Accelerated Training

Kakashi had graduated early in the original story because of his father's death, but now his father was alive and he had still graduated early.

Though he did not understand the real situation, this greatly stirred Shiranui Genma, as well as quite a few others in the class.

"I never expected my eternal rival to become a Genin so quickly. I need to work even harder too!"

"That damn Kakashi! He became a Genin without dueling me first. He must have been scared of me. That has to be it!"

"Oh my god, Kakashi graduated! He really is the man I've got my eye on, eek!!"

"I never thought Kakashi would actually graduate. I hate to admit it, but his talent is truly despair-inducing."

Just as the class began heatedly discussing Kakashi, Kurenai became quite curious about Shiranui Genma, who was seriously reading beside her.

Noticing Kurenai's gaze, Genma closed his book and smiled gently. "What is it? Do I have flowers on my face? Or do you want me to admire you, this lovely little flower, a little more?"

"Of course not!" Kurenai puffed out her cheeks and lowered her gaze to her book. "Normally, you'd be sleeping during breaks. You seem especially energetic today, and the dark circles under your eyes have faded."

"Hehe, I didn't know you cared about me so much, Kurenai. Mainly, I finished the training I set for myself yesterday, so I won't need to stay up late anymore." Genma rubbed the back of his head, delighted that he had caught Kurenai secretly glancing at him.

No wonder Kurenai and Asuma had children so late, only after even Naruto was already over ten years old. So it was not just Asuma who was shy; Kurenai was the same way.

After being trained by Might Duy for three years and influenced every day by his shameless, thick-skinned father at home, he was now remarkably composed around girls.

After all, he had lived another life. Reshaping his personality might sound unbelievable, but it was possible.

At the suggestion of a certain shameless father who called himself a love expert, Genma was in the mood today to learn something besides training and studying.

Genma took an exquisite dark-red gift box from his backpack. Under Kurenai's astonished gaze, a light-yellow comb made of some unknown wood appeared before her.

"Kurenai, I know you think taking care of your hair is troublesome, so I specially learned a few tricks from my parents. From now on, leave your hair to me, okay~"

Before Kurenai could refuse, Genma gently held a lock of her hair and began combing it.

It was terribly embarrassing, but when Genma touched her hair, it was as though she had been immobilized. Quite a few people nearby were looking over as well, making her even less willing to move rashly.

"Mm, it looks much smoother now. Add a hairpin, and it'll be perfect!"

After helping Kurenai comb her hair, Genma handed her a mirror.

Looking at her clean and radiant reflection in the mirror, Kurenai could hardly believe it. The pink hairpin especially complemented her beautiful red eyes perfectly.

"Is this... really... me?" Kurenai covered her open mouth and looked at Genma, whose eyes were full of admiration. "Did this take you a lot of time? If it wastes your time, don't do this again in the future~"

Before Genma could answer, a girl's coquettish cry came from not far behind them, as restless as a cat scratching at her chest. "Asuma, I want it too! I want you to comb my hair too!"

Genma had no idea what became of Asuma in the end, but faced with Kurenai's stubborn expression, he felt both heartache and warmth.

"Uh, Kurenai, that's time I've already spent. Even if you tell me to forget it, I can't. So... don't let the time I specially spent on you go to waste, okay~"

"Then... all right. But you're not allowed to do this again in the future. If this keeps up, I'm worried Dad will get angry~"

At Kurenai's reminder, an image of that stern middle-aged man with the same red eyes appeared in Genma's mind.

A future father-in-law really was hard to get along with. Looks like I'll have to keep working hard tonight!

"Got it, Kurenai. From now on, I'll train even harder. Mm, and I'll bring you home as my wife even sooner, hehe~"

"Ugh~ Why are you always thinking about that? Focus on your book!"

"Uh, yes, yes, yes. I'll study seriously right away!"

Genma had originally put all his focus into studying as well. But if the two of them remained trapped in tedious training and study for too long, they might become mentally exhausted.

That was why he put great care into carrying out the little loving ideas his parents came up with from time to time.

"Genma, what do you think about Kakashi graduating so early?"

The surroundings were noisy, and Kurenai closed the book in front of her, resting her chin on her hand as she fell into thought.

Having spent several months with Kurenai, Genma not only understood what that gesture meant, but also knew that she was gently swinging her cute little feet right now.

"Kakashi? If I weren't three years older than him, I really wouldn't have even the slightest ability to fight him. Someone like him can indeed be called a genius, but it is definitely inseparable from his hard work too. So don't overthink it. At your current level, you can graduate early in third grade as well."

"Do I still have to wait two years? What about you?"

"Of course I'll graduate with you. We still need to stay together after graduation."

"Aren't assignments after graduation based on strength? What if we don't get assigned together?"

This worry had surfaced in Genma's mind countless times. However, his shameless father seemed to have some connections and appeared to have promised he could pull some strings behind the scenes.

But whether it would work was uncertain, so Genma could not make an absolutely firm promise.

"If we don't get assigned together, I'll come protect you once I become a Chunin or Jonin. I'll definitely fulfill the duties of a husband you approve of!"

"I don't need you to protect me all the time. I'm strong too, and I'm really looking forward to fighting you~" Kurenai waved her tiny hand, which was wrapped in bandages, revealing a little canine tooth. She looked adorably fierce.

Though it broke his heart to see her hands always injured, was that not also one of the reasons he liked her? No matter what, strong girls who knew how to improve themselves had tremendous pride.

Genma truly liked Kurenai, but he would not selfishly bind her because of that affection. Instead, he would do everything he could to strengthen her wings and fill out her feathers, so that she could spread them and fly freely.

This view of love came from the number one perfect male idol of the ninja world, the Golden Flash, Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato had been quite ruthless in his resolve. Whenever Kushina was bullied, he would only watch silently from the side and had never stepped in to help.

Yet it was precisely because of that silent attention that he saved Kushina when she truly faced danger.

Later, so that Kushina could meet their grown son within the sealing space, he used his life to seal the Nine-Tails and died alongside her.

That godlike love was something Genma wanted from the bottom of his heart, but circumstances were different, so he would not copy it completely.

He would only remember how much Namikaze Minato respected his wife. In other aspects, his father's methods were probably more effective.

He was unusually free today.

That was because today, Genma had completed all of his Chakra Control training, including water-treading training.

Water-treading training was not simply complete once one could walk on water. He had also fought on water and practiced Taijutsu there.

Even Jonin might not have completely mastered this technique. In order to better train in ninjutsu, Genma had put a great deal of thought into practicing it.

As a result, his Chakra Control had reached an extremely high level. After finishing his morning exercises, he tried the Shadow Clone Jutsu. By making full use of his spare time, he had become quite proficient with the hand seals.

After another week of arduous training, he finally mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and created four clones.

Four clones were not his limit; it was merely the number he had set in order to better observe that limit.

Four clones identical to himself stood neatly before him. Their eyes were confident and bright, and all of them stared at him, making his heart tremble for no reason.

"Ahem, original, you aren't afraid we'll steal your wife, are you~"

"Hehe, I have to say, the original will be very fortunate in the future~"

"But whether you'll truly be fortunate or not depends on us~"

"Eh, hopefully. Otherwise, we can only elope~"

The four Shadow Clones mercilessly exposed his secrets, instantly darkening Genma's face.

"Stop talking nonsense. Whether this works depends on you. This is a Land of Earth Map, with fairly detailed place names and geographic locations. You four will each take one region and begin memorizing. Time limit: one minute!"

Genma did not dare be too exaggerated and go for several dozen minutes. After all, suddenly taking in too much information might overload his brain and lead to brain death.

Though he did not know exactly how much information the brain could absorb, Genma remained extremely cautious.

Less than a minute later, the four Shadow Clones stood up together. "Done. Prepare to receive it."

"Mm, one at a time. Let me get a feel for it first."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Shadow Clone to Genma's right turned into smoke. In an instant, a massive amount of images and place names flooded into his mind.

"Mm~ I remembered it all, but why does it feel like nothing at all? You two, come on!"

The two Shadow Clones disappeared together, and even more images and place names poured into his mind. Like stones sinking into the sea, he digested them in merely a moment.

Seeing that Genma seemed completely unaffected, the last Shadow Clone stared at him in astonishment. "Still not enough? Want me to study for another ten-odd minutes before coming back?"

"Uh, wait. You come back first. Missing a quarter of the map is making me itch all over. I'll create another one later."

The Shadow Clone obediently disappeared. Just like before, the information it carried had no effect on Genma whatsoever.

It was like eating expensive, exquisite Michelin desserts. They tasted good, but did not fill his stomach at all.

Still maintaining his caution, Genma began testing the upper limit of using Shadow Clones as a cheat.

After spending a full two weeks, he finally obtained an exact figure.

At present, the maximum duration for his Shadow Clone cheat was one whole day with only a single Shadow Clone.

However, because of Chakra limitations, the cheat could only be used for Taijutsu and studying. Still, he only needed half his Chakra to create one Shadow Clone, enough to sustain a full day of training. The only side effects were feeling sleepier than usual and becoming hungry more easily, but the time saved by the Shadow Clone completely outweighed them.

Thus, the original body practiced ninjutsu while the Shadow Clone trained in Taijutsu and studied knowledge. Genma had finally embarked on the path of using cheats.