Kunai Throwing Lesson

"Snatching things from a girl, isn't that a bit low?"

Sato Hideaka tilted his head, his cold gaze fixed on Sarutobi Asuma. He focused his intent, drawing on the insights he had gained from watching Hatake Sakumo and the similar sensation he felt when killing members of Root. He condensed his aura, letting his killing intent bleed out.

Hatake Sakumo had possessed an astonishing presence back then, even while merely leaning casually against a tree.

When Sato Hideaka had killed that Chunin with the resolve to end him, he had also unleashed his killing intent, terrifying another powerful Root member so thoroughly that the man dared not take a single step forward.

A person's aura is generally proportional to their strength. When one is determined to accomplish something, that aura rises from within, manifesting through eyes, posture, language, and more, playing a massive role in combat.

In the Naruto anime, there was an episode during the Chunin Exams where Orochimaru used his aura to pin Second Pillar in place, rendering him unable to move. Figures like the Shinobi World Professor Sarutobi Hiruzen, the White Fang of the Leaf Hatake Sakumo, the Sannin Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, and later the Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato—

Relying on their formidable strength and inner resolve, they all possessed an aura capable of subduing the enemy without a fight. This, too, was a form of inner enlightenment.

The air in the classroom seemed to drop several degrees. A chill and a sense of dread suddenly rose in the hearts of the students. Sarutobi Asuma, whose hands had yet to be stained with blood, recoiled. Beyond the gap in strength, this was a fear stemming from the depths of his soul.

"Hmph, what's the big deal?" Sarutobi Asuma retracted his right hand in frustration, returned to his seat, and picked up his chopsticks, shoveling food from his bento into his mouth with force, as if turning his anger into appetite.

"Kurenai, let's eat!"

Sato Hideaka's icy blue eyes shifted into a smile in an instant, and the heart-stopping killing intent vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The heavy atmosphere in the classroom dissipated, as if the incident had never occurred.

"Um, yeah... okay, let's eat!"

Yuhi Kurenai blinked hard, looking closely at Sato Hideaka as if trying to determine if the terrifying aura he had just unleashed was merely a hallucination. She couldn't discern anything; Sato Hideaka looked gentle and handsome, smiling warmly.

The bento came with both forks and chopsticks. Though their usage differed, they were both tools for eating. Yuhi Kurenai and Sato Hideaka began to happily enjoy their delicious, well-prepared meal, one with a fork and the other with chopsticks.

The afternoon was for outdoor practical training: kunai throwing.

Led by Yano Koji, the class members arrived at the school playground. They lined up according to the list, divided into groups, and stood before their respective targets to prepare for the afternoon lesson.

The targets were circular, placed twelve meters away and roughly the size of a human head. The center was a red circle; hitting it consistently earned a perfect score, while hitting the outer rings was barely enough to pass.

Because Sato Hideaka was the youngest and had just joined the class, he was placed last, which gave him the opportunity to observe the students' skill levels and learn.

Yuhi Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, Ibiki, Shiranui Genma, Might Guy, and Nohara Rin—these original characters all threw quite well, mostly hitting the inner ring of the target. Beyond them, there were many students whose names Sato Hideaka didn't know, some of whom performed even better than the characters from the original story.

This confirmed Sato Hideaka's hypothesis. In the anime, Yuhi Kurenai only reached the level of Special Jonin through genjutsu by the time she became a mentor. If Konoha were truly at that level, how could they have won the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars?

Think back to when the Six Paths of Pain invaded Konoha in the anime; the Anbu members wearing animal masks could easily execute powerful combination ninjutsu and subdue the summoning beasts from the underworld. They definitely possessed the strength of Jonin or Elite Jonin.

In the real Naruto world of Konoha, besides the characters like Kakashi Hatake, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy, there must exist powerful ninjas not highlighted in the original story. This real world of Naruto was far deeper than the anime.

"Sato Hideaka, Hideaka, it's your turn...!"

Yano Koji's voice reached his ears. Sato Hideaka picked up a kunai and stood at the throwing point. From the dozens of throwing postures he had observed, he selected the most common and universal one. He aimed at the bullseye and flicked his wrist sharply.

The kunai flew out instantly, embedding itself deep into the wood!

The field fell silent. Everyone stared at Sato Hideaka's frozen posture, as if one could hear a leaf hitting the ground.

"What's wrong?"

Sensing the strange gazes around him, Sato Hideaka straightened up and asked.

"Ah, nothing... Student Sato, you have quite a lot of strength... haha... hahaha!" Yano Koji was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head with his right hand and laughed, his expression looking a bit awkward.

Yes, that was it—awkwardness.

On the trunk of a large tree three meters away from the wooden target, a black kunai was deeply embedded. That was the kunai Sato Hideaka had thrown. Clearly, Sato Hideaka had missed the target, and by a significant margin at that!

"Wahahaha, haha... you're killing me! In a class about to graduate, and you're still missing the target with a kunai??"

In the crowd, Sarutobi Asuma laughed until he was doubled over. He wanted to return the humiliation he had just suffered in full. With such a poor level of skill, even the dead-last students in the middle grades couldn't do this. How could someone like this be jumped into the senior class?

In the crowd, Uchiha Obito's expression was strange, as he had experienced such misses in previous years, though he had only done so to appear different from others and attract attention. Could it be that this transfer student also needed to attract attention?

Facing Sarutobi Asuma's exaggerated mockery, Sato Hideaka's face showed not a hint of displeasure. He walked to the next throwing point, focused his mind, and after aiming at the target, flicked his wrist again.

The target was knocked flying!

The kunai had struck the edge of the target, its immense force flipping it over. After spinning in the air a few times, it landed on the ground. Sarutobi Asuma's exaggerated laughter ceased, and the playground returned to its previous silence.

Sato Hideaka did not stop. He perfectly controlled the muscles throughout his body, making minute adjustments for the next target. He flicked his wrist again, using almost the exact same technique as the previous two throws.

The sharp kunai struck the red bullseye, scoring a perfect hit!

Swish, swish, swish—

Following the same method, Sato Hideaka fired seven more kunai in rapid succession. The tip of every single kunai was deeply embedded in the red bullseye. His hit rate for the final seven throws was one hundred percent.

Yano Koji stared blankly at the bullseyes, asking in astonishment, "Hideaka, if you were capable of hitting the bullseye, why did you miss so badly on your first throw?"

"My first throw was rusty, but I got the hang of it afterward," Sato Hideaka replied calmly as he walked back to the crowd.

Rusty, got the hang of it... Rusty, got the hang of it!!

These two phrases echoed in Yano Koji's mind. He looked at Sato Hideaka's retreating figure, filled with shock. This child—was this his first time ever touching a kunai?

On his very first attempt, he achieved a one-hundred-percent accuracy rate that others couldn't reach even after years of practice!

Yano Koji finally seemed to understand why the Anbu would place a five-year-old child with no ninja foundation into a senior class. It wasn't because of some strange background, but because the boy could completely keep up with the pace of the senior curriculum. He was a genius, no less than Kakashi Hatake!

This kunai throwing practice not only shocked Yano Koji but also deepened the awe the surrounding students felt toward Sato Hideaka. From the astonishing aura he unleashed at noon to the unparalleled talent he displayed now, he had delivered a massive impact to them all.

The kunai throwing class finally allowed Sato Hideaka to put his theoretical knowledge into practice. By the end of the session, he had mastered seven different throwing techniques, achieved a one-hundred-percent accuracy rate within fifteen meters, and developed a lethal force that concentrated his entire body's power into a single point.

After school, parents were waiting at the gate, looking forward with anticipation as they waited for their children to finish their lessons.

Yuhi Kurenai's father had arrived as well, a handsome young ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector with eyes of the same crimson hue, though his expression appeared somewhat stern and somber. He was one of the Eight Colors of Konoha, later known as the Red Sunset, Yuhi Shinku.

"Hideaka, aren't you going home?" Watching Sato Hideaka sitting in his seat, unmoved, Yuhi Kurenai opened her jewel-like red eyes and asked with some confusion.

Sato Hideaka nodded and said, "Yeah, I have some things to take care of. Kurenai, do you know where the largest hospital in Konoha is?"

After Yuhi Kurenai told him the location of the Ninja Hospital and skipped away following her father, Sato Hideaka shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled leisurely toward Konoha Hospital.

The exploration and practice of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode yesterday really took a toll on me!