The two genin’s pupils shrank.
“So fast! Where’d he go?!”
“Right here, idiots.”
A cold voice exploded beside one of their ears.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out.
The genin felt as though a sledgehammer had slammed into his stomach.
His internal organs seemed to shift out of place as his body folded into a C-shape like a cooked shrimp.
Foam spilled from his mouth as he dropped to his knees.
The other genin’s face changed dramatically.
Instinctively, he thrust his kunai toward his side.
Slash!
Blood sprayed through the air.
Following close behind, Ino and Hinata happened to witness the scene.
Both girls covered their mouths in horror.
“Haruto!!”
But in the very next moment—
The “Haruto” who had been stabbed didn’t fall.
Instead—
Poof!
He vanished into a cloud of white smoke.
“What?! A Shadow Clone?!”
The genin was horrified.
That was a B-rank technique!
How could a first-year Academy student possibly know it?!
Before he could recover, a fierce gust of wind struck the back of his head.
“It’s over.”
BOOM!
A heavy punch landed squarely on his back.
The genin screamed as he flew through the air like a cannonball.
He crashed violently into a tree so thick that two people could barely wrap their arms around it.
Leaves rained down.
Then he slid to the ground like a sack of mud, twitched twice, and went still.
From beginning to end, the fight had lasted only a few seconds.
Two genuine genin had been instantly crushed.
Silence descended upon the forest.
Ino rubbed her eyes hard before pinching her own arm.
“Hiss… that hurts!”
“I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“Hinata… tell me what just happened.”
“Haruto… he actually defeated two ninja in seconds?”
“And he did it like he was beating up little kids!”
“Has the world gone insane? Hahaha…”
Ino felt as though her entire worldview had shattered.
But through the vision of her Byakugan, Hinata saw something even more terrifying.
Covering her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.
“T-That amount of chakra…”
Within her field of vision, the chakra inside Haruto’s body resembled a massive blue inferno.
The sheer scale rivaled the jōnin elders of her clan.
Just a few days ago he’d only seemed comparable to a chūnin.
How had he suddenly become this monstrous?
“Haruto… just how much have you been hiding?”
Haruto dusted off his hands and looked down at the two genin lying on the ground like dead dogs.
His voice was indifferent.
“So this is the level of a genin?”
“What a disappointment.”
“Or are you two simply that pathetic?”
The two men shivered in fear, clutching their injuries.
To them, this six-year-old child looked less like a human and more like a tailed beast wearing human skin.
Haruto crouched down and stared at them coldly.
“I’ll only say this once.”
“If I ever see you again, or if you bother anyone around me…”
“I’ll break all four of your limbs and dump you in front of the Hokage’s office.”
“Understood?”
The two genin nodded frantically like pecking chickens.
Not a trace of defiance remained.
This wasn’t a child.
This was a living demon king.
After taking out the trash, Haruto walked toward the two petrified girls.
Hinata stared blankly at him.
She’d forgotten to even deactivate her Byakugan.
Meanwhile, Ino suddenly shrieked and rushed over.
She circled Haruto several times like she was examining an alien lifeform.
“Oh my god! You’re such a freak!”
“You beat real ninja without giving them any chance to fight back!”
“And you’ve been pretending to be weak this whole time?!”
“Are you even human, Haruto?!”
Haruto calmly pushed her oversized face away.
“Basic stuff. No need to spam sixes.”
Then he looked toward the still-dazed Hinata and pointed at her eyes.
“Hinata, turn off the Byakugan.”
“And what you saw today…”
“Keep it buried.”
Hinata snapped out of her daze.
Her face immediately turned red.
She quickly deactivated her Byakugan and nodded vigorously.
“Yes!”
“I swear I won’t tell anyone!”
Satisfied, Haruto smiled and waved his hand.
“Alright.”
“Everyone go home.”
Before either girl could respond, his figure blurred.
The next moment, he disappeared deep into the forest.
Leaving the two girls standing there in the wind.
After a long silence, Ino swallowed hard and turned toward Hinata.
Her expression was complicated.
“Hinata…”
“You saw that too, right?”
“Those were real ninja wearing forehead protectors.”
“And our class has a monster like that hiding in it…”
Hinata gazed in the direction where Haruto had vanished.
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
“Yeah…”
“Haruto is really strong.”
Back home, Haruto barely gave the incident a second thought.
To him, dealing with two bottom-tier genin wasn’t much different from swatting a pair of flies.
His mind was occupied entirely by the ninjutsu scrolls Kakashi had given him.
After all, his journey toward becoming stronger had only just begun.
Compared to the so-called “basic knowledge” scrolls found in the library, the material Kakashi had provided was priceless.
Recently, Kakashi had practically vanished from the face of the earth.
For over a month he’d been away on a classified mission.
Not even a shadow of him could be found.
As a result, Haruto had enjoyed more than a month of peaceful, leisurely days.
His routine became as regular as clockwork.
Aside from studying scrolls, he lived a simple cycle of school and home.
As for Ino and Hinata—
The two girls had become inseparable from him.
Every day after school they walked together.
Sometimes they even arranged to meet in the morning.
This caused Shikamaru and the others, who knew nothing about the truth, to look at Haruto with increasingly strange expressions.
Haruto couldn’t be bothered explaining.
And Ino surprisingly kept her mouth shut.
Not a single word about Haruto’s strength leaked out.
Until today.
The perpetually busy Copy Ninja was finally returning.
The hidden meaning of the message was obvious:
Don’t leave after school.
Meet at the usual place in the back mountain.
After reading the coded note, Haruto’s lips curled upward.
“Looks like this mission was a real headache.”
“It kept him occupied for over a month.”
“I wonder what trump-card ninjutsu the Copy Ninja plans to teach me this time.”
“Whatever.”
“No point thinking about it now.”
“First, school.”
A small flame emerged from his fingertip and reduced the note to ashes.
Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the house.
Not long after, a hand silently reached toward his shoulder.
Without even turning around, Haruto continued walking.
“Save your effort.”
“My sensory range is a lot larger than you think.”
Ino, carrying a fashionable shoulder bag, hopped in front of him like a butterfly.
“Hehe, I knew I couldn’t scare you.”
“I’ve been standing here like a lovesick statue waiting for you for over ten minutes.”
As she spoke, she scrunched up her nose and put on an exaggeratedly pitiful expression.
Haruto glanced at her.
“You know how to feel wronged?”
“Now that’s a rare sight in the ninja world.”
Ino puffed out her cheeks like an angry pufferfish.
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“I’m a delicate young lady too, you know!”
Haruto chuckled and ignored her performance entirely.
Ino immediately dropped the act and hurried after him.
“Hey, today’s the ninja tool throwing exam.”
“How’s your practice been?”
Then she smacked her forehead.
“Oh right!”
“I forgot. You still have to keep pretending.”
“You can’t show your real skills.”
“What a waste.”
“If you went all out, the girls in class would go crazy for you.”
“Even Sasuke would have to move aside.”
Nowadays, Ino’s obsession with Sasuke had cooled significantly.
Instead, her opinion of Haruto had risen rapidly.
At least Haruto felt like a real person.
Unlike Sasuke, who constantly radiated an aura that told everyone to stay away.
Originally she’d only chased Sasuke because she wanted to compete with Sakura.
Now she’d realized there was no point hanging herself from a single tree.
Most of the walk consisted of Ino performing a one-woman comedy routine while Haruto remained cold and silent.
Halfway there, they “coincidentally” ran into Hinata.
Thus, the group expanded.
Ino handled all the talking.
Haruto and Hinata served as the audience.
After entering the classroom, the three naturally headed for the back row.
Today, however, the atmosphere felt strange.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba kept sneaking looks in their direction.
Their expressions were oddly suspicious.
Sensitive as ever, Hinata noticed immediately.
Lowering her head, she whispered softly,
“Haruto…”
“Why do Shikamaru and the others keep staring at us?”
Without looking up from his book, Haruto replied calmly,
“Who knows?”
“Maybe Ino’s being too loud again.”
The moment Ino heard that, she spun around like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her gaze collided with Shikamaru’s group in midair.
“What are you looking at?”
“Never seen a beautiful girl before?”
She waved her fist threateningly.
The three boys instantly turned around in perfect synchronization.
The movement was so practiced it was almost sad.
After all, Ino really would hit people.
And she didn’t hold back.
Haruto shook his head helplessly.
Beside him, Hinata looked at Ino with sparkling eyes.
“Ino… you’re so imposing.”
Ino proudly lifted her chin.
“Of course.”
“Those boys just need discipline.”
Before long, Iruka entered carrying the attendance sheet.
His expression was serious.
“I already announced this yesterday.”
“Today we’ll be holding the ninja tool throwing examination.”
“It’s a major portion of your final grade.”
“So get serious.”
Instantly, miserable groans filled the classroom.
Unless someone was a complete academic monster, hearing the word “exam” always triggered instinctive suffering.
Iruka glared at the loudest complainers.
“Quiet!”
“Everyone head to the training grounds.”
“No matter how you’ve practiced, I want your best today.”
Naruto clutched his head dramatically.
“Whyyy?!”
“Why couldn’t it be something else?”
“Throwing techniques are my worst subject!”
From the back row, Kiba immediately entered mockery mode.
“As if changing the subject would help you pass.”
At this stage, Naruto’s taijutsu was barely decent.
Everything else was a disaster.
Kiba’s brutal honesty pierced straight through Naruto’s heart.
Naruto jumped to his feet stubbornly.
“Besides throwing techniques, I’ve got plenty of awesome ninja skills!”
Kiba grinned mischievously.
“Like what?”
Naruto stammered.
His face turned bright red.
Other than basic taijutsu, he really was the king of failed grades.
The title of dead last wasn’t undeserved.
“Hahaha! Can’t think of anything, can you?”
Kiba laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
Unable to endure being mocked by his rival, Naruto slammed the desk.
“Kiba!”
“Let’s fight!”
Just as Kiba prepared to stand up, Iruka roared from the front.
“Do you two want a zero?!”
“Get to the training grounds!”
The threat of a zero worked wonders.
The two immediately wilted like frostbitten eggplants and obediently ran outside.
Under the blazing sunlight of the training field, Haruto stood quietly among the line of students.
Hinata and Ino flanked him like personal bodyguards.
Meanwhile, Ino’s mouth moved nonstop.
“Haruto, how many points are you planning to score today?”
“You got eight last time.”
“Maybe bump it up to nine?”
“Four perfect bullseyes and one complete miss is way too suspicious.”
Haruto chose to mute her existence entirely.
Standing behind him, Hinata was packed so tightly by the crowd that she was almost pressed against his back.
The embarrassment made steam seem ready to rise from her head.
Seeing Haruto ignore her, Ino poked him again.
“Come on, tell me.”
Finally worn down, Haruto sighed.
“Can you focus on your own grades first?”
“You’re barely above the bottom of the class.”
“And you’re worried about me?”
“You’re the daughter of the Yamanaka Clan.”
“Doesn’t your father beat you for scoring this low?”
He’d hoped mentioning her family would shut her up.
Instead, Ino puffed out her chest proudly.
“Don’t worry.”
“My dad’s pretty easygoing.”
“As long as I learn our clan’s secret techniques, he’s happy.”
“He doesn’t care about academics.”
“Everything else is just fluff.”
Looking at her shameless confidence, Haruto surrendered.
“Your skin really is thick.”
“Aren’t you worried people will mock the heir of a prestigious clan for being near the bottom?”
Then again, prestigious families producing underachievers wasn’t exactly rare.
Obito Uchiha had once been famous for being dead last too.
Still, people born into those clans possessed bloodline advantages ordinary people could never hope to match.
Once they awakened their potential, their growth exploded.
After considering that, Haruto shrugged.
“Fine.”
“So you’ve decided to coast through life.”
Ino grinned.
“Yep.”
“The academy only teaches basics.”
“The really good stuff gets taught at home.”
“What we learn here is just the surface.”
Haruto smiled bitterly.
“The problem is you’ve nearly gone bald scraping off even the surface.”
“Hmph.”
“That’s only because I don’t feel like studying.”
“If I got serious, first place would be easy.”
Faced with such blind confidence, Haruto wisely chose silence.
Even Hinata found herself speechless.
While Ino would definitely improve if she applied herself, taking first place was another matter entirely.
After all, Sasuke existed.
So did Kiba, Shino, and several other talented students.
Even Hinata herself wasn’t weak.
Haruto let out a dry chuckle.
“Will you break out in hives if you go a day without bragging?”
Though Ino didn’t fully understand the phrase, her instincts told her it wasn’t a compliment.
“Haruto!”
“Stop looking down on me!”
Haruto simply chuckled again.
Not even bothering to look at her.
Ino’s cheeks puffed up like freshly steamed buns.
Honestly, it was pretty cute.
Unfortunately, Haruto was blind to such things.
“Hmph!”
“Just wait!”
“I’m about to show everyone what real skill looks like!”
Before long, it was Ino’s turn.
Determined to prove herself in front of the boy she liked, she held nothing back.
Her eyes sharpened.
With a flick of her wrist, five shuriken shot forward.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
All five struck dead center.
Perfect bullseyes.
Iruka’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Ino?!”
“What kind of miracle medicine have you been taking?”
“Your improvement is unbelievable!”
Proudly dusting off her hands, Ino turned around and deliberately waved her fist toward Haruto.
A challenge.
Haruto’s face remained completely expressionless.
The entire class was stunned.
The usually carefree Ino had scored a perfect mark.
Then it was Haruto’s turn.
Quickly reviewing the mistakes he’d made last time, he decided to act a little more convincingly today.
He pulled out five kunai.
With a seemingly focused expression, he threw them.
Every kunai hit the target.
Not one landed in the bullseye.
But none missed entirely.
Iruka paused.
A frown appeared.
“Why does it feel like Haruto’s gotten worse?”
Though puzzled, he scored honestly.
“Seven and a half points.”
Then he spoke earnestly.
“Haruto, you’ll need to work harder.”
“This is actually a step backward from last time.”
Haruto nodded obediently.
A model student accepting criticism.
As he stepped down, scattered laughter erupted from nearby students.
Children rarely needed a reason to laugh.
Seeing someone get scolded by a teacher was enough.
Just moments earlier, Ino had wanted to brag about her perfect score.
But hearing people laugh at Haruto instantly lit a fire under her.
“What are you laughing at?!”
“Got shiny teeth or something?”
“Keep it up and I’ll beat every one of you into pig heads!”
She brandished her fists menacingly.
Combined with the authority of her recent perfect score, the effect was immediate.
Everyone shut up.
No one wanted to attract the attention of Konoha’s resident violent girl.
Ino really would punch them.
And most of them probably couldn’t beat her.
Watching her bristle with anger, Haruto shook his head helplessly.
“Enough.”
“People can laugh if they want.”
“Why are you threatening them?”
They were just immature children.
Arguing with them would be beneath him.
Besides, getting mocked was part of the plan.
If nobody laughed, his act would have failed.
Still looking annoyed, Ino crossed her arms.
“But they’re laughing at you.”
“I don’t like it.”
Haruto lightly patted her shoulder.
“Alright, alright.”
“Don’t get worked up.”
“It’s not like a few laughs are going to make me lose a piece of flesh.”