a record of perfect scores.

Suppressing my shock, I turned to the final page and looked closely; it was a graduation exam transcript from the Ninja Academy.

And there, in striking, bright red characters, were the words: [Graduation Not Approved!]

Seeing these bizarre words, I finally couldn't help but laugh.

"What is this? A genius youth who couldn't graduate on time because of truancy and missing exams?" I was caught between laughter and tears, finding Shisui even more incomprehensible than before. Although I was amused, there was a strange feeling in my heart, as if I were being toyed with!

I laid out the transcripts and carefully tallied the scores, only to suddenly discover with surprise that the sum of Shisui's scores each time was exactly enough to reach the threshold for the next grade—what is commonly known as "barely passing," long live the sixty percent!

"Good grief, you're actually manipulating your scores!"

I found him increasingly unfathomable.

I lined up the transcripts and discovered that the longest span covered over three years! This meant that Shisui hadn't graduated from the academy for at least three years!

This left me completely bewildered!

With a genius like Shisui, he could have graduated early whenever he wanted, or even applied to become a ninja directly!

Yet, not only did he not graduate early, he deliberately dragged out his time at the academy, blending in with a crowd of ordinary students—some of whom had no talent at all—honestly attending classes and taking exams level by level—

When I was attending school with him before, how did I not realize this?

Why would he do such a thing?

I scratched my head, unable to find an answer, so I simply gathered the papers and hid them under my own bed, planning to ask him properly once I had the chance to return to the village!

Who knows what that guy is thinking about all day long!

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

I took a sniff and realized I even smelled!

"How long has it been since I last bathed?" I calculated the time; it had been at least four or five days since I started learning Nintaijutsu!

I stood up and looked around, wanting to find a place to wash up.

"Where could I possibly bathe in a place like this? I need to find somewhere with water, at the very least."

Suddenly, a flash of a crystal-blue pool crossed my mind, along with a pair of eyes radiating coldness, and finally, the sudden, incoming pressure point seal—

I shuddered, and immediately felt a pain in my stomach! I lifted my shirt to look, and sure enough, I saw a few faint, almost invisible finger marks!

"It was a pressure point strike!"

"So it really wasn't a dream!"

I had been so groggy these past few days that I had almost forgotten about it!

I had been peeping at someone bathing by the pool, and when the threat didn't work, I ended up getting beaten instead!

What a humiliating disgrace!!!