"Amazing… that was incredible…"
Watching Kazama Shin's performance, someone stood there with their mouth wide open, taking a long time before finally managing to say those words.
Iruka was equally shocked. Shin's kunai throws had truly been eye-opening—he had never seen such exquisite technique before.
"Wow, Shin, that was awesome!" Ino Yamanaka shouted loudly.
"That was way better than what Sasuke did…"
"They're not even on the same level, okay?"
Some students began comparing Sasuke Uchiha's performance with Shin's, shaking their heads as they spoke.
"Shh!!!"
At that moment, someone quickly gestured for silence, their eyes darting toward Sasuke.
Sasuke's face looked terrible. His fists were clenched tightly, teeth grinding in frustration.
…
Shin didn't even bother checking whether his kunai had hit. The moment he released them, he casually turned and walked back to his spot.
"Kazama Shin… full marks!"
After a long pause, Iruka finally announced the result.
He gave Shin the same score as Sasuke.
There was no helping it—the highest score was full marks.
Since he had already awarded Sasuke full marks, Shin could only be ranked alongside him.
…
"Man, that was amazing, Shin!"
After school, Naruto Uzumaki unusually followed Shin around, praising him nonstop.
"What do you want?" Shin asked, glancing at Naruto's uncharacteristic behavior.
"Hehe…" Naruto scratched his head awkwardly before blurting out, "Can you teach me…?"
"Teach you what?"
"That kunai throwing technique you used!"
Shin looked at him for a moment.
"You want to learn?"
Naruto nodded eagerly, staring at him with shining eyes.
"Sure."
Shin was slightly puzzled by Naruto's sudden enthusiasm for training, but he agreed anyway.
Teaching was one thing—whether Naruto could actually learn it was another.
"Awesome!"
Naruto jumped three feet into the air, shouting excitedly.
"Haha! Once I learn it, that smug Sasuke won't be so arrogant anymore…"
He began fantasizing out loud, practically drooling.
"And when I beat Sasuke, Sakura will definitely look at me differently!"
…
For some reason, just like in the original story, Naruto had developed a crush on Sakura Haruno at first sight.
Unfortunately, Sakura was just as infatuated with Sasuke as ever.
At the beginning, she had wavered between Sasuke and Shin—after all, both were handsome.
But later, she realized Shin treated everyone politely and showed no special interest in her. Naturally, she shifted all her attention to Sasuke.
"Trying to beat Sasuke, huh? That'll take some effort…"
Thinking about Naruto and Sasuke's long entanglement—from the beginning all the way to the end—Shin couldn't help but click his tongue.
…
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha clan compound—
"Big brother… teach me that kunai throwing technique!"
As soon as Sasuke got home and saw Itachi, he immediately spoke up.
"Oh? Why the sudden interest?" Itachi asked with a smile, though his brows had been slightly furrowed earlier, as if preoccupied.
"Just… don't ask…" Sasuke said awkwardly, tugging at him. "Please?"
"Alright, but…" Itachi gently tapped Sasuke's forehead and smiled. "To fully master that technique, you'll need to awaken the Sharingan."
The Sharingan—the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai—possessed incredible visual prowess and was known as one of the Three Great Dojutsu alongside the Rinnegan and Byakugan.
"I… need to awaken it?" Sasuke froze.
Among the Uchiha clan, only a small number of members ever awakened the Sharingan. Its difficulty was obvious.
"Without the Sharingan's sharp perception, attempting that technique could easily injure yourself," Itachi explained.
"Then… without the Sharingan… can anyone reach your level?" Sasuke asked carefully, a hint of tension in his voice.
"Maybe," Itachi replied. "The ninja world is vast. There are always geniuses who can do the impossible."
He could tell Sasuke had something on his mind, but since his younger brother didn't say anything, he didn't press further.
He would find out eventually.
…
In the days that followed, Shin continued his training as usual.
Each day was fulfilling.
As for Naruto's attempt to learn kunai throwing—
After just a day or two, he gave up completely.
"This is NOT something a normal human can learn!!!"
Leaving behind a dramatic complaint, he returned to his usual carefree lifestyle.
Shin didn't mind and continued his own training.
He could feel it—every day, his strength deepened bit by bit. That alone was enough to satisfy him.
…
"Ah, you're training here again."
Shin turned to see Shisui Uchiha once more in the depths of the forest.
Recently, Shisui had been appearing here more frequently.
Naturally, their chances of running into each other had increased as well.
It happened once or twice every now and then.
"Mm." Shin slowly lowered his hands from a string of hand seals and nodded slightly.
"Aren't you supposed to be meeting someone?" he asked, noticing that Shisui hadn't left this time.
Shisui paused.
For a brief moment—
The atmosphere shifted subtly.