“Is this what they call being ‘lovesick,’ Aoba?”
Kurenai Yuhi nudged Aoba, who was currently lost in thought, with her elbow.
His train of thought interrupted, Aoba replied helplessly, “No, what he’s doing is called being a ‘simp’ at best.”
“Then what does ‘simp’ mean?”
Kurenai’s eyes lit up as she pressed him, and even Raido Namiashi pricked up his ears to listen beside them.
Aoba: “…”
Aoba was starting to regret opening his mouth.
He had zero interest in raising a future wife; after years together, he had long come to view Kurenai like a younger sister.
To prevent her from ending up a widow like in the original story, he had given her preventive warnings early on.
Namely, telling her to stay far away from blonde punks—*cough*, stay far away from Asuma Sarutobi.
Fortunately, Asuma was still just a rebellious brat right now, and Kurenai couldn’t stand him anyway.
Combined with the occasional tips Aoba shared with her on how to steer clear of shady boys…
Tips he had completely made up, of course.
He had never dated in his previous life either, with his only references being movies, dramas, and novels.
Just as he was wondering how to explain, Teacher Araki rapped on the blackboard, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Alright, class is starting.
Before we begin, a brief note on last month’s exam results.”
“The scores are in, and everyone performed quite well.
This shows you have all correctly grasped the Will of Fire.
Three students achieved a perfect score.”
The classroom immediately erupted into a clamor at the mention of perfect scores.
“Kakashi Hatake, Aoba Yamashiro, and Kurenai Yuhi scored full marks.”
Teacher Araki didn’t keep them in suspense, announcing the names directly and encouraging everyone to learn from the three of them.
*Learn how to cheat, you mean…?*
Aoba griped silently, somewhat speechless at the Third Hokage’s wicked sense of humor.
Confronted by the envious, amazed, and jealous stares all around them, one sat expressionless, another stared ahead with dead-fish eyes…
…and only Kurenai looked thrilled, chin held high with an unmistakable “look how amazing I am” posture.
As the only two present who knew the truth:
Teacher Araki: “…”
Aoba Yamashiro: “…”
“Next, our curriculum will see some changes, gradually introducing courses related to shinobi arts.”
Teacher Araki’s announcement redirected the students’ focus, immediately sparking a wave of excitement.
There was no helping it—after a solid month of studying the Will of Fire nonstop, even Aoba was feeling the strain.
At least he could zone out on autopilot, while the others had to sit and listen dutifully.
“Now, open your new textbooks to page one…”
“Chakra natures…”
Teacher Araki proceeded to explain the concepts of chakra, and the afternoon practical class was no longer just basic physical conditioning.
“This star-shaped weapon is called a shuriken, and this is a kunai…”
As the taijutsu instructor explained, they moved on to ninja tool throwing, starting with basic demonstrations of how to apply force with the wrists and fingers.
When actual practice began, however, the students were stunned to find that the weapons handed out were all made of wood.
Aoba wasn’t surprised at all.
Handing real weapons to a bunch of snot-nosed brats on their very first lesson was a recipe for disaster.
Practice played out exactly as Aoba predicted: an absolute catastrophe.
Besides aiming at their targets, everyone had to constantly dodge wooden kunai and shuriken flying in from every direction.
In particular, some children from ninja clans had already refined chakra.
While getting struck wouldn’t cause real injury, it still stung like crazy.
Meanwhile, the taijutsu instructor had wisely ducked off to the side long ago.
Of course, there were exceptions—like Kakashi.
A wooden shuriken and kunai shot from Kakashi’s hands in swift sequence.
*Thwack, thwack!*
The wooden shuriken struck the kunai to grant it extra momentum, pinning the wooden kunai straight into the red bullseye.
“Whoa!”
Several girls nearby gasped in admiration and clapped.
While the other students couldn’t even hit the target, Kakashi not only struck the bullseye, but managed to embed a blunt wooden kunai into it.
They weren’t even playing the same game.
He was simply operating on another dimension entirely.
*Thud, thud, thud…*
Three shuriken struck the bullseye before dropping to the ground.
This was Aoba’s throw.
While very impressive, it didn’t cause the same sensation Kakashi had.
Still, it allowed quite a few students to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
Having just one Kakashi was stressful enough.
*Whoosh—*
Kurenai was giving it her all, tossing wooden shuriken at a target.
The top-student buff hadn’t worn off yet.
Not only had she paid close attention during morning class, but she was also working diligently this afternoon.
Aoba figured the buff would last another four or five days.
*System, get to work.*
Aoba issued the command to the chip in his mind.
[Beep!
Recording initiated.]
[Creating new directory: Ninja Tool Throwing Technique.]
As the chip began running, Aoba started slacking off.
He practiced his throwing half-heartedly, occasionally guiding Kurenai on her hand mechanics.
…
[Beep!
Simulating chakra circulation pathway!]
[Simulation successful.
Optimizing…]
Over the course of a week, Aoba gathered enough throwing data.
That was the benefit of being in an elite class.
They were either clan kids or had active shinobi in their families; no matter how poorly they did at the Academy, they had elders to instruct them at home.
By the next day, they were already throwing with passable form.
Their hit rate was still pitiful, but at least weapons weren’t flying all over the place anymore.
[Optimization complete.
Initiate memory transmission?]
“Transmit!”
With Aoba’s order, a mild prickling sensation passed through his brain, and memories of years spent practicing throwing techniques flooded his mind.
Aoba got out of bed and stepped into the courtyard.
Targets and various small training implements stood against the compound wall, making it look like a miniature training ground.
Since his predecessor’s parents had left them behind, Aoba hadn’t moved them, keeping them as a keepsake.
Aoba flicked his hand, and a wooden kunai appeared in his grip.
Another flick, and it vanished.
A third flick, and three kunai were wedged between his fingers.
It was reminiscent of a hidden sleeve-blade trick—essentially sleight of hand—yet remarkably effective in real combat.
Applied skillfully, it could even conceal hand seals from an enemy’s view.
A snap of his wrist, and the air tore open.
*Whoosh—*
*Crack!*
The moment the wooden kunai made contact with the wooden dummy, a sharp explosion rang out.
[Motion distorted: 52.234%]
[Chakra excess: 41.234%]
The chip prompted immediately.
Aoba frowned and approached the dummy to inspect it.
Nearly a third of the wooden kunai had driven into the post, while the remainder had shattered into splinters.
*Simulated memories are just illusions after all.
There are still too many variables in reality—the wood’s grain, muscle movement, and the burst of chakra are all different.*
*Turning memories into reality still takes plenty of practice to build muscle memory, or else my hands won’t be able to keep up with what my eyes see.*
*Still, credit where it’s due: Kakashi Hatake really is a bona fide genius.
To master this kind of force mechanics so effortlessly at such a young age.*
*What’s more, his technique is distinct from everyone else’s and far more concise.
It can be used not just with bare hands and feet, but seems completely viable with weapons too.*
*The Hatake clan’s swordsmanship?!*
*Never mind,* Aoba chuckled and shook his head.
He knew better than to bite off more than he could chew.
Eyeing swordsmanship when he hadn’t even figured out ninja tool throwing…
It seemed he had gotten a little ahead of himself lately.