Two Years

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

In Year 39 of Konoha, the five-year-old Hatake Kakashi applied for early graduation. After passing perfectly, he became the youngest Genin in Konoha's history.

Yamanaka Tohru, another genius, shone brightly at Konoha Hospital. He had a unique understanding of Medical Ninjutsu, especially excelling in surgery. With his extraordinary mental strength and knowledge of the human body, he had never failed a single operation in a year, treating no fewer than a hundred Konoha ninja. Through his exquisite skills, he earned the respect of everyone at Konoha Hospital.

The teacher who brought out these two geniuses, Yamashiro Ginichi, also got promoted, becoming the deputy director of academic affairs at the Ninja Academy.

In Year 40 of Konoha, the six-year-old Kakashi became a Chunin.

In Konoha Forest, Yamanaka Tohru and Hatake Sakumo sparred. Aside from his time at Konoha Hospital, Tohru spent the rest of his days in the forest. Over two years, he had mastered [Chidori], and could proficiently use [Chidori Blade] and [Chidori Spear]. For this, he had specially purchased a short sword capable of conducting chakra.

In Nintaijutsu, Tohru developed his own Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Unlike the Raikage's version, Tohru abandoned the defensive aspects of the standard mode, instead enhancing speed and attack power.

The defense of Lightning Release Chakra Mode required constantly pouring massive amounts of chakra into the lightning armor. That alone was unacceptable to Tohru—he didn't have that much chakra to waste. Moreover, his Ice Release had an elementalization property that made physical attacks nearly ineffective against him; as long as he had enough chakra, he could maintain that state indefinitely.

In the forest, Tohru activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode. By stimulating his cells with lightning, his speed approached the limit of dynamic vision. Hatake Sakumo, however, remained unhurried. No matter which direction Tohru's attacks came from, Sakumo deflected them all.

"Uncle Sakumo, I'm starting now!"

"Ah! Let me see what you've improved this month. Don't let me finish you in one shot like last time."

"Then watch closely, Uncle Sakumo!" Tohru poured chakra into his short sword.

"So this is [Chidori Blade]?" Sakumo watched Tohru's blade with interest.

"But there's more!" Tohru's chakra began flowing through his body, his cellular structure shifting toward the molecular structure of ice.

Non-pure water conducts electricity, and so does the human body. From his past life's physics knowledge, ice was less conductive than the human body. Yet once, after elementalizing into ice and using Lightning Release, Tohru discovered that an ice-elementalized body conducted lightning chakra even more easily.

The speed of light was the fastest in the universe; light was fundamentally an electromagnetic wave, and lightning was also a type of electromagnetic wave. After Tohru's Ice Release elementalization, ice and lightning merged, granting him some of lightning's properties and vastly increasing his speed.

He named this mode Ice Lightning Mode. It consumed enormous chakra—currently, Tohru's chakra reserves were slightly above those of an Elite Chunin from the original story, allowing him to maintain Ice Lightning Mode for at most two minutes.

Tohru's speed suddenly surged, but Sakumo showed no panic. Over two years of sparring, Tohru had always given him some surprise each time; he'd grown accustomed to being surprised.

Tohru shot toward Sakumo like a bolt of blue lightning. Sakumo raised the White Fang Blade as usual to block the strike. Missing his mark, Tohru didn't retreat; he formed a single-handed seal with his left hand. "[Chidori]."

"A one-handed seal?" In two years of monthly sparring, this was the first time Sakumo infused chakra into the White Fang Blade.

The short sword, glowing with white light, cut through the Chidori like the Shinigami's scythe. Unwilling to give up, Tohru activated his Sharingan—two tomoe embedded in his crimson pupils. "[Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique]."

"Tohru, you used that move half a year ago." In an instant, Sakumo appeared behind Tohru. His Sharingan had caught the movement, but his body couldn't keep up. Using both the genjutsu and Chidori made it impossible to maintain Ice Lightning Mode. Sakumo's blade rested against Tohru's neck, ending the spar.

"Uncle Sakumo, you're a monster." Tohru had thrown everything he had and still failed to scratch Sakumo. Faced with such overwhelming strength, he couldn't help complaining.

"Tohru, you're already very strong. You can even use one-handed seals. At seven years old, you made me put chakra into the White Fang Blade. Most Jonin don't get that treatment."

In truth, Tohru only knew one-handed seals for [Chidori] and [Chidori]. "Then, Uncle Sakumo, can I beat a Jonin now?"

"Just using Lightning Release Chakra Mode and [Chidori Blade], you're still a bit short of a Jonin. You're probably around Special Jonin level. If you use that speed-boosting method plus the Sharingan, you can handle an ordinary Jonin."

Jonin were already the backbone of the ninja world. Aside from Konoha, each of the four great villages had only about a dozen Elite Jonin, plus three to four Quasi-Kage and two to three Kage-level fighters. Tohru now had the ability to protect himself.

"Two years. That guy Kakashi is already a Chunin. I should graduate too."

"Right now, you're the treasure of Konoha Hospital. Lord Third won't let you graduate so easily."

Tohru understood. A Genin was nothing compared to an excellent Medical Ninja who could save Chunin and Jonin at the hospital.

"Even so, I'm going to apply for graduation." Tohru had no intention of being a Medical Ninja forever. He was going to become the strongest man in the ninja world.

"Uncle Sakumo, I'm heading back to the Ninja Academy."

"Good!" Sakumo nodded. He had watched Tohru's growth over two years; Tohru's application for graduation was expected.

For a student at the Ninja Academy to graduate early, they had to submit an application through their teacher. Only after the Hokage approved could the graduation exam begin. Passing meant becoming a Genin. The Hokage rarely rejected such applications unless the student was particularly poor. Tohru's grades had always been first; the Hokage had no reason to refuse.

Tohru returned to the academy for two reasons: to submit his graduation application to Yamashiro Ginichi, and to see Obito and Nohara Rin. Most of his classmates were mere acquaintances; only Kakashi's trio were among his few friends.

He found Ginichi in the academic affairs office, handed in his application, then went to the classroom he hadn't visited in a long time.

He arrived just as class ended. "Stuck-up Yamanaka Tohru! Why are you back?" Obito, drowsy and slumped over his desk, was the first to notice him.

"Tohru, you're back!" After Obito, Rin also spotted him.

The three of them went to the training ground.

"Obito, Rin. I'm applying for graduation."

"Stuck-up Tohru, I'll catch up to you soon."

"Then you'd better work hard! Rin, you too, keep it up!"

"I will."

After saying goodbye to the two, Tohru left the academy. Starting tomorrow, he would be a ninja!