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As Iruka's words fell, the eyes of all twenty-something students fixed on Hinata. They were largely unfamiliar with this quiet, usually reserved top student. Hinata's extremely introverted personality meant she had few friends, only managing to exchange a few words with a handful of girls. And even that was just a few words; deeper friendships simply didn't exist. Therefore, many in the class felt Hinata was overly low-key. Yet, precisely because of her extreme low-key nature, when she did act two months ago, she caused a sensation that stunned countless people. Of course, what these people didn't know was that Hinata wasn't hiding any strength. Initially, she was truly very weak, arguably one of the dead-last students in the class, just a tad stronger than Naruto. However, due to Liu Chen's intervention, combined with Hinata's determination and perseverance, her strength had rapidly progressed over the past three months. But this was a secret known only to Hinata and Liu Chen. Everyone else assumed she had simply been too low-key all along.
"Is this our class's top student?! I was the third one Iruka Sensei knocked out, so I didn't see her battle with Iruka Sensei. I missed the most exciting fight..." A student murmured with a hint of admiration on his face, for Hinata's strength was worthy of his respect.
"I heard that Iruka Sensei was even knocked out that day!"
"I saw him faint with my own eyes..."
"Is she really that terrifying?!"
"You saw nothing! Weren't you knocked out too? And if it weren't for Hinata, we might all have to repeat third grade!"
"So we should thank her instead."
"Exactly."
"..." Listening to the little brats debating, Iruka's lips twitched slightly. He wanted to refute these kids, but he didn't know how. Because it was indeed true that he had been knocked out by Hinata. This was an undeniable fact. A fact he couldn't refute.
With a few dark lines on his forehead, Iruka held a kunai and handed it to Hinata, forcing a smile as he said, "Hinata-san, it's your turn. Don't feel any pressure, just perform as you normally would."
Hinata: "..." She really wanted to say that normally, she hadn't specifically practiced shuriken and kunai throwing techniques. But the words caught in her throat. She bit them back.
Taking the kunai Iruka Sensei handed her, Hinata's face grew slightly serious. Her sparkling Byakugan eyes held a hint of sharpness. Dozens of meters away from her lay a lush forest. Within it stood a very thick tree, with a circular target hanging on it. She just needed to throw the kunai onto the target.
Slowly exhaling, Hinata remembered what Liu Chen had just told her. She immediately concentrated and held her breath. Her fair, delicate right hand gripped the kunai's hilt tightly, even turning her fingertips slightly white from the excessive force. On her delicate little face, veins suddenly popped out, connecting to her eyes. She used the meager Chakra remaining in her body... to forcibly activate her Byakugan!
"Hah!!" Little Hinata let out a clear, proud shout. The kunai in her right hand, following the movement of her hand, instantly shot out. The kunai sliced through the air in an instant, whistling towards the target! The air ahead was completely torn apart by the kunai. Due to the immense force Hinata unleashed in that instant, a gust of wind coiled around the kunai, and the kunai carved a visible white streak in mid-air. Even though they were dozens of meters away, everyone could still clearly hear the sharp whistling sound of the kunai tearing through the air. The sound was incredibly piercing, like the cry of a vulture.
As expected by all, the kunai struck right in the center of the target, then pierced into the target, and then... under everyone's dumbfounded gaze, the kunai actually tore through the large tree behind the target. It drilled directly into the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying. A huge tree, easily a meter in diameter, was actually completely pierced through by the kunai! The kunai entered from one side of the tree and exited through the other, flying another 30-plus meters before embedding itself in another large tree behind it. The kunai once again disappeared inside, leaving only a small "tail" of less than a centimeter exposed.
Everyone fell silent. Not a single person spoke at that moment. Because they were too shocked to utter a word. They simply didn't know what to say. Even Iruka, their teacher, was dumbfounded, muttering in disbelief, "This is a tree a meter in diameter, and this type of tree can be used to make ninja tools. It was actually pierced right through by a kunai."
"Is it because her kunai was too sharp? No, that's impossible. All kunai are the same! And no matter how sharp, it couldn't be this exaggerated..." Iruka secretly swallowed. He was an adult himself. He was already in his late twenties, almost thirty. His age was roughly similar to Liu Chen's. Even he, an adult and a Chunin, could at most throw a kunai to penetrate the target and then embed it a dozen centimeters into the tree—that was probably his limit. Yet Hinata, this nine-year-old girl, threw an iron kunai that directly pierced the target, directly pierced the large tree. And even... embedded itself dozens of meters further, into another tree! This was no longer something that could be achieved with mere throwing technique, was it? What kind of monstrous strength was this?! Iruka had a nagging suspicion... if Hinata punched him, wouldn't he cough up blood? He glanced at the hole in the tree. He felt that this possibility was extremely high.