Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Shuriken
Chapter 9: Shuriken
Not long after, a few more kids came in, and finally their teacher arrived.
"Ahem, quiet down!" A strong, sturdy figure walked up to the platform. "I am your teacher, Giant Stone. In the next few years, barring any accidents, we will be together."
"So it's essential for us to get along during this time," Giant Stone continued. "The fact that you all made it into Class One indicates your potential."
"Many of you might not know, but Class One has privileges that other classes do not, such as priority access to training grounds and monthly lectures from upper-ninjas." Giant Stone paused. "More importantly, all members of Class One have the qualification to graduate early."
As he observed the amazed expressions on everyone's faces, Giant Stone smiled contentedly. "However, this qualification needs to be recognized by us, the teachers, meaning only those who earn our approval can graduate early."
"All of you are talented individuals, so I want you to understand the importance of learning. No one is born a genius; only those who work hard to cultivate their talents become true geniuses."
"Lastly, I hope each of you can earn the title of ninja early! Let's coexist peacefully and achieve our respective goals." Giant Stone concluded.
This big guy is quite clever! Deidara thought to himself. After all, the most troublesome thing is undoubtedly the mischievous kids, especially those with strong backgrounds—ones that can't be scolded, beaten, or reasoned with—that would make every teacher's nightmare.
Giant Stone's method is clearly like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey, getting them to behave, and ultimately rewarding them with a sense of achievement and gratitude when they succeed.
He's a smart person. The saying "Don't judge a person by their appearance" really holds true.
"Alright, since we'll be classmates for the next few years, let's introduce ourselves!" Under Giant Stone's encouraging gaze, one child stood up: "Hello everyone! My name is Shou. You all heard the teacher, so let's take early graduation as our goal! I hope we can all work hard together!"
Then came the silence… Obviously, this child was driven by a moment of passion, without considering that anyone would echo him.
"Ha ha! This student named Shou has made an excellent point; everyone should learn from him!" Giant Stone immediately engaged the crowd. "He was brave enough to stand up first, so shouldn't we encourage a courageous person?"
Saying that, he took the lead in applauding.
With the teacher doing so, the others couldn't help but applaud too; who knew if this teacher would hold a grudge? It wouldn't be worth it.
Next came the introductions. "I'm Hikari, nice to meet you!" "I'm Daishi!" "I'm Ichiban." These three people caught Deidara's attention, but what caught his attention was their introductions. The rest seemed to be inspired by the teacher's speech, their enthusiasm boiling over like Shou. Deidara simply couldn't focus on them.
"I'm Deidara." "I'm Kurotsuchi." "I am, uh, Akatsuchi." "My name is Madzir!"
"Alright, since everyone has introduced themselves, let's start our first lesson!" Giant Stone nodded. He already knew the specific information about everyone in the class. In his view, the ones eligible for early graduation would only include Deidara, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, Madzir, Shou, Hikari, and Daishi; the others were still a little short.
The first lesson was about chakra refinement and application. After listening to Giant Stone's explanation of chakra refining techniques, Deidara knew they were just standard methods circulated in the village, lacking anything unique. So, when Giant Stone asked everyone to give it a try, he began practicing on his own.
Others, like Kurotsuchi, did the same.
Giant Stone shook his head slightly. This world is simply unfair. Those with good backgrounds or strong births always get ahead of others by leaps and bounds. In this world, failing to move forward means being surpassed by others.
By the afternoon, it was time for body technique and shuriken classes.
Deidara hadn't touched a shuriken before, but he often trained in body techniques. Giant Stone stood in front of a wooden post, explaining the essentials of throwing shuriken while demonstrating.
Whoosh! A shuriken precisely hit the red dot on top of the post.
"Okay, let's start practicing! I'll call names, and whoever I call will throw two shuriken!"
"Ichiban, your hands are a bit shaky, which caused your shuriken to fly off-target! You need to practice more!"
"Hey, that shot was decent! One off-target, one hit the wooden post. Not bad, Madzir!"
Shou, Hikari, and Daishi each hit the wooden post once while missing once.
"Deidara!" Giant Stone called out. Deidara promptly responded, taking two shuriken from Giant Stone. He didn't throw them right away but instead weighed them in his hands.
Then, whoosh! The first shuriken was thrown, grazing the edge of the wooden post, nearly missing! The surrounding kids exclaimed, "This guy is lucky!" "I bet he'll miss the next one!"
Kurotsuchi shot him a fierce glare, silencing the comments.
Deidara ignored them and continued to toy with the shuriken, slightly adjusting the force of his throw before launching the second one.
Bang! This one actually hit the edge of the center, clearly a near miss.
"My goodness, could this kid really be something? The second throw hit the near center!" The surrounding discussion buzzed again, though this time, Kurotsuchi felt pleased.
"Kurotsuchi!" Kurotsuchi took the shuriken and, after observing Deidara's actions, attempted to throw them out herself. While she did hit both shuriken toward the wooden post, they missed the center by a considerable distance.
"Hey! You guys can't even beat me, a girl!" Kurotsuchi shot back, eager to make them uncomfortable after they'd just aimed at Deidara.
Sure enough, the surrounding troublemakers didn't feel embarrassed but rather infuriated, glaring angrily at Kurotsuchi.
Deidara sighed. He knew Kurotsuchi was pretty amazing, but he also sensed she had a restless nature. In simpler terms, she liked to stir up trouble. But given her intelligence, she could easily handle it.
However, he couldn't just stand by and let them bully Kurotsuchi. After all, he considered himself her senior and had promised to protect her.
So, Deidara stepped forward, shielding Kurotsuchi behind him and said, "Did Kurotsuchi say something wrong? Your results are lower than a girl's, and not to mention mine!"
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