The blazing sun hung overhead. It was the height of summer.
The fun of recess was always short-lived, and the bell soon rang again.
All the students in Liangtian's class had gathered on the grass of the School Playground, standing in three rows.
"Next, we'll be practicing Ninja Tools throwing and Taijutsu."
"When I call your names, come forward in groups of three to throw your ninja tools. I'll give you an approximate score."
Liangtian swept his gaze over the class, counting everyone before he spoke.
Three targets stood at the edge of the grounds.
The Ninja Tools throwing and Taijutsu practice Liangtian had mentioned were part of their training almost every day.
Aside from theory lessons, practical training was the most important part of the Ninja Academy's curriculum.
And Ninja Tools throwing and Taijutsu were the main practical courses at the ninja school.
After all, ninjutsu was not so easy to learn. Beyond the basic Three Body Technique, the Ninja Academy taught no other ninjutsu.
Generally speaking, the major clans had deep reserves of knowledge and almost always possessed ninjutsu passed down through their families.
Examples included the Sarutobi Clan's Fire Release Technique, the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Transmission, and the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation.
As for other ninja from ordinary civilian families, if they wanted to learn ninjutsu,
they had to take on ninja missions and accumulate enough merit points to exchange for techniques from the Third Hokage.
Moreover, the ranks of ninjutsu available through merit points were quite limited. Most were D-rank or C-rank techniques.
Obtaining A-rank or S-rank ninjutsu that way was probably harder than reaching the heavens.
Even the teachers at the school only knew a handful of ninjutsu themselves.
Expecting them to impart all their prized techniques was clearly unrealistic.
"Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, Might Guy."
As he spoke, Teacher Liangtian began calling names.
"Yes!" the three answered in unison. They stepped forward and each took a position a little over ten meters from a target.
Then each of them drew a kunai from their ninja tool pouch and flung it with a flick of the wrist.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The kunai hissed as they cut through the air.
A few dull thuds followed as their kunai lodged in their respective targets.
Their throwing positions were more than ten meters from the bull's-eyes.
At that distance, they could not make out exactly where the kunai had landed.
Liangtian had to jog over to the targets and inspect them one by one before announcing the scores.
Liangtian nodded in satisfaction and called out, "Mm! Not bad! Asuma, 80 points. Kurenai Yuhi, 86 points. Might Guy, 79 points."
"All three of you still have room to improve, but these are already respectable scores."
"Yay! Great!" Delighted by her teacher's praise, Kurenai Yuhi jumped for joy.
Might Guy punched the air twice and declared enthusiastically, "All right! My hard work finally paid off! Youth is all about sweating through hard work!"
Asuma let out a soft breath, looking quietly pleased that he had performed better than usual today.
Once the three had returned to their places, Liangtian called out the next group:
"Next, Obito Uchiha, Mitaraishi Anko, Hokoku Shimura."
"Yes, Teacher Liangtian!" The three nodded and stepped forward, each taking a position in front of a target.
Hokoku Shimura turned toward Obito, his face full of provocation.
He gave Obito a decidedly unfriendly thumbs-down. "Obito, you'll always be the dead last! Have you got the guts to compete with me?"
Obito readily returned the gesture with his middle finger. "Why wouldn't I? You think I, Obito Uchiha, would be scared of you?"
A smug smile curled Hokoku Shimura's lips. "Good! You said it yourself. Beating you at something like shuriken throwing wouldn't be satisfying at all. Do you dare face me in the sparring session later?"
Hokoku Shimura had it all worked out.
He had successfully provoked Obito Uchiha, but beating him at shuriken throwing alone would not vent his anger.
If Obito dared agree to spar with him as well, Baoguo was confident he could beat Obito's face into a swollen mess!
"Sure! No problem! Whatever you've got in mind, I'm game!"
Obito looked at Baoguo as though he were an idiot, but did not expose his intentions.
I've got a system now. You still think I'm the same dead last I used to be?
Fine, let's compete. You'll definitely be the one who loses.
This time, Hokoku Shimura grinned with outright arrogance. "Good! Obito Uchiha! Whoever loses has to clean the school toilets for free for a month!"
Obito nodded indifferently. "Sure! Looks like you've already secured the job of toilet manager!"
"You..." Baoguo choked with anger and almost lashed out on the spot.
But with the teacher and students watching, he could only preserve the image expected of a class monitor and grit his teeth, forcing himself to hold back.
At that moment, theirs was the only class out on the grounds.
All the other classes were still having lessons in their classrooms.
As a result, their classmates heard every word of Obito and Baoguo's exchange.
Eager to watch the show, everyone began whispering among themselves.
Mizuki's face was full of disdain. "Obito really is a complete idiot! He actually dared accept Baoguo's challenge! He's probably going to get his face beaten to a pulp!"
Ibiki was utterly baffled. "Why is Baoguo targeting Obito like this? He ranks first in every test in our year. What's the point of competing with Obito, who's dead last...?"
Genma Shiranui spat out the toothpick in his mouth and quietly offered a reminder. "When class ended earlier, I think I heard Baoguo mention that Obito had offended him somehow."
Kurenai Yuhi shook her head helplessly. "Obito really is pitiful. Sure, he's always been dead last, but Baoguo clearly just wants to use the match as an excuse to bully him!"
Rin Nohara clasped her hands, worry appearing on her face. "Obito! Do your best! I believe you can do it!"
As their teacher, Liangtian had naturally heard Obito and Baoguo's exchange too.
But he merely stood to one side with his arms folded, quietly waiting for the match to begin.
The Ninja Academy was, after all, a place for training ninja.
When friction arose between students, the teachers generally tacitly permitted them to resolve it through matches like this.
After all, it could stir the students' competitive spirit and help them develop more quickly.
"All right! Obito, Baoguo, Anko, begin throwing your shuriken!"
Seeing that the students' enthusiasm had been stirred, Liangtian nodded in satisfaction and gave the order to begin.
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