Training Grounds of the Ninja Academy.
It was now time for the afternoon lesson focused on the practical training of throwing ninja tools.
Standing in front of more than a dozen wooden targets, Teacher Kootada looked out over all his students, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“I have already taught you all the correct techniques and methods for throwing ninja tools.
Today, let’s see how much you have all managed to master and put into practice.”
“And of course, don’t feel discouraged or upset if your results aren’t as good as you hoped.
This is just one small practical lesson, after all.”
“Now then… would anyone like to volunteer to go first?”
The lessons at the Academy were always arranged and carried out in a steady, organized manner.
Every subject and activity was scheduled carefully according to a clear plan.
The first month of study was entirely dedicated to building a solid foundation – learning how to refine chakra, mastering basic knowledge and theories, and so on.
Only after students had gained some basic understanding and ability would they begin practical training sessions.
Throwing ninja tools was one of the fundamental skills taught during this period, and it was also an essential ability that every ninja had to master.
“Teacher… I’ll go first…” Kakashi Hatake – who always ranked second in written exams – raised his hand.
At this point in his life, he was extremely eager to prove himself and possessed a strong, determined personality that refused to accept defeat or failure easily.
The fact that he had been beaten by Asahi in the written tests had been weighing heavily on his mind.
He was determined to do his absolute best today and fight his way to first place!
Kakashi’s performance was nothing short of perfect.
He threw a total of ten senbon needles – six of them struck dead center in the bullseye, one landed just barely off-target but still very close to the center, and all the rest hit somewhere on the target board.
Not a single one missed the target completely!
For a five-year-old child, this was an absolutely outstanding and incredible performance!
Even Teacher Kootada, the experienced Chūnin instructor, was left feeling amazed and impressed.
He began clapping enthusiastically and praised him loudly, “These are truly excellent results!
Even students from the higher grades don’t always achieve scores this good!”
Clap, clap, clap!
All the students joined in the applause, expressing their amazement and admiration.
It turned out that Kakashi wasn’t just brilliant when it came to written exams and theoretical knowledge – he was also incredibly skilled in practical training as well.
He truly lived up to his reputation as the class genius.
But everyone was also wondering – how would Asahi perform in this subject, when he was the one who had beaten Kakashi and always ranked first in every written test?
“Hmm…” It was hard to tell exactly what Kakashi was feeling since half his face was covered by his mask, but it was clear that he was very pleased with his own results.
Still, all he did was respond with a cool, indifferent sound.
He glanced briefly at Asahi, who was clapping and cheering him on, and then walked back to stand among the other students…
Our boy Kakashi really is quite impressive!
Asahi was genuinely surprised by how well he had done.
Asahi himself wasn’t perfect – even when he threw ten needles, there would occasionally be one that “missed the target” according to his own strict standards.
Kakashi was clearly a truly talented and capable young man.
Asahi knew he couldn’t afford to be careless or slack off!
Watching Kakashi walk back to the group, Might Guy – dressed in his signature bright green jumpsuit and with his distinctive bowl-cut hairstyle – gave him a thumbs-up and flashed a wide grin showing all his white teeth.
“As expected of one of my greatest rivals, Kakashi!
But I will never give up or surrender to you!”
“Alright, alright…” Kakashi took a few steps to the side, moving a little further away from Guy.
He still had no idea how or why this person with such strange behavior and mannerisms had suddenly become so obsessed with him.
Being viewed as a sworn rival was certainly a very strange and frustrating experience…
But he couldn’t help but wonder – Guy had said he was “one of” his rivals.
Who were the others?
Could it be Asahi?
“Teacher!
It’s my turn next!
I feel my spirit burning bright and full of passion!” Guy volunteered enthusiastically, his voice filled with fiery determination.
Combined with his green outfit and intense expression, the whole scene looked quite unique and unusual…
“Very well – go ahead!”
Guy certainly had plenty of passion and enthusiasm, but his results were nothing special.
His disappointed expression made it clear that his performance hadn’t lived up to his own expectations at all.
Fortunately, he was naturally an optimistic person who firmly believed that he was a genius who achieved greatness through hard work and effort.
He truly believed that through enough dedication and training, anyone could eventually catch up to and surpass natural-born geniuses!
He didn’t feel too sad or discouraged – after all, feeling down wouldn’t help him improve, but staying positive certainly would.
He was definitely in a much better mood than someone like Uchiha Obito, who had missed the target seven times out of ten.
Because he was so nervous, Obito had done far worse than he usually did when practicing alone at home, and he looked as though he was on the verge of tears…
He felt completely miserable and dejected.
Once again, he had lost out to Kakashi Hatake, and he hadn’t managed to make Nohara Rin see him in a new light or pay him any special attention.
He was such a failure!
He couldn’t help but wonder if the method of “solving practice questions” that Asahi had mentioned could also help improve practical skills and abilities?
But that was impossible… Asahi himself had said he wasn’t very good at practical training and missed the target all the time…
Then it was Yūhi’s turn to take the test.
Her results were also quite good – she only missed the target once, and four of her throws hit directly in the bullseye.
She was absolutely delighted with her performance.
She had long since learned that there was no point in comparing herself to Asahi, who was practically a monster in terms of ability and talent.
She was happy simply being the younger sister.
After all, it was only natural that the older brother should be more capable and powerful than his younger sister!
Asahi was always very generous with his praise when it came to his cute and lovable younger sister.
He gently rubbed the top of her soft, silky hair.
“You did really well – even better than when you were training at home.”
Yūhi no longer tried to avoid or pull away when he touched her head.
She simply puffed out her chest proudly and said, “Hehe, of course I did!
So… does this mean you can reduce the number of practice questions I have to do every day?”
Asahi thought it over carefully.
It was important to balance hard work with rest and relaxation.
“Alright then – you don’t need to do any practice questions today.
Just take the day off and relax.”
“Yes!
That’s wonderful!” Yūhi was overjoyed and grabbed Asahi’s right hand, shaking it back and forth excitedly.
“Damn that Asahi…!” Watching this scene from the side, Sarutobi Asuma felt so jealous and annoyed that he could practically grind his teeth to dust.
He also wanted Yūhi to look at him that way and treat him with such affection and warmth, but she barely even acknowledged his existence.
And of course, she would never treat him like that anyway – because he wasn’t her older brother!
But that was actually a good thing… because it meant he still had a chance to win her heart in the future…
Determined to show everyone exactly what he was capable of and make them all look at him with newfound respect and admiration, Asuma stepped forward and spoke up, “Teacher… isn’t it my turn now?”
As the son of the Hokage, he naturally drew everyone’s attention.
With such a high status and important background, it was impossible for anyone to ignore him or treat him as just an ordinary student!
His final results were also very impressive.
He came in second place, right after Kakashi, and performed even better than Yūhi.
Five of his throws hit directly in the bullseye, and he didn’t miss the target even once.
This performance drew gasps of surprise and admiration from all his classmates…
That was close… I almost missed one of them completely… but these results are actually much better than I usually do.
It’s just a shame that I still couldn’t beat Kakashi Hatake… Asuma let out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling very satisfied with how he had performed.
He then turned his gaze toward Asahi, a confident smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he thought to himself, But I definitely must be stronger and better than Asahi!
Hehe… he keeps saying he’s not good at practical skills – if that’s really true, then he’s definitely going to lose this time!
He had “happened” to overhear the conversation between Asahi and Obito earlier.
What was the point of getting high marks in written exams if you couldn’t actually apply your knowledge and skills in real practical situations?
It was completely useless!!
He had already won this competition!
“Next up… Asahi!”
Hearing Teacher Kootada call his name, it was finally Asahi’s turn to step forward.
Everyone was watching closely.
All the students who had done well in written exams had also achieved excellent results in this practical training session. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
So what kind of performance would Asahi – the student who always ranked first in every subject – be able to put on?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Asahi moved incredibly fast.
With a simple flick of his wrist, he threw all ten senbon needles in rapid succession.
Ten soft sounds rang out one after another – and nine of the needles struck dead center in the bullseye, surrounding the small central circle so perfectly that they formed a complete ring around it.
Only one single needle landed just one centimeter away from the absolute center…
The moment everyone saw this, including the teacher, their eyes went wide with shock and they couldn’t help but gasp loudly in amazement!
This was especially true for Obito and Asuma, who both felt as though they had been completely tricked and deceived…
And this was what Asahi had meant when he kept saying he wasn’t good at practical skills?
The expressions on both of their faces froze into masks of pure pain and disbelief…
“All done.” Even though one of his throws had “missed the target” according to his own strict standards, Asahi was still very satisfied with his results.
He couldn’t help but feel a small sense of pride and satisfaction – there was something strangely wonderful about showing off just how capable you really were.
He put on an expression of complete indifference and calm, then turned around and walked back to where he had been standing before.
Watching him return, Obito opened his mouth and asked in a daze, “You… you said you miss the target all the time… didn’t you?”
Asahi nodded seriously.
“Yes, that’s exactly right.
Didn’t you see?
One of my throws didn’t hit the very center of the target…”
“…” Obito took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and suppressing the sudden urge to jump up and punch Asahi right in the face.
So in your mind, you’ve “missed the target” if you don’t hit exactly the center?
There was no way anyone could be this unfair or misleading!!
Asahi’s incredible performance made all the young girls in the class admire him even more than before.
He was handsome, he was smart, he got perfect grades – he fit exactly the ideal of what a wonderful person should be in their eyes!
Some of them were so excited that they couldn’t help but cheer and shout his name, and soon they had all gathered around him, chattering away excitedly and talking over each other non-stop.
“Ugh…” Pushed aside and separated from Asahi by the crowd, Yūhi puffed out her cheeks and looked incredibly annoyed.
She felt a strange sense of pressure and unease wash over her.
How could Asahi be so perfect and good at everything?
Being his younger sister really was quite stressful and difficult at times.
And what was even worse – it seemed like some of these girls were trying to get close to him and become part of his family!
This was absolutely unacceptable, and she would never allow it to happen!!
She had to put a stop to this right away!!
Meanwhile, this scene filled all the young boys in the class with deep frustration and jealousy.
Their eyes burned with resentment, and it looked as though flames of anger were about to shoot right out of their eyes.
Their fists were clenched so tightly that their knuckles had turned completely white.
What made you so special that every girl likes you so much?
Just because you get good grades and happen to be good-looking?
How ridiculous!
One boy was so consumed by envy and hatred that he almost lost control of his emotions completely – though he was still too young to let his anger turn into something truly dangerous…
Ryota Uchiha hated people like this more than anything else – people who just tried to show off and gain attention for no good reason.
He let out a cold snort and spoke loudly, “The true strength of a ninja is proven by their real ability!
Written test scores and even practical training results are the least important things of all.
The only true measure of strength is how you perform in real combat and battle – and when it comes to fighting, our Uchiha clan is far better and more skilled than anyone else!”
These words made several young boys standing nearby nod in agreement…
That’s right, that’s exactly right.
Whether it was written exams or practical lessons, grades and results didn’t actually mean anything.
True strength was only proven through real combat and battle.
Just to make it clear – they definitely weren’t saying this out of jealousy or resentment…
“Schedule”
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