Iruka Was Stunned: You Call That Untalented?

At the classroom door, the ANBU ninja's icy voice extinguished the class's clamor like a bucket of cold water.

The air instantly froze, and everyone's eyes locked onto Sen.

Sen's heart skipped a beat. I'm done for.

That chakra leak had caused too much of a commotion. In the end, he had failed to hide it from the old Third's crystal ball. His grand plan of lying low had hit a wall right from the start.

He slowly rose from his chair and dusted off his pants.

"Um... ANBU bro, can I have lunch before I go?" Sen asked miserably, making one last attempt to struggle.

The ANBU ninja said nothing. He merely shifted slightly and made a gesture of invitation, his attitude so firm that it allowed no refusal.

Iruka hurried over, forcing a smile as he tried to smooth things over.

"Lord Naruto must have something important to discuss. Sen Senju, hurry along. Don't keep Lord Third waiting."

Sen sighed helplessly and followed the ANBU out of the classroom with heavy steps.

Behind him came the murmurs of his classmates. Sasuke stared fixedly at Sen's departing back, his fists clenched so tightly they turned white.

"A genius? Hmph. I'll prove that the Uchiha are the strongest!"

Naruto Building, top-floor office.

A faint smell of tobacco lingered in the air. The Third Naruto, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk with a pipe in hand, his gaze profound.

On the desk lay Sen's detailed records from the past six years at the orphanage.

"Sen Senju, a branch member of the Senju clan. His parents died in the Third Shinobi World War..."

Lord Third muttered to himself. What he had seen through the crystal ball had shocked him far more deeply than it had Iruka.

That materialized blue chakra was not only astonishingly abundant, but more importantly, it was utterly pure, without the slightest impurity.

"Could it be that the Senju clan's Wood Release will truly revive in this generation?" A flicker of anticipation passed through Lord Third's eyes.

Knock, knock, knock. The sound at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Sen slowly walked in under the ANBU's escort.

He put on a timid appearance, nervously twisting the hem of his clothes with both hands. "Naruto Grandpa, were you looking for me?"

Lord Third waved for the ANBU to leave, then put on a kindly smile and beckoned. "Come, child. Step closer."

Sen cautiously shuffled over and stopped before the desk.

"At the ninja academy just now, there was a small accident when you extracted chakra, wasn't there?"

Lord Third stared intently into Sen's eyes, trying to spot the slightest clue.

"Huh? An accident?" Sen scratched the back of his head, looking utterly innocent.

"Naruto Grandpa, do you mean that blue gas? I don't know what happened either."

Sen launched into a vivid performance. "I ate too much this morning, so my stomach was bloated. When I held my breath and strained, that blue gas went 'pfft' and came out."

"Did I eat something bad? Maybe the color of my chain farts was wrong?"

Lord Third was dumbfounded by that absurd explanation. Ate too much? Chain farts? What kind of nonsense was this?

"Child, have you ever learned chakra cultivation from anyone before?" Lord Third persisted, continuing to probe.

"No. At the orphanage, all we did every day was pull weeds and chop firewood. Who would teach me that?" Sen answered without hesitation.

Lord Third fell silent. He carefully sensed Sen's current physical state.

His chakra was extremely weak, just like that of the most ordinary civilian child. There was nothing unusual about it.

"Could it really have just been an accidental stress-induced eruption of the Senju bloodline?" Lord Third pondered inwardly.

If that were true, then this child's chakra control was absolutely dreadful.

"Alright, it's nothing." Lord Third picked up his pipe again.

"It's a good thing that you awakened chakra. Go back to class and learn properly from your teacher how to control it."

Sen felt as though he had been pardoned. He quickly bowed. "Thank you, Naruto Grandpa! I'll go back to class now!"

With that, he turned and bolted for the door, moving faster than a rabbit.

Watching Sen flee, Lord Third's eyes grew deep once more.

"Is this child truly foolish, or is he pretending? Still, since he carries Senju blood, he must remain in Konoha."

That afternoon, the sun over the ninja academy training ground was somewhat glaring.

Iruka stood before a row of wooden targets, several kunai in hand, preparing to teach the first shuriken-throwing lesson.

"Watch carefully, everyone. Throwing shuriken requires a deft wrist and chakra assistance."

With a casual flick, Iruka sent three kunai whistling through the air. They struck the bullseyes of targets thirty meters away with perfect precision.

"Wow!" The whole class erupted in amazement.

"Alright, line up now. Come up one at a time and practice."

Naruto eagerly stepped forward, only for his shuriken to trace a ridiculous arc through the air and lodge itself in a nearby tree, drawing laughter from the entire class.

Sasuke approached with a cold expression. His hands moved swiftly, and four shuriken flew out in rapid succession, all striking the bullseye cleanly and precisely.

"So cool, Sasuke!" The girls erupted in shrieks, while Iruka nodded in satisfaction.

At last, it was Sen's turn at the end of the line. The class's murmurs instantly quieted as their attention focused on him again.

Sasuke crossed his arms and watched Sen closely, his eyes full of defiance.

Sen slowly walked to the throwing line and took out three shuriken from his ninja tool pouch.

If I want to keep basking in the sun peacefully in the future, I'll have to wrong myself with some masterful acting. Sen took a deep breath and struck an extremely ridiculous throwing pose.

"Ha!" he shouted, violently swinging his right hand forward.

Whoosh— The first shuriken flew out, traced a bizarre arc through the air, then fell into the grass less than three meters away with a plop.

The entire field fell silent. Was this seriously a ninja? Even the old ladies at the village entrance could throw harder than that!

Iruka smiled awkwardly. "It's alright, Senju. It's normal to be nervous the first time. Try again."

Sen put on a frustrated expression and raised the second shuriken. This time, he directly hurled it hard at the ground.

Bang! The shuriken struck the dirt and bounced away. Even Naruto could not help covering his face.

Sasuke merely snorted. The wariness in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by deep contempt.

After failing twice in a row, Sen appeared increasingly agitated. He grabbed the final shuriken, closed his eyes, and flung it wildly.

"Take this!"

The shuriken tore through the air with a sharp whistle, flying straight at the thigh of Iruka, who was standing nearby giving instructions!

"Fuck!" Iruka was terrified out of his wits and abruptly twisted aside to dodge.

Thunk! The shuriken embedded itself viciously into the wooden post behind Iruka.

Iruka wiped away his cold sweat, feeling a chill at the root of his thigh.

Sen hurried over, repeatedly bowing with a terrified expression. "I'm sorry, Teacher! I didn't mean to! It flew over there by itself!"

Seeing Sen's cowardly appearance, Iruka swallowed his anger and waved a hand. "Forget it, forget it. Go back down first."

After Sen's name in the roster, Iruka wrote: "Chakra reserves are monstrous, but chakra control and taijutsu are an absolute mess. An extremely lopsided brute. Current combat value: zero."

As Sen turned and walked back to the line, he caught sight of that evaluation. He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.

Others thought he was crying, but inwardly, he was frantically praising himself.

Combat value: zero? Perfect. That's exactly the result I wanted.

After school, the setting sun painted the streets gold.

With both hands in his pockets, Sen strolled slowly toward the orphanage. His first day of lying low had been a complete success.

Just as he reached the entrance to a quiet alley, a figure flashed out.

It was Big Bear, the fifth-year school bully. He wore a faded training uniform, and his eyes held a fierce glint.

"Hey, newbie. I heard you were pretty cocky in class today?" Big Bear looked down at Sen.

Sen sighed. He had barely established his useless-wimp persona before a fly came buzzing in.

"Big bro, which eye of yours saw me acting cocky? I can't even hit a target with a shuriken." Sen spread his hands helplessly.

Big Bear sneered, stepped forward, grabbed Sen by the collar, and half lifted him off the ground.

"Cut the crap! We're short on cash today, so hand over your pocket money as protection money. From now on, we'll have your back."

Even while hanging in the air, Sen did not struggle. He simply looked quietly at Big Bear's greasy face, his gaze gradually turning cold.

"Protection money?" A mocking curve lifted at Sen's lips.

"Big bro, you may have gotten one thing wrong." His voice was quiet, yet carried a chill. "I may be a useless guy who can't even throw a shuriken properly."

"But even useless guys have a temper."