"I know you boys all like to act tough, but I really don't want to see you get hurt. If it comes to that, even if you don't become a ninja, it's fine to just live a normal life, you know?"
Kushina's eyes shimmered slightly as she couldn't help but say it.
Hearing that, Yuya froze for a second.
Live a normal life?
That thought had never once crossed his mind.
Even back when he didn't have the Shocking Release bloodline limit and was just the hopeless kid who couldn't even learn ninjutsu, he had never once given up.
His previous life had been a plain, forgettable blur that ended in an accident. But now that he had a second chance—in the very world of Naruto he knew so well—there was no way he'd accept being ordinary again!
And now that he'd awakened the Shocking Release bloodline limit, even less so!
"I won't get hurt."
Yuya took a deep breath and said this calmly and seriously.
Hearing his voice, Kushina suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Was that too much?
But Yuya really had no talent for ninjutsu… maybe he wasn't cut out to be a ninja.
Thinking that, a bit of guilt crept into her heart. Still, if Yuya did give up on being a ninja, she'd definitely protect him no matter what.
A while later, the chunin instructor entered the classroom. After saying a few words, he led all the students outside to the training grounds.
Then, he started reading off a pre-arranged list from his clipboard.
Students were called up in pairs for one-on-one sparring matches.
They used dulled practice shuriken and kunai—not sharp enough to be deadly, but still capable of drawing blood.
This was a ninja school, after all. The ninja world was a brutal place.
Sure, the system in the Hidden Leaf Village was relatively gentle compared to the Blood Mist policy of the Hidden Mist in the Land of Water, but no one here was trying to raise pampered little flowers either.
Yuya spotted several familiar faces in his class.
Kushina was one of them. So was Namikaze Minato, the genius ninja himself. And then there was Uchiha Mikoto—who in the original series would become the mother of Itachi and Sasuke.
Of course, right now they were all just seven- or eight-year-old kids.
Still, Minato already stood out as a dazzling prodigy. Not only was he undisputed number one in their class, no one in the whole year could match him!
When Minato stepped up for his match, a bunch of girls started cheering like crazy. His popularity was off the charts.
Handsome face, insane strength, gifted talent—it was the same kind of treatment that Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke got in the original story.
Yuya actually looked quite a bit like Uchiha Itachi too—just with silver hair instead of black.
When he first joined the academy, Yuya's popularity had been neck-and-neck with Minato's. But as time went on and his lack of talent in ninjutsu became obvious, he started getting outshined by the others, and his popularity steadily declined.
So when Minato took out his opponent in just three quick moves, it triggered another round of cheers and squeals.
Kushina glanced sideways at Yuya, feeling a little indignant on his behalf.
Whether it was effort or anything else, Yuya wasn't inferior to Minato in the slightest.
But just because of his lack of talent in ninjutsu, the gap between them had become enormous.
As Kushina sighed quietly to herself, the chunin instructor called out the next match from the list:
"Next—Yuya and Uchiha Izumiya, step up."
Kushina was stunned and cried out, "Why is he paired with someone from the Uchiha Clan? And it's Uchiha Izumiya?!"
If Minato was the number one genius, then Izumiya was definitely number two.
Even when facing Minato, Izumiya could at least last a few rounds. His strength was second only to Minato in the entire grade.
Putting Yuya up against Uchiha Izumiya? That was no coincidence.
"This is rigged! Yuya, don't go up there—just forfeit! That Uchiha guy will definitely—" Kushina was fuming, her voice panicked.
"No need."
Yuya gently patted her on the shoulder, cutting her off mid-sentence. He gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry. I won't get hurt."
There was something about the way he said it—a calm, quiet confidence that made Kushina freeze up for a moment.
After that, Yuya turned and walked toward the field with a peaceful expression.
Of course he knew the chunin instructor had done it on purpose.
This guy had never once shown a friendly face to an outsider like him.
Outsiders were often quietly treated as enemies. That kind of resentment didn't just fade away.
Honestly, Yuya's treatment in the Hidden Leaf wasn't much better than what Naruto got as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Not every teacher was an Iruka.
Especially once his lack of talent became known, this chunin instructor had been trying every trick to push him out of the class.
The school had rules. Unless Yuya asked to leave himself, even a chunin instructor couldn't expel a student outright.
"Yuya, why not just forfeit now? If you get hurt, it'll be too late to regret it later."
The instructor looked at Yuya and deliberately said it in that tone.
In his mind, the more he said stuff like this, the less likely Yuya would back down in front of everyone. Once Izumiya beat the living crap out of him, Yuya would have no choice but to quit.
Yuya didn't answer. He just calmly looked at the instructor.
Stare.
That look made the chunin's heart skip a beat.
That calmness… that composure…
That was not the kind of look a seven-year-old kid should be capable of giving.
"No need. We can start right away."
Yuya turned his head and looked at Uchiha Izumiya.
In the crowd, Kushina's heart skipped.
He was actually going to fight? He wasn't going to surrender?
"Damn it... every single one of these people treats Yuya like crap."
Clenching her tiny fists, Kushina wanted to rush onto the field—but in the end, she could only stand there, watching Yuya with worry in her eyes.
She just hoped he'd give up before getting seriously hurt.
Out on the field, Uchiha Izumiya stared down Yuya with a smug, cold expression.
When he saw Yuya wasn't going to forfeit, a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes.
A talentless loser who couldn't even use ninjutsu wanted to beat him?
Since this fool had the guts to face off with him, he'd make sure the guy learned his lesson—
Next time he saw the name Uchiha, he'd know to back down immediately.
"Alright then. Begin!"
Even though the instructor was still a little shaken from Yuya's earlier gaze, he quickly brushed it off and gave the signal to start.
The moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Izumiya flipped his hands and suddenly drew two stacks of shuriken, hurling them straight at Yuya.
Whoosh!!!
In an instant, eight shuriken tore through the air like black shadows. Four of them locked onto Yuya's vital spots—
And the other four completely blocked off his escape route.