“Isn’t that Shinku?
Where are you headed?” A cheerful voice came from behind Shinku Yūhi.
Shinku glanced over calmly.
“Oh, Jiraiya.
I finally have some time off, so I’m just walking around.” “I’m taking Minato out on a mission.
We’ll talk next time!” Jiraiya hurried past with Minato Namikaze, heading quickly toward Konoha’s gates.
“Hello, Senior Shinku!” Minato greeted Shinku politely as he passed, then immediately followed after Jiraiya.
Shinku nodded slightly.
Then, almost to himself, he murmured, “That kid’s spiritual strength is incredibly powerful.
Maybe I could take him as a student…” “I just don’t know when he’ll graduate.” He sighed.
“Being a jōnin instructor sounds troublesome, though…” Shinku hesitated for a moment before temporarily putting the matter aside.
Then he headed toward the training grounds.
Just as he expected— Might Duy was there training.
After asking Duy about Kazama, Shinku was even more surprised.
“Kazama?” Might Duy was covered in sweat and breathing slightly heavily.
“You mean Young Master Kazama from the Kazama family?” “He’s a genius.” “A genuine taijutsu genius!” “If I demonstrate something once, he can remember it completely.” “At most, after three attempts, he can reproduce it perfectly.” Duy’s tone grew increasingly animated.
“He can control practically every muscle in his body with incredible precision.” “He can even rearrange the way his muscles contract and work together.” “He created a taijutsu technique called Tekkai using that principle.” “By coordinating the muscles throughout his body, he increases his defensive power!” “I see…” Shinku slowly nodded.
Internally, however, he was deeply shocked.
He had already thought highly of Kazama.
But he hadn’t expected the child to possess not only extraordinarily powerful spiritual strength and a nearly perfect memory— but also such astonishing control over his own body.
He truly was a genius.
A genuine one.
“I should go see the Third Hokage.” Shinku had begun considering taking Kazama as his student.
As for the fact that Kazama had only just entered the Ninja Academy?
Shinku simply ignored that little detail.
However, when he eventually left the Hokage Building, Shinku looked rather confused.
He had explained the matter to the Third Hokage.
Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had merely given him a surprised look.
He hadn’t immediately agreed.
Instead, he had asked— “Why?” Why?
Shinku wanted to become the future jōnin instructor of a student who hadn’t graduated yet.
Why would the Third Hokage even need to ask?
Even if Kazama was the young master of the wealthy Kazama family, Hiruzen normally wouldn’t personally interfere with something like this.
Especially when it was Shinku Yūhi himself volunteering to take the boy as a student.
Still, Shinku explained everything he knew about Kazama.
He essentially wanted to reserve Kazama in advance as one of his future students.
Hiruzen listened with obvious interest.
Then, after hearing everything— he still didn’t agree.
Instead, he merely nodded.
“Mm.
I’ll think about it.” Shinku stared at him.
You listened to everything, nodded along the entire time, and now you’re telling me you’ll think about it?
He felt strangely wounded.
Completely confused and somewhat irritated, Shinku left the Hokage Building.
“Looks like that kid’s background might not be as simple as it seems…” That was the only explanation Shinku could think of.
Otherwise, even if Kazama was the only son of an enormously wealthy family, the Third Hokage was far too busy to personally care about who became the jōnin instructor of some little kid.
Especially when Shinku himself wanted to take him as a student.
…
At the Konoha Ninja Academy— several more days passed.
The curriculum finally began expanding beyond classroom lessons.
Outdoor training was added.
Kunai throwing.
Shuriken throwing.
And even basic combat sparring.
The sparring exercises were mainly designed to test the students’ use of the Three Basic Techniques and their throwing skills.
Naturally, they weren’t allowed to use real kunai in training.
Instead, they used wooden kunai painted black.
They looked almost identical to the real thing.
Even the weight was nearly the same.
Kazama had no idea what kind of wood they were made from, but they were remarkably sturdy.
“Next, I’ll teach everyone the proper techniques for throwing kunai and shuriken!” The jōnin instructor stood several meters away from two practice targets.
Then he extended both hands.
One hand held several kunai.
The other held a row of shuriken.
With a casual flick— Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The kunai and shuriken struck the two separate targets.
Every single one landed directly in the center.
“Whoa!
So cool!” “That’s amazing!” “…” Once again, the instructor had successfully shown off without even seeming to try.
The display immediately ignited the students’ enthusiasm.
Only then did the jōnin instructor begin explaining the proper techniques for throwing kunai and shuriken, along with several practical applications.
He also discussed combinations involving things like ninja wire and explosive tags.
While the instructor had been showing off, Kazama had already copied every movement.
With the Sharingan hidden behind his sunglasses, he had recorded the instructor’s throwing motion perfectly.
Now all he needed was a little practice to adjust the force and angles.
Only a handful of students looked relatively uninterested.
Kakashi Hatake.
Obito Uchiha.
Asuma Sarutobi.
And several children from the Hyūga clan.
They had all practiced basic projectile throwing before.
Some didn’t consider it especially useful and had only trained enough to become competent.
For Obito, however, shuriken throwing was practically one of the Uchiha clan’s signature skills.
To him, this level of training was simply too basic.
“All right, everyone can practice on your own now.” “If you don’t understand something, ask me.” “I’ll watch each of you and point out any problems.” After explaining the key points, the jōnin instructor stepped aside and allowed the students to practice.
He slowly moved from student to student, observing their movements and correcting mistakes.
“Wow!
Amazing!” “As expected of the Uchiha clan!” “He’s almost as good as the teacher!” Obito held kunai and shuriken in both hands and began showing off with all kinds of flashy throwing techniques.
It was an excellent performance.
The surrounding students immediately erupted in admiration.
Kazama, meanwhile, quietly activated the Sharingan beneath his sunglasses.
Using its enhanced perception and ability to slow and analyze movement, he carefully watched every one of Obito’s throwing methods.
He memorized them all.
Then— Kazama began practicing.
Very quickly, an extremely strange scene appeared before everyone.
At first, Kazama copied the jōnin instructor’s basic throwing method.
His first attempt was a complete failure.
Kunai and shuriken flew everywhere.
Only one happened to strike the target— and even that landed near the outermost edge.
On his second attempt, Kazama adjusted the force and angles based on what he had learned from the first.
This time— every kunai and shuriken struck the targets.
Most landed near the center.
The rest hit the inner rings.
Then came the third attempt.
After gaining experience from the previous two— there was no longer any suspense.
Every single kunai and shuriken struck the target.
And every one of them landed in the bullseye.
Then Kazama began copying Obito Uchiha’s throwing techniques.
One attempt.
Two attempts.
Three attempts.
No matter which throwing method Obito used— Kazama mastered it within three tries.
Eventually, Obito performed an especially difficult shuriken-throwing trick.
Kazama watched it once.
Then immediately reproduced it.
By this point, after so much practice, he no longer needed to test the proper force or angle.
He could simply copy the technique directly.
Not a single failure.
Gradually— everyone’s attention shifted toward Kazama.
Even the jōnin instructor stopped what he was doing.
And Obito, who was already breathing heavily from all his flashy demonstrations, turned to stare at him as well.