"The Twelve Hand Seals"
"Fifteen Close-Quarters Combat Techniques"
"Guide to Wilderness Survival"
"Ten Ways to Throw Shuriken"
"The First Hokage's Will of Fire"
"The Second Hokage's Will of Fire"
"The Third Hokage's Will of Fire"
Night.
Haruno Sakura flipped through book after book in her bedroom. They only gave broad explanations of the material, so they were easy to learn from.
From the contents of those books, she could infer that the second-year curriculum was probably not much different from the first year's, only featuring more advanced versions of those techniques.
Then again, expecting a six-year-old brat to fully grasp the essence of these skills was pure fantasy.
The three books on the Will of Fire were the real focus instead.
--
The next morning.
Haruno Sakura got up early, much to the surprise of Haruno Meiko, who had been about to get up and make breakfast.
"Sakura, what's gotten into you...?"
"Morning, mom. I'm heading out to train. I'll be back soon."
Watching her lively daughter dash out of the house, Haruno Meiko couldn't help placing a hand against her forehead.
I don't have a fever...
Didn't Sakura usually get up only when she was practically late?
A thin layer of mist drifted through the still-sleeping Konoha as Haruno Sakura performed two sets of warm-up exercises on the spot.
Strictly speaking, Konoha was a military institution of the Land of Fire—and the most powerful military institution in the entire shinobi world. It was, through and through, an organization of violence.
And as a shinobi, having an exceptionally strong body was a necessity.
That meant Haruno Sakura had to keep up her daily training.
"Okay, ten-kilometer endurance run, start!"
Once she sensed that she had finished warming up, Haruno Sakura began her first goal.
The ten-kilometer endurance run was also one of the exam events.
Since Chakra was the combination of physical and spiritual energy, anyone with Chakra would naturally possess a body far superior to that of an ordinary person.
Even a first-year Ninja Academy student like Sakura was no exception.
No wonder Might Guy and Rock Lee could shout about youth while running hundreds of laps at a time.
Though they lacked talent in ninjutsu, that did not mean their Chakra was weak.
On the contrary, their Chakra was incredibly powerful; they simply had no talent for ninjutsu.
Might Guy was slightly better off, while Rock Lee had absolutely no talent for ninjutsu at all.
Even with this six-year-old body, Sakura could beat up the one-meter-eighty-five southerner she had been in her previous life.
As time passed, a light sheen of sweat appeared on Sakura's forehead, and her breathing gradually grew heavier.
Still, she ultimately made it back to her starting point.
Forty-five minutes...
Looking at the stopwatch hanging around her neck, Sakura couldn't help smiling.
She had reached the passing mark.
Without even caring about how sticky she felt, she rushed straight into the backyard, not even taking off her shoes.
"Sakura!"
"Don't you know to take off your shoes?!"
Haruno Meiko's dissatisfied shout came from the kitchen.
"Got it, Mom!"
"I'll definitely do it next time!"
Sakura's voice drifted back from afar.
"This child, honestly..."
Haruno Meiko sighed as she looked at the tiny footprints one after another.
Whoosh!
With a sharp whistle through the air, a blade pierced the air and embedded itself steadily in the leaf Sakura had chosen as her target on the tree.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Another three shuriken struck the battered leaf in quick succession.
Looking at the final shuriken in her hand, Sakura let out a soft breath. Her eyes sharpened, and with a flick of her little hand, the last shuriken also hit the leaf dead on.
Haruno Sakura stared blankly at her own hand.
She had inherited the original owner's memories, and that girl had never possessed shuriken skills this accurate.
Or rather, having only just entered the Ninja Academy, she should not have known how to throw shuriken at all.
She had only five shuriken in total, yet every one of them had hit.
A vague thought surfaced in Haruno Sakura's heart. To verify it, she pulled out all five shuriken, picked up another leaf from the ground, and hung it on the tree.
She carefully memorized the leaf's location.
Haruno Sakura moved farther away. Looking at that leaf, she fired another uninterrupted volley of five shuriken!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
All five shuriken hit!
Controlling her body felt as familiar as muscle memory. It came completely naturally.
Creation Rebirth Hundred Healings Jutsu...
Sakura couldn't help touching her forehead.
One day, a purple diamond-shaped mark would appear in the center of it.
Tsunade's ultimate move, Hashirama Senju's passive ability.
An S-rank technique that made death impossible so long as Chakra remained.
Haruno Sakura looked at her palm, thoughts racing. Almost instinctively, she gathered her pitifully small amount of Chakra and, following that unfamiliar muscle memory, concentrated it in her foot.
Bang!
A dull boom rang out!
A crater roughly half a meter deep appeared beneath Haruno Sakura's foot, with cracks spreading around it!
This was Monstrous Strength!
No, this was Heavenly Foot!
She wasn't [Rookie Shinobi] Haruno Sakura at all—she was a miniature version of [Shinobi World War] Haruno Sakura!
Or, more precisely, a miniature version of sixteen-year-old Haruno Sakura from the Fourth Shinobi World War!
Haruno Sakura, who had perfectly inherited everything from Tsunade!
Other than her tiny body and weak Chakra, and the fact that she lacked the memories from before she turned sixteen, she was no different from sixteen-year-old Haruno Sakura!
Looking at her fair palm, Haruno Sakura forcibly resisted the urge to bite her finger and cast a Summoning Jutsu.
If she really summoned Katsuyu, it would be ridiculous. Katsuyu would definitely tell Tsunade about this!
Huh?
Come to think of it, maybe that was not impossible. Didn't Jiraiya cast a Summoning Jutsu without a contract and summon himself to Mount Myōboku?
Then wouldn't it be perfectly normal for her to use a Summoning Jutsu and send herself to Shikkotsu Forest?
Haruno Sakura suddenly felt enlightened. Her mood instantly lightened, and an easy smile spread across her lips.
Inheriting everything from sixteen-year-old Haruno Sakura—that was her true cheat ability, not merely the Creation Rebirth Hundred Healings Jutsu.
This cheat ability might not have been overwhelmingly powerful, but it was enough.
Medical Ninjutsu, Monstrous Strength, Creation Rebirth Hundred Healings Jutsu, and a Summoning Jutsu yet to be confirmed...
Haruno Sakura was not greedy. It was better than having nothing at all.
In high spirits, Haruno Sakura practiced shuriken throws for a while longer before heading straight to the bathroom.
She had sweated so much that she was nearly starting to stink.
"Sakura!!!"
"You didn't take off your shoes again!!!"
Before the bathroom door had even closed, Haruno Meiko's voice rang out again.
"Next time for sure, Mom!"
Haruno Sakura answered with a smile, her mood light.
"Next time, next time, always next time! Could you please stop making me worry so much?!"
Before you continue