The Troubles of the Strong: What to Do When You Accidentally Kill Someone?

"Next is shuriken. There are two ways to test: throwing and catching. Which do you choose?"

The proctor looked at Lu Yu, asking with a hint of anticipation.

"Throwing, I suppose."

In Lu Yu's view, throwing shuriken was less physically demanding, whereas catching them seemed far too troublesome.

"Very well!"

The proctor waved to a colleague nearby, and three wooden boards marked with bullseyes appeared on the opposite side.

"Lu Yu, just try to hit the center of the targets as accurately as you can."

Lu Yu took the shuriken, his brow furrowing slightly as he glanced at the onlookers standing behind the targets.

As a seasoned slacker, Lu Yu had spent the past few years living like a corpse at home, barely moving a muscle. Consequently, he had no real control over his own strength.

Using a flick of his finger to injure someone earlier had been manageable—he only needed to gauge the force—but shuriken required both precision and power. Since this was his first time handling them, he couldn't be certain he wouldn't accidentally hurt someone.

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Yu spoke to the proctor:

"Could you ask the people behind the boards to move aside a little? I'm worried I might accidentally hit someone."

The proctor glanced at the few jonin standing behind the targets and chuckled dismissively.

"Don't worry. You're quite a distance away from them; you won't be able to reach them."

"Oh, alright then!"

Lu Yu took a deep breath, unable to suppress his growing nervousness.

He chanted to himself over and over:

Go easy, go easy, make sure the release is light...

With that, Lu Yu casually tossed the shuriken out...

Whoosh!!!

Whoosh!!!

Thwack!!!

Lu Yu's hands moved in a blur, and the three shuriken shot out at extreme speed.

Oh no, I used too much force...

The moment the three shuriken left his hands, Lu Yu realized something was wrong.

The sound of the shuriken flying through the air had actually produced a faint sonic boom.

The wooden boards on the opposite side were instantly sliced in two, and the three shuriken, their momentum unchecked, flew straight toward Asuma, who had been watching the proceedings with interest.

Asuma's heart hammered against his ribs. A chilling sensation surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, every hair on his body standing on end, his pupils shrinking to dangerous, needle-like points.

He had the distinct feeling that a blade was held to his throat, ready to sever his windpipe in the next second.

Without a moment's thought, the instant that sensation struck, Asuma threw himself to the side.

Swish...

Just as Asuma dove away, the three shuriken, moving at blinding speed, whistled past the spot where he had been standing and vanished.

Asuma looked toward the field in shock, only to find Lu Yu looking at him with an apologetic expression. He was left completely bewildered.

By the Sage of Six Paths, did this kid just make me feel the threat of death in that split second?

Asuma shook his head, unable to believe it. He gave a self-deprecating laugh, thinking to himself that he must have been taking on too many missions lately; it was time to give himself a break.

On the other side, no one else had noticed Asuma's sudden movement. Even so, looking at the wooden boards sliced clean in half, the entire arena fell into a dead silence.

"Um... are we going to proceed to the next test?"

Lu Yu looked at the proctor with a smile, offering a timely reminder.

Only then did everyone snap out of their daze, their gazes toward Lu Yu having completely changed.

Those were inch-thick wooden boards, yet he had sliced through them with shuriken—what kind of monstrous strength did that require?

This time, the proctor took his pen and wrote on Lu Yu's score sheet: "Shuriken: 10 points."

"Well done, that was impressive!"

The proctor's eyes had shifted as he offered words of encouragement.

"The final test is taijutsu. You will spar with the taijutsu instructor opposite you."

A chunin from the Akimichi Clan, who had just finished two rounds of sparring with Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke, stepped forward.

Candidates were allowed to attack the instructor with full force, and their scores would be based on their application of taijutsu.

Of course, from the school's perspective, it was absolutely impossible for a candidate to defeat a chunin.

Especially since the Akimichi Clan was known for having the highest durability, there was no chance of an upset.

However, as this Akimichi chunin stood opposite Lu Yu, he felt an inexplicable and extreme sense of unease.

It was as if he were facing a tailed beast on the verge of a rampage.

Lu Yu looked at his opponent helplessly, then glanced at the expectant gaze of the proctor, sighed silently, and uttered a sentence that shocked the entire arena:

"Teacher, I forfeit!"

"What?"

The proctor was dumbfounded. This was just a taijutsu test, not some unreasonable demand; was it really necessary to forfeit?

Still, he suppressed his impatience and asked:

"Lu Yu, can you tell the teacher why?"

Lu Yu naturally wouldn't tell the truth. He pretended to be embarrassed, scratched his head, and whispered:

"Teacher, I was injured a while ago and need to rest recently. I can't exert myself."

The proctor had a sudden realization and immediately said with concern:

"Oh, so that's how it is. Alright then, take care of yourself. We'll skip the taijutsu test for now. Seeing as your physical fitness is quite good, I'll give you a 5 for taijutsu."

"Thank you, teacher."

Watching Lu Yu nod politely and leave the training ground, the Akimichi Clan chunin wiped the sweat that had appeared on his forehead at some unknown moment and let out a long, inexplicable sigh of relief.

"What's wrong with me? Why am I so afraid of a child?"

The Akimichi Clan chunin scratched his head, completely unable to figure it out.

Shikamaru watched his older brother walk over, quietly gave him a thumbs-up, and whispered:

"Big brother, since when do you like to show off? You actually forfeited—wouldn't it have been better to just go through the motions?"

Go through the motions? How? He couldn't just use a gust of wind from his finger like he did a while ago, could he? That would be far too high-profile.

Lu Yu leaned comfortably against the wall and, upon hearing this, said with a serious expression:

"If I told you I was afraid I'd accidentally kill him, would you believe me..."

"Haha, big brother, you're really humorous. Just wait to explain it to Mom when we get home."

"What a drag..."