Shuriken All-Out Throwing Technique

"Huff... huff..."

In the end, Yui managed to hold out, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for breath.

"Yui, are you okay?" Nai Hyuga stepped forward and helped her up.

Looking at the two girls beside her, whose expressions hadn't changed at all, Yui cursed inwardly.

What monsters. They ran six thousand meters without even getting out of breath.

"Mm... you three girls did very well today," Yamada Hideko praised.

Then she turned her gaze toward the boys, who were still raring to go.

"All right, it's the boys' turn!"

The instant she finished speaking, a crowd of boys rushed off.

As he passed Yui, a young boy from the Uchiha Clan, wearing clothes bearing their fan crest, muttered a taunt at her.

"Tch, wasting all that time just to run a few laps."

His voice was so low that only Yui, who was passing right beside him, could hear it.

Yui: "????"

Someone had actually mocked her-and a little brat, at that.

Damn it. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

But in the end, she sighed.

Ah, there's nothing I can do. I really can't beat them when it comes to running.

That was true enough. After all, naturally frailer girls didn't have much of an advantage when it came to physical stamina.

Besides, she hadn't been good at running in her previous life either. The farthest she'd ever managed to run was only two thousand meters.

Now that she was in the world of Naruto, being able to run six thousand meters was a pleasant little surprise.

There was still plenty of room for improvement.

Before long, the boys finished their run, with results much as Yui had expected.

Most of them completed twenty laps, with only two or three failing to finish.

It was the exact opposite of the girls' results.

After their running session ended, they rested in the shade for a while before moving on to the next stage of training.

"All right, all right, settle down first." Yamada Hideko's voice rang out, quieting every student present.

"We'll be practicing with shuriken now."

"Line up in front of the targets."

"You'll throw your shuriken one at a time, and I'll correct your form."

After hearing Yamada Hideko's instructions, the students obediently lined up.

"All right, first up."

"Ishinamura..."

Yui and Nai Hyuga stood near the back, so they would probably have to wait a while for their turns.

That was fine, though. While she waited, Yui could observe the others' shuriken-throwing form.

After all, she had never handled shuriken before. She hadn't even used the ones Nai Hyuga had given her.

"All right, next..."

"Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru? Another 'familiar face'!

At that thought, Yui perked up.

She wanted to see how a genius ninja threw shuriken.

In the original story, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade graduated from the Ninja Academy at six, didn't they?

That means it'll probably happen sometime this year.

Orochimaru held two shuriken, his gaze fixed steadily on the circular target in the distance.

Yamada Hideko gave every student two practice shuriken.

That meant they didn't need to worry about not having brought any.

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened. He held the two shuriken between his fingers and swept his arm forward.

The two shuriken whistled through the air and struck the bull's-eye dead center.

Everyone cried out in amazement at the sight.

"Wow, Orochimaru is amazing!"

The young girls nearby gazed at him with admiration too.

"He really is a genius..."

Hearing their comments, Orochimaru showed no particular reaction, his expression remaining calm.

Only after Yamada Hideko announced his results did he walk away from the area.

Seeing Orochimaru's cocky demeanor, Jiraiya, who stood behind him, felt rather annoyed.

"Hmph, what's so impressive about that?"

"Once I unleash my mighty ninjutsu, you'll see who's really amazing. Hehe."

Everyone turned to look at Jiraiya.

"Ah..."

Before anyone else could react, a blow to Jiraiya's head raised a large lump.

"Ow! Tsunade, what was that for?"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, speechless.

"I'm embarrassed for you. Tch," Tsunade said, curling her lip.

"Next, Jiraiya."

While they were talking, Yamada Hideko had already called Jiraiya's name.

"Watch closely, and don't blink! I'm about to leave you all speechless!"

Jiraiya held one shuriken in each hand.

He crossed his hands, closed his eyes, and paused in concentration.

Opening his eyes, he flung both hands outward and shouted, "Shuriken All-Out Throwing Technique!"

Countless shuriken flew from Jiraiya's hands, but not a single one hit the target.

"Pfft! Hahaha..." Tsunade, standing behind Jiraiya, was the first to burst out laughing.

"And here I thought you were actually good!"

"Pfft! Hahaha..." The classmates behind him joined in.

Even Nai Hyuga's lips curved slightly at the sight.

"Yui, look! That boy is so funny," Nai Hyuga said with a laugh. "Just like he said, he really did leave everyone speechless."

Yui had expected this result all along, but listening to the cheerful laughter around her, she found herself smiling too.

Hearing the mocking laughter around him, Jiraiya felt rather embarrassed.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all!

Why wouldn't the shuriken listen to him? They all flew off to the sides!

He gave a sheepish laugh.

"Ahaha, this was probably just an accident."

Yamada Hideko's eye twitched at the sight.

"Jiraiya!" she shouted. "Who told you to throw all those ninja tools without permission?"

"That's dangerous, you know! What if you'd accidentally injured another student?"

"One credit deducted..."

Hearing that, Jiraiya hung his head dejectedly and silently walked toward the rest area.

"All right, quiet down."

"Next up..."

"Nakamura..."

Next came Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and the others' turns to show their skills.

As expected, their throwing skills were no worse than Orochimaru's.

"Nai Hyuga..."

Taking the two shuriken, Nai Hyuga drew a deep breath, then threw them with crisp, clean movements.

Thud! Thud!

Both shuriken struck home, embedding themselves in the bull's-eye.

"Wow!"

"Nai, you're amazing!" Yui praised.

Nai Hyuga smiled at her words.

Since the two of them were at the very end of the line, hardly anyone remained nearby.

The other students had all run off to play, so none of them saw it.

Yamada Hideko looked down at the girl with approval.

The Hyuga Clan had indeed raised quite a few geniuses lately. She hoped they would all keep growing.

"All right, next, Yui Hyuga."

Hearing her name called, Yui obediently stepped forward.

She took the shuriken.

Feeling the shuriken in her hands, Yui realized that the practice ones were actually lighter than ordinary shuriken.

She figured it was probably to accommodate the younger students.

She adjusted the position of both hands, recalling how the others had thrown theirs.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With two whistles through the air, one shuriken hit the target while the other missed.

"Hmm..." She could accept that result. After all, this was her first time practicing with shuriken.