So This Is Youth!

"You're amazing, Hayato!" Kurenai stood nearby, admiration sparkling in her eyes as she followed Hayato's every move.

"It's not that hard, really. Why don't you give it a try?" Hayato replied with a smile, handing Kurenai a sharp kunai.

Kurenai happily took the kunai and carefully watched Hayato's throwing stance. Then she took a deep breath, imitated his movements, and hurled the kunai with all her strength.

The kunai traced a brief arc through the air, but soon ran out of momentum and dropped limply, missing the center of the target.

"You're kidding. It really is hard." Kurenai looked at the kunai that had missed the target, disappointment and dejection written across her face. A hint of self-doubt showed in her eyes.

Seeing this, Hayato walked over behind Kurenai and watched her throwing form closely. After a moment's thought, he began to offer some pointers.

"I watched you just now. You're not putting your strength into it quite right, so the kunai loses momentum as it flies. Let's work on that first."

With that, Hayato demonstrated the throwing technique again. The kunai shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, whistling as it embedded itself in the bull's-eye.

"See? The key is an explosive burst from your elbow. Don't rely too much on your wrist."

Kurenai nodded and tried again, imitating Hayato.

This time, the kunai flew noticeably farther, but still failed to hit the target.

"Aw, what am I doing wrong?" Kurenai said in frustration, patting her head. Did she really have no talent for this?

Seeing how discouraged she was, Hayato decided to guide her in person. He stepped beside her and said softly, "Here, give me your hand."

Kurenai stared at Hayato in a daze, then awkwardly held out her hand.

Hayato gently took her arm and patiently adjusted her posture and the point where she applied her strength.

"When you throw, focus on the strength in your elbow here. That's it. Don't put too much force into your wrist. Try using the momentum of your elbow to fling the kunai."

With Hayato's careful guidance, Kurenai tried throwing again. This time, the kunai struck the fixed target cleanly.

She hadn't hit the bull's-eye, but it was already a huge improvement.

"I hit it! Hayato, I hit it!"

Kurenai turned excitedly to share her joy with Hayato.

Only then did she notice that Hayato was still holding her hand. A blush instantly spread across her cheeks.

Hayato smiled and let go of Kurenai's hand, gently ruffling her hair. "Good. Remember how that felt, and just keep practicing."

Kurenai shyly lowered her head and said softly, "Okay. Thank you, Hayato."

Asuma, who had been silently watching everything from nearby, looked extremely displeased.

Jealousy was eating him alive.

He watched Hayato and Kurenai's affectionate interaction with envy, his heart full of resentment and frustration. Damn it, I should be the one standing there!

Distracted by his emotions, Asuma kept missing the target during the rest of his throwing practice.

He began to doubt his own abilities. Could it be that I'm not just less handsome than him, but weaker too?

Hayato, however, paid no attention to Asuma's inner turmoil. He was focused on practicing how to throw three kunai at once.

With Kurenai cheering him on, he took a deep breath, composed himself, and threw all three kunai at the same time.

The three kunai streaked through the air like bolts of lightning, each hitting a different fixed target.

"Thud, thud, thud!" Three crisp impacts rang out, marking Hayato's success.

"Hayato, you're amazing!" Kurenai cheered and applauded his brilliant performance, even more excited than when she had hit the target herself.

Hayato smiled modestly and inspected the kunai embedded in the targets. He noticed that one hadn't landed right in the bull's-eye and felt a little disappointed.

But he quickly regained his composure and decided to keep practicing until he got it just right.

He needed to practice more. He should also ask around the clan about the Uchiha Clan's throwing techniques.

There was no denying that the Uchiha Clan's throwing techniques were excellent.

There were also throwing techniques that incorporated the Sharingan.

Besides practicing with kunai, Hayato also tried throwing shuriken and senbon.

He found that throwing these ninja tools was much the same as throwing kunai. The main differences were their feel and weight distribution.

After trying them out, he found that he preferred senbon, small and sharp as they were. They reminded him of the flying needles from his previous life and gave him a special sense of familiarity.

With Hayato's guidance, Kurenai's throwing skills improved further.

That took a load off Shuichi's mind and freed up more time for him to teach the other students. Hayato's excellent throwing skills also drew the attention and admiration of his classmates.

"Not bad," Kakashi remarked indifferently, glancing at Hayato.

"Uchiha Hayato, it seems you're the destined rival of my life!" Guy gazed at Hayato's back, his eyes burning with excitement and anticipation.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, class was over.

Kurenai and Hayato walked side by side on their way home. She turned around and walked backward for a few steps, a grateful smile on her face. "I couldn't have done it without you today, Hayato."

"Why so formal? We're just helping each other out," Hayato replied with a smile. Spending time with Kurenai made him feel relaxed and happy.

Just then, a shout came from behind them. "Hayato!"

Hayato stopped and turned around. Guy came running over and stopped in front of him, panting. "What's up, Guy? Did you need something?"

A spark of challenge lit Guy's eyes. Excited, he said, "Hayato! I challenge you! Fight me! Youth shines brightest when we constantly test ourselves against each other!"

After saying this, Guy took up a ready stance, prepared to face Hayato in a fight.

Hayato couldn't help but freeze. What the heck? How had Guy's sparring matches with Kakashi ended up involving him instead?

After thinking it over, though, he decided to accept Guy's challenge.

After all, he had been practicing Baji Quan lately and could use a sparring partner to test his progress.

Besides, Guy's Taijutsu would become incredibly powerful later on. He was sure to gain a lot from sparring with him.

Hayato nodded and said, "Sure."

Hearing that Hayato had accepted his challenge, Guy jumped with excitement. "Great! Then here I come!"

Before he'd even finished speaking, Guy lunged at Hayato like a猛虎, his right fist cutting through the air with a whoosh as it shot toward Hayato's face.

Seeing this, Hayato chose not to dodge. He caught Guy's punch with his right palm. A tingling sensation ran through his hand, and he couldn't help admiring Guy's strength.

But Hayato didn't back down. He swayed slightly, swiftly grabbed Guy's fist with his right hand, and yanked him forward. At the same time, his left hand became a fierce knife-hand strike aimed at Guy's chest.

Guy reacted just as quickly. With his right hand restrained, he hurriedly raised his left to block. The two launched into a fierce exchange in an instant...