Arriving not far from the training ground, Shuichi could already see its general layout. Unusually, while there were still many people practicing, several target positions were empty.
After thinking carefully, Shuichi could roughly guess the reason.
In these last few years of the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha's exploitation of its military strength was very high, and most people went to the battlefield.
Now that the war was nearing its end, most Ninja were exhausted, and not many still thought about honing their Ninja fundamentals.
Looking closer, he indeed found that many of the people practicing here were still just teenagers, and it could be largely concluded that most were Ninja Academy students.
Shuichi and his companions stood on an open space not far away, watching for a while. Ishikawa Itsuki, beside him, was itching to try, and said impatiently:
"Today, it's rare to have empty target positions; let's go try them out."
Shuichi and Takashima Shota did not object. Soon, they went to various empty spaces nearby to pick up stones that many children usually used for playing Ninja games.
Then, they all went to a relatively secluded target position and began to take turns throwing them like Ninja.
Because they were children, Shuichi and his companions generally chose a distance of 10 to 20 meters from the target. The closer the throw hit the center of the circular target, the higher the score. Then, they ranked based on the total score of ten throws per person.
It could be said that it was quite similar to the Shuriken test at the Ninja Academy in Shuichi's memory. This must have been spread by some Ninja Academy students. For content not involving Chakra, Konoha Village's restrictions were not very strict.
Bang, bang, bang—
When Shuichi started throwing, he did so entirely according to the original memory of this body. After just 3 throws, he found that his body control ability had greatly improved compared to before.
"Is it an increase in mental energy? Soul fusion?" Shuichi thought to himself.
He didn't dwell on the question. At this moment, his mind recalled the actions of javelins, darts, and flying cards in movies from his previous life.
He first extended his left foot forward, facing the target at a 30-degree angle, then placed his right foot parallel to his left foot and slightly wider than his shoulders.
Next, he raised his left hand to shoulder height, aiming at the bullseye, and picked up the stone with his right hand, placing it near his ear. Instantly, with a motion somewhat like a horizontal basketball shot, it was released after passing his head.
After throwing, his left hand retracted behind him with the force, and his waist also simultaneously exerted force, bending down as if cushioning.
"Bang!" The stone hit the edge of the 3rd circle outside the center point, not much different from Shuichi's previous 3 throws.
"Bang, bang, bang…" Shuichi finished throwing the remaining 6 shots unhurriedly with the exact same posture.
Ishikawa Itsuki's mouth slowly opened with the later throws, and Takashima Shota's slightly serious face also showed some changes.
Shuichi looked at the two of them, thinking that if this were in a manga from his previous life, the accompanying text would probably be: "How is this possible? Are you cheating?"
Because from the marks on the target, it was obvious that Shuichi's last 6 throws not only left much clearer marks than their previous throws.
Moreover, the 5th throw had already hit the innermost circle, and the last 4 throws all hit the center point, just in different but very close positions.
"Shuichi, how did you get so amazing today?" Ishikawa Itsuki had already cried out impatiently.
"Haha, it's nothing. You just need to find a suitable posture for yourself and try again. The effect should be good." Shuichi seemed quite normal on the surface, but he was a little happy inside.
Not long after going out today, he found that his physical talent was much stronger than before, giving him a great sense of turning his luck around.
"Alright! I'll try too. Watch my Ishikawa family's signature throwing technique…"
…
The three of them played until close to noon. Since they were all still children, they inevitably felt hungry quickly.
Ninja, despite having Chakra, are still normal people, and due to training, they actually have a greater food intake than average people.
So, some Academy students began to leave the training ground to rest. The Shuichi trio was also a bit tired of playing and prepared to go back for lunch.
As they left, Ishikawa Itsuki was a bit reluctant, Takashima Shota had returned to his characteristic serious face, while Shuichi seemed to have no major changes, though he was secretly pleased.
Because even with his guidance, Ishikawa Itsuki and Takashima Shota, after playing for over an hour, only showed a slight improvement, which demonstrated the gap in physical talent.
Now Shuichi deeply realized that when his happiness was built upon the suffering of others, it could bring a multiplied sense of satisfaction.
It was like seeing a professional gamer teach a gaming noob in his previous life: "Hey, I'm telling you, this hero is so simple. You just follow my strategy and do this combo… and then the opponent dies!" And the noobs, excitedly following the expert's guide, ended up getting killed and just yelling "WTF."
Although he felt very dissatisfied today, Ishikawa Itsuki's original purpose was to help Shuichi recover. Now seeing that Shuichi had recovered well, he invited the two to his house for a meal.
Ishikawa Itsuki's house was not in the central district of Konoha but not very far either. The three of them set off from the training ground in the opposite direction of Hokage Rock and soon arrived at Ishikawa Itsuki's house.
From memories of his previous life, he could roughly understand the housing structure of Konoha Village. From now until the end of Naruto, most civilian buildings in the Village were similar to those of the island nation before the Meiji Restoration (Ninja clan houses were completely different), belonging to a dense urban layout, with small wooden houses clustered together, and Ishikawa Itsuki's house was one of them.
At the Ishikawa house, Shuichi met Ishikawa Itsuki's mother, Ishikawa Anko, a gentle-looking middle-aged woman. Shuichi and Takashima Shota both politely greeted her.
Ishikawa Anko seemed to be in a good mood today and showed great concern for Shuichi, who had suffered a blow not long ago.
Before going out, Shuichi had already prepared a basic draft for these social interactions. At this time, his responses were full of strength and hope, making everyone believe that the good child had returned.
…
After a delicious sushi feast, Shuichi politely bid farewell to the Ishikawa family and walked home alone.
Because he had specifically brought money to buy some things before leaving, he began to walk around the central district of Konoha. After asking a kind Konoha Villager, Shuichi arrived at the entrance of a children's toy store.
"Hello, Uncle, what types of toys do you have here?"
"Oh, little one, are you here by yourself? It's quite rare for someone as young as you to come buy toys alone. Look, the shelves on both sides basically hold all the stock in my store. See if you like anything."
Although the toy store uncle was a bit surprised, he responded warmly to Shuichi.
Shuichi looked back and forth on both sides, finding many items like mini Shuriken, balloons, and windmills. He didn't find what he needed, so without further ado, he directly asked the owner for what he wanted.
"Uncle, do you have any of those highly elastic toy balls, the kind that bounce quite far if they hit a wall?"
"Uh… the kind of toy you're looking for is definitely not on the shelves. I have some old toys in my warehouse that didn't sell very well. I'll take them out for you to see if there's anything you want."
Saying this, the uncle quickly opened the back door and soon brought out a large wooden box covered in a lot of dust. "Here, the rest are all here. If there's nothing you want, then I can't help you either." The uncle said as he placed the box in front of Shuichi.
Shuichi didn't mind the rather dirty-looking box much. He quickly opened it and started searching inside.
Soon, he pulled out 2 spherical toys from inside. They were small, an adult could hold one in a single hand, and they looked like a small version of the ball the cat played with when teaching Naruto the first stage of Rasengan in the anime.
Although it didn't fully meet his expectations, Shuichi readily decided to buy these 2 small balls. The owner was quite fair; since they were expired products, he only symbolically charged Shuichi 100 Ryo.
"Uncle, next time you restock, could you please ask if there are any highly elastic rubber bouncy balls? If you could stock a few, I'd be really grateful, because I truly need them."
Shuichi didn't give up directly, feeling that the uncle was a decent person, so he hoped he would help him look.
"…"
"Phew! Today's mission is basically accomplished." Not long after, Shuichi came out of the toy store. The uncle, unable to resist his persistent persuasion, agreed to mention it to the supplier next time.