The forest behind the Ninja School in Konoha.
Shuriken and Kunai flew at Hakushi from all directions.
Hakushi faced this terrifying scene calmly, holding a Kunai in one hand, twisting his body, as both hands' Kunai sliced quickly through the air.
The sound of clanging echoed nonstop, sparks flew from metal colliding, and every incoming Kunai and Shuriken was knocked down by Hakushi, scattering at his feet.
Hakushi let out a slight breath, looking at the densely scattered Kunai and Shuriken around him, his expression still calm, as if achieving this was nothing out of the ordinary.
But in reality, to deflect such a large number of Kunai and Shuriken without a scratch, even graduated Genin would find it difficult to pull off.
Hakushi managed this not just because he worked hard, but also because he possessed exceptionally good athletic skills and dynamic vision beyond ordinary people.
This was Hakushi's innate, powerful talent.
And Hakushi also trained his athletic nerves and dynamic vision through scientific methods from his previous life, further optimizing them.
So, after just two months of systematic learning, he could do this—Hakushi was not surprised at all.
In his past life as a senior doctor, he knew the human body inside and out, and deeply understood how athletic nerves and dynamic vision were crucial talents for a Ninja.
Having strong dynamic vision let him better track enemy movement and attack paths.
Exceptional athletic skills allowed him to react quickly in battle, maintaining an advantage.
Therefore, even with already outstanding athletic skills and dynamic vision, Hakushi still developed a personalized training plan tailored to his own body, pushing his limits to get even better.
Hakushi knew his greatest advantage wasn't just his innate athletic skills and dynamic vision, but the enormous knowledge from another world inside his mind.
That's truly the foundation of his strength.
The power of knowledge is limitless.
Knowledge heals ignorance of the mind, strengthens your resolve, and keeps you from being controlled by foolishness.
Knowledge heals the weakness of the body, teaching you how to grow strong faster and more efficiently.
Gathering every Kunai and Shuriken scattered on the ground—even though these Ninja Tools were damaged—Hakushi wasn't exactly flush with cash, so even a piece of scrap iron needed to be wrung for every bit of value, nothing wasted.
After all, he was still growing, and couldn't afford to cut corners on food, so his nutrition had to be secured.
After packing away the Ninja Tools, Hakushi didn't leave, but wrapped white bandages around his fists and legs, then practiced Taijutsu against the hard wooden stakes.
It was already night, the forest behind the Ninja School was quiet, only Hakushi's light breathing and the sound of his body striking the wooden stakes echoed, time passed slowly...
◎
The next morning.
"Morning, Ayane."
After two months together, Hakushi and his desk mate Hyuga Ayane were very familiar with each other, so his greeting was casual.
"Good morning, Hakushi-kun."
Compared to Hakushi's casualness, Ayane, as a member of the Hyuga Clan, maintained all sorts of complex family etiquette.
Over the past days, Hakushi learned Ayane was from the branch family of Konoha's prestigious Hyuga Clan, and that the clouded eyes were the clan's trademark feature.
The clan's Ninja use a Kekkeigenkai Pupil Technique called Byakugan, paired with the family's Gentle Fist, and are famed throughout the Ninja Realm.
"Right—morning, Ruri."
Taking his seat, Hakushi smiled to greet the girl on the other side.
Uchiha Ruri only gave Hakushi a cold glance, saying nothing, as if appreciating her own uniqueness, watching the field outside the window as usual.
"By the way, did you hear, Hakushi-kun?"
"Hear what?"
Ayane spoke up, and Hakushi turned to look at her in confusion.
"Apparently today we'll be having a practical lesson."
"A practical lesson?"
"Mm, it's a kind of hands-on class, but not shuriken throwing. It's paired sparring in groups of two."
Ayane's voice was gentle.
"Ah, sounds a little tough for me. But it shouldn't be much of a problem for you, Ayane."
Out of the three in Hakushi's row, Hakushi's grades were the most average and unremarkable. Only his theory tests were outstanding, while both shuriken throwing and the physical tests were mediocre.
Not a bad student, not an honors student either.
Of course, this was by Hakushi's design.
By contrast, the aloof Uchiha Ruri, who rarely spoke more than three sentences a day, steadily held the position of top student—first in both theoretical and practical classes.
Ayane was slightly behind, but still ranked in the top five of the class.
Like Ayane, Ruri came from Konoha's prestigious Uchiha Clan.
She possessed a Kekkeigenkai Pupil Technique called Sharingan.
But activating the Sharingan is less likely than the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, though it's more powerful.
Not only that, Uchiha Clan Ninja are experts in shuriken and Fire Style.
Hakushi had gradually learned these things.
He couldn't help but sigh—born into a great family, the starting line was just different from that of a commoner.
"Let's do our best together, Hakushi-kun."
Ayane encouraged Hakushi.
"Yeah, and if we get paired up, Ayane, please go easy on me."
Hakushi didn't want to reveal his real abilities, so he'd always intentionally scored average in the tests.
Being not too good or too bad was just right for Hakushi.
So, if Ayane were his opponent, Hakushi had already planned to grit his teeth for a bit before losing—this was the best choice.
I'm just a normal person, I can't have too outstanding a result.
Of course, if I went all out against Ayane, there's a good chance I'd still lose.
After all, she's from the prestigious Hyuga Clan, and surely gets extra tutoring from her elders.
There's a huge gap between commoners and clan Ninja, after all.
I just need to maintain an average standard for a commoner.
That's the plan, but things never turn out as expected.
On the first practical lesson—
Just as Ayane said, homeroom teacher Fujimura Daiga organized the first practical test for Grade 1A, with paired duels. He stood outside the circle holding a notebook, as if ready to take notes.
And Hakushi wasn't grouped with Ayane, but with the other desk mate, Ruri.
The genius girl from Konoha's prestigious Uchiha Clan—the clan that rivals the Hyuga.
For the practical class, they used wooden shuriken, with the sharp edges rounded off, so even if you got hit, it would just sting and not be dangerous.
"This is so boring, using these toys for practice."
The Uchiha girl standing beside Hakushi swept the field with arrogant eyes, watching two boys sparring, a clear look of disdain on her face.
"Uh, Ruri, maybe don't say that? We're only first-years after all."
Hakushi hesitated for a moment, quietly reminding Ruri not to annoy everyone.
For most students, starting out with proper shuriken and kunai would lead to bloody accidents.
"Instead of worrying about others, you'd better worry about yourself. I won't be holding back when we're up."
Hakushi gave her an awkward smile, and stopped talking.
Time flew by, and soon it was Hakushi's group's turn.