The Ninth Chapter: Practical Training

After returning home, Shiraishi Yoshijo continued to rack his brains. He felt that something was wrong, but couldn't put his finger on it.

Maybe he'd find the answer someday. That was all he could think.

Seeing how troubled he looked, Shiraishi Eizawa tugged his ear and said crossly, "You're still young, and you've got plenty of time. There's no need to agonize over it."

Shiraishi Eizawa pulled a scroll from his robe and handed it to him.

"It'll probably take half a year to cultivate your three kinds of Summoning Butterflies. Ordinary butterflies will be ready to use in five days at most. This scroll contains the Secret Techniques and Ninjutsu I picked out for you. Think of it as a little consolation."

"In a few days, I'll find you a teacher. You won't have time to dwell on all this then."

"Thanks, Uncle Eizawa."

After taking the scroll, Shiraishi Yoshijo hurried back to his room and opened the Ninjutsu scroll his kind uncle had given him.

Butterfly Clone, Thunder Ball, Body Flicker Technique, Water Dragon Bullet, Thunder Butterfly, Water Dragon Consecutive Bullet, Earth Flow.

The scroll was packed with Ninjutsu records. Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyes went blurry as he read, and some of the techniques were clearly beyond his ability to practice right now.

Had he given him every Lightning Release and Water Release technique in the clan?

For a moment, Shiraishi Yoshijo was filled with mixed emotions.

Whether or not he felt a sense of belonging to the clan, he was still deeply grateful at that moment.

If he hadn't been born into this clan, getting even these ordinary Ninjutsu—not to mention Secret Techniques—would have taken a great deal of effort.

But now these techniques were right in his hands. He didn't have to struggle to earn them, and Shiraishi Eizawa had even gone out of his way to find him a Ninjutsu teacher.

He didn't know who the teacher would be, but they were sure to be a good fit for his Lightning-Water nature.

That was the benefit of being part of a shinobi clan. They had every reason to be proud.

Shiraishi Yoshijo closed the scroll and sighed, lost in thought.

With these techniques and a dedicated Ninjutsu teacher, there didn't seem to be any need for him to keep going to the Ninja Academy.

Graduate early?

The graduation test would definitely involve actual combat, and his current combat skills were pretty pathetic.

Besides, once he graduated, he'd have to join a shinobi squad and take on all those tedious missions.

Wait. Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyes darted around. Some things seemed impossible to him, but his kind uncle might have a way.

What's more, one thing had been weighing on his mind all along: Shiraishi Eizawa's health.

He'd already decided to learn Medical Ninjutsu, but because of the Butterfly Seed, he'd ended up idling away his days at the Ninja Academy.

The most urgent thing now wasn't learning Ninjutsu. It was finding a way to solve this problem.

The techniques were already in his hands, after all. He could learn them whenever he wanted.

But Shiraishi Eizawa didn't have much time left. If he hadn't lied, then in three years at most, Shiraishi Yoshijo would be left all alone.

But Shiraishi Eizawa didn't care about his own health. Was he still hoping to die?

What a lunatic. Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't help cursing under his breath. What was the point of saving someone who was dead set on dying?

At the thought, most of his enthusiasm fizzled out. Shiraishi Yoshijo looked dejected, unable to come up with any good solution.

His eyes rolling around, Shiraishi Yoshijo wondered why his kind uncle wanted to die so badly. Didn't he enjoy good food? Weren't women beautiful?

Wait. Women...

His kind uncle was thirty and still a bachelor. Maybe finding him a wife would improve his mental state?

But then he ran into another problem. He had no friends or connections. Aside from his good looks, all he had was that face.

And that face was no use here!

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Shiraishi Yoshijo flopped onto the bed and started rolling around. Then, one person suddenly came to mind.

Teacher Kawano!

His mentor in life. He looked a little fierce, but he was definitely a good person. Most importantly, he had a beautiful daughter!

She was just a little young—fifteen.

Shiraishi Eizawa was already a thirty-year-old man. Wouldn't that be an old bull eating young grass?

At a time like this, he couldn't help marveling at the depth and breadth of Chinese culture. A saying suddenly came to mind.

"An older husband and a younger wife make for even sweeter tenderness!"

Who had said that? Zhou Shuren, maybe?

Yes, it had to be him.

How considerate of him!

As for Shiraishi Eizawa's short life expectancy, Shiraishi Yoshijo had already pushed it out of his mind. Even if they did get together, they wouldn't marry right away. It would take time.

If Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't find a solution in the meantime, they could part on good terms. And if he did find one, wouldn't that be the perfect happy ending?

At the thought, Shiraishi Yoshijo sprang out of bed in one fluid motion. He opened the door and saw that it was already completely dark.

He'd better wait until tomorrow. He needed to talk to his kind uncle about his own plans anyway.

The next day, before going to school, Shiraishi Yoshijo told Shiraishi Eizawa he wanted to graduate early. He also mentioned that he wanted to work at the hospital.

Developing Medical Ninjutsu from scratch wasn't simple. You couldn't build a massive airplane just by tinkering away in a workshop. What kind of dream was that?

He'd planned to work at the hospital a long time ago. He needed not only all kinds of medical theory, but practical experience as well. There was no way he could get that by sitting at home.

"Graduate early? Work at the hospital? Is something wrong with your head?"

Shiraishi Eizawa's face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

"What's wrong?"

"Take a good look at yourself."

Shiraishi Yoshijo looked himself up and down. Nothing seemed wrong!

"You're only eight years old. Do you know what other eight-year-olds are doing?"

"Going to school?"

He really hadn't thought about it. The main thing was, he couldn't get along with kids his age.

Their ways of thinking were too different. If he forced himself to hang out with them, he'd only come across as a freak.

Even Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya—the three kids who were clearly mature for their age—couldn't get along with him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had deliberately kept his distance from them, but it also showed how complicated relationships could be.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had a limited number of brain cells. He really couldn't be bothered to puzzle over things like that.

"No. You're going to keep going to school and graduate properly. We'll talk about the hospital then."

Shiraishi Eizawa looked ready to eat someone alive, and Shiraishi Yoshijo felt a little nervous.

But he had to do this as soon as possible. In four years, you might have turned into a butterfly.

What would be the point of going to the hospital then? Just to treat patients and benefit the world?

Did he look like that kind of saint?

He'd be better off learning a few more Ninjutsu. That would give him a better chance of surviving on the battlefield.

As for Medical Ninjutsu, Tsunade would study it even if he didn't. Wouldn't it be better to learn from her once she'd figured it out?

Shiraishi Eizawa seemed adamant, so Shiraishi Yoshijo had no choice but to use his family's time-honored cute act.

He tugged at Shiraishi Eizawa's sleeve, shook his little body as hard as he could, and added a pair of eyes on the verge of tears.

Shiraishi Eizawa: "Fine. I understand."

It was in the bag.

Ever since he was little, his uncle had never been able to resist his cute act. It seemed nothing had changed.

When he was younger, he'd mostly used it to mess with him. Now, he was doing it to save his life.

With a cheer, Shiraishi Yoshijo turned and ran out the door. His kind uncle had never let him down before, so he wasn't worried at all.

The thing he was most worried about now was the practical exam.

In theory, any student who had mastered the Three Basic Techniques could apply to graduate. But the practical exam would be a real challenge for him.

His Shuriken skills were decent, and he'd spent the past two years punching logs for Taijutsu practice. But honestly, punching logs was something that depended on both talent and the person.

In the original story, Rock Lee punched logs every day without any trouble. But when Shiraishi Yoshijo tried it, something felt off.

After punching a log once, he had to rest for two or three days. Otherwise, he'd probably be crippled by now.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had wondered more than once how Rock Lee could punch logs every day without any problems. In the end, the only explanation he could come up with was talent.

Talent, huh? Shiraishi Yoshijo clicked his tongue. Why should a guy who relied on his clan for a living compare himself to someone else's talent? Wasn't that just asking to feel bad?

But damn, he was jealous. So jealous!

His Taijutsu was barely at Genin level. There was no way he could pass the exam with that.

Even if he started learning Ninjutsu now, with his amount of Chakra, he'd probably be out of energy after one C-rank technique.

Could he pass the exam with just the Three Basic Techniques and Shuriken?

If only he had some intel. At the thought, Shiraishi Yoshijo thought of three people.

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

If he had to choose one of the three, the answer could only be Orochimaru.

He knew Tsunade, but they weren't close. And with that woman's personality, she'd probably mock him before telling him anything.

As for Jiraiya, the two of them had never gotten along. The incident at the opening ceremony had not only humiliated Jiraiya, but had also left Shiraishi Yoshijo brooding over it.

Decision made. His deskmate, Orochimaru.

At school, he had boring theory lessons in the morning and practical training in the afternoon.

To graduate early, Shiraishi Yoshijo decided to show them what he could really do.

Practical training followed the same old routine: first, throwing Shuriken, then sparring. In the past two years, he'd hardly ever seen Teacher Kawano change things up.

After they finished throwing Shuriken, the sparring began.

After watching several boring matches, Shiraishi Yoshijo started yawning.

They called it shinobi sparring, but really, it was just kids fighting. One punched, the other kicked. Since the Sannin graduated, no one in his class had used Ninjutsu.

Hiruko seemed to know the Clone Technique, so he was now the strongest in the class.

"Next pair: Shiraishi Yoshijo and Mitsui Taro."

Finally, it was his turn. Shiraishi Yoshijo rubbed his hands together, ready to give it his all. The past two years hadn't been a waste; he'd come up with some surefire tips for winning.

When kids fought, the first thing was to look imposing, and the second was to scare the other kid. If you had the upper hand in both, you couldn't lose.

He'd used this trick on Tsunade plenty of times, only to get punched. He'd say a bunch of weird things to confuse her, then sneak in an attack.

If they hadn't been so far apart in strength, he'd have had Tsunade pinned to the ground by now.

After Mitsui Taro and Shiraishi Yoshijo formed the Seal of Confrontation, Teacher Kawano shouted, "Begin!"

"Mitsui Taro, right? I suggest you give up early. The me of today is different from the me of yesterday."

Mitsui Taro: "What are you saying, dead-last? Trying to fool people with that same old routine again? Everyone in class knows you're all talk and useless at everything else."

Shiraishi Yoshijo: "..."

The plan had failed. He charged straight at Mitsui Taro and swung a fist at his face.

Mitsui Taro didn't dodge. He spread his arms, ready to grab him around the waist and throw him to the ground.

Shiraishi Yoshijo began forming hand seals. "Substitution Technique!"

A log dropped to the ground. Mitsui Taro was bewildered and hurriedly looked around.

When he turned around, he saw "homeroom teacher" Kawano standing behind him with a dark expression. Kawano raised a hand and slapped him, then kicked him to the ground.

"You little brat! Bring your parents tomorrow!"

Mitsui Taro hadn't even figured out what was going on. He didn't dare hit his teacher back, and now the teacher was telling him to bring his parents. He was completely bewildered.

Whatever he was thinking, his mouth twisted and tears began to fall.

He cried.