The pupils of the two genin shrank instantly.
"So fast! Where did he go?!"
"Right here, idiot."
A cold voice exploded beside one of their ears.
Boom!
A dull impact rang out.
The genin felt as if his stomach had been smashed by a sledgehammer. His organs seemed to shift inside his body. He curled into a C-shape like a cooked shrimp, foam spilling from his mouth as he collapsed to his knees.
The other genin was horrified. Acting on instinct, he thrust his kunai toward his side.
Slash!
Blood splattered.
Behind them, Ino and Hinata witnessed the scene and gasped in shock.
"Akira!!"
But in the next second—
The "Akira" that had been stabbed didn't fall.
Instead—
Poof!
He turned into a cloud of white smoke and vanished.
"What?! A Shadow Clone?!"
The genin's face drained of color.
That was a B-rank jutsu! How could a mere academy student possibly know it?!
Before he could even react, a fierce gust of wind swept toward the back of his head.
"It's over."
BOOM!
A heavy punch slammed into his back.
The genin screamed as his body shot forward like a cannonball, crashing violently into a tree so wide it would take two people to hug it.
Leaves rained down from the impact.
He slid down the trunk like a sack of mud, twitched twice, and then lay completely still.
From the moment the fight began to the moment it ended—
Only a few seconds had passed.
Two legitimate genin had been instantly defeated.
The forest fell into dead silence.
Ino rubbed her eyes hard and pinched her own arm.
"Ow… that hurt! So I'm not dreaming?"
"H-Hinata… tell me what just happened…"
"Akira just… defeated two real ninjas instantly? Like they were little kids?!"
"Has the world gone crazy? Hahaha…"
Her worldview felt completely shattered.
Meanwhile, Hinata—looking through the vision of her Byakugan—saw something even more terrifying.
Her hand covered her mouth as shock filled her eyes.
"T-this amount of chakra…"
In her vision, the chakra inside Akira's body burned like a blazing blue flame.
The sheer scale of it rivaled the jōnin elders in her clan.
Just a few days ago, his chakra had been around chūnin level.
How had he suddenly become such a monster?
"Akira-kun… how much have you been hiding?"
Akira clapped the dust off his hands and looked down at the two unconscious genin like discarded trash.
His tone was calm.
"So this is the strength of genin?"
"What a disappointment."
"Or maybe you two are just especially useless."
The two injured genin trembled violently on the ground, terror filling their eyes.
To them, this six-year-old child looked like a tailed beast wearing human skin.
Akira crouched down and stared at them coldly.
"I'll say this once."
"If you ever appear in front of me again—or bother anyone around me—"
"I'll break all four of your limbs and dump you at the entrance of the Hokage Office."
"Understand?"
The two men nodded frantically, like chickens pecking rice. They didn't dare say a single word in protest.
This wasn't a kid.
This was a living demon.
After dealing with the trash, Akira turned toward the two girls who were still frozen in place.
Hinata stared at him blankly, her Byakugan still active because she had forgotten to turn it off.
Ino suddenly screamed and ran over, circling him several times like she was inspecting an alien.
"Oh my god! You're insane!"
"You beat real ninjas without them even fighting back! And you've been pretending to be weak the whole time?!"
"Are you even human, Akira?!"
Akira calmly pushed her face away.
"Basic stuff. Don't make a big deal out of it."
Then he looked at Hinata, who was still stunned, and pointed at her eyes.
"Hinata, turn off your Byakugan."
"And what you saw today—keep it to yourself."
Hinata snapped back to reality.
Her face flushed red as she quickly deactivated the Byakugan and nodded firmly.
"Yes! I swear I won't tell anyone!"
Akira smiled in satisfaction and waved his hand.
"Alright. Go home."
Then, before the girls could respond, his body flickered.
He disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Leaving the two girls standing there in complete confusion.
After a long moment, Ino swallowed and turned to Hinata, her expression complicated.
"Hinata… you saw it too, right? Those were real ninjas with forehead protectors…"
"And there's actually a monster like that hiding in our class…"
Hinata looked toward the direction where Akira had vanished, a strange light shining in her eyes.
"Yes…"
"Akira-kun is really strong."
---
After returning home, Akira didn't give the incident much thought.
To him, defeating two mediocre genin was no different from swatting flies.
His mind was completely focused on the ninjutsu scrolls Kakashi had given him.
After all, the road to becoming stronger had only just begun.
Compared to the so-called "basic knowledge" scrolls in the academy library, the material in Kakashi's scrolls was priceless.
Recently, Kakashi had practically vanished like a ghost.
For over a month he had been out on secret missions, without showing his face once.
Because of that, Akira had enjoyed a full month of peaceful days.
During this time, his routine was as precise as clockwork—studying scrolls, going to school, and coming home.
Ino and Hinata had become his constant shadows.
They walked home together every day without fail, and even arranged to go to school together in the morning.
This caused people like Shikamaru and the others—who knew nothing about the truth—to start looking at Akira with increasingly strange expressions.
But Akira couldn't be bothered explaining anything.
And surprisingly, Ino kept her mouth shut.
Not a single word about Akira's true strength leaked out.
Finally, today a messenger pigeon brought news from Kakashi.
The busy jōnin was finally returning.
The message's meaning was clear:
Don't leave after school. Meet at the old spot behind the mountain.
After reading the coded message, Akira smiled faintly.
"Looks like it was an S-rank mission this time if it kept him busy for more than a month."
"I wonder what kind of secret jutsu the famous 'Copy Ninja' plans to teach me next."
He flicked his finger, creating a small flame that burned the letter to ash.
"Whatever. Time to head to school."
He slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the house.
Halfway down the road, a hand suddenly reached toward his shoulder from behind.
Without even turning around, Akira kept walking.
"Save it. My sensory range is much bigger than you think."
Ino jumped in front of him like a lively butterfly, her fashionable shoulder bag bouncing.
"Hehe, I knew I couldn't scare you. I've been standing here like a statue waiting for you for over ten minutes."
She even scrunched up her nose dramatically, pretending to look pitiful.
Akira glanced at her sideways.
"You? Feeling wronged? That would be a rare event in the ninja world."
Ino puffed her cheeks like an angry pufferfish.
"What kind of comment is that?! I'm a delicate girl, you know!"
Akira chuckled and ignored her performance, continuing forward.
Ino immediately broke character and skipped after him.
"Hey, today's ninja tool throwing test. Have you practiced?"
Then she slapped her forehead.
"Oh right, I forgot. You still have to keep acting weak. You can't show your real skills."
"What a waste."
"If you went all out, the girls in our class would go crazy for you. Even Sasuke would have to step aside."
By now, Ino's obsession with Sasuke had already cooled.
Instead, her interest in the mysterious boy beside her was steadily rising.
At least Akira felt like a real person—warm and human.
Unlike Sasuke, who always radiated an icy aura that pushed people away.
Back then, she chased Sasuke mostly just to compete with Sakura.
Now she had realized something.
There was absolutely no need to hang herself on the same tree forever.
Along the way, Ino basically performed a one-woman comedy show, while Akira maintained his usual cool silence.
Halfway there, they "ran into" Hinata again.
So the group turned into a strange formation:
Ino handled the nonstop talking, while Akira and Hinata acted as the quiet audience.
When they entered the classroom, the three of them naturally took seats in the back row.
But the atmosphere felt a little strange today.
Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba Inuzuka kept glancing in their direction with odd expressions.
Hinata, who was extremely sensitive to such things, felt uncomfortable the moment she sat down.
She lowered her head and whispered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito:
"Akira-kun… why are Shikamaru and the others staring at us?"
Without even lifting his eyelids, Akira calmly flipped through the book in his hand.
"Who knows? Probably because Ino's too loud today."
Ino, who had been chattering beside them, instantly reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
She whipped her head toward Shikamaru's table.
Their gazes collided in midair.
"What are you looking at? Never seen a beautiful girl before?"
Ino waved her delicate little fist in mock threat.
The three boys immediately turned around in perfect unison.
Their movements were so smooth it was almost tragic.
After all, Ino really would punch people, and she wasn't known for holding back.
Akira shook his head helplessly.
Meanwhile Hinata's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Ino… you're so impressive."
Ino proudly lifted her chin.
"Of course. Those boys just need someone to keep them in line."
Before long, Iruka Umino walked in with the attendance sheet, his expression serious.
"I already informed you yesterday. Today we're conducting the ninja tool throwing exam. This is a major part of your final grade, so get serious."
Groans instantly filled the room.
Any student who still had to take exams—unless they were a complete academic monster—would instinctively hate hearing the word "test."
Iruka glared at the loudest complainers.
"Quiet! Everyone head to the training ground now. I don't care how you usually perform—today I want your best effort!"
Naruto clutched his head, his face scrunched like a bitter melon.
"Huh?! Why couldn't it be another subject? Throwing techniques are my worst!"
From the back row, Kiba immediately activated mockery mode.
"Like you'd pass if it were anything else."
At this stage, Naruto's only decent subject was taijutsu.
Everything else was… painful to watch.
Kiba's blunt honesty struck directly at Naruto's pride.
Naruto shot to his feet and shouted stubbornly,
"Besides throwing techniques, I've got tons of awesome ninjutsu!"
Kiba leaned closer with a mischievous grin.
"Like what?"
Naruto stammered for a long time, his face turning bright red.
Other than basic taijutsu, he really was the king of failing grades.
"Hahaha! Can't think of anything, can you?" Kiba laughed.
Naruto slammed his desk angrily.
"Kiba! Let's fight!"
Just as Kiba was about to accept, Iruka roared from the front.
"Do you two want to go home with zero points?! Get to the training field!"
The threat of a zero was powerful.
Both boys instantly deflated like wilted vegetables and ran toward the training ground.
---
Under the bright sunlight of the training field, Akira stood quietly in line among the students.
His expression remained calm and carefree.
Hinata and Ino stood like bodyguards—one in front and one behind him.
Ino's mouth kept running like a farm filled with five hundred ducks.
"Akira, what score are you planning to control this time?"
"You got eight points last time. Maybe raise it a little—get a nine?"
"Four bullseyes and then one miss is way too fake."
Akira chose to ignore the signal completely.
Of course, he didn't chase her away either.
Behind him, Hinata stood with her head lowered.
Because the line was crowded, she was almost pressed against his back.
Her face was so red that it looked like steam might rise from her head.
Seeing Akira pretend to be deaf, Ino poked him again.
"Come on, tell me."
Akira finally sighed.
"Why don't you worry about your own grades first? Yours are near the bottom of the class."
"You're the daughter of the Yamanaka clan. Aren't you worried your dad will beat you for those scores?"
He thought mentioning her family might make her quiet down.
Instead, she proudly puffed out her chest.
"Don't worry. My dad's pretty relaxed. As long as I learn our clan's secret techniques, he doesn't care about school subjects."
"Everything else is meaningless to him."
Seeing her shameless pride, Akira gave up.
"You've got pretty thick skin. Aren't you afraid people will say the heir of a famous clan is a total underachiever?"
Then again, famous clans producing dead-last students wasn't anything new.
Even Obito used to be the king of underachievers.
But people from powerful clans had bloodline advantages ordinary people could never match.
Once they awakened their potential, their strength would skyrocket.
Thinking about it that way, Akira shrugged.
"Alright then. Looks like you're planning to slack off forever."
Ino grinned.
"Exactly. What the academy teaches is just beginner stuff anyway. The real techniques are learned at home."
Akira added with a dry smile:
"The problem is, you've barely learned even the basics."
Ino snorted.
"That's because I don't want to learn. If I tried seriously, first place would be easy."
For that level of blind confidence, Akira chose to remain silent.
Behind them, Hinata listened quietly in shock.
Even if Ino worked hard, taking first place wouldn't be easy.
Besides Sasuke, there were strong students like Kiba and Shino Aburame.
Even Hinata herself wasn't weak.
Akira chuckled softly.
"Do you break out in hives if you go a day without bragging?"
Ino didn't quite understand the phrase, but her instincts told her it wasn't flattering.
"Akira! Don't look down on me!"
Akira simply chuckled again, not even giving her a glance.
Ino puffed her cheeks angrily like a freshly steamed bun.
Honestly, it was pretty cute.
Unfortunately, Akira was completely blind to it.
"Hmph! Just wait! I'll show you my real skills when it's my turn!"
In the distance, Shikamaru and Choji watched them closely.
They couldn't hear the conversation because of the distance, but the strange atmosphere was obvious.
The line moved quickly.
Soon it was Ino's turn.
Determined to prove herself in front of Akira, she held nothing back.
Her expression sharpened instantly.
With a flick of her wrist, five shuriken shot forward.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
All five landed perfectly in the center of the target.
Iruka's eyes nearly popped out.
"Ino… what kind of miracle medicine did you take? Your improvement is unbelievable!"
Ino dusted off her hands proudly.
As she stepped down, she deliberately waved her fist at Akira in challenge.
Akira remained completely expressionless.
The entire class was stunned.
The usually carefree Ino had just scored a perfect score.
Then it was Akira's turn.
He quickly reviewed in his mind why his previous performance had nearly exposed him.
This time, he decided to make the act even more convincing.
He took out five kunai and threw them with what looked like intense concentration.
Each kunai landed on the target.
But none hit the bullseye.
Iruka frowned slightly.
"Why does it feel like Akira's performance has gotten worse?"
Still, he recorded the score honestly.
"7.5 points."
Iruka spoke earnestly.
"Akira, you need to work harder next time. That's even worse than your last score."
Akira nodded obediently like a well-behaved student.
As he walked back down, a few scattered laughs came from the crowd.
Kids didn't even know why they were laughing.
Seeing someone get criticized by the teacher was enough.
Ino had been planning to show off in front of Akira.
But the moment she heard people laughing at him, her temper exploded.
"What are you laughing at?! Your teeth that white?!"
"Believe it or not, I'll punch every single one of you into pig heads!"
She waved her fists fiercely.
Combined with the momentum of her perfect score, her shout immediately silenced the crowd.
The students who had been laughing quickly covered their mouths.
Everyone knew Ino was willing to throw punches.
And most of them probably couldn't beat her.
Akira looked at the furious Ino and sighed helplessly.
"Relax. People can laugh if they want."
"They've got mouths, after all."
They were just a bunch of immature kids.
Arguing with them would be beneath him.
Besides, getting mocked was part of the plan.
If no one laughed, it would mean the act had failed.
Ino still looked indignant.
"But they were laughing at you. I don't like it."
Akira patted her shoulder.
"Alright, alright. Don't get angry."
"A few laughs won't make me lose a piece of flesh."