Uchiha Rìtiān kept his expression neutral, but alarm bells rang inside his head.
That flicker of chakra had vanished in an instant, extremely well concealed. Without his Sharingan, he would never have noticed it.
"System, who was that just now?"
"Ding! A Root ninja's presence has been detected. Rank: Chunin. The target is monitoring the host."
Uchiha Rìtiān's heart sank. One of Danzo's men? They're watching me already?
No, they should still be testing the waters. After all, I'm only a six-year-old kid. I'm not worth that much attention from Danzo yet.
Uchiha Rìtiān's eyes shifted as an idea came to him.
He deliberately pretended not to have noticed anything and walked deeper into the woods, humming a tune.
The Root ninja watching him paused. What's this kid going deeper in for?
Uchiha Rìtiān walked beneath a large tree, suddenly stopped, and clutched his stomach.
"Oww... my stomach hurts so much..."
He glanced around, then started undoing his pants.
The watching Root ninja: "..."
Is this kid going to take a shit here?!
As Uchiha Rìtiān undid his pants, he muttered, "I had three ice creams this morning. Sure enough, I've got diarrhea..."
The Root ninja's mouth twitched. He was professionally trained. No matter how funny something was, he would never laugh-unless he couldn't help it.
Wait, something's wrong. This kid's position... is right downwind!
The Root ninja's expression changed. He was just about to move when he heard an enormous "Pffft-!"
An indescribable smell hit him in the face.
The Root ninja: "..."
He swore he had never smelled anything so foul in his life!
What the hell did this brat eat?!
He fought the urge to vomit, held his breath, and rapidly retreated.
With his back to him, Uchiha Rìtiān smiled at the success of his little scheme.
Trying to take me on? Your granddaddy here has read The Art of War!
"Ding! Successfully toyed with a Root ninja. Show-off points +50!" "Host's first confrontation with Root detected. Choice triggered:" "Option one: keep a low profile and rein yourself in for now. Reward: beginner-level Concealment Technique." "Option two: keep pulling outrageous stunts so Root can't figure you out. Reward: genjutsu resistance +10%."
Without a second thought, Uchiha Rìtiān said, "Option two!"
Keep a low profile? Not happening. The words 'low profile' aren't in my dictionary.
"Ding! Selection successful. Genjutsu resistance +10%."
Uchiha Rìtiān pulled up his pants and strolled back to the classroom as though nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, the Root ninja rushed to a small river and frantically washed his face and rinsed his mouth.
It stinks! It stinks so much!
In all his years as a ninja, what storms hadn't he weathered? Yet today, a six-year-old kid's fart had gotten the better of him!
No, no one can ever find out about this! It's too humiliating!
He composed himself and prepared to return and report.
What he didn't know, however, was that a tiny, faintly glowing scale had somehow become stuck to his collar.
It was the Chakra Tracking Tag that Uchiha Rìtiān had "accidentally" flicked over earlier.
Back in the classroom, Uchiha Rìtiān closed his eyes and sensed the tracking tag's location.
Hmm... it's heading deeper into Konoha. It finally stopped somewhere very well hidden.
Sure enough, Root's lair.
The corners of Uchiha Rìtiān's mouth lifted slightly. Danzo, huh? Let's take our time playing this game.
"Uchiha Rìtiān, where did you go just now?" Itachi asked quietly.
"Went to the bathroom," Uchiha Rìtiān answered casually.
Itachi frowned. He smelled something strange... Forget it. I won't ask.
The afternoon was PE class, with kunai-throwing practice.
Iruka-sensei stood beside the targets. "Class, today we'll practice throwing kunai. Everyone gets ten throws. Let's see who has the highest hit rate."
The students went up to throw one by one, their results varying widely.
Itachi did best, landing nine out of ten and drawing cries of amazement.
"Itachi really is a genius!"
"He's amazing!"
Itachi walked back down expressionlessly, as though this were something utterly trivial.
Uchiha Rìtiān raised an eyebrow. Itachi's still showing off as much as ever.
"Uchiha Rìtiān, your turn," Iruka said.
Uchiha Rìtiān ambled up and picked up a kunai.
"Sensei, can I try something fancy?"
Iruka's eyelid twitched. "What kind of fancy?"
"Throwing blindfolded."
The entire class erupted.
Throwing kunai blindfolded? Isn't that way too cocky?!
Iruka frowned. "Uchiha Rìtiān, don't fool around. Throwing kunai blindfolded is dangerous."
"Don't worry, Sensei. I know my limits." Uchiha Rìtiān winked.
Iruka hesitated before finally nodding. "All right, but be careful."
Uchiha Rìtiān took a black cloth from his pocket and tied it over his eyes.
He took a deep breath and flicked his wrist.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-"
Ten kunai left his hands almost simultaneously, turning into ten black streaks.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang-"
Ten crisp impacts rang out in succession.
Iruka looked closely, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
All ten kunai had hit the bull's-eye!
And... they formed a perfect circle, with exactly the same distance between each one!
Everyone fell deathly silent.
Three seconds later, earth-shaking cheers erupted.
"Holy shit! That's awesome!"
"Is he even human?!"
"Lord Uchiha Rìtiān! I bow before you!"
Uchiha Rìtiān removed the black cloth, tossed his hair, and struck a handsome pose.
"Just the basics. Everyone, sit down."
"Ding! A hugely successful display! Show-off points +100!" "Campus celebrity mission progress: 30%"
Uchiha Rìtiān was delighted. What a massive haul.
Just then, outside the school wall, a masked Root ninja silently watched the scene.
His gaze was sinister, and there was no telling what he was thinking.
Seemingly sensing something, Uchiha Rìtiān suddenly turned toward the wall.
A playful smile curled his lips.
Back for more?
Looks like unless I hit you with something nasty, you'll really think I, Uchiha Rìtiān, am a pushover, huh?
Before you continue