What Score Should He Get?

Having officially come into contact with ninjutsu knowledge concerning Chakra Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation, Aoba could finally conduct research and train openly.

He no longer had to secretly practice Fire Release and Earth Release, though he still trained in private or in places with few people around.

He had no intention of standing out too much. In Konoha, where geniuses gathered and undercurrents surged, excessive talent was not always a good thing. It could instead attract unnecessary attention.

Especially for a kid with considerable medical talent. He did not want to catch the eye of Root or Orochimaru.

With more systematic and comprehensive knowledge, Aoba's training in chakra shape and nature transformations immediately made a qualitative leap.

He had initially thought he would first master the more offensive Fire Release nature transformation, after all, he had a complete Fire Release ninjutsu as a reference.

Yet unexpectedly, Earth Release opened its doors to him first.

Aoba leaned against a large rock, idly turning a grayish-white pebble over in his hand.

The pebble's surface was smooth. He had picked it up casually a week ago and would play with it whenever he had nothing to do, occasionally channeling chakra into it to comprehend the "heaviness of earth."

Unexpectedly, after Aoba continuously infused it with chakra, the pebble underwent a peculiar change.

He could clearly sense that this ordinary pebble, having been "soaked" in his chakra for so long, had developed a strange sort of "activity" and was no longer as resistant to his chakra.

He then scanned it.

[Material: Sedimentary rock. Density: 2.6 g/cm³.]

[Chakra erosion level detected...]

[Current erosion level: 10.2%. Property classification: Chakra erosion.]

"Chakra 'pollution'..."

Rather than calling it erosion, Aoba preferred to think of it as pollution.

Knowing the plot, he understood perfectly well that chakra was an outright foreign import.

An extraterrestrial product.

Only after the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninjutsu Sect did chakra spread, and by now, it had basically permeated the entire Shinobi World.

Humans possessed chakra, as did animals and plants. There was even something like Chakra Metal.

Of course, now that he was living within it, there was no point dwelling on where chakra came from.

What interested Aoba now was this corrosive "pollution."

After researching it, Aoba reached a conclusion.

This was not pollution in the conventional sense. It was more like assimilation.

Chakra was like dye bearing an intense personal imprint. When it continuously permeated an object over a long period, the object's original properties would be covered over, gradually taking on the user's color.

Aoba thoughtfully rubbed the stone's surface.

What would happen if I dyed the entire stone my own color?

However, the pebble's internal structure was too dense for chakra to penetrate easily.

If chakra was water, then the stone was a dense, dry sponge. Water could only remain on the surface; soaking the sponge through would take a long time.

In that case, he would try a different approach.

What about loose sand?

Chakra suddenly burst from Aoba's wrist, and the pebble in his palm was instantly crushed into sandy powder.

As he spread his hand, Aoba's thoughts stirred. Some of the tiny grains were drawn by an invisible hand—the sand that had already been completely eroded by his chakra.

Rather than flying about chaotically, they followed the flow of chakra and gathered into an irregular little clump of sand roughly five centimeters above Aoba's palm.

Though it was only the size of his pinky finger and looked ready to fall apart at any moment, this was indeed—sand control.

Sunagakure's [Sand Control Secret Technique]!

Magnet Release was Magnet Release; it controlled Iron Sand through magnetic force. What Aoba was doing now was simply dyeing the sand his own color with chakra, then using a bit of Earth Release nature transformation to make it float.

Strictly speaking, it could not even be considered sand control. He was merely controlling his own chakra, which happened to be connected to the sand.

Pure chakra could not leave the body unless it took the form of a ninjutsu, but sand dyed with his color could leave his body, even if only by a tiny amount.

Still, it gave Aoba an idea.

He also surmised that Sunagakure's so-called [Sand Manipulation Technique] had likely evolved from this as well.

It was the earliest prototype of Sunagakure's [Sand Control Secret Technique].

Aoba was extremely pleased.

Discovering the laws behind things through research and putting them to use made him feel as though he had rediscovered his previous life's identity as a scientific researcher.

"I didn't expect researching Earth Release nature transformation to bring such an unexpected gain."

"But this initial version is still far too crude. I'm completely forcing it with a massive amount of chakra."

In just this short while, a fine layer of sweat had formed on Aoba's forehead, and he had consumed a great deal of chakra.

It seemed that developing a [Sand Control Secret Technique] suitable for actual combat was still a long and arduous road.

Ninja Academy, Experimental Class

The long-missing Lady Tsunade finally appeared again.

Despite having "rested" for so long, Tsunade somehow looked even more exhausted. The gloom between her brows had deepened, and she looked like someone who had not yet sobered up from a hangover.

Aoba glanced at Shizune and found her secretly covering her eyes.

Well, it seemed Shizune had done her best. At such a young age, she had to take care of a baby over three hundred months old.

The previously gloomy Experimental Class instantly erupted. The light in the students' eyes was practically warmer than when they saw their own mothers, and some nearly cried tears of joy.

The reason was simple: Teacher Ueno's lessons were simply too "hardcore."

During this period, they faced either slimy frogs or disgusting rats every day. The air even seemed to be filled with the smell of blood and sour stench—from vomiting.

For a group of children who had not yet graduated, it was simply a double torment of mind and body. It was hell.

"Great! No more dissections at last!"

"My hands are still shaking..."

"I used to dream about a giant frog chasing me with a scalpel, sob sob sob..."

The classroom overflowed with the joyous atmosphere of being reborn.

Naive.

Far too naive.

While the excited cheers rang out around him, Aoba remained much calmer. He knew all too well just how nasty Tsunade's personality could be.

Sure enough, just as Aoba expected, Tsunade walked straight to the podium and swept her gaze around the room with a smile.

"Not bad. Looks like everyone's in high spirits, so..."

Tsunade heavily slammed a stack of test papers onto the podium. "Let's have an exam."

The previously lively classroom instantly fell silent, and every smile froze on its owner's face.

It seemed they were hearing things.

An assessment?

Now?

The classroom was deathly silent.

The students, who had been reveling in the return of their idol one second earlier, looked shattered the next.

How could a mouth at thirty-seven degrees say something so cold?

"What? Is there a problem?"

Tsunade raised a brow, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped the room. "Will wounded soldiers on the battlefield give you time to prepare? Put everything away. Anyone caught cheating can get the hell out of the Experimental Class."

The wails of despair were forcibly swallowed back down.

The test papers were quickly handed out.

Aoba received his paper and swiftly looked over the questions.

The difficulty was acceptable.

They covered basic theory, pharmacological knowledge, and chakra nature identification—all topics Tsunade had mentioned in class before. Even without using the auxiliary Chip to cheat, Aoba could easily handle these questions.

But he did not immediately start writing.

He was considering a very serious question—what score would be appropriate?