In the small patch of woods behind the house.
“As a shinobi, the most common ninja tools you’ll use are shuriken and kunai…” Kurenai said, swaying her head back and forth as she mimicked their Academy instructors.
Shuriken were commonly known as throwing stars, a type of projectile hidden weapon.
Kunai, resembling throwing knives or daggers, could be used as close-quarter melee weapons or as projectiles.
These two tools were absolute essentials in any shinobi’s hip pouch.
There were also many advanced techniques down the line, such as the Manipulated Shuriken Technique or the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
“What we’re learning today is kunai throwing,” Kurenai announced, pulling out a kunai.
The actual truth was that since she had only recently entered the Academy, kunai throwing was the only thing they had been taught so far, and she hadn’t completely mastered it yet.
Standing right in front of Hanekawa made her feel a bit nervous, terrified that she might mess up.
With a tense little face, Kurenai whipped her arm out and threw the kunai with all her might.
Thud.
The kunai struck the wooden post, but it was a complete miss from the bullseye.
Kurenai’s face instantly flushed a shade of pink.
Meeting Hanekawa’s gaze, she quickly defensive, “I…
I was intentionally aiming outside the target.” Ah, right, right.
Sure.
Keep talking, maybe I’ll believe you.
Hanekawa suppressed his laughter and nodded understandingly.
He was a professional; no matter how funny it was, he wouldn’t laugh.
“Now, behold a real kunai throw!” Kurenai locked her eyes onto the wooden post, completely serious this time as she hurled another kunai.
Guided by the young girl’s silent prayers, the kunai hit dead center.
A perfect score.
See?
My aim is actually pretty awesome.
Kurenai couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from curling upward.
“Well?
How was that?” Seriously adorable.
Hanekawa smiled and praised her, “Very impressive.” “Your turn!” Highly satisfied with how cooperative he was being, Kurenai marched over and shoved the kunai into his hand.
Hanekawa focused his mind, held his breath, and flicked his right wrist to send the kunai flying.
But as luck would have it, things didn’t go as planned.
He missed the wooden post entirely.
Seeing this, Kurenai felt a wave of relief wash over her.
It looked like all his talent points had been dumped into chakra refinement instead.
Hanekawa, on the other hand, found it completely normal.
In his past life, the most he could ever skip a stone across water was three or four times.
But it didn’t matter—he had the system.
As long as he grinded until the trait materialized, everything would work out.
“It’s normal for your accuracy to be a bit off on your first try.
Just practice more,” Kurenai comforted him, pulling out another kunai.
Hanekawa took it and kept throwing.
Time ticked away.
In less than an hour, Hanekawa felt his stamina completely drained, and he collapsed onto the grass.
However, his mood was fantastic, because a new prompt had popped up in his mind.
[E-Rank Talent Trait: Weapon Tool Throwing (Not Yet Acquired).] [Trigger Condition: Reach introductory proficiency in shuriken and kunai throwing.] [Current Progress: 1%.] An actual progress bar.
I can practically feel my inner engines revving.
So it only requires shuriken and kunai?
No wonder it’s just an E-Rank trait.
Hanekawa thought, catching his breath.
“Your physical fitness is a little weak,” Kurenai delivered a strike of absolute emotional damage.
“I can usually train for a whole morning, you know.” “That’s because I’ve never trained a day in my life before this.” Since this concerned his stamina and pride, Hanekawa felt the need to clarify.
But Kurenai wasn’t wrong; this body was in terrible shape.
Although he had been a fragile college student in his past life—where running a thousand meters felt like getting punched by Saitama—he knew that for a shinobi, physical conditioning was just as vital as chakra and ninjutsu.
Furthermore, he was certain that working out would trigger a corresponding physical trait.
Just then, footsteps approached.
“Dad!” Kurenai’s face lit up with excitement.
She ran forward and eagerly grabbed the three-color dango from Shinku’s hands.
“Here.” Kurenai didn’t eat them all herself; she handed a skewer to Hanekawa first.
“Thanks.” Hanekawa took a bite and found it aggressively sweet.
He could finally understand how Anko Mitarashi eventually blew up into her round, heavy form later in life.
“You’re both still young, so you shouldn’t overtrain,” Shinku said, glancing at the wooden post and the scattered kunai.
“That’s enough for today.
Get some rest.
You have school tomorrow.” School, huh.
Hanekawa watched Kurenai daintily lick the dango with her pink tongue, briefly zoning out.
He wondered which classmates he would encounter.
As someone who knew the original story, seeing the side characters alive and breathing was something he eagerly looked forward to.
As for the main protagonists, they weren’t even born yet.
The next day arrived in a flash.
Kurenai was woken up by a familiar, repetitive sound.
She got out of bed, pushed open her window, and saw Hanekawa outside practicing his kunai throws.
He’s working that hard?
Kurenai’s mouth parted slightly in surprise.
Even though children in the shinobi world matured early, it was rare to see someone this self-disciplined.
In her mind, paying attention during class was plenty.
As for after-school hours, after sitting through classes for so long, one ought to relax and just have fun playing around.
Kurenai bit her lip.
She felt a sudden crisis of being overtaken.
If she really lost to Hanekawa, her dream of being the big sister boss would go up in smoke.
No way!
Fire practically sparked in Kurenai’s eyes.
“Good morning, Kurenai.” Hanekawa wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at her.
She was wearing white pajamas, her slightly wavy black hair a bit messy from sleep.
It was a pity she was still so young and completely flat-chested.
In the original series, she grew up to be a top-tier, stunning mature beauty.
“From now on, you have to call me when you train!” Kurenai put her hands on her hips and declared.
“You’re not allowed to sneak in extra practice alone!” “Deal,” Hanekawa agreed with a smile.
Training by himself was nowhere near as motivating as training alongside a cute loli.
It was honestly a sight for sore eyes.
(To reiterate, he was absolutely not a lolicon.) “Kurenai.” After breakfast, Shinku handed them two bento boxes and reminded them, “Remember to take Hanekawa to see the homeroom teacher.” “Ugh, Dad, you already said that yesterday,” Kurenai pouted.
“I get it!” “See you later, Shinku-ojisan,” Hanekawa said, catching up to the skipping Kurenai.
As he walked, he looked around at his surroundings.
He had seen Konohagakure countless times in anime, but experiencing it in reality felt entirely different.
“Huh?” Hanekawa let out a soft sound.
Standing on the wall to their front-left was a young boy.
He wore a white short-sleeved vest, arms crossed over his chest, staring coolly up at the sky.
It wasn’t until Kurenai walked right past him without even raising her head that he couldn’t help but cough loudly a few times.
“Asuma?
What are you doing up there?” Hearing the noise, Kurenai finally noticed him.
Asuma Sarutobi, the second son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In the original timeline, he was the one who married Kurenai, only to ultimately fall at the hands of Hidan from the Akatsuki.
Hanekawa raised an eyebrow.
Without that iconic, rugged beard, he really hadn’t connected the kid to Asuma right away.
So he’s already interested in Kurenai this early?
But it made sense.
Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka had launched their own offenses on Sasuke Uchiha back at the Academy too.
Asuma leaped down from the wall, landing smoothly.
He slid his hands into his pockets and looked at Hanekawa.
“Kurenai, who is this guy?
I’ve never seen him around before.” He had actually spotted Hanekawa while standing up on the wall, instantly sparking a massive sense of crisis.
He absolutely refused to tolerate anyone better-looking than him hanging around Kurenai.
“This is Hanekawa,” Kurenai said, completely oblivious to his jealousy.
“He’s a transfer student joining our class today.” “Oh?” Asuma blinked, slightly stunned.
“Then how do you know him?” “Because Hanekawa is living at my house,” Kurenai said, tilting her head.
“…?” Asuma froze instantly on the spot.
Wait, what?
Bro, I haven’t even gotten to hold her hand yet, and you’ve already moved in?!
This hurts!
Asuma immediately put on a mask of pure, unadulterated agony.