The next day in class, Takeshi-sensei walked in carrying a crate. He set it down with a thud and started passing out gear.
Each student got a strap-on pouch loaded with ten kunai and ten shuriken. Alongside it, a thin booklet: Basic Throwing Techniques: Kunai & Shuriken.
Takeshi-sensei, who was standing at the podium at the front of the class, then said, "There will be some changes to the entrance examination in a month. It will no longer include the academy's general subjects like math, Japanese, etc. They will be replaced with shuriken and kunai throwing."
A few days ago, as Kaito was walking to the academy, he overheard a few ninjas talking about how border tensions exploded and the Land of Lightning had started fighting our ninja. Obviously, Konoha is in dire need of fresh blood or...cannon fodder.
Kaito strapped his pouch on, thumb brushing the cold steel. The booklet was folded neatly, diagrams printed in black ink. He didn't read it in class. He waited. After school, he walked past the academy and stopped at a shinobi shop tucked between two buildings. The front was stacked with scrolls, gear, and training supplies. He didn't browse. He walked straight to the counter.
"Hi. I need seven targets," he said. These seven targets ended up costing him 3000 yen. Just like that, more than a quarter of his monthly allowance from the village that is given to orphans was gone.
The clerk handed him a bundle: three circular cloth targets with red rings stitched into them. Kaito paid, thanked the lady at the front desk, and left.
He headed to his training spot.
The trees were still. The waterfall ran clean. The river shimmered under the afternoon sun.
He tied the targets to three trees. One near the river, one beside the hill, one in the shade.
After doing all of that, Kaito sat down with his back against a nearby boulder and started reading the booklet. For the next hour, Kaito was looking through how to throw them, what tips and tricks allow a farther throw, and how to practice and improve accuracy.
Finally, Kaito stood up.
He stepped ten meters back from the first.
Pulled a kunai.
Raised his arm.
Threw.
It missed the tree completely.
He stared for a second, then walked over and picked it up.
He tried again.
And again.
The kunai was heavier than he expected. It needed a straight, forceful throw, wrist locked, elbow sharp. After ten tries, he hit the outermost ring.
______________________________
[Kunai Control: Entry(1/100)]
______________________________
He switched to shuriken.
The shape was different: flat, wide, lighter. It needed a flick, not a push. He adjusted his grip, turned his wrist, and threw.
It spun off course, hit the dirt.
He kept going.
The shuriken curved more, but once he got the angle right, it stuck into the outer ring.
He opened his panel again.
____________________________________
[Shuriken Control: Entry(1/100)]
____________________________________
At this time, the sun started to dip.
He sat near the river and began refining chakra.
After weeks of working on improving his combat prowess with jutsus, taijutsu, and physical training, Kaito finally started to work on increasing his chakra.
Slow breath. Steady focus.
He visualized the energy in his body, physical and spiritual, pulling them together, shaping them into chakra. It was quiet work. No movement. Just flow.
30 minutes passed, and Kaito opened his panel.
__________________________________________________________
Name: Kaito Arata
Age: 6
Chakra: 18
Rank: Lower Academy Level
Taijutsu:
[Konoha Taijustu: Entry (72/100)]
Ninjustu:
[(E) Clone Jutsu: Entry (20/100)]
[(E) Transformation Jutsu: Entry (23/100)]
[(E) Substitution Jutsu: Entry (20/100)]
Bukijutsu:
[Kunai Control: Entry(1/100)]
[Shuriken Control: Entry(1/100)]
__________________________________________________________
In the past few days, he has been working on improving all of the skills he had on the panel. His chakra increased by one point from the continuous training yesterday, and another point has been added from his meditation today. He was getting closer to the middle Academy level. Kaito's goal is to reach the middle Academy level before the combat tournament and try to get as close as possible to the upper Academy level before the entrance examination to get into a better class. A better class means more resources, better teachers, more competition, and more rewards.
Kaito needed to get into a better class to get these things so he could survive through the changes at the border and the future events that surround Konoha. Just thinking about them makes Kaito pale.
By now, the sun had long set, and the sky was full of stars. He stares up for a minute, eyes filled with curiosity and blazing with ambition.
Then walked home.
He lay down, eyes closed.
Just a second later, Kaito fell asleep.