Learning and Training Made Me Happy

After returning home, Higashino Makoto first washed up in the bathroom, then sat properly at the dining table, ready to eat.

The food had already been laid out. Though the dishes and flavors were quite different from what he'd known in his previous life, he was used to them by now. It wasn't a problem, so long as the food wasn't some filthy, half-raw mess of dried mushrooms and other rubbish.

Across the table sat his birth mother in this world, a beautiful young woman with long brown hair.

Her name was Higashino Megumi. She was a commoner with no surname of her own. Before marriage, she'd simply been called Megumi; afterward, she took her husband's surname, Higashino.

Higashino Makoto's father in this life was named Higashino Jiro. He was an ordinary-looking but tall Konoha Chunin with decent strength. He wasn't home at the moment, having been away on a village mission for some time.

That was right: Higashino Makoto wasn't an orphan in the Naruto World. He was lucky enough to have both parents, but that meant he didn't get the benefit of an all-powerful cheat.

And he took completely after his mother. He wasn't even four yet, but it was already clear that the two of them looked about five or six parts alike. That made Higashino Makoto believe that, as long as he didn't grow up ugly, he'd probably become a handsome man.

Of course, he might also turn into a pretty little boy.

That was unlikely. He was quite sure no one in his family had Yuki Clan blood from the Land of Water, and in his previous life, he hadn't been a proctologist either.

Higashino Megumi had been only twenty when she gave birth. She was twenty-three now, and Higashino Jiro was about the same age. The two of them had even been classmates.

They were very young—so young that Higashino Makoto's mental age was more than ten years older than theirs.

But now, he had to call them Mom and Dad.

Higashino Makoto wasn't embarrassed about it. He hadn't transmigrated and taken over someone else's son; he'd been born directly from Higashino Megumi's womb. The couple were truly his biological parents, the ones who'd given birth to and raised him in this life.

There was nothing wrong with calling them Mom and Dad. Li Sen in his previous life hadn't been an ungrateful or overly sentimental person.

As they ate, Higashino Megumi asked curiously, "Makoto, I remember you've been training this early every day since you were three. Is it hard?"

"It's not hard, Mom. I actually enjoy it. I like the feeling of getting stronger."

"Why do you want to get stronger so much?"

"This is Konoha. I'm going to be a Ninja when I grow up. Do I need a reason to want to get stronger?"

"You don't?"

"Do I? All right, I hope I can become a powerful Ninja and protect you and Dad one day." Talking to his birth mother, Higashino Makoto didn't put on the Political Correctness he did outside, saying things like he wanted to protect the village or his comrades.

"Makoto, thank you." Higashino Megumi smiled and ruffled her son's hair, looking pleased. "But you've got it backward. Your father and I should be the ones protecting you.

"What makes me even happier is that when you brag, you finally sound like a child your age. You know, you've always seemed far too mature.

"You're not even four yet! How should I put it? You've made me feel like I'm missing out on the satisfaction of being a mother. I remember you've never even wet the bed.

"When you were still a baby, you'd actually remind me to take you to the bathroom by making a fuss. I didn't even get the chance to change your diapers. That's not what everyone says it's like. Being a mom doesn't feel hard at all!"

Faced with his mother's long string of complaints, Higashino Makoto could only laugh helplessly and tease her a little. "Oh, so you're disappointed that I never wet the bed, Mrs. Higashino?"

Thump! Higashino Megumi punched her son on the head. "Call me Mom! Which idiot taught you to call me that?"

"Okay, Mrs. Higashino. I learned it from Uncle Kuroda downstairs."

Thump! "I told you to call me Mom!"

"No problem, Mrs. Higashino."

Thump!

After breakfast, Higashino Megumi returned to her bedroom and changed clothes, then hurriedly got ready to leave.

Before she went, she reminded him, "Makoto, Mom's off to work. Take care of yourself, and come find me at the hospital if anything happens."

"Okay, I understand, Mom."

Like her husband, Higashino Jiro, Higashino Megumi was also a Ninja. In fact, her professional rank was half a step above her husband's. She was a Special Jonin who specialized in Medical Ninjutsu and currently worked at Konoha Hospital.

Back then, Princess Tsunade of Konoha had been moved by the deaths of her younger brother, Nawaki, and many of her comrades. She proposed that the village step up training for Medical Ninjas and add them to Ninja squads, reducing deaths during wars and missions.

Though the policy hadn't yet been implemented when her boyfriend, Dan Katō, died as well, Konoha still officially put her proposal into practice after the war ended.

Higashino Megumi was one of the people who'd benefited from that policy.

Her talent for combat as a Ninja was limited, but she had considerable aptitude for Medical Ninjutsu.

Medical Ninjutsu required exceptional Chakra Control, and women had a natural advantage in that regard.

After giving birth to Higashino Makoto, Higashino Megumi had taken more than two years off to recover. She'd spent that time caring for her son and improving her own skills.

Once Higashino Makoto had said he could take care of himself, she'd gone back to work at the hospital. Medical Ninjas were a special case, and their training was difficult; no matter how much they invested in training, there were never enough of them.

Fortunately, Higashino had always seemed mature, so his parents felt safe leaving him home alone. They'd even saved the money they would have spent on a nanny.

As she did on any other day, Higashino Megumi went straight to work. After washing the dishes, Higashino Makoto picked up his books and studied diligently at home.

Children in the Shinobi World generally matured early, and that was even more true of a reincarnated person with an adult soul like him.

When Higashino Makoto was about two, his mother had helped him learn the basics of written language in the Shinobi World. After that, he'd started reading all kinds of books about it.

If you wanted to live well in this world, you first had to understand it.

That mainly meant learning about the Shinobi World's geography and history.

Geography was easy enough. Whether in his family's study or the Konoha Library, he could find plenty of non-classified materials about the various countries.

History, on the other hand, was rarely documented. It seemed that few people in the Shinobi World made a point of recording the past. The thousand-year history of the Warring States period was almost entirely blank.

He had no idea how much effort a certain black Filial Son had put into that.

Perhaps there were records in some ancient clans, such as the Senju, Uchiha, or Hyuga, or in the noble families of the various countries.

But he obviously couldn't borrow those materials just yet.

Fortunately, Higashino Makoto didn't intend to become a geographer or historian. The information about the Shinobi World's geography that was publicly available had already given him a basic understanding of its various countries.

As for history, thanks to his memories of the plot from his previous life, he probably knew the broad outline of the Shinobi World's thousand-year history better than 99 percent of the people in this world. That was enough.

He'd completed all those studies before he turned three.

After turning three, he began the second phase of his studies and training, which focused on three areas.

First, he began daily physical training. His parents chose the exercises based on their experience, while he paid attention to his own limits and gradually increased the workload.

Second, he studied the basics of Chakra and the human body, and practiced Hand Seals to prepare for learning to extract Chakra and train in Ninjutsu.

Third, he studied several branches of natural science, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, cryptography, and more.

Yes, Ninjas had to study these subjects. Just look at the questions Naruto faced the first time he took the Chunin Ninja Exams. Though the questions on that occasion covered knowledge that only Chunin and above needed to master.

A qualified Ninja didn't need to be a jack-of-all-trades, but at the very least, they needed a basic understanding of these subjects. The exception was an idiot like Naruto, who let his hot blood go to his head and only knew how to fight.

The Ninja Academy curriculum included these subjects too, but students weren't expected to study them in much depth.

Konoha was a military stronghold in the Land of Fire. Its main task was to train combat personnel.

Combat ability was the primary standard by which Ninjas were judged.

Students who were weeded out for lacking combat talent would choose the necessary subjects to study based on their interests and aptitudes.

They could go on to become the various kinds of specialists Konoha needed, including experts in sealing, code development and decryption, basic research, and medicine. But they wouldn't become frontline combat personnel.

Although Tsunade insisted that Medical Ninjas needed combat ability too, not everyone was like her, blessed with Senju and Uzumaki blood, a broad chest, and astonishing punching power—able to heal and carry the team at the same time.

Higashino Makoto had the same goal. Just like his earlier studies of geography and history, he was only learning the basics; he wasn't going to become an expert in those fields.

He was studying them to become a more well-rounded Ninja.

By now, Higashino Makoto was about to turn four, and he was nearing the end of his introductory studies in all those subjects. His next goal was to work hard and become a Ninja.

That was the study plan he'd followed for the past two years: the same every day, without a single day of slacking off. His self-discipline was frightening.

The drive behind his self-discipline came from his previous life. Back then, he'd been a bright kid with a natural talent for learning, always coming first in his exams.

Unfortunately, laziness and a love of play had ruined his future and his life.

Since he'd been given a chance to live again, he absolutely wouldn't repeat the same mistakes he'd made as Li Sen.

Now, Higashino Makoto only wanted to say: Studying made him happy, and training made him even happier.