The dark forest was silent.
Akira carefully scanned his surroundings, bow in one hand and an arrow in the other as his mind raced.
Unknown enemy.
Unknown identity.
Yet they attacked me out of nowhere.
Judging from the attack, they probably weren’t a jonin.
At his current level, if a jonin wanted him dead, he wouldn’t even have time to react.
He was only a six-year-old Academy student.
Forget chunin, even an ordinary genin had every reason to act confidently in front of him.
If this were an enemy shinobi from another village, they would have already stepped out to crush him with overwhelming force.
Instead, whoever it was had stayed hidden and relied on a sneak attack.
That meant they weren’t confident they could beat him head-on.
Any genin could easily deal with an Academy student.
So…
they weren’t actually shinobi?
Could this be one of my classmates trying to teach me a lesson?
Akira quickly reviewed everyone he had offended recently.
The only one that really stood out was…
Number 207.
So…
is it him?
He quietly returned the Poison Gas Arrow and Explosive Arrow to his inventory.
Those things were far too lethal.
If this really was just a classmate and he accidentally killed them, explaining himself would be a nightmare.
Murdering a fellow Konoha shinobi was no small crime.
Now that he’d concluded the attacker was probably another Academy student, Akira relaxed slightly and chose a bolder approach.
There were roughly three hundred meters of forest between Training Ground 13 and the village.
Which meant…
Three arrows were enough.
He pulled out a Flame Arrow.
Also known as the gasoline arrow.
Wherever it landed…
Something caught fire.
“Starting a forest fire gets you prison time…” The warning flashed through his mind while his hands moved without hesitation.
Whoosh!
The arrow streaked forward.
Flames instantly illuminated the darkness, and Akira sprinted after the blazing projectile at full speed.
The hidden attacker panicked.
A black-clad figure suddenly leapt out to intercept him.
Akira took one look…
…and laughed.
Even with the mask and dark clothing, he recognized them immediately.
That white hair.
That height.
“Hiruko, what are you doing?” Akira chuckled.
The figure merely let out a cold snort and charged.
Their fists collided.
The instant they exchanged blows, Akira realized he’d guessed wrong.
That familiar strength…
This was Tsunade.
After several exchanges, Akira sprang backward onto a tree branch.
“Tsunade?
What are you doing?” Before she could answer, someone kicked at him from behind.
Akira sidestepped, and by the light of the burning arrow on the ground, he spotted the second ambusher.
Sure enough.
Hiruko.
Seeing the two of them nearly made Akira burst out laughing.
They’d both changed clothes.
They’d both worn masks.
They’d both used the Transformation Technique.
The funny part?
Tsunade had transformed into Hiruko…
…while Hiruko had transformed into Tsunade.
There were only two of them.
If they were just going to transform into each other, they might as well not have bothered.
Brilliant.
Two absolute geniuses.
The moment Tsunade noticed Hiruko’s transformation, she became annoyed.
“Why are you disguised as me?” Hiruko answered expressionlessly, “You transformed into me first.” Originally, their plan had been simple.
Force Akira to reveal his secret trump card, then retreat without exposing themselves.
Tsunade, however, had wanted to tease him the next day.
“I know your little secret.” But if she wanted to show off, she’d need a believable source of information.
So she’d intentionally left a few clues that would make Akira suspect Hiruko instead.
If Akira asked, she could simply claim Hiruko had told her.
Unfortunately…
Akira had immediately run for the village.
Leaving Tsunade no choice but to intercept him personally.
Which also let Hiruko see what she’d transformed into.
A complete miscalculation.
She stomped her foot and clenched her tiny fist.
Staring directly at Akira, she declared without the slightest embarrassment, “I don’t care!
I just want to know what your trump card is!” Akira smiled warmly.
“A shinobi’s battles are battles of information.
Intelligence is a shinobi’s lifeline.” “You want my secrets?” “What are you willing to trade for them?” Tsunade immediately fell into thought.
What did she even have that was worth exchanging?
“What do you want?” she asked seriously.
Akira smiled.
“I want your—” Tsunade instantly blushed.
After a brief pause, Akira finished, “—family’s ninjutsu of equal value.” Tsunade immediately became flustered and embarrassed.
She couldn’t even find a reason to get angry.
Instead, she turned toward Hiruko.
“Akira and I are trading techniques.” “What secret technique do you have to exchange?” Hiruko froze.
He’d only just entered the Academy.
Where was he supposed to get a secret technique?
Seriously…
We’re all first-years.
How do the two of you each have your own signature move already?
That familiar feeling returned.
Why am I always the only one who can’t do it?
“So…” “I’ll just leave?” he asked uncertainly, once again slipping into self-doubt.
Seeing that, Akira quickly spoke up.
“We’re only first-year Academy students.
It’s perfectly normal not to have secret techniques.” Tsunade looked utterly unconvinced.
Hiruko blinked.
“Normal?” Akira nodded firmly.
“Perfectly normal.” Tsunade couldn’t be bothered listening to them anymore.
Without another word, she punched the enormous tree beside her.
BOOM!
A massive trunk over two meters thick snapped clean in half.
“This is the taijutsu my grandmother taught me, Super Strength.” “With extremely precise chakra control, you release chakra in an instant, allowing every strike to unleash incredible destructive power.” “Whoa.” Akira gave an appreciative whistle.
Then it was his turn.
He opened his right hand.
A pale blue sphere of swirling chakra slowly formed above his palm, casting a gentle glow.
“This is the Rasengan.” “I developed it by accident.” “It still has plenty of room to improve.” He pressed the Rasengan into the fallen tree trunk.
CRACK!
A circular crater nearly two meters wide exploded into the wood.
The already fallen tree broke into two more pieces.
“A hand seal-less ninjutsu?!” “How did you do that?” Tsunade stared in astonishment.
Maintaining a stable sphere of rotating chakra through pure shape transformation…
That level of chakra control had already pushed shape transformation to its limits.
He’s a genuine genius.
She grabbed Akira’s arm excitedly.
“Don’t rush home after school tomorrow.” “I’m taking you to meet my grandmother.” “Huh?” Akira blinked innocently.
“Why am I suddenly meeting the family?” For some reason, Tsunade’s face turned red again.
She lowered her head before mumbling, “Don’t get the wrong idea.” “If the village discovers someone truly talented, my grandmother sometimes teaches them herself.” Watching the two interact, Hiruko wore the expression of a dead fish.
He glanced up at the night sky.
It was probably time to head home.
Just as he turned to leave, Akira suddenly called out.
“Hiruko.” “Do you want to learn my Rasengan?” “I can teach you.” Hiruko froze.
Warmth welled up inside him.
His eyes grew moist, nearly bringing him to tears.
He took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, then turned back with a bright smile.
“I’d love to.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Hidden_Quill Thank you so much for reading!