Exactly 8:00 a.m.
Naruto stepped into the school right on time.
Accompanied by the ringing of the school bell and the system notification, Naruto took his seat.
He had checked the class schedule yesterday.
Today was practical training.
No sleeping.
“Perfect.
At least I don’t have to face the Nine-Tails.”
Heh…
Naruto’s mood improved by one point.
The Nine-Tails’ furious roar from just before he left the sealing space was still ringing in his ears.
Although he would definitely encounter it again soon.
Well, the moment he went home and fell asleep after school, he would have to face it again.
But whatever happened after school could be left to the post-school version of himself.
Was worrying about it useful?
No.
Then he would deal with it when the time came…
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 20 Lazing Points.”
The system approved.
At that moment, Iruka and Mizuki walked in together, carrying a large box.
Naruto was sitting in the last row of the tiered classroom, which gave him a fairly high vantage point.
He could see what was inside the box.
They seemed to be ninja tool pouches—the kind normally strapped around the thigh.
“Alright, everyone.
Come up one by one according to your seats and collect a ninja tool pouch.”
“Today’s practical lesson will take place on the training field.”
“Once you receive yours, don’t open it yet, and definitely don’t take anything out to play with.
If I catch you doing that, I’ll call your parents immediately!”
Iruka coaxed and threatened them in equal measure.
The students went up one after another and collected their ninja tool pouches.
Naruto was the last.
He weighed it in his hand.
It wasn’t light.
There were probably several shuriken inside.
When they reached the training field, Iruka guided the students to gather in front of a target.
After calling attendance and making sure everyone was present, Iruka began the lesson.
“Yesterday afternoon, we already covered the basic techniques for throwing shuriken.”
“Let me demonstrate first.”
With that—
Whoosh!
Iruka flicked a shuriken forward.
Bullseye.
The students immediately started making a fuss.
“What?
It looks so easy!
Isn’t it just throwing darts?”
“So we just have to hit that thing?”
“I still want to learn ninjutsu…”
At first glance, throwing shuriken really did look similar to throwing darts.
Many of the students had played with things like this before entering the academy.
Naruto stood quietly in the corner, trying to make his presence as small as possible.
This thing…
Wasn’t easy.
Hitting the target wasn’t easy.
Actually sticking the shuriken into the target was even harder.
It required constant practice, but talent played a huge role too.
The Uchiha Clan could turn shuriken techniques into an art form, with their attacks even reaching the power of A-Rank ninjutsu.
Ordinary ninjas, however, could mostly only use them as portable long-range weapons.
As for Naruto’s original body…
He apparently had never been able to master them.
Later, he developed Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, relying on overwhelming quantity to make up for precision.
Naruto himself was even worse.
As long as he could throw one without dealing negative damage—or, at the very least, without injuring himself—he would be satisfied.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 20 Lazing Points.”
Naruto smiled faintly.
Elsewhere, Sasuke pretended not to care as he glanced at the person his brother had said might actually be talented.
That faint smile was caught completely by Sasuke.
…
The students took turns trying.
It didn’t take long for them to realize how difficult it actually was.
Most could hit the target.
But very few could hit the bullseye.
Those who managed it were mostly children from the major clans.
They had received at least some training from a young age, which finally put a smile on Iruka’s face.
Among them, Sasuke’s performance was the most outstanding.
Swish, swish, swish!
Five shuriken seemed to fly out almost simultaneously.
And every single one hit the bullseye!
Sakura and Ino practically went crazy.
“Sasuke-kun is amazing!”
“Yeah!
Sasuke-kun is number one!”
Sasuke simply shook his hand smugly and ignored them.
Completely cold and aloof.
Watching him, Naruto suddenly wondered if the Uchiha Clan had already been wiped out.
Otherwise, how could this guy already be acting so pretentious?
“Naruto!
Stop hiding.
You’re the only one left!”
Iruka had been keeping an eye on Naruto for quite some time.
The Third Hokage had told him that teaching Naruto required sufficient patience.
He couldn’t rush things.
Iruka had remembered that.
He planned to spend six years slowly turning around Naruto’s negative attitude.
“Oh… coming.”
Naruto walked to the designated position with his dead-fish eyes.
He was roughly ten meters from the target.
Naruto pulled out a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch.
He looked at the target.
Then he looked at Iruka.
“Go ahead.
It’s fine.
Just do what I taught you yesterday and perform normally.
As long as you hit the target, that’s enough.”
Iruka spoke in an extremely gentle tone.
He wanted to give Naruto confidence.
Whoosh!
The first shuriken flew out and landed on the ground.
Whoosh!
The second one went over the target entirely, hit nothing but air, and fell to the ground.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The third and fourth missed as well.
The fifth finally hit something.
Unfortunately, it struck the wooden post beneath the target.
Iruka’s expression became awkward.
The students burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!
Did he throw them with his eyes closed?
He didn’t hit a single one!”
“That’s hilarious!
Even with my eyes closed, I could hit at least one!”
“Look at Teacher Iruka!
He might punish him!”
“What a useless loser!
No wonder he said he wanted to become a janitor, hahaha!”
Naruto silently picked up the shuriken and put them back into his ninja tool pouch.
As for his classmates’ mockery, he only had one thing to say…
They really knew how to read people.
Fine.
I’ll admit it.
I’m a complete deadweight.
Go ahead and laugh all you want…
Compared to the villagers, these kids’ mockery practically counted as compliments.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 20 Lazing Points.”
The road of slacking was long.
Fortunately, the system would always be by his side.
Watching Naruto silently pick up the shuriken, Iruka’s expression gradually became complicated.
But he didn’t lose his patience.
He was helpless, but not discouraged.
“It’s okay, Naruto.
We still have six years.
I’ll turn you into a proper ninja!”
Iruka encouraged himself inwardly.
He was the teacher chosen by the Third Hokage himself!
Sasuke, meanwhile, secretly glanced at Naruto.
Someone like this…
Was actually worthy of his brother’s praise?