After the morning's theory class ended, it was finally time for the ninja tools throwing lesson—a class Hanekawa had been eagerly anticipating.
Led by Eijiro, the class headed to the training grounds.
This lesson was split into two parts: first, Eijiro would explain the core techniques, and then the students would practice by actually throwing ninja tools.
Hanekawa listened intently.
This directly affected whether he could unlock a new skill tag quickly.
In contrast, Sarutobi Asuma had already mastered tool throwing before even entering the academy.
As the Hokage's son, he had a personal tutor—an elite jonin no less.
Aside from Kakashi Hatake, he was confident he could outperform any student in class.
But…
Asuma looked at Hanekawa and Kurenai Yuhi, a fire of resentment burning in his eyes.
Why?
He was the one who got here first!
Asuma's jealousy boiled over.
Kurenai used to always stand next to him. But today, she was next to Hanekawa.
Wait! I've got a plan!
A brilliant idea popped into Asuma's head.
Simple—just beat Hanekawa.
In the world of ninja, strength speaks loudest.
Besides, there was a huge gap between them.
He had this in the bag.
"Now, we'll begin our ninja tools throwing practice," Eijiro said as he set up a row of wooden targets. "If anything seems off, I'll point it out."
"Sensei, I'll go first!" Asuma shouted, raising his head high.
He then flashed Kurenai a confident look as if to say, Watch me shine.
Hanekawa thought of a saying—A rooster among roosters.
Right now, Asuma was practically exploding with testosterone.
But Kurenai didn't catch his meaning and just looked confused.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Asuma swung his arm in a smooth motion. Three kunai flew out and landed perfectly in the center of the targets.
He turned around, beaming with pride—only to freeze.
Kurenai was standing there with her head lowered, whispering something to Hanekawa.
"Not bad!" Eijiro led the class in a round of applause.
But Asuma couldn't even crack a smile.
All the fun was theirs—he had nothing.
Was there something wrong with his plan? That couldn't be...
"Thanks, Kurenai," Hanekawa said sincerely after hearing her whispered explanation of the throwing technique.
As for Asuma's triple bullseye, no one was particularly impressed.
After all, he was the Hokage's son.
Hanekawa stepped up to a nearby target.
Following the technique Kurenai had just taught him, he threw a kunai.
It landed on the target—but still a bit off from the bullseye.
"That's it?" Asuma couldn't resist sneering from the sidelines.
"You've got this!" Kurenai pumped her small fists encouragingly.
"..."
Asuma was about to explode.
Why? Why him?
Bro, can't catch a breath here.
The lesson eventually came to an end.
[Skill Tag Progress: Ninja Tool Throwing – 10%]
For an E-rank tag, tool throwing only required basic proficiency in kunai and shuriken. It wasn't too difficult.
"Kakashi! Let's have a youthful duel!"
A flash of green streaked past Hanekawa's vision.
He instinctively looked up—and saw Might Guy.
The same Might Guy who, in the original story, nearly ended the Fourth Great Ninja War with one kick thanks to the Eight Gates technique.
A true man among men—though admittedly... a bit eccentric.
"Next time, for sure!" Kakashi instantly disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique.
Since enrolling, Kakashi had shown incredible talent and had become Might Guy's chosen rival.
At first, he humored him with a few sparring matches.
But Might Guy was like an indestructible cockroach—showing up every day with passion and new challenge formats.
Kakashi had long since had enough.
"So fast!" Might Guy's eyes lit up with admiration. "Truly worthy of being my eternal rival!"
Watching the two chase each other around, Hanekawa remembered his own plans to train his body.
But following Guy's regimen? He wouldn't last a day.
Not just mentally—his body wouldn't survive either.
After all, the man who mastered the Eight Gates had physical prowess that arguably surpassed everyone in the ninja world.
If Hanekawa tried that kind of workout, Kurenai might be mourning his funeral within the week.
"Hanekawa!"
Sarutobi Asuma suddenly stepped in front of him, eyes blazing.
"I challenge you to a duel!"
He had just gotten the idea from watching Might Guy.
"Asuma..." Kurenai frowned. "You're just bullying him."
She had once thought Asuma wasn't too bad, but now he just seemed unreasonable.
Hanekawa had only started learning ninja basics two days ago—he was no different from a regular civilian.
"I… I didn't mean it like that!" Asuma panicked and quickly added, "We can wait until the end of the term to fight!"
Love had clearly scrambled his brain.
To be fair, Asuma wasn't a bad person in the original story.
He was just acting out his rebellious phase right now.
And honestly, you couldn't blame him too much.
Kids tend to do whatever they want without thinking things through.
Still, this duel? It was perfect timing.
Now that Hanekawa had a system, why hold back?
Besides, Asuma made a good benchmark—a "standard genius unit" for measuring growth.
"No problem," Hanekawa agreed.
The end of term was about three months away.
With the system on his side, if he couldn't beat a six-year-old Asuma by then, he might as well beg Tsunade to put him out of his misery.
Kurenai looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, concern evident on her face.
"Excellent!" Asuma grinned from ear to ear.
Completely oblivious to Kurenai's changing attitude toward him.
After setting the date for their duel, Hanekawa felt even more motivated.
Back home, after dinner, he headed out to a small grove behind the house and resumed his training.
Later that night, Hanekawa showered, laid in bed, and opened up the system.
[Skill Tag Progress: Ninja Tool Throwing – 15%]
After a night of throwing practice, he had made solid progress.
At this pace, he could unlock the tag within a week.
Still, the number of tags he had was too low.
He decided he would wake up early the next day and start physical training. First, build the tags. Everything else could wait.
Watching that progress bar move would be all the motivation he needed.
Besides physical fitness, he'd also need to study the Three Basic Ninjutsu and begin chakra control exercises.
With plans for the future swirling in his head, Hanekawa drifted into a tired but content sleep.
"Hanekawa... Hanekawa..."
A soft voice suddenly echoed in the quiet night.
Hanekawa sat up abruptly, rubbing his eyes.
What the hell?
Middle of the night and someone's doing ghost ASMR?
The voice stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
"...?"
Hanekawa instinctively looked out the window.
Under the moonlight, a faint trail of chakra formed glowing letters in the air.
"Sunday morning at nine. Meet at Konoha Knowledge Bookstore."
The message lasted only a few seconds before the chakra faded into nothing.
Hanekawa's heart skipped a beat.
A contact from the Hidden Cloud?
Was it finally time for the undercover agents to rendezvous?
Although... the location wasn't on a rooftop, so the vibe felt a little off.
He wondered who from the Hidden Cloud would be meeting him.
His strongest impression of the village involved two things: the walking muscle god Raikage and the buxom Samui, who could easily rival Tsunade.