"We've been ostracized..."
Under the blazing sun at the Training Ground, Naruto and Yu sat on a log, with all the other children keeping their distance.
Being ostracized was normal for Naruto, but Yu had brought it entirely upon himself.
It made sense. On his very first day, he had befriended Naruto, the class's public enemy, openly made threats, and even fought for Naruto, beating the Three Brats senseless. Nobody dared mess with him anymore, but the price was that nobody would talk to him either!
Naruto looked guilty. "Sorry, it's all because of me..."
Yu swung his little feet above the ground. "Hehe, it's fine, it's fine~."
He genuinely didn't care. For all the little kids in this year's Ninja Academy class~, only twelve would get any screen time in the future! Oh~! Counting him, thirteen. Just enough for a Last Supper!
Apart from Yu and Naruto, those two brothers in misfortune, the other boys in class were practicing with shuriken at their own targets!
One target drew particular attention, especially from the girls!
Yes, it belonged to the boy who had everyone at his beck and call!
With three shuriken held between his fingers, he stared straight at the target ten meters away. After holding his breath and focusing for three seconds, he made three consecutive throws!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The three shuriken left his hand one after another. Thock! Thock! Thock! All three struck the bull's-eye in succession, drawing screams from the girls!
"Wow♥~!! Sasuke-kun is so cool~~!"
"He hit the bull's-eye of my heart♥~!"
"I wanna marry him~~❤!"
Among those screaming was Sasuke's number-one admirer, Sakura!
"Hmph." Sasuke gave a little snort, his face cool and aloof, though he was secretly loving it. Well, he hadn't experienced his clan's massacre yet. At heart, he was still a seven-year-old child.
Naruto sounded sour. "That Sasuke's showing off again~!"
Unwilling to accept defeat, he jumped off the log and threw several shuriken at a target. Every last one missed!
"Damn it, why do I keep missing?" Naruto returned, dejected.
With Yu around, nobody made snide remarks about Naruto anymore, but the contempt in the children's eyes was impossible to hide.
Yu saw it all, but he knew that fundamentally changing people's views of Naruto wouldn't happen overnight.
Yu picked up a shuriken in his little hand.
Back in his clan, all his training had been in Taijutsu. This was his first time touching a shuriken.
It was a thin piece of iron, with a hole in the middle and four protruding points. It lacked a kunai's heft, but its extremely sharp edges, combined with a ninja's strength, still made it a lethal weapon!
Ninja generally had high offense and low defense. In theory, an unassuming shuriken like this could kill almost any ninja.
Think about it. Madara was one of the very best ninja, wasn't he? Yet he was still flesh and blood. If he neither dodged nor defended himself, a shuriken across his throat would finish even him off.
Of course, that was hypothetical. In an actual fight, Madara would never stand there and let you slit his throat.
It simply illustrated the fact that ninja were made of flesh and blood.
Thus, the most sophisticated ways of dealing with an enemy often required only the simplest means!
The best proof was Uchiha Itachi!
So, mastering Shurikenjutsu was still necessary. You could never have too many skills!
Yu jumped off the log and walked toward a target. The children all stopped what they were doing and looked over, their expressions varied.
Yu ignored those looks. His attention was on the man standing nearby, with light-colored hair and a black headband!
It was "Teacher Mizuki," that despicable schemer wearing the mask of a good man, and one of the pests Yu was keeping a close eye on at this stage.
Yu's eyes shifted slightly. He walked over and tugged at the man's clothes. "Teacher."
"Hm?" Mizuki stood with his arms folded across his chest and glanced down. "You're that new transfer student, aren't you? From the Hyuga Branch Family?"
"Yes." Yu nodded. "I don't know how to throw shuriken. Could you teach me?"
Mizuki knew nothing of what had happened in the classroom and only had a vague understanding of Yu's background. Inwardly, he sneered. Just a Hyuga Branch Family brat. Apparently, he's even a bastard born outside the village. Whatever... I'll humor him. He might come in handy someday!
"I'll only demonstrate once, so watch closely!"
Mizuki took the shuriken from Yu's hand, glanced at the target, and casually tossed it!
As a Chunin teaching practical skills at the Ninja Academy, his fundamentals were solid. It was no exaggeration to say that, at this distance, missing was impossible!
Clack!
Yet miss he did. Never mind the bull's-eye-the shuriken flew completely wide of the target!
"What!?" Mizuki was instantly dumbfounded!
The children were astonished.
"Teacher Mizuki actually missed the target?"
"No way???"
"Everyone knows how good his Shurikenjutsu is!"
Wonder filled Yu's little face. "Wow! Your Shurikenjutsu really is amazing, Teacher. From this close, you managed to precisely avoid every scoring ring!"
Mizuki was starting to lose face. "Ah, my hand slipped just now!"
Understanding dawned on Yu. "Oh, your hand slipped. Does that happen often?"
Of course it doesn't!! Who do you think I am, you branch-family brat!!
Mizuki kept his inner fury off his face.
"That was a one-time occurrence. A freak accident. Watch closely. I'll show you some real skill!"
Mizuki pulled a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, fixed his eyes on the target, and made a careful throw!
But the corner of Yu's mouth rose, and he subtly curled his hand.
Whoosh!
The shuriken suddenly dropped just short of the target, curving down to the ground!!
Mizuki was utterly baffled. "What is going on????"
The throw had felt right, so why did this shuriken seem to have a mind of its own?
Of course, shuriken couldn't have minds of their own. Yu had tampered with it, just as he had with the first throw. He was using "Secret Technique: Michi-no-Uzunomikoto," which allowed him to manipulate objects through psychokinesis!
But the children didn't know that, and they all began to question him.
"Did Teacher Mizuki eat something bad?"
"He's obviously off his game?"
"But he's a teacher. Even if he's off his game, he shouldn't suck this badly!"
"Could our teacher be a fraud??"
Mizuki's expression turned exceptionally ugly, but Yu mercilessly piled on. "Hehe, I've learned it, I've learned it~. When Dad and Uncle Hiashi ask me later, I'll tell them you taught me, Teacher. It's called-'Shuriken Jerk-jutsu'!"
Are you fucking kidding me, you bastard!!!
Mizuki was going mad inside, barely suppressing the twitch at the corner of his mouth. "You certainly know how to joke, kid. Actually, so do I. I was only joking with you just now~. Watch closely. This time, you'll see my real ability-the ability to pierce a target's head in a single strike!!!"
To be safe, he took a step forward, wiped the sweat from his hands, and pulled out another shuriken. Staring fiercely at the target, he adopted textbook form, then hurled the shuriken with all his strength!
Whoosh!!
But the instant it left his hand, the shuriken abruptly changed direction, flying at incredible speed right along Sakura's scalp!
It happened so suddenly that nobody had time to react!
Rustle, rustle, rustle... As several tufts of pink hair fell to the ground, Sakura acquired a brand-new hairstyle-the "Pink Mediterranean"!
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