Chapter 4: Daily Life at the Ninja Academy (Part 2)
Although the Uchiha clan's destruction was imminent, Sakura had no intention of getting involved. On the contrary, all she wanted was to pass through this period safely and peacefully. Especially as the time of the massacre drew near, it was best not to wander around, lest she see something she shouldn't. In those sensitive times, others wouldn't care whether you were intentional or not; they would capture you first, and it was even possible they'd kill you on the spot! As for trying to fish in troubled waters or pull chestnuts out of the fire, Sakura had no powerful cheat ability, nor did she have the author's forceful intervention. It was better not to court death.
However, building good relationships with her peers ahead of time was still a viable option. It had been six years since she transmigrated, and through a mix of resignation and self-hypnosis, Sakura had grown accustomed to this life as a girl. But that didn't mean she could enjoy girly recreational activities like dolls, playing house, or flower arranging. As a strong-willed protagonist, how could she possibly like these weak, sissy games? Playing ninja games was childish, but at least it wasn't sissy!
Though it was just as boring.
On this basis, she had managed to get along with Naruto and the others. Children have simple minds, and that was true even for the ridiculously precocious kids in the world of Naruto. As long as you could play together, you were good friends.
As for Sasuke, there wasn't much of a relationship to speak of. It turned out that acting cool was a skill that had to be cultivated from a young age. Even without having experienced the night of the massacre, the young Sasuke had already mastered the art of it. If it weren't for Sakura's perfect scores, Sasuke wouldn't have deigned to cast his gaze upon these unremarkable girls. Of course, for Sakura, on such a simple test, not getting a perfect score was harder than getting one!
The difficulty of the Ninja Academy's curriculum wasn't high at all. In the original story, after six years of study, the final exam was just the Three Basic Academy Jutsu. Only someone with absolutely no talent for being a ninja would fail. Between the culture classes and practical classes, Sasuke's greatest advantage was in ninja tool throwing. After all, he was personally coached by Itachi, so his skill level was quite high. He handled kunai and shuriken with superb skill, and his various flashy throwing styles were dazzling to watch.
This was probably a throwing style unique to the Uchiha clan. Overly complex trajectories were impossible to judge or execute without extraordinary eyesight. While this method was deceptive enough, it deviated from the proper path of ninja tool throwing. Especially after practicing it herself, Sakura felt that the technique of having a rear projectile follow a front one, which required intentionally slowing down the first projectile, was completely missing the point. If the speed was too slow, the angle was useless. Try throwing one like that on a battlefield! And yet, the academy bought into it, recognizing it as a high-level throwing technique and always giving Sasuke extra points for it. Mhmm, the above sour-grapes commentary was brought to you by Sakura.
Looking at the part to understand the whole, the Uchiha clan had arrogantly turned throwing into an art form, an art that only the Uchiha could master. Like everything else, once it became "Uchiha-exclusive," no outsiders were allowed anywhere near it—just like the Uchiha compound, Uchiha ninja, Uchiha weapon shops, and so on. As they became better and better at protecting their own interests, they also became more and more arrogant, and more and more detached from Konoha. When the Uchiha increasingly treated Konoha as a tool for "their own interests," they drew closer and closer to being excised by Konoha...
The second class of the day happened to be ninja tool practice. The content was simple: the instructor would first demonstrate the standard form, followed by free practice where the teacher would give individual pointers.
As if by coincidence, Uchiha Sasuke appeared in the spot right next to Sakura. He glanced at her, then actually picked up eight shuriken—one between each finger. He raised his left hand to his right shoulder, and with a slight flick of his wrist, four shuriken flew out in a neat line, accurately embedding themselves in the bullseye of a nearby target. Four thrown at once—this brilliant technique had already attracted the gazes of many people around them. But that wasn't enough. Sasuke then passed two shuriken from his right hand to his left and threw with both hands simultaneously. The shuriken traced two beautiful arcs in the air, one high and one low, before colliding. After the subtle impact, the last three shuriken landed one after another in the bullseye, while the first one took a wide arc, bypassing the target to nail itself into the back. The girls standing nearby let out a very synchronized, low cheer, with Ino among them.
A wave of perfectly timed cheers erupted from the surroundings, interspersed with chirpy voices saying things like "So cool!" Ino's voice was undoubtedly the loudest. The other members of the Rookie Nine, however, showed little reaction. For those from ninja families, this really wasn't much. Well, Naruto was an exception; he didn't understand the technical skill involved at all.
Sakura noted with a hint of speechlessness that after Sasuke finished his throw, he glanced at her with a somewhat smug look, a clear challenge in his eyes. He was certain that Sakura couldn't replicate his throw.
"So arrogant at such a young age. What an annoying little brat." Feeling a bit of a headache, Sakura realized she was in a bind. If she responded, she'd be getting serious with a little kid. If she didn't, it would look like she couldn't even beat a little kid... It seemed she really had to step up and put this brat in his place!
She casually picked up a single shuriken. The water membrane on her arm retracted to her wrist to help generate force, and she threw it with all her might! The shuriken flashed through the air, moving so fast it was invisible, followed by a sharp whistling sound. In the blink of an eye, it hit the target, and the entire shuriken was buried halfway into the thick wood!
Shaking her faintly aching wrist, Sakura sighed inwardly. My body is still too young. Although she had used her full muscle strength this time, as soon as the chakra-infused water that aided her throw was unleashed, she could feel her bones struggling to bear the load. With Sakura's current chakra reserves and control, it wasn't difficult to use a mass of water to instantly generate a ton of force. But if that force were used to propel her own body, a single use would probably result in broken or even shattered bones. In her past life, watching the manga, Tsunade could shatter mountains and split the earth with a single move. She had no idea how she did it. The so-called Monstrous Strength Technique—the greatest difficulty probably wasn't in unleashing such terrifying power, but in keeping one's own body from being injured in the process! It was likely related to Tsunade's unparalleled medical ninjutsu and her exquisite chakra control!
Sasuke was also startled by the intimidating sound, but he quickly recovered. Seeing that Sakura had stopped after one throw, he asked, "Haruno-san, are you not practicing anymore? You've only thrown once!" He sounded like he was kindly concerned for a classmate, but the slight curl of his lips and his smug, contemptuous expression completely betrayed his thoughts. Clearly, in Sasuke's eyes, Sakura's throw was just a bit fast; it had no angle, and zero technical skill.
Giving Sasuke a sidelong glance, Sakura unhurriedly grabbed several more shuriken. Chakra-infused water silently filled the holes in the center of the shuriken, pulling them to float and spin wildly in her palm! This move subtly showed off a level of chakra control that many Chunin probably couldn't achieve!
Fancy throwing? I can't do it! But cheating with chakra? I'm an expert at that! Prepare to have your eyes opened!
Without any visible movement from Sakura, with just a slight raise of her eyebrows, the shuriken in her hand suddenly shot out without warning! They were even faster than her first throw. Before Sasuke could react, the seven shuriken had drawn several gorgeous arcs in the air and nailed themselves into the bullseye—three on the front, and four on the back! A closer look revealed that each of the seven shuriken, just like the first one, was embedded deep into the target's center. Some curious onlookers even tried to pull them out but found they couldn't budge them!
"You-you cheated!" Sasuke was dumbfounded!
"She cheated..." The spectating children were also stunned. Even the instructor was a little shaken. He had been teaching for over twenty years and had seen all kinds of geniuses, but this was the first time he had encountered a genius with such unconventional chakra control! The original Sakura's chakra control was already at a genius level, let alone this Sakura, who had enhanced spiritual power and had trained diligently!
Sakura let out a disdainful laugh. "Hmph, can you do it?"
You're so naive, kid! As long as the shuriken enters the enemy's body, it's a success. How it gets there... is that really important?
With the joyful mood of having crushed a defeated opponent, another day passed.
Evening, at the Uchiha residence.
A small figure was still practicing throwing ninja tools. The kunai and shuriken scattered all around, and the messy pattern of shuriken on the target, showed that the person practicing was missing by a wide margin!
"Sasuke! Are you practicing controlling shuriken with chakra?" A figure in black walked slowly closer. Seeing the mess of tools on the ground and the practicing figure, he immediately understood the situation.
"Yes, Onii-san! huff, huff—I wanted to see if it was possible, without using my hands, just with chakra," Sasuke said weakly, his head bowed and panting. He was covered in sweat and seemed exhausted. Clearly, his training had made no substantial progress.
Itachi walked over and ruffled Sasuke's hair. His bright eyes scanned Sasuke for just a moment to draw a conclusion.
"It won't work like this. You need a medium, a conduit to connect your chakra and the shuriken. Your affinities are Fire and Lightning, neither of which is suitable for creating a physical medium. And even with a medium, the control required to do this is extremely high; it would take a long time to master. So, it's not very meaningful. Stop practicing this! How about I teach you a new move? By the way, what made you suddenly want to practice this?" Itachi, the bro-con, asked with a hint of suspicion. Was someone deliberately misleading Sasuke's training?
"A classmate in my class used this move during ninja tool practice this afternoon. She shot seven shuriken into the front and back of the target at once," Sasuke answered honestly.
"Is that so!" Itachi pondered for a moment. He had indeed been overthinking it. But, to be able to do that at this age? It seemed that even he couldn't have done that when he was six. To think there was such a genius in Sasuke's class!
"Your classmate is pretty amazing! What's his name?"
"Uh... Her name is Haruno Sakura. She's a girl."
She's not a child from one of the village's prominent clans, and she's a girl?
Itachi was slightly stunned.