The second lesson that afternoon was practical combat.
Sato paired the class into twenty-one teams of two, then had each pair spar one after another while he stood off to the side with a notebook, quietly recording their performances.
The first-year students had only recently learned how to extract chakra.
At this point, they could use it for basic running and jumping, but none of them had mastered any ninjutsu yet.
As a result, most of the fights looked like nothing more than children wildly flailing at each other.
Occasionally, two students from ninja clans would face off, and their movements at least had some structure, attacks and defenses flowing back and forth with decent form.
Akira watched for quite a while but never saw the ninjutsu he had been expecting.
That’s strange.
Didn’t Kakashi and Obito already know a few simple C-rank techniques before entering the Academy?
Why isn’t anyone from the clans using ninjutsu?
“Next match!” “Tsunade versus Akira!
Get ready.” Sato-sensei’s voice echoed across the training ground.
Akira exchanged a glance with Tsunade before walking toward the center of the field.
The students formed a circle around them as the two faced each other and performed the Seal of Confrontation.
Once they were ready, Sato-sensei gave the signal.
“Begin!” The instant he finished speaking, Akira reached into his shinobi pouch.
With a flick of his wrist, six or seven shuriken flew into the air.
His right hand immediately followed, drawing a kunai into a reverse grip.
Tsunade leapt sideways, effortlessly dodging the incoming shuriken.
Without missing a beat, she pulled out two kunai of her own, one in each hand and charged straight at him.
Akira smiled faintly.
His left hand twitched.
Thin wires, which had somehow already been attached to the shuriken, suddenly tightened, redirecting their flight paths and sealing off Tsunade’s route.
Tsunade’s eyes widened slightly.
The Uchiha Clan’s Manipulated Shuriken Technique?
…No.
Just something similar.
Her arms blurred as she knocked every shuriken away before continuing her unstoppable charge.
Akira immediately released the wires.
They were simply leftover material from making bowstrings, not anything especially valuable.
As Tsunade closed the distance, Akira instinctively wanted to kick up a cloud of dirt to blind her…
But he forcibly stopped himself.
I still plan to marry Tsunade someday.
I’d better go easy on her.
Their kunai collided.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sparks erupted as steel struck steel.
After several exchanges, Akira could already feel his arms trembling.
The Senju possessed naturally powerful physiques and overwhelming vitality.
Enhanced by chakra, Tsunade’s strength was astonishing.
Meeting her head-on was becoming increasingly difficult.
He grit his teeth and continued exchanging blows for several more rounds.
At the same time, one hand quietly formed a seal.
Several clones suddenly appeared.
They were merely ordinary Clone Technique illusions and couldn’t actually move.
However, Akira had already “posed” each clone into a different attack stance when casting the jutsu, creating the illusion of multiple simultaneous attacks.
Tsunade hesitated for the briefest instant.
That moment was enough.
Akira thrust his palm against her body.
A sealing technique activated instantly.
Her body went numb.
Before she could react, a kunai was already resting against her neck.
“Winner, Akira!” “Next pair, prepare!” Sato-sensei loudly announced the result while making another note in his notebook.
Tsunade clenched her tiny fists in frustration.
“So unfair!” “I didn’t even get to use my trump card!” She glared at Akira with an adorably fierce expression.
Akira smiled and formed the Seal of Reconciliation toward her.
“You think you’re the only one with a trump card?” Tsunade blinked in confusion.
Her own secret technique was the monstrous strength Mito-obasan had only recently begun teaching her.
Where had Akira learned his?
…The Academy library?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Time passed.
Like always, Akira returned home after school.
He cooked.
He washed his clothes.
He ate dinner by himself.
Even without anyone looking after him, he took good care of himself.
After finishing his meal, he changed into a black training outfit and headed toward his usual training spot— Training Ground Thirteen.
The range there contained several targets, making it perfect for archery practice.
After finishing his daily archery drills, Akira moved on to hearing training.
Or rather— See in every direction.
Hear everything around you.
Throughout a small grove stood numerous mechanical traps of varying heights.
Each mechanism traveled along carefully designed tracks.
Hanging beneath them were bottles of every shape and size.
As the mechanisms activated, the bottles swung in from every direction, hurtling toward Akira.
After learning a little about trap construction at the Academy, he’d built this training device himself to sharpen both his hearing and reaction speed.
He practiced here every day.
Walking into the center of the trap field, Akira tied a strip of black cloth over his eyes.
The mechanisms started.
Bottles rushed toward him from every angle.
Akira continuously twisted, ducked, sidestepped, and leaned away from each incoming projectile.
Occasionally, one struck him before he could evade completely.
Each impact left a streak of white powder across his black training clothes.
As his training progressed over the past month, his evasive instincts had improved dramatically.
Whenever something attacked from behind, he no longer needed to turn around.
The skin on his back would tighten instinctively.
His body would dodge before his mind consciously reacted.
Everything he did was preparation for surviving the Second Ninja World War.
Akira had always taken his own life very seriously.
He continued weaving through the barrage while carefully controlling his breathing, minimizing unnecessary movement and conserving stamina for prolonged combat.
Just as he completely immersed himself in training…
Outside Training Ground Thirteen…
Two heads quietly peeked out from behind a patch of bushes.
One blonde.
One white-haired.
It was none other than Tsunade and Hiruko.
“Amazing…” “I never imagined ordinary traps could be used like this for training.” “Akira really is a genius.” Hiruko stared in amazement, unable to suppress his whisper.
Tch.
Tsunade lightly knocked him on the head.
“Keep your voice down.” “Our plan is simple.” “When Akira’s completely exhausted…” “The two of us attack together.” “I want to see what his real trump card is.” Time slowly passed.
Eventually, Akira judged that today’s training was enough.
Chakra isn’t internal energy.
Overusing it can shorten your lifespan.
He stopped the mechanisms, set up the warning sign, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and prepared to head home.
He had only walked a short distance— Whoosh!
Several shuriken suddenly shot toward his back.
Akira instantly leapt sideways.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The shuriken embedded themselves into a nearby tree trunk, the metallic impacts echoing through the silent night.
Akira turned around.
The forest surrounding the training ground was eerily quiet.
Everything was swallowed in darkness.
Only faint outlines of the towering trees could be seen.
It was already around ten o’clock at night.
A crescent moon hung overhead, but its pale light was almost entirely blocked by the dense canopy.
The enormous trees surrounding Konoha were both a blessing…
…and, at times like this, a curse.
Who is it?
An enemy spy?
Faced with the sudden attack, Akira felt both fear…
…and excitement.
He forced himself to calm down.
I’m still growing.
No recklessness.
With a single motion of his hand— A bow and arrow appeared in his grasp.