Extracting the Entry

"So soon?"

Shinichi's heart jumped. He knew that the generation of the [Swordsmanship Apprentice] tag hadn't happened overnight.

It was only after he'd joined the sword dojo, over the course of several months, that he'd gradually solidified that recognition—by casually mentioning and demonstrating his training results while talking with people at the orphanage, the blacksmith's shop, and the restaurant.

But this [Ninja Academy Student]? How long had it been?

It had generated right after he finished the enrollment procedures.

Shinichi's thoughts raced.

The key to the difference might lie in the recognizers.

Today, a crowd had gathered at the school gate—parents, teachers, new students. The base number was already considerable.

But more important was the "weight" of the individuals within it.

Kakashi was there.

His father, the famed Konoha White Fang—Hatake Sakumo—was also there.

And even...

Shinichi recalled that when he'd quickly scanned the Hatake father and son upon arriving at the school, the White Fang, who had been observing him, suddenly glanced upward.

That was it. The Third Hokage, that ninja accustomed to overlooking Konoha with his "Telescope Technique," was very likely watching the opening day's proceedings as well.

These people stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world or Konoha. Their recognition and attention, even if only for a moment and not taken seriously, carried an influence far beyond ordinary people!

The speed of tag generation was indeed closely tied to "the strength and status of the recognizer."

Shinichi's gaze fell on the two coexisting profession tags on the panel: [Swordsmanship Apprentice] and [Ninja Academy Student].

As he had speculated before, before a profession tag could be generated through "recognition," it first needed to be "acknowledged" and "accepted" by a system, tradition, or authority.

His swordsmanship teacher, Yamashita Shuji, had settled in Konoha from the very beginning, but he was originally from the Land of Iron—a formal samurai. He represented the "samurai" and "swordsmanship" inheritance system, even older than the ninja system itself.

Receiving his approval and beginning training was equivalent to obtaining the official endorsement of the "swordsman" profession within that system.

As for the Konoha Ninja Academy, it was the recognized, orthodox starting point for cultivating ninjas across the entire village, even the entire ninja world. The moment he completed the registration procedures and officially enrolled, he was incorporated into the lowest tier of the grand "ninja" profession system, obtaining the most basic official identity certification.

"Then why don't blacksmith and chef work?"

A new doubt surfaced in Shinichi's mind. Blacksmith and chef were also stable, inherited profession systems, and had even appeared much earlier than ninjas.

Could it be that the inheritance system needed to involve supernatural power, or the application of Chakra, to form a corresponding profession?

But as far as he knew, the ninja world did have "Craft Ninja" and "Cooking Ninja" who used Chakra for forging and cooking.

"Is it because I haven't obtained recognition from the corresponding authority? Or..."

His gaze sharpened as he grasped the key difference. His thoughts were becoming clearer, but Shinichi didn't dwell on it. There were more practical things to do.

The answer might reveal itself when he entered Konoha Hospital and formally began studying pharmacology, medicine, and medical ninjutsu.

He walked out of the school gate, hoisted the conspicuous boulder onto his back again, and began his weighted run around Konoha. The heavy sound of his footsteps struck the ground once more, drawing curious or surprised glances from passersby along the way.

"I have to level up quickly."

As he ran, his mind swept over the row of white tags on his personal panel: [Diligent (White)], [Robust (White)]. They were the fruits of years of his own effort, the foundation for prying open greater power in the future. Every drop of sweat, every time he pushed past his limits under the gaze of others—it all served to solidify and strengthen these impressions.

An hour later, utterly exhausted, Shinichi returned to his new residence.

A week ago, he had moved out of the orphanage and rented this slightly rundown little apartment.

Moving out wasn't just for convenience; it also meant that his stage for "building a persona" had officially expanded—from the area around the orphanage to the vicinity of the Ninja Academy, and even radiating out across the entire village of Konoha.

He closed the door, shutting out the outside world. Leaning against the wall, he slowly steadied his breathing. The calm expression he had deliberately maintained on his face finally relaxed, revealing genuine fatigue. But his eyes remained clear.

He walked into the small kitchen. Years of helping out in the orphanage kitchen, plus a solid year of working at a restaurant, had honed his cooking skills to a respectable level.

He handled the ingredients with practiced efficiency, and soon the aroma of simple food filled the room.

Sitting at the table, he picked up his bowl and ate quickly. Yet his body seemed instinctively to know how to absorb every bit of heat and nutrition more fully and efficiently.

Though the meal was short, by the time he finished, some of his depleted stamina had actually recovered, and even his mental fatigue had lessened considerably.

[Foodie (White): You possess an extraordinary passion and discernment for food. You absorb nutrients from food more efficiently and gain a small amount of extra satisfaction and energy recovery from it.]

That night, after another round of training, Shinichi washed up carefully and changed into clean clothes. Only then did he turn his attention back to the personal panel deep in his consciousness.

His gaze fell on the [Draw Count] section.

[Draw Count: 1 time (White)]

The generation of a profession tag, besides granting cultivation bonuses related to that profession, also awarded one extra chance for a completely random talent tag draw, independent of external recognition.

Two months ago, when the [Swordsmanship Apprentice] tag had condensed, he had obtained his first draw chance and received the [Calm] tag from it.

[Calm (White): When encountering crises, battles, or unexpected situations, you find it easier to remain calm, allowing you to think of countermeasures without external interference.]

Shinichi's feelings about this result had been somewhat mixed at the time. The value of the tag itself was beyond doubt—being able to stay calm and think clearly in a crisis was an extremely important quality for a ninja.

But he believed he could have generated this tag himself by building his persona.

The problem was that he simply didn't have enough time. In the early days, to quickly grind out tags like [Diligent], [Robust], [Tenacious], and [Agile], he had been forced to do things that felt erratic, even worrying to others.

Especially [Tenacious]. To generate that tag as fast as possible, he had even placed his "getting beaten up" spot right at a street corner, just so more people could see and remember it. Such erratic behavior naturally didn't fit the persona of someone calm.

And now, the second draw opportunity had arrived, its source being this morning's [Ninja Academy Student].

"What will I draw this time?"

Shinichi took a deep breath, calming his slightly quickened heartbeat, and focused his mind on the faintly glowing "1 Time (White)" text.

There were no flashy effects, nor any lengthy waiting.

As if only the faintest ripple passed through his vision, the text on the panel had already changed.

[Draws Remaining: 0 Times (White)]

And in the talent entry column, right after [Calm (White)], a new line of text quietly emerged in a white glow.