"Brat!" Without answering the snot-nosed kid's question, Yang Xing casually gathered a few practice shuriken and kunai, saying absentmindedly, "How long has it been since I started training with throwing weapons, since the day we met?"
"Hmm! Let me count. One, two, three…" The little brat moved his fingers, counting very seriously. Rarely did he show such focus.
Yang Xing slipped the kunai and shuriken into the pouch at his waist, letting out a faint sigh as he looked at the kid in front of him.
"It's been a year, hasn't it?"
"Nope—thirteen months. One year and one month." The boy turned with an earnest face.
"You're not bad at math, huh."
"Heh heh!"
"Laugh my ass.…" Yang Xing finally started to understand the frustration his cheap homeroom teacher always felt. He sighed deeply, then couldn't help but say, "Look, you've been following me around, but honestly, I don't really have much to teach you. You should know—I'm the weakest of our whole age group."
The kid tilted his head, thought for a moment, then shook it firmly.
"That's not true. The shuriken and kunai techniques you taught me are amazing. Right now, I'm the top of my class."
"That's only because your potential is way higher than mine."
"Really?"
"Really." Yang Xing gave a dry chuckle, mocking himself. "Your physique is several times better than mine."
Just as those words fell, before the kid could respond, a loud chime echoed inside Yang Xing's body.
Physique weaker than a child. Achievement unlocked: "The Weakest Human." Achievement Level 1 reached. System bonus: +10% to all attributes. Next achievement target: 4 remaining.
"…System, you've got to be sick. What kind of ridiculous achievement is this? 'The Weakest Human'? Are you insulting me? You—ugh, whatever. Fine, I'll forgive you just because it's a 10% stat boost. But seriously, only 10%? What's the damn use of that?"
If the system had been a man, Yang Xing would've strangled it already.
If it were a woman?
Well—if she was pretty, maybe he'd consider it. If not, she'd still get beaten to death.
"Yang Xing, you're about to graduate, right? I heard from the teacher today." The brat's voice broke Yang Xing's gloomy thoughts. "That's amazing! You'll get to learn under a high-level ninja."
"Yeah, yeah, I guess. You'll be graduating soon too." Yang Xing wasn't in the mood. He only wanted to comfort his bruised pride—but clearly, the brat in front of him wasn't capable of that.
The snot-nosed boy looked dejected.
"Not for me… I've still got ten years."
"Ten years will pass in the blink of an eye."
"But I blink every night when I sleep. How come it hasn't passed yet?"
"That's exactly why you're still a brat! Ugh! Stop asking me why, you dumb little idiot." Yang Xing couldn't take it anymore. He realized if the conversation went on, his IQ might drop. He stood up, waving dismissively.
"My head hurts. I'm going home."
"Oh, but it's not even noon yet."
"You're so damn noisy."
After walking several meters, Yang Xing noticed how quiet it was behind him. Turning his head, he saw the little brat standing there, looking lonely. Yang Xing couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile, muttering,
"Looks like me and this kid are somehow tied by fate."
A year ago, realizing he was hopeless at chakra control, Yang Xing had decisively switched to taijutsu. But, having been a shut-in in his previous life, his body was terribly weak, and paired with his laziness, even taijutsu ended halfway. If he wanted to become stronger, he had no choice but to train in the most basic of arts—throwing weapons. Shuriken and kunai were meant to be auxiliary tools, but they were the only things he could actually train with.
What he hadn't expected was that this practice would make him stumble upon a brat who ended up watching him, and eventually being worshipped by a kid not even three years old. And that was how this ridiculous situation started.
He stopped, turned back, his face suddenly solemn.
"Itachi. Shuriken training is about real combat. Just throwing at unmoving targets won't help you grow. Go after fast-moving things. The faster they run, the better. Even if it's people—it's fine."
With that, he waved his hand and left in a carefree stride, leaving only the snot-nosed brat staring ahead in a daze before slowly nodding.
The sky was clear, dotted with a few leisurely drifting clouds.
"Ahh, if only I could turn into a cloud. Just drifting around, nothing to do. No one waking me up at six in the morning. Six, damn it! Kids who don't get enough sleep can't grow properly, you know." Yang Xing yawned, throwing a glance at the bespectacled teacher walking silently in front of him. "You get what I mean, sensei?"
The glasses-wearing teacher: "..."
He'd already told Yang Xing yesterday that waking him so early might not be the best idea. But right now, all he wanted was for Yang Xing to grow stronger a little faster. The kid's skills were so bad he couldn't even escape if an enemy showed up.
But alas, his good intentions were completely wasted.
"You're sure that girl's really cute?" Yang Xing stretched, folding his hands behind his head as he walked, eyes lazily fixed on the sky. "It's not that I don't trust you, sensei—it's just that I seriously doubt your taste. I mean, not your eyesight, but your sense of aesthetics. You do understand what I mean by aesthetics, right?"
The teacher felt his head about to explode. Who on earth could ever handle this kid?
"Enough! Could you please just behave for a few minutes? Please?" The teacher finally snapped, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Yang Xing. "Yang Xing, I'm begging you—if you keep acting like this, you'll never be accepted as that person's disciple."
"I never said I wanted to be anyone's disciple."
"Ugh… You'll understand when you get there." The teacher sighed helplessly again, shoulders slumping as he walked with a defeated air.
Maybe… maybe only that person could rein this brat in.
Ahead, a small hill rose from the flat ground, cutting off the forest and dividing it into a plain. The slope created a naturally sunken training ground—protected by trees on all sides, shielded from the wind. A perfect hidden spot.
"We're here. Remember—when you meet him, you absolutely must—Hey! Wait until I finish talking, you brat! Weren't you dragging your feet just a second ago?"
The sight of Yang Xing suddenly sprinting ahead left the teacher stunned, shouting after him.
But of course, it was useless.
After a few quick strides, Yang Xing stepped onto the lush green grass. Only then did he realize how spacious and beautiful this place was.
Who would've thought such a spot existed so close to the Hidden Leaf Village? Not knowing before had been a real loss. From now on, he thought, this would make a perfect training ground for his throwing weapons.