Chapter 34: Competition
Shintaro and Asuma wandered through the forest, patrolling the area while searching for deer. However, after a full patrol, they hadn't seen a single deer.
Asuma was puzzled by this. At this moment, Shintaro explained: "Deer are often found deep within the forest. They are very shy animals and usually stay deep in the forest to avoid natural predators."
"We're likely at the edge of the forest now, so the chances of encountering deer are relatively small. But don't worry, deer come out to forage at dusk."
"We just need to wait quietly. There is plenty of water and grass here, and many deer will surely come to feed."
He then jumped onto a large tree branch, and Asuma followed suit.
The two of them patrolled the trees, waiting for the deer to appear.
It was getting late, and as they waited, a long deer call echoed from afar.
Shintaro and Asuma exchanged glances, then pressed their bodies down, trying their best to stay silent, and jumped from tree to tree towards the sound of the deer.
Sure enough, they spotted a herd of deer ahead. There were six deer, all of them males with large antlers on their heads.
Shintaro touched the hemp rope behind his waist and whispered to Asuma: "Catch as many as you can."
The male deer below heard the rustling noise and cautiously looked around, raising their heads to look.
After confirming there were no predators around, the male deer lowered their heads and continued to graze on the young grass on the ground and wild fruits in the bushes.
Shintaro and Asuma patiently waited until the deer had completely lowered their guard, then jumped down together.
The deer herd sensed danger and scattered in an instant. The male deer spread their legs and ran very quickly, making it difficult for ordinary people to catch them.
Indeed, it was challenging to catch them without harming the deer.
No wonder the Nara Clan, who had been raising deer for generations, developed [Kagemane no Jutsu] to capture deer.
Asuma chased after one deer and soon fell behind.
Seeing this, Shintaro took the opportunity to form the hand seals for [Kagemane no Jutsu], using the narrow shadows in the forest at dusk to directly capture the remaining five deer.
At this moment, both Shintaro and the deer couldn't move, but he knew [Kage Bunshin no Jutsu], and he had pretended to learn it from Fugaku, so he could use it openly now.
Shintaro created a shadow clone, took the hemp rope from the main body's waist, and tied up the five deer.
The main body released [Kagemane no Jutsu], took the hemp rope from the shadow clone's hand, connected the five deer together, then calmly led the front deer and started leading the herd to continue grazing.
When Asuma returned, looking embarrassed while carrying a deer, he found that the five deer here had been grazing for some time.
Asuma asked with a surprised expression: "How did you catch these five deer?!"
Shintaro said half-seriously: "I relied on my shadow clone."
Asuma could only accept this explanation, then placed the deer in his arms down, tied the hemp rope around its neck, and pulled it up.
The two of them continued to patrol the forest with a deer each.
However, not long after they left, the six deer seemed unwilling to move further, resisting the pull of the two men.
Shintaro knew not to force it, otherwise, it would be counterproductive, so he and Asuma tied the deer to a tree.
The two of them continued to patrol the forest.
Halfway through, Asuma suddenly said: "Uchiha Shintaro, let's compete."
Shintaro was a bit surprised, as he hadn't interacted much with Asuma since entering the ninja school, and initially, he felt that Asuma was very disgusted with him.
Unexpectedly, Asuma took the initiative to challenge him. Shintaro looked at him with a confused expression.
Asuma quickly explained his intention: "I've been reflecting on the past few days, and I feel you've become a nightmare in my life."
"You know? The first time I fell in love was when I saw Kurenai. Initially, I wanted to pursue her, but you defeated me."
"After losing to you in love, I devoted myself to training and wanted to surpass you in strength. However, I found that my abilities as a ninja couldn't match yours. Even Kakashi, whom I always wanted to surpass, was defeated by you."
"So now I want to compete with you openly, so even if I lose, I can accept it peacefully."
In this uninhabited forest, Asuma opened his heart to Shintaro and spoke for the first time.
Shintaro was silent for a moment, making Asuma feel a bit nervous.
Fortunately, Shintaro's next words made Asuma feel relieved: "Alright, what do you want to compete in?"
"Three competitions." Asuma voiced his thoughts very smoothly, indicating he had been rehearsing it in his mind for a long time.
"Alright, then I'll decide the first game." After thinking for a moment, Shintaro bent down and picked up a stone from the ground and said, "The first game is a stone-throwing contest."
"Throwing stones?" Asuma was a bit confused.
Shintaro explained: "Stone is one of humanity's earliest weapons, originally used for hunting. However, in the Nara Clan's forest, it's not easy to compare animals by hunting. We'll compete on who can throw farther."
"The rules are that you can't use chakra or other methods, and you must use the same stone."
Asuma showed a clear expression and agreed to the rules immediately.
So Shintaro handed the stone to Asuma and at the same time drew a horizontal line on the ground with his foot, saying: "This is the starting point, you throw first."
Asuma stood behind the starting point, holding the stone tightly, warmed up a bit, then threw it hard, and the stone formed a beautiful arc and flew into the distance.
A dull sound was heard in the distance, and the stone fell into the grass.
Shintaro said: "Go to the stone and throw it back, then stand still and let me throw it again."
Asuma did as instructed, so Shintaro picked up the stone that was thrown back, stood back at the starting point, and took a standard stone-throwing position. Then the stone was immediately shot out.
The stone grazed past Asuma, and he could even feel the airwaves caused by the stone.
Finally, the stone landed tens of meters in front of him.
Shintaro won the first round.
This time Shintaro didn't use chakra or Cursed Energy. He fully relied on his previous life's experience and his own strength to complete this astonishing throw.
He remembered he had seemed to have stoned a large black bear to death during a hunting trip in his previous life.
"What about the second game?" He asked.
Asuma took out his two chakra knives and said: "Throwing knives, this time we can use chakra."
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