After learning the astonishingly powerful Great Fireball Technique, Hayato still looked unsatisfied, his eyes shining with curiosity and a longing to explore the unknown.
"Grandpa, do you have anything else you can teach me?" he asked, gazing expectantly at the Grand Elder beside him, his voice full of eagerness to learn.
Seeing how eager his grandson was to study, the Grand Elder felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction well up inside him.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly drew a somewhat ancient-looking scroll from his robes and solemnly handed it to Hayato.
Hayato took the scroll, curiosity and excitement in his eyes. "What is this, Grandpa?"
The Grand Elder smiled affectionately and explained, "It contains various ways to use the Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan, along with some genjutsu suited to it. As a descendant of the Uchiha Clan, you mustn't neglect the power of the Sharingan. Study this scroll on your own. I'm sure it will benefit you greatly."
Hayato was overcome with joy. Although he had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he was still somewhat lost and confused about how to use it in practice.
The scroll the Grand Elder had given him was just what he needed.
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Hayato said gratefully.
"You've earned it. All right, that's enough for today. It's getting late, so you should go back and rest."
The Grand Elder gently ruffled Hayato's hair, his voice filled with affection and concern.
As for why he hadn't simply explained the contents to Hayato, it was because Hayato's earlier question—"Why do Fire Release Ninjutsu techniques have to be released by spitting them out of your mouth?"—had caught the Grand Elder completely off guard.
How was he supposed to know? That was just how it had always been done.
Hayato was so immersed in the ocean of knowledge contained in the scroll that he seemed to have lost all awareness of the world around him.
The Grand Elder, however, began to worry about his eyes. "There's no rush. You can keep reading when you get home. The light here isn't good, and that's bad for your eyes." As he spoke, he gently nudged Hayato.
Before long, the two of them returned home. The Grand Elder saw Hayato inside, then turned and left.
Clutching the scroll tightly, Hayato hurried back to his room and eagerly began to study it. He spent the entire night exploring the world within its pages, immersed in a sea of knowledge.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight spread across the earth, Hayato was already up and doing his morning exercises.
He moved briskly through Baji Quan in the courtyard, his fists whooshing through the air with tremendous force.
The noise in the courtyard woke Misaki and Shota, who were still asleep. Rubbing their bleary eyes, they went outside to see what was going on.
"Why's Hayato up so early? It's still a while before school," Shota said in surprise.
Misaki gently tugged at Shota's arm and shook her head. "Come on, let's go make breakfast."
They exchanged a smile, then left the courtyard together.
After finishing his set of exercises, Hayato felt refreshed. He wiped off his sweat with a towel, washed up, and went to the main room for breakfast.
Once everything was taken care of, Misaki took Hayato to school.
"Mom, I can go to school by myself," Hayato said softly, looking up at her.
Misaki put her hands on her hips and said firmly, "No. You're still young, and I'd worry."
Hayato helplessly rubbed his nose, thinking to himself:
If I went to school alone, I could ask Grandpa for a Shadow Clone scroll and send a clone to class while my real body went off to train.
But it looked like that idea would have to wait.
Before long, Hayato arrived at the Ninja Academy.
Asuma was sitting quietly off to one side with a pout, looking rather dejected.
"Good morning, Hayato," Kurenai greeted him warmly, her face lighting up with delight when she saw him.
"Good morning, Kurenai." Hayato smiled and waved back.
When Asuma saw Hayato approach, he jumped to his feet, glaring at him with undisguised annoyance.
Hayato ignored him, walked straight to his own seat, and sat down.
As soon as Hayato arrived, Kurenai eagerly began telling him about something fun that had happened that day.
Meanwhile, Asuma, ignored once again, gritted his teeth and sat back down, forced to listen as Kurenai and Hayato chatted happily.
He suddenly felt a chill on top of his head, as if something were about to sprout there.
Today's lesson wasn't going to be a simple classroom lecture. After finishing a lesson indoors, Shuichi led the students out to the training ground.
"Starting today, we'll officially begin practical combat lessons," Shuichi announced loudly.
He then brought over a wooden box filled with all kinds of ninja tools: kunai, shuriken, senbon, windmill shuriken, and more.
"Today's lesson is shurikenjutsu." Shuichi held three shuriken in his hand and looked toward the fixed targets. "The key is using your elbow strength and aiming accurately. If your aim is off, all your effort will be wasted."
After explaining, Shuichi demonstrated his throwing technique in front of the class.
He threw all three shuriken at once. They whistled through the air, followed by three thuds as they struck the target.
Every one of them hit the bull's-eye.
"All right, next we'll practice in pairs. You can pair up according to where you're sitting, or choose your own partner. I'll correct your technique one by one," Shuichi said, beginning to organize the groups.
As soon as Asuma heard they'd be pairing up, his eyes lit up.
He had started practicing shurikenjutsu at home the day before, all so he could prove himself in front of Kurenai today.
He'd been so embarrassed yesterday. He didn't want Kurenai to look down on him again.
So he hurried over to Kurenai and said, "Kurenai, let's practice together."
Kurenai turned to Hayato, seeking his opinion.
Hayato just smiled and said softly, "It's up to you!"
Kurenai gave a small nod, then looked apologetically at Asuma.
"Sorry, Asuma. You should find someone else. I'm not very good, and I'm afraid I'll hold you back."
Asuma froze, his mouth twitching as he struggled to find something to say. A crushing sense of defeat welled up inside him, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head.
"Hayato, would you like to practice with me?" Kurenai turned to him and asked.
"Sure, no problem," Hayato readily agreed.
Once they had settled it, the two of them went over to Shuichi to collect their ninja tools and begin practicing.
Asuma was left standing where he was, looking utterly bewildered and lost.
You're afraid of holding me back, but you're not afraid of holding him back? Damn it! Asuma roared inwardly.
After being rejected, Asuma had no choice but to look for someone else to practice with.
Fortunately, he was the Third's son, so plenty of classmates were happy to partner with him.
But as he threw the shuriken in his hand, he kept glancing at Hayato and Kurenai chatting and laughing together across the training ground.
His anger flared again. Damn it, what am I lacking? Is it just because I'm not handsome enough?
The angrier Asuma got, the harder he threw his shuriken, but he hit the bull's-eye only a handful of times.
He threw twelve shuriken in total and hit the target four times.
Meanwhile, Hayato was lightly twirling a kunai in his hand.
He carefully recalled Shuichi's instructions and focused on putting power into his elbow.
The kunai shot from his hand, streaking through the air like lightning before embedding itself squarely in the center of the target.
"That wasn't so hard." Hayato's lips curled into a confident smile.
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