Another half-blazing shuriken buried itself into the wooden target board.
A thin wisp of smoke curled upward from the exact center of the red bullseye.
Uchiha Fugaku's pupils contracted.
"T–This is the B-rank Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Claw?! How are you using it without hand seals?!"
He had never seen such a thing.
A teenager—using half-formed B-rank katon with zero seals…
Yet this same prodigy had remained a genin for six straight years?
Kaito flicked his wrist, guiding his chakra with precision.
Half the blade glowed with contained heat, while the other half remained cool enough to grip.
"I don't know what technique you're talking about," he said calmly.
By channeling chakra into only one side of the shuriken, he boosted rotational force while protecting his hand.
A refined, engine-like propulsion effect.
Another perfect ten.
"Impossible… is he cheating?"
The Uchiha recorder stared at the result.
But cheating was impossible—Sharingan eyes were watching from every angle.
Fugaku's expression grew increasingly disturbed.
"With talent like this… how does the village allow you to remain a genin? I cannot understand."
Kaito wiped sweat from his forehead.
To maintain this technique, he had to concentrate intensely.
"I've never learned any C-rank ninjutsu. A chūnin who doesn't know a single C-rank jutsu… would be laughable, right?"
"What?!"
Fugaku was stunned.
Mikoto was younger and already knew two C-rank fire jutsu, several genjutsu, and all the basics.
But this guy—this monster—who could improvise a B-rank application method… didn't know even the lowest-tier real ninjutsu?
Unbelievable.
After ten throws, Kaito's arms trembled slightly.
Two shuriken drifted outward, landing on the eighth ring, but the remaining eight punched directly into the cluster of bullseyes.
The recorder swallowed hard, unable to decide whether to announce the results.
Fugaku exhaled deeply.
"Enough. I concede. The Uchiha clan doesn't fear losing."
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun to life—perfectly copying the technique Kaito had honed over six years.
With some practice, Fugaku could imitate it.
He stepped closer.
"This combined chakra-control technique for shuriken… what do you call it?"
Kaito breathed out and wiped his forehead again.
"…Dynamic Shuriken."
"A fitting name. Treating fire chakra like an engine to propel the blade—brilliant."
Fugaku laughed loudly, truly impressed.
He wasn't delusional.
He knew talent when he saw it.
Even if Kaito lacked breadth, his control exceeded many chūnin.
"You know," Fugaku mused, "you were the dead-last of your class. Only passed the E-rank basics after retesting twice."
"That was me," Kaito said simply.
When he first transmigrated, he froze up during the exam—then botched his first attempt at Transformation Jutsu.
From that moment on, he was branded the class dunce.
Fugaku dispersed the gathered clansmen with a wave.
But not all Uchiha were so magnanimous.
"A mere genin, inventing a little trick, and he thinks he's special."
"Right? That shuriken technique takes forever to prepare. Anyone could dodge with a simple Substitution."
"Sharingan already recorded it. Any of us can learn it in a week. A civilian will always be a civilian."
Even though Kaito walked away beside Fugaku, he understood perfectly what was being said.
A genin's life was brutal.
His past flashed in his mind—
After graduation, he had no stipend, no housing.
Rent for a 30 m² apartment cost 10,000 ryō a month.
D-rank missions were impossible without skill.
Teams didn't want a deadweight genin who knew no ninjutsu.
He had nearly turned to theft.
Instead, he took part-time jobs: waiter, dishwasher—ten hours a day, thirty days a month.
Earning 10,000 ryō if he pushed himself to the limit.
He later found a warehouse corner to rent for 2,000 ryō monthly and lived there a year.
Only after mastering D-rank missions did he quit and become a "mission machine."
If chūnin exams required a fee like in some countries, he'd probably still be delaying them.
A genin's life was hell.
No power, no team, no stability—just poverty and danger.
Someone like Might Duy trained all day and had no time to earn money.
Marrying and having a child meant instant debt and financial collapse.
Kaito sometimes wondered if Duy's wife lacked proper nutrition after childbirth… leading to her early death.
At the Clan's Inner Residence
"Here we are," Fugaku said.
"This is as far as I can escort you. The rest is between you and Elder Kenshi."
The gate to the elegant courtyard stood wide open.
Kaito nodded. "Thank you, Fugaku-san."
"No need to be formal."
Fugaku clapped his shoulder.
"You're not simple. Anyone who can create a seal-less technique like that isn't weak.
Maybe… you're hiding something."
Knew it, Kaito thought.
"And in wartime… a little caution isn't a bad thing," Fugaku added quietly.
Before he could say more—
A roar erupted from inside the courtyard:
"If you dare go with that brat, don't bother coming back!"
"Hmph! I'm grown up now! I can make my own decisions!"
A dark-haired girl stepped out—Mikoto—walking up the wall using chakra, face full of anger.
Fugaku blinked.
"…Uchiha Mikoto?"
Kaito nodded to him and turned toward the old man behind her—Uchiha Kenshi, a weathered elder with sunken cheeks and deep lines beneath his eyes.
"Elder Kenshi," Kaito said evenly.
"I understand your concerns. But this is a direct order from the Hokage.
If you disagree, you can discuss it with him—
—but stopping Mikoto by force isn't a solution."
Elder Kenshi's veins throbbed on his forehead.
"I FOUGHT BESIDE THE FIRST HOKAGE! I BLED IN BATTLE AGAINST THE SENJU! And now you tell me to be patient?!"
He jabbed a finger toward Kaito.
"What jōnin team has EVER been led by a genin?! Tell me! Was your instructor a genin?!"
Kaito's expression turned cold.
"A genin… understands the hardship of genin better than anyone.
I'm only following orders."
He turned.
"Squad Eleven—move out.
We're heading to the Hokage Building."
"Yes, sir!!!" ×3
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