Graduation, Gains

Early the next morning, Beichen Haotian got up bright and early. After breakfast, he slung on his little backpack, carried his wooden sword, and headed for the Ninja Academy. To avoid being pinched and fussed over by the neighborhood uncles, aunties, and young ladies, Beichen Haotian had deliberately gotten up more than half an hour early.

By the time he ran to school and arrived at his classroom, hardly anyone was there yet. Sitting in his seat with nothing to do, he practiced Hand Seals with his little hands. Having arrived in this world two years ago, Beichen Haotian's sealing speed had reached a beginner's level after two years of practice, roughly comparable to that of a genin.

After waiting for more than half an hour, nearly everyone in the class had arrived. A group of little boys and girls chattered nonstop, making Beichen Haotian utterly speechless. Looking around, only the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and himself were relatively quiet, each occupied with their own business.

A few more minutes passed before the teacher finally arrived. Their first class was Konoha History Class.

Listening to the teacher babble enthusiastically at the front, Beichen Haotian could not help curling his lip. This was probably the subject he disliked listening to most.

Fortunately, while his mind wandered elsewhere and he thought about other things, time passed rather quickly. The later classes were far more interesting. This was an entirely new power system, different from Earth and One Piece. Knowledge about ninja tracking, counter-tracking, intelligence gathering, assassination, trap-setting, and more opened Beichen Haotian's eyes. He was extremely interested, so he listened very attentively.

Time passed bit by bit through eating, sleeping, training, and attending school. Before long, it was Konoha Year 31. Beichen Haotian was eight years old that year and nearing nine.

Through the idle chatter of the villagers, the situation in the Ninja World had become increasingly tense. From the memories of his past life, Beichen Haotian knew that the Second Shinobi World War would break out in no more than two years. As a graduating class so close to the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War, going to the battlefield was unavoidable.

To avoid becoming cannon fodder, Beichen Haotian began putting in more effort, becoming the genius of this class second only to Minato Namikaze. After all, geniuses would not be assigned missions certain to end in death.

Early the next morning, the Ninja Academy graduation exam began. In a specially designated large classroom, Class One was lining up and preparing to take the examination.

"Next, Beichen Haotian."

Dressed in a black warrior's uniform, Beichen Haotian walked onto the stage with an indifferent expression. Quite a few young girls below immediately squealed. In Class One, Minato Namikaze and Beichen Haotian had the greatest charm and the most supporters. Minato Namikaze was the warm, handsome type, full of friendliness and smiles as bright as sunshine. Beichen Haotian, meanwhile, was the cool, handsome type, similar to Sasuke. It was not that Beichen Haotian was deliberately putting on airs; he simply could not fit in with a bunch of little kids, which created that impression in others.

"Haotian, your exam topic is the Clone Technique. Begin."

Beichen Haotian nodded slightly and began forming Hand Seals. His hands moved extremely fast, far faster than an ordinary genin's, nearly reaching the sealing speed of a Chunin.

Poof! A puff of white smoke flashed, and another identical Beichen Haotian appeared on the stage.

"Good. Well done. Combined with your usual grades, your overall evaluation is excellent. You've passed the examination," the examiner said approvingly.

Beichen Haotian nodded at the examiner and calmly walked off the stage, prompting another burst of cheers from the girls.

"Next, Minato Namikaze."

"Go! Go!" Even louder cheers erupted from below than when Beichen Haotian had taken the stage. Beichen Haotian secretly curled his lip. Warm, handsome guys seemed more popular than the cold, cool type. Should I change my style in the future? To be honest, when Beichen Haotian had watched Naruto in his previous life, there had always been something he could not understand.

Why was it that the ninjas in it, regardless of which ninja village they came from, did not seem to like women? Apart from the few men who dared pursue women, there were instead more women bravely pursuing the men they loved. Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Temari, and others all had the courage to pursue the people they loved. He could not understand it, truly could not understand it. Why were the men in Naruto so resistant to beautiful women?

In any case, although Beichen Haotian was obsessed with the way of the sword, his resistance to beautiful women was nowhere near as strong as the men in this world. For now, he was only at the level of a normal man from Earth.

As all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, Beichen Haotian saw Minato Namikaze begin his examination and quickly focused on watching. In this class, the only person who could be his opponent was the genius Minato Namikaze. After observing the others, Beichen Haotian found that their achievements would be limited. Without some tremendous opportunity, they would never reach Kage-level.

Minato Namikaze wore a sunny smile as his hands fluttered like butterflies among flowers. He immediately performed the Transformation Jutsu. Poof! White smoke flashed, and Minato Namikaze transformed into the examiner.

"Excellent. You've passed the examination," the examiner announced with a beaming smile. Two geniuses had emerged under his watch. Once they achieved success in the future, it would reflect well on him too.

Beichen Haotian's pupils contracted slightly. That sealing speed truly deserved the title of genius. It had definitely reached the level of a Chunin, perhaps even a little faster.

After waiting another dozen minutes or so, everyone had finally completed their examinations. Those who passed were jubilant, while those who failed were dejected.

After the examination, the school issued Konoha Ninja Headbands. From that day onward, Beichen Haotian officially became a ninja. After explaining some arrangements for what came next, they were dismissed.

The moment school ended, Beichen Haotian quickly slipped away and went to a shop in Konoha that specialized in selling Ninja Tools. He bought some Shuriken, several Kunai, forty Explosive Tags, and finally ordered a Ninja Sword customized to suit his height and habits.

That single purchase spent most of his parents' savings, compensation payment, and orphan subsidy, leaving him with only a few dozen ryo. Fortunately, missions would begin soon, and he would be able to earn money himself by completing them.

Speaking of which, the currency at this time was divided into yuan and ryo. One hundred yuan equaled one ryo. A few dozen ryo amounted to several thousand yuan. Given Beichen Haotian's standard of meals, it was enough for a little more than two months of food alone. If he ate like Naruto, having nothing but instant noodles or ramen three times a day, it would be enough to feed Naruto for around half a year.

After waiting two hours, his custom Ninja Sword was finally finished. It even came with a wooden sheath. Drawing the blade, its glint reflected in Beichen Haotian's eyes. It was a silver longsword fashioned after a Chinese Tang Saber. The hilt was black, engraved with neat, symmetrical white five-pointed stars. The blade was one meter long, its edge gleaming with a cold light. One glance was enough to tell how incredibly sharp it was.

Nodding in satisfaction, Beichen Haotian paid the remaining balance and returned to his small courtyard with the sword. Unable to wait any longer, he began practicing his family's Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique. In the small courtyard, silver blade light flashed as killing intent surged and a grim, murderous aura spread through the air.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle... Suddenly, blue electricity spread across the silver-white blade. Blue arcs crawled over the sword as its sharp edge sliced through the air. For a moment, electric arcs, blade flashes, and tearing wind intertwined in the tiny courtyard, adding several more layers to its murderous aura.

Ten minutes later, Beichen Haotian stopped and sat on the courtyard steps to recover the Chakra he had expended. Beichen Haotian did not actually know his own Chakra nature. He had merely tested it out using some Release techniques left behind by his parents.

His father had been a Lightning Release Chunin, while his mother had been a Wind Release Chunin. It was only because he practiced the ninjutsu his father left behind that he discovered Lightning Release within himself. As for whether he possessed other natures, he did not know. Chakra Paper was not cheap. In any case, Beichen Haotian definitely did not possess Wind Release Chakra.

Half an hour later, the Chakra in his body had mostly recovered. For genin, their main combat methods were Taijutsu, Kunai, Shuriken, and Explosive Tags. Ninjutsu was secondary, since ordinary genin simply had limited Chakra. A few low-level techniques would drain them dry.

Not everyone had Naruto's monstrous physique and astonishingly vast Chakra reserves. Ordinary Jonin could use the Shadow Clone Technique, but Naruto could use it easily and create enormous numbers of clones.

Three years of training day after day, regardless of heat or cold, had brought Beichen Haotian tremendous progress. First, the physical training from childhood to adulthood, combined with the powerful spiritual strength of someone who had lived three lives, allowed Beichen Haotian to refine about half again as much Chakra as an ordinary genin. Second, his swordsmanship had recovered to seventy percent of the skill he possessed as a Great Swordmaster in his previous life. However, due to his age, physique, and Haki, he still could not use certain swordsmanship ultimate moves.

Third, he had also mastered one of the Six Powers: Shave. He had learned this move first because it was not easy for an ordinary civilian ninja to learn the Body Flicker Technique. Moreover, Taijutsu-based Body Flicker did not require him to worry about Chakra consumption. Stamina recovered much more easily than Chakra. Fourth, Haki had proven usable in this world. Beichen Haotian's Observation Haki had already awakened. His Armament Haki had not yet awakened, but Beichen Haotian had a premonition that day was not far off.

His enormous increase in strength filled Beichen Haotian with confidence for tomorrow's mission. The escalating conflicts between the ninja villages had made the situation increasingly tense. Missions at a time like this naturally would not involve picking peaches, delivering letters, or finding pets. At the very least, they would be escort missions.

As a Great Swordmaster seasoned by countless battles, he naturally did not fear carrying out missions. Instead, he looked forward to fighting. It was precisely the intense and frequent battles in the One Piece World that had allowed Qin Moxuan to become a world-famous Great Swordmaster within just a few years of making his name. Countless people had died beneath the Tang Saber in Qin Moxuan's hands. In his previous life, the Tang Saber Blood Sacrifice in Qin Moxuan's hand had nearly transformed from an ordinary good blade into a demonic sword.

Speaking of that, Beichen Haotian really wanted to complain about something. In Japanese Anime, the distinction between knives and swords was truly not that great; they were often treated as the same thing.

Today, Beichen Haotian took a rare break. He trained for one less afternoon and properly wandered around Konoha, sampling some snacks and especially having dinner at Ichiraku Ramen. That night, after strolling around for a while, he returned early to sleep, preparing to greet the first day of his official life as a ninja with his fullest energy!