The next day.
Shuriken testing.
Naruto went up before Shinju.
Once he took the field, he passed every part of the training — even surpassing Iruka-sensei's expectations!
That left Iruka slightly stunned.
After all, Naruto was a bona fide dead last!
Ever since Shinju was discovered to be a genius two days ago, was Naruto about to stage his own comeback too?!
"Iruka-sensei, does this mean I pass?"
After finishing a round of kunai throws, Naruto asked excitedly.
Iruka's eyes softened in approval, and he nodded with satisfaction.
"Looks like you've been putting in a lot of work lately, Naruto. Your kunai accuracy's really improved. Keep it up."
"Yes!"
Naruto pumped his fist happily.
"It's all thanks to Shinju giving me special training last night. Too bad I couldn't master the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, or you'd definitely see me in a whole new light, Iruka-sensei…"
Iruka's mouth twitched, as if he'd just heard something unbelievable.
"W–What?"
"I said Shinju gave me special training last night…"
Naruto blinked innocently.
Iruka: "Not that part — the next one."
"Shinju… taught me to practice the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique?" Naruto guessed.
Iruka's pupils contracted. Naruto's face didn't look like he was lying!
So that meant…
Shinju had mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique?!
(꒪⌓꒪)
An A-rank ninjutsu created by the Third Hokage himself!
Iruka's composure wavered as he called Shinju over.
"Uh… Shinju, is what Naruto said true?"
Shinju walked over honestly and answered as if it were obvious:
"Yeah. After I went home yesterday, I kept practicing with shuriken, and then I suddenly wondered if I could combine Shadow Clones with shuriken… So I tried it, and it worked."
Then, with a hopeful look, Shinju asked,
"Didn't you say that learning ninjutsu requires both insight and adaptability, Iruka-sensei? This should count as having the courage to experiment, right?"
He thought Iruka would at least be more pleased with him for figuring out the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
In truth — pleased didn't even begin to cover it!
Hearing Shinju calmly say he'd grasped an A-rank ninjutsu sent shockwaves through Iruka's mind!
Even if, as the Third had said, this was the result of Shinju's five years of patient buildup…
This kid was still totally broken!
He'd actually deduced an A-rank jutsu on his own!
That wasn't something you could pull off just by spending time on it.
You needed ridiculous talent and a deep understanding of ninjutsu!
"Ahem… Shinju, why don't you show me?" Iruka said.
Shinju's face lit up. Looked like he'd really done something right this time.
"Sure."
He stepped onto the training field.
Dozens of meters away, several wooden training dummies stood in place.
The students whispered among themselves.
"Hey, you think Shinju really mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique?"
Akimichi Chōji asked as he munched on potato chips, turning to Shikamaru beside him.
"Not likely," Shikamaru replied. "Even though Shinju managed to learn multi-element clones yesterday, the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique seems harder. Just sounds like a real drag."
"I see."
Chōji tossed another handful of chips into his mouth.
Not far from them, the usually aloof Sasuke was watching Shinju closely.
With Shinju's standout performance over the last two days, he couldn't ignore this new prodigy anymore.
He silently compared himself to him.
Even though Shinju had shown overwhelming skill yesterday with both Multi Shadow Clones and multi-element clones, Sasuke wasn't about to give up so easily.
"Shinju… Let's see what other surprises you've got for me," he murmured.
"Sasuke~"
Sakura, standing beside him, called sweetly when she saw his serious expression.
"That guy's definitely bluffing. You think the Multi Shadow Clone Technique grows on trees? It's not that easy to learn."
"I don't believe it either."
"Shh."
Halfway through her sentence, Sasuke motioned for her to be quiet.
Because Shinju had moved.
Between his fingers, both hands bristled with shuriken. With a sharp swish!!, he flung all of them at once!
The shuriken shot forward at incredible speed, slicing toward the training dummies.
In the brief moment his hands were empty, Shinju quickly formed seals.
As he signed, he chanted under his breath, his hands moving so fast they blurred into afterimages!
The next moment—
Seals complete!
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Swishswishswishswishswishswish—!
The ten shuriken in midair instantly split into thousands upon thousands!
A black rain of steel!
A storm of shuriken!
Thunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunk—!
Tens of thousands of shuriken slammed into the wooden dummies, covering them in an instant!
The excess shuriken flew on, striking the surrounding walls of the training field.
Clatter!
The wall behind the targets was blanketed in black steel.
Some even flew past the walls, into the streets beyond the academy…
Iruka was frozen.
(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!
Just what kind of monstrous student had he taken on?!
That sheer number of shuriken clones!
Good thing they'd hit wooden targets — if all those had struck enemy shinobi, they'd be reduced to sieves!
Sasuke was stunned.
╭(°A°`)╮
He'd really done it!
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
And not just that — he'd created tens of thousands at once!
Could you really figure that out through hard work alone?
As confused as he was, Sasuke couldn't help feeling suspicious.
He wasn't willing to accept it — this was the kind of thing that made you sick with jealousy!
The old man, the Third Hokage, must have given Shinju special training!
Yeah, that had to be it!
Shikamaru, over there, was quietly stunned too.
"H–He actually pulled off something that troublesome."
Sakura's gaze was complicated as she stared at Shinju's back in the training field.
Was this really the same "ninjutsu idiot" she used to mock?
What kind of broken-level talent was this?!
"So cool…"
Yamanaka Ino cupped her face, watching Shinju's not-so-tall back.
Why had she never noticed before that Shinju was this cool?
...
While everyone was caught up in their own shocked thoughts, someone knocked on the training field's gate.
Iruka was just about to praise Shinju when he stopped and went to open it.
The door swung open.
Outside stood an angry Konoha chūnin, several shuriken sticking out of his head, blood still streaming down.
"What the hell is going on in this ninja academy?! I was just taking a walk after breakfast, and suddenly hundreds of shuriken fell from the sky!"
"Do you have any idea how that feels?! Hundreds of shuriken! I was nearly turned into a pincushion!!"