Chapter 34 – Meeting Ren Uchiha

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His grandfather had left after giving him the three scrolls. Daichi stored them in his inventory and left home as well. He had a special goal in mind.

Daichi was walking through a forest near the outskirts of the village. He had been visiting various places within the village to find more dungeons. His journey was somewhat successful. He located another instant dungeon. He decided to save it for the next year. 

Daichi hadn't gotten the reward for clearing the dungeon from the quest 'Path to the strongest'. He figured he would only get it at the end of the first academic year. He wanted to know what that reward would entail. 

Now he was looking for a place to train. Somewhere quiet and away from people so he could test out his jutsus. As he kept walking he saw something unexpected. 

Several round target boards were hung on trees all around him. As he looked at it he felt a sense of Deja Vu. 'Where have I seen this place before.' As Daichi racked his memory for an answer, it hit him. 

'I remember now. This place. This is where Itachi practiced his shuriken jutsu. It's where he showed Sasuke his shuriken throwing techniques before Sasuke entered the academy. Oh man… That means I'm near the Uchiha clan compound. I better leave before I attract unwanted companies.'

Daichi turned around and was about to walk away but something stopped him. He opened his skill list and saw it.

Shurikenjutsu - Active(LV.89(95.7%))

Effects:   +95% Increase in accuracy.

+85% Increase in damage dealt.

'This is the skill that increased the most during my dungeon fight. Makes sense. I wanted to keep those things at bay and I've been using shuriken and kunai at every fight against those beasts. I used chakra threads to control the speed and trajectory of the weapons. My increased dexterity helped me a lot in improving this particular skill.'

Daichi took a moment and looked at all the targets hanging on the trees. He wondered. 

'Is it possible… Do I have Itachi's level of shuriken skill? He is a master with this technique. He could even hit targets in his blindspot…'

Daichi looked around and he saw another hidden target behind a rock. He wanted to know if it was possible for him… 

'Can I do it? One way to find out, I suppose. Since I'm here I might as well give it a shot. If I want to be the best then I can't shy away from any challenges that come my way.'

Daichi took off his glasses and walked forward. He stood in the center of the clearing with the targets all around him. There were nine targets all around him in plain view and one hidden behind a rock. A total of 10 targets for him to hit. 

Daichi stood still looking at all the targets and memorizing their locations. He spent a few minutes looking and engraving the position of each target into his memory. He took 8 kunais from his back pouch and held each one between his fingers. He closed his eyes, calmed his breathing and concentrated. 

A familiar feeling came to him. The sensation of being in the dungeon surrounded by beasts that wanted to tear him apart. Daichi opened his eyes in an instant and jumped.

He jumped high and flipped upside down. His eyes landed on all the 9 targets in his view in an instant. His hands moved in a precise yet smooth manner. His fingers loosened and he quickly let go of each kunai he held between his fingers one by one. 

All eight weapons left his hands within a couple of seconds. The first six of them were aimed at the targets while the last two were not. Without wasting an instant he took out two more from his back pouch and threw them in the direction of the last two kunais at a faster speed. Metals collided against metals and the force changed the trajectory of all four weapons. 

Daichi once again flipped in midair and landed perfectly on the ground. He looked around and wanted to see the results. What he saw surprised him. 

Even though the kunais all hit their targets, some of them weren't in the dead center. He missed the center of five of the nine targets by a few centimeters. Daichi walked to where the 10th and the hidden target lay. It too had a kunai stuck in it, but just like the ones that missed the center, it wasn't a perfect shot as well. 

Suddenly several notifications popped up.

Due to successful control of your body and senses, you have obtained +1 DEX

+1 SENSE

Skill Shurikenjutsu’s level has risen by one.

Shurikenjutsu - Active(LV.90(23.1%))

Effects:   95.8% Increase in accuracy.

87% Increase in damage dealt.

Watching the results of his shurikenjutsu skills, Daichi felt a very strange emotion. He felt sad and happy at the same time.

Sad because even with the gamer ability and the battles he went through in the dungeon, he still couldn't make a perfect 10 out of 10 score with all the kunais landing in the center.

‘Even with the gamer abilities I could only achieve this much. And even then… It took me a few minutes to completely concentrate and make the best shot I possibly could. If I was in the middle of a battle or a test I doubt I could accomplish the same results…’ 

‘And yet… That Itachi. He was able to make this look so easy. What a monster. Some teachers in the academy call me a genius but I was only able to become that because of my future knowledge and the gamer powers. Compared to someone like Itachi… I'm…’

Daichi closed his eyes and took a breath. He exhaled and opened his eyes. He was calm again. 

‘No. I shouldn't think like that. Itachi's talent doesn't affect me. It shouldn't. There will be several people like him here in this world… Their success and strength isn't my weakness. I have to remember that.’

While he felt a little sad he also felt extremely happy. Happy because doing something like this was unimaginable to him in his previous life. And even here only exceptional ninjas like Itachi or the late fourth Hokage could make better shots than him. He had set his first foot into joining the ranks of shinobis who were hailed as legends. 

‘Still… I wonder. If Itachi hadn't gone down the path he had… If he hadn't caught that terminal lung disease… How strong would he have become?... There's no doubt in my mind... With his talent and prodigious skills, he would have become strong enough to be on the same level as Madara Uchiha one day… Well. That is if things hadn't ended up the way they did.’

Daichi sighed. He decided that there was no point dwelling on things out of his control. As he prepared to leave he heard someone clapping. He swiftly turned around and saw a young man walking towards him clapping his hands and with a smile on his face.

‘Damn it. I didn't even try to see if there was anyone hidden. He probably saw my shuriken jutsu work. Ok Daichi. Calm down.’

‘Observe.’

[LV.61] [Ren Uchiha]

Age: 27

HP: 6988  CP: 6855

[Ren Uchiha is a member of the Uchiha clan. Although he is a talented shinobi who made chunin at 14 and joined the Leaf military police force, he doesn't have much ambition. A year ago he married his childhood friend Kimiko Uchiha. Along with a strong devotion to his clan, he is also dedicated to protecting the Leaf village. He is one of the few Uchiha that never fell victim to the clan's ‘Curse of Hatred’. He has powerful chakra and has awakened the two tomoe Sharingan. He is a powerful sensor ninja with a long range. He is a smart and kind person, always willing to help others in need.]

'Wow. An Uchiha. And based on the information a pretty strong one. But it looks like I don't have to worry much about him. He doesn't look like he's here to cause trouble.'

"That's really impressive shurikenjutsu. I only know of two other people who could do what you just did at your age." The new arrival said. 

He had shoulder length hair which framed his face and the rest of which he tied into a ponytail. He wore a high collared blue shirt which had the Uchiha crest in its back and dark pants with sandals. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at Daichi.

Daichi put on a slight smile and replied. "Thank you."

"I'm Ren Uchiha. What's your name?"

At this question Daichi paused for a second before answering. He figured it wouldn't make much difference if this Uchiha knew his name or not. 

"Daichi Hekima." 

"Ohh. So you're the one who got the top spot amongst the academy's first years." Ren had a teasing smile as he said this.

Daichi was confused as to how he would know this information. "How do you know that?"

"It's not everyday you hear that someone beat the clan head's son for first spot. You're in Sasuke's class aren't you?!" Red posed the question as a statement.

Daichi simply nodded. He asked with some suspicion. "Are you following me? How did you get here?"

Ren chucked and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Easy big guy. I wasn't following you. I sometimes simply walk through these woods to enjoy the peace and quiet." As he said the last sentence his joyful expression was slightly saddened. A second later it disappeared and he once again put on a jolly face.

‘What was that about?’ Daichi wondered.

"So like I said earlier. Excellent shuriken skills. Who taught you how to throw like that?" Ren asked, curious to know the identity of this boy's teacher.

"No one. I learnt it myself." Daichi gave a short reply.

Ren's eyes slightly widened. He knew the skills and talent required to perform such a feat. Trained shinobi with years of experience were capable of doing what Daichi did but not when they were in the academy. "That's very impressive." He couldn't help but say. 

"Do you often come here to train?"

"No." Daichi shook his head. "I just saw the targets and wanted to test my skills."

Ren nodded in understanding. "Nobody comes here these days. So it's a good place to train without anyone disturbing you." At that moment an alarm rang on Ren's watch. He looked at it and realized it was almost time for his patrol shift. "It's time for me to leave. It was nice meeting you Daichi. Get home safely." He turned around and left. 

Daichi waited for a minute and then used the 'chakra sense' skill to see if he or anyone else was still nearby. He couldn't sense anybody within a 40 meter range. Figuring that he really was alone he let out a breath.

'I never thought I'd meet an Uchiha other than Sasuke and maybe Itachi later down the line… I'll probably never see him again. It's best to keep it that way. I better leave before anyone else shows up.'

Daichi turned around and left for his home.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes ago.

Ren was walking through the woods to calm his troubled mind. ‘These secret clan meetings had gotten more intense. There were even talks about a coup d'etat against the leaf.’ 

Even though he loved his clan he was someone who never agreed with the clan's views on the village. 

‘Now with Shisui's death things have only gotten worse. Is there anything I can do?'

As he walked he sensed a chakra several meters ahead of him. He quietly went behind a tree and looked. He saw a small child intently looking at the kunai targets hanging on the tree. He saw the child closing his eyes and concentrating. Wanting to see what the kid was going to do, Ren didn't make a sound and stayed motionless.

He watched in amazement as the kid jumped and launched the sharp weapons between his fingers one by one. He saw the first 6 kunai perfectly hitting the targets. He was a bit confused when he saw the last two were aimed nowhere near the last targets. 

But that confusion soon turned into astonishment when he saw the child deflect them with another two kunais and all of them striking their mark. An amazing feat when considering that the child managed to hit the one even in his blind spot. 

'What incredible talent. Who is this boy? He doesn't wear the clan crest so he's not an Uchiha.' 

Ren walked forward and struck up a conversation with the child. He was surprised to find out that this is the boy who defeated Sasuke. It came as a surprise to everyone when Sasuke, the son of the clan head, was in second place. Now having seen his skill, he could understand why. It was even more impressive that he learned to do it himself. 

It was then that his alarm went off and reminded him of his patrol shift. He walked away hoping to meet this talented kid again.

—----------------------

Both Ren and Daichi didn't realize it at the time but this meeting would be the first of their many and would eventually change the destiny of another.