Sasuke wanted to win

"All right, let me demonstrate the proper way to use a kunai first."

Iruka picked up a wooden kunai identical to the students', gripped its handle in his right hand, and took a fighting stance.

Hyah!

A dark brown flash streaked past, and Iruka sliced the head off the training dummy in front of him with his wooden kunai.

Every child was awestruck by the impressive sight.

"Wow, Iruka-sensei is amazing!"

Stars of admiration sparkled in Kiba's eyes. This was a wooden kunai! Although it weighed the same as a regular kunai, cutting off a training dummy's head with it was no easy feat.

At least, that was how Kiba saw it.

Choji nodded in agreement, casually pinching a few more chips from his bag and tossing them into his mouth.

"Defi-crunch... nitely amazing."

Iruka basked in the children's admiration with satisfaction, then put the training dummy away.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully sizing up the dummy's head on the ground.

"Ahem, all right, class. Next, we'll go through it in slow motion using this undamaged dummy."

Iruka began his slow-motion demonstration: how to grip the kunai, adjust their stance, precisely target the dummy's vital points, and so on.

Naruto watched Iruka's lesson intently. Although Iruka-sensei's decapitation act had not frightened him, kunai skills were indispensable if he wanted to become a ninja.

Naruto: I wouldn't need a kunai. I could knock that dummy's head off with one punch.

Actually, even Hinata could do it. Although her strength was currently only approaching that of a Genin, that dummy was a veteran performer.

After all, the Ninja Academy's budget was limited too. Only five years had passed since the Third Shinobi World War, and Konoha's economy had only just begun to recover.

Finding new sources of income on short notice was still difficult for the Ninja Academy, so cutting costs became its first choice.

For example, the training dummy they decapitated to establish authority over the new students was generally replaced once every three years. This year was this dummy's final year of service.

Including this time, Iruka had chopped its head off three times!!!

Dummy: Iruka! Three times! Three! Do you know what these three years have been like for me? For three years, I've either sat gathering dust in the storeroom or been dragged out by you once a year for a public beheading.

Because of that, however, this dummy's head was actually much more fragile than a normal dummy's. Even Hinata could knock it off bare-handed.

That was also why Iruka had put it away.

Still, word was that the research department had recently developed a new wooden dummy that was both cheap and sturdy. They would probably be able to use it the year after next.

Once Iruka-sensei finished teaching, the handful of civilian students immediately picked up their kunai impatiently and began swinging them, copying what they had seen.

Well, their movements were so awkward that it was hard to comment.

Sasuke, meanwhile, curled his lips disdainfully. As a member of the illustrious Uchiha Clan, how could he possibly be unfamiliar with these ninja tools?

After all, he had gone to his big brother two years ago to learn how to use kunai, throw shuriken in fancy ways, stick kunai into shuriken, and so on.

But whenever he sparred with Naruto, Naruto lunged straight at him every time, knocking him to the ground with overwhelming power and making him drop his weapons too.

Now, however, his chance to redeem himself had arrived.

"Hey, Naruto."

Sasuke spoke coolly.

"Want to see who's more accurate at throwing kunai and shuriken?"

He did his best to suppress his wicked thoughts, worried Naruto would refuse.

"Oh, sure! Let your big brother teach you how to use a kunai!"

Naruto, who was sitting beside Hinata watching their classmates swing kunai, heard Sasuke and agreed without thinking.

Sasuke: Yes! I did it! He accepted! No, I can't laugh. Pfft... no, I have to hold it in until the match is over, then laugh at him all I want!

A certain Light, who had once held in his laughter for thirty seconds, gave you a like and asked for your name.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, whose face showed no particularly obvious expression, yet who practically radiated smugness and wild delight, and rose helplessly.

"Hinata, just watch how I string Sasuke up and beat him in a moment."

That was only an exaggeration. After all, they would be competing at throwing kunai and shuriken, not using whips and chains.

Kurama: Hey, Naruto, don't go picking up bad habits! Your Wood Release is enough. Chain play and all that went out of fashion ages ago!

Hinata nodded, looked up at Naruto's face, and smiled.

"Good luck."

Sasuke's aura suddenly dwindled at that moment.

"Oh, good luck to you too, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke: Thanks. That was a little perfunctory, but I'll take it.

Naruto picked up a wooden kunai and hefted it. It was light, but it gave him a familiar, comforting feeling.

"All right, your turn."

Iruka-sensei led away the previous group of students, who had been swaying all over the place. Naruto and the others were up next.

For now, though, they were still practicing close combat. Naruto and Sasuke's contest would come later, during throwing practice.

First came the stance.

Naruto controlled his posture, lowered his center of gravity, gripped the kunai firmly, and fixed his eyes on the training dummy before him.

Hashirama: "Yes, that spirit, that look in your eyes. Good, very good!"

Inside the Sealing Space, Hashirama held his breath in concentration, holding the constantly struggling little Kurama in his arms as they watched Naruto's first kunai practice together.

With a swish, long golden hair streamed through the air, and Naruto's figure flashed past.

The kunai sliced through the air, a gust blew past, and in an instant, a layer of the training dummy's scalp fell away.

Huh? Looks like I missed.

He had originally aimed for the neck, but somehow hit the scalp instead.

After all, Naruto had used his full strength, along with the technique for exerting force that his teacher had taught him. He had failed to control it properly and ended up striking off target.

Inside the Sealing Space, Hashirama covered his face at the sight. He could not bear to watch.

The student he had taught for about three years could not hit someone with a kunai?

"Hey, Naruto, don't embarrass your teacher!"

Hashirama's voice reached Naruto's mind as he scratched his head, accompanied by Kurama's laughter.

Beside him, Sasuke swung his kunai down, striking the training dummy squarely in the neck and cutting a gash about eight centimeters long.

Now, close your eyes and savor this joy that belongs to the Uchiha.

A voice inside Sasuke said as much, but with what he knew of Naruto, he knew things would definitely not be this simple.

Ignoring Iruka-sensei's praise and the admiring gazes of several girls in the distance, Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Naruto, who had picked up his kunai and taken his stance again.