The Village's Attention and His Father's Relics

The Ninja Academy's first semester ran from April to the end of July, and Shuichi's birthday fell on the first day of vacation. In a highly militarized village like Konoha, celebrating birthdays was still something of a luxury.

With the system's upgrade chime ringing out at midnight, Shuichi officially became a five-year-old child.

He had long decided where to allocate his points. In an environment where he currently had little need to fight, he would prioritize Body Energy and Mental Energy to ensure he had enough Chakra in the future.

Since he had added a point to Body Energy at the start of the school year, Shuichi added one point to Mental Energy this time.

His current system point allocation was:

Passive Skill (Recovery and Growth): Each time the host grows one year older, the recovery speed of Body Energy and Mental Energy increases by 3, and all other basic attributes increase by 3 [currently increased by 15]

First Skill, Level 2 (Body Boost): For every point the host adds, Body Energy (including Yang Release) increases by 100 [currently increased by 200; the effect of the increase is determined entirely by the host's original body without the system; maximum 5 points]

Second Skill, Level 2 (Spirit Boost): For every point the host adds, Mental Energy (including Yin Release) increases by 100 [currently increased by 200; the effect of the increase is determined entirely by the host's original body without the system; maximum 5 points]

Third Skill, Level 1 (Ninja Quality Boost): For every point the host adds, their reaction speed and thinking speed increase by 50 [currently increased by 50; the effect of the increase is determined entirely by the host's original body without the system; maximum 5 points]

After enjoying the exhilarating sensation of adding points, Shuichi decided to give himself the next two days off. He did not set an alarm before bed, planning to sleep until he woke naturally.

Over the next two days, Shuichi indeed relaxed a great deal, sleeping until the sun was high overhead each day. Staying disciplined was truly difficult, while indulging oneself required only a single thought.

"Eh, it's the start of the month again. I should go collect this month's living allowance first." Shuichi was wandering aimlessly through Konoha's streets when he suddenly remembered that he had not collected his allowance for August.

Since he had remembered, he went to do it right away. He headed toward an office building not far from the Hokage Building. As usual, he went to the window specifically responsible for issuing living allowances and showed the clerk his proof of eligibility.

The process was no different from usual. However, while the staff member checked his information and went to retrieve the allowance, the people in charge inside seemed to be discussing something. Then, someone dressed like a ninja came out.

He was dressed as a Chunin and was likely one of the leaders of Konoha's living affairs department. When he saw Shuichi standing at the window, he walked over.

"You're Takeda Shuichi, right? This is your living allowance for the month, 5,000 ryo. Because the village was still at war not long ago, funds were rather tight. Now that the war is over, the village will not mistreat a hero's child.

"Also, your parents left behind some Ninjutsu Scrolls and other belongings. I'll give you this sword your father used first, so be careful with it.

"As for the Ninjutsu Scrolls, due to the village's restrictions on their circulation, they will be given to you after you graduate and become a Genin. If you do not become a ninja, you may not be able to receive them."

As Shuichi left the living affairs department, he felt as if he had received an unexpected windfall. Not only had his living allowance been settled, but he had also learned that he could directly receive the Ninjutsu his parents left behind after graduation.

"Did the village realize I'm worth cultivating? Teacher Tomohisa must have reported my performance to the Third Hokage. Once they discovered my situation, they immediately tried to win me over. Showing my talent at the Ninja Academy really was the right choice."

Shuichi felt that he had guessed the reason. If one's talent was not outstanding enough, the village would probably only ensure that they did not starve to death.

Since he had collected his allowance and received a sword, Shuichi did not continue wandering around the village and returned straight home.

After taking out a clean cloth from the bathroom, Shuichi slowly began cleaning the sword's sheath and hilt.

Once he had finished, he carefully examined the sword. It was nearly eighty centimeters long, somewhat longer than the one he had seen White Fang use.

Then Shuichi slowly drew the blade. Its sheen was not especially bright, and tiny chips marked several places along it. Yet the entire blade faintly exuded an icy chill. When he raised it near his face, he seemed to catch a faint scent of blood.

Judging by its size, it was unlikely to be made of Chakra Metal. It was probably just an iron sword made from relatively good materials.

After understanding the condition of the sword, Shuichi hung it in a conspicuous place on the wall as a keepsake. For now, it was only something to look at; whether he could use it in the future remained uncertain.

After seeing Konoha High Command's reaction to his displayed potential, Shuichi began following his plan during the vacation, studying and training every day. Occasionally, he also played ninja training games with Yūhi Kurenai, Ishikawa Tatsuki, and the others.

As for his other little companion, Takashima Shota, he was having a somewhat miserable time. Since his lack of talent had been discovered during the entrance test, his father had made him help out at a ninja tool shop despite his young age. According to him, he had already begun learning how to polish ninja tools.

The month-long vacation passed quickly, and the Ninja Academy's autumn term began on schedule.

"Students, did you all have fun over the past month? I hope you have not forgotten what we learned last semester.

"This semester, I'll be calling on you at any time to answer questions about last semester's material. If you cannot answer, do not blame me for writing your name in my notebook." Sanada Tomohisa felt that some of the children still carried themselves as though they were on vacation, so he needed to remind them to snap out of it.

Sure enough, some students who had been happily chatting with the people beside them immediately stiffened, and several wore troubled expressions.

Sanada Tomohisa was well versed in the strategy of using both the stick and the carrot. He continued, stirring up the students' enthusiasm. "Of course, this semester's lessons will not be as boring as last semester's. For example, unopened Shuriken have already been prepared in the school warehouse. You will have plenty of time in practical class this semester to practice Shuriken throwing.

"Everyone successfully refined Chakra last semester, so this semester we will set aside time to explain the special marching method used by ninjas. I will notify you the day before we begin this training. Please do not overtrain on your own, and make sure you have sufficient Chakra to use during class."

"Is that the slightly cringeworthy way of running?" Shuichi knew Sanada Tomohisa was trying to pique the students' interest, but he himself was genuinely curious about the upcoming lessons.

"Alright, let us begin the first lesson of this semester. Last semester, we studied the history of Konoha and the Land of Fire. This semester, we will begin with geography."

"There are currently five known great nations in the world: the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning. There are also many smaller countries situated between the great nations. As for the specific map, please look at what I have drawn..."