Two and a half years of shuriken practice

Dashan was completely dazed when he got home.

What had Fugaku told him?

That Gua had learned the chakra extraction technique in a single day?

That Gua could even overpower Itachi in Taijutsu?

Neither of those sounded like something his son Gua could do.

"What's wrong, Dashan?"

Seeing Uchiha Oyama come home looking distracted, Nai went over to ask out of concern.

"Oh, it's about our son."

As Uchiha Oyama said this, Gua was sitting cross-legged nearby.

Nai and Dashan both instinctively looked at Gua.

Gua: "?"

What's going on?

Why are you looking at me?

All I usually do is idle for a while. I don't go out causing trouble.

If there's anything bad about me, it's that I want to off that bastard Uchiha Itachi.

Other than that, I don't have any unhealthy thoughts.

Why are they looking at me like that?

Could it be...

Mom and Dad have awakened cheats too?

Are they listening in on my thoughts?

Looking utterly baffled, Gua stared back at them.

Gua was pretty good at this.

After six years of idling, never mind staring at people-he could stare at a wall all morning.

Sure enough, Dashan and Nai soon looked away.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Why act so mysterious? It's not like our son would do anything bad. Right, Gua?"

Nai chided Uchiha Oyama, then raised her chin toward Gua as she asked.

"Yeah."

Gua nodded.

Uchiha Oyama then recounted what Fugaku had told him.

Uchiha Nai froze, her mouth slightly open and disbelief written all over her face.

"What did you say?"

"Are you sure Clan Leader Fugaku was talking about Gua?"

"Uh... I think so. Why would he tell me about someone else's son?" Uchiha Oyama scratched his head.

Nai: "..."

Her husband really could be such a blockhead sometimes.

"Gua, is all of that true? You really learned Chakra Extraction in one night? And you even overpowered Itachi in Taijutsu?"

Nai reined in her shock, closed her slightly open mouth, and collected herself before turning to Gua and asking seriously.

"Yeah."

Gua nodded.

Looks like I really can't leave Itachi around for long. He blabs about everything.

Damn you, Uchiha Itachi!

Are you already showing your evil nature at this age?

I have to nip you in the bud!

Nai knew nothing of Gua's inner drama. After hearing him confirm it himself, even her breathing grew heavier.

Her son... had made something of himself!

Some people were geniuses at ninjutsu, some at Taijutsu, and some at intellectual pursuits. Her son, however, was a genius at idling.

"Gua! How did you do it?"

Nai excitedly took Gua's little hands in hers, her expression lighting up again as she looked at him.

After all, what mother didn't want her son to succeed?

"Actually, Gua was secretly training at night. This boy..." Uchiha Oyama interjected.

Nai turned to look at Dashan, then back at Gua.

"Is that what happened?"

"That's right. I might usually be careless, but I could still pick up on Clan Leader Fugaku's hints. Gua must have been putting in extra hours training at night to catch up with the other kids his age. This can't go on. Gua, your health matters most. We don't want an outstanding Shinobi. We want you, our son, Uchiha Gua."

Dashan once again answered Nai's question for Gua, staring at him sternly as though exercising his authority as a father to give him a warning.

Gua fell silent.

How was he supposed to explain?

He had already said he was using cheats, but Teacher Yefune didn't believe him, Itachi didn't believe him, and neither did Shisui...

They all thought it was the result of his hard work.

"This really is giving me a headache."

"See? I told you! Of course staying up all night will give you a headache!"

Dashan seized the opportunity to add that right away.

Gua: "..."

I wanted to get along with you as an ordinary son, but all I got in return was distrust.

Then I'm done pretending.

I'm coming clean.

"Actually, I'm using cheats."

The instant Gua's words fell, the room went quiet.

Terrifyingly quiet.

All that remained was the night wind and the sound of a mouse gnawing on something. But soon, even the gnawing stopped, making the atmosphere even stranger.

"Gua! Stop making excuses for not sleeping!"

Dashan sounded angry.

His son really wasn't taking his health seriously!

He was still little, so going without sleep for a day or two might be fine, but once he got older, it was bound to cause problems!

He couldn't let his son keep being so willful.

"Gua! Starting today, you're not allowed to study! Every day after school, you're going to do something else to relax! Tomorrow, I'll buy you some books to read for fun!"

"That's right! We can't let Gua keep this up!"

Nai firmly backed her husband up!

Gua: "..."

He had actually been thinking of finding an opportunity to learn Fire Release from his father.

Now...

His dad wouldn't let him study!

Isn't that ridiculous?

It's not like I'm that eager to study, okay?

The next day.

His old man Dashan actually brought home a whole basket of books to read for fun.

There were titles like Ninja Adventures, Seven Ninjas, Ninja Return Station, Dora Ninja, Young Wife Ninja, Ninja's Strategy Diary, Ninja's Development Diary, and Icha Icha Paradise...

There were all sorts, and Gua had never seen most of them.

He had never even been out of the house. How could he have seen books this exciting?

A book called Icha Icha Paradise caught his attention on the spot.

The contents were too steamy to show much of here.

Here's an illustration for you.

[Click to open image.jpg]

Gua had a wonderful time reading it, repeatedly declaring that Master Jiraiya was truly a creative genius.

Now he could use it to while away all that time he spent idling every day.

As enjoyable as Icha Icha Paradise was, he couldn't forget the important business of idling.

Gua routinely checked his system panel while reading.

[Taijutsu (tenfold boost active)]

[Eyesight (tenfold boost active)]

[Shuriken (tenfold boost active)]

As time passed, Gua grew increasingly proficient with shuriken.

One month of idling.

For an ordinary person, that was roughly equivalent to two and a half years.

After practicing shuriken for two and a half years, even an idiot ought to have reached an extraordinary level.

Gua's current shuriken skills were already downright absurd.

He walked to the riverbank.

He tucked Icha Icha Paradise into his pocket.

He picked up a random pebble from the ground and threw it toward the opposite bank.

Whoosh!

After a sharp whistle through the air, a pheasant flapped its way out of the grass. It barely got off the ground before falling back down.

It looked as though the pebble had struck its wing.

Gua went around to the opposite bank, pulled the pheasant out of the grass, and carried it home.

"We're having roast chicken tonight."