At the end of March in Year 44 of Konoha, cherry blossoms fell once more, and graduation season at the Ninja Academy arrived right on schedule.
News that someone in Class A of the second year had graduated early spread long beforehand. After Hatake Kakashi, another genius had appeared, a sign of the village's prosperity.
Especially since the applicant came from a civilian ninja family. With the news deliberately promoted, even the boys preparing to enroll were greatly encouraged.
Perhaps the children simply didn't want to lose to their peers, but for many families, having talent and receiving special consideration meant the path to advancement had opened to them.
As before, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi presided over this graduation exam. Might Duy was a little nervous and paced back and forth at the gate.
Might Guy understood his father's feelings. In just two years, he had completely shaken off the title of "Dead Last."
Even his theoretical knowledge had settled in the top ten in class. Shu Furukawa's method of keeping a notebook of mistakes had been very effective.
"Don't be nervous, Guy. Everyone recognizes how hard you've worked. All that's left now is the Transformation Technique and Clone Technique."
"By the way, I have the results of your theory exam. You've passed!"
The homeroom teacher, Ryosuke Kimura, standing beside the Hokage, wore a proud expression. Hiruzen smiled warmly, looked at the nervous boy, and encouraged him:
"Show us the results of your training. I've heard Ryosuke praise you more than once."
"Yes, Lord Hokage! Teacher Ryosuke!"
For this day, Might Guy had specially changed into the brand-new green bodysuit his father had prepared for him. Bandages were wrapped around his hands. After calling out loudly, he immediately performed the jutsu.
Just as expected, after practicing constantly for two years, Might Guy had completely mastered these low-level techniques.
He successfully transformed into his homeroom teacher, then performed the Clone Technique flawlessly as well.
Guy knew the gap between his chakra control and that of Shu Furukawa and Kakashi. With nothing going wrong during the exam, he couldn't help grinning.
"Excellent!"
Hiruzen praised him loudly. The four people nearby saw the Hokage's smile and straightened their chests. Ryosuke Kimura immediately took out the prepared Forehead Protector and solemnly handed it to Might Guy:
"Guy, from today on, you're a ninja who can stand on your own."
"The hard life of a Genin is about to begin. Don't slack off—keep working hard!"
"Also, you'll need to take a new photo for your ninja registration. Don't forget. Now go share the good news with your father."
Might Guy accepted the Forehead Protector and bowed solemnly. Then he looked at the people before him and loudly vowed, his fighting spirit soaring:
"My youth will burn until the end of my life! I'll definitely become an outstanding ninja!"
As Might Guy and his father embraced passionately at the school gate, tears of joy in their eyes, Shu Furukawa's unconventional exam was also nearing its end.
In the training ground behind the Ninja Academy, huge cracks had appeared in the earth. Scattered stones and pits surrounded them.
Tsunade, wearing a green Konoha Jonin vest, slowly rose from a crater. Unfazed by the Shadow Clone that had disappeared before her, she continued calmly:
"Even in battles between Jonin, ninjutsu often isn't the best choice."
"You should understand what I mean. The amount of chakra you can mold at once is very limited, and most ninjas don't have much talent in that regard."
"As you get older, your chakra reserves will eventually surpass mine. Combined with your exceptional control..."
Tsunade abruptly stopped mid-pitch. A shrill sound, like a thousand birds crying out, rang beside her ear, followed by an explosion.
"Boom!"
"Zzz... zzz..."
His speed surged. Shu Furukawa charged straight ahead, the electricity gathered in his right hand shrieking wildly through the air. The blue chakra was visible to the naked eye, and for the first time, Tsunade looked surprised.
The chirping thrust reached her in the blink of an eye. Tsunade sidestepped and extended her right hand, dodging the attack as she flicked Shu Furukawa on the forehead with her middle finger.
"Thud..."
He flew backward at even greater speed, landing on the grass in the woods and rolling twice before lying sprawled on his back, breathing deeply.
"So this is what it means to have a talent for ninjutsu?! I admit, you really are a genius in this area!"
"Not bad, Shu. Your nature and shape transformations of Lightning Release Chakra are excellent. The technique is highly refined."
"You create a large amount of chakra to stimulate your cells, activating your body once, then squeeze even more chakra out of the activated cells."
Tsunade approached Shu Furukawa with her arms crossed. Recalling the questions she had answered for him, she inferred most of the technique's principles.
As she spoke, she grew a little puzzled. She had expected Shu Furukawa to be out of stamina by now. With that in mind, Tsunade immediately crouched down and praised him:
"I'm very pleased! You've improved again in just a few months."
"I'll take back some of what I said before. If you make me happy with your progress in Medical Ninjutsu, I'll let you access some of my collection. I can even have that guy Orochimaru guide you in ninjutsu!"
Faced with Tsunade's unfairly curvaceous figure, Shu Furukawa could only sigh helplessly. At least she had finally agreed to let him continue studying ninjutsu.
In fact, he had eaten a secret pill before using the Shadow Clone. He had still wasted some time getting the proportions right, but the technique's power had indeed increased considerably.
"Teacher Tsunade, were you trying to kill me? There's no need to go all out against a Genin."
"That attack wrecked half the training ground. Won't it cause trouble for the village?"
Shu Furukawa pushed himself up with a wry smile. One stomp had split the earth, and after experiencing it firsthand, he could only think it was absurd.
Thinking of the "Mecha" used by the Dance King of Uchiha in his memories, Shu Furukawa grew even more curious about chakra as an energy source. He was also deeply fascinated by its extraordinary power.
"Enough complaining!"
"Congratulations on passing my test. You're now a Genin who can stand on your own."
Tsunade pulled Shu Furukawa to his feet and personally tied the Forehead Protector around his head. Then she stepped back and looked him over carefully, teasing him on purpose:
"No wonder Shizune said you're so popular at school!"
Shu Furukawa reached up to adjust the Konoha Forehead Protector on his head. When he saw Shizune jogging over with a happy smile, he could only imitate Guy and give a thumbs-up.
He wasn't Obito Uchiha. He only liked mature women.
"Let's go. We still need to tell Old Man. There are a lot of outstanding children in this class, so he should be very happy."
"Remember not to use that technique carelessly. Even with your sensory abilities, dynamic vision, and reflexes, it's still extremely dangerous."
Tsunade smiled as she turned her head to remind him. Then she took Shizune by the hand, her golden twin tails swaying back and forth as she continued to think aloud:
"You still need to build a strong foundation at your age. I'll have you take on some of the chakra-molding work. The medicinal herbs you cultivated last year were a great help."
"The instructor for your three-person squad hasn't been decided yet. I'll discuss it with Old Man."
"You also need more real combat experience. I almost forgot—what's that technique called? Want me to come up with a good name for you?"
Clearly delighted by her student's talent, Tsunade stopped and asked, looking at Shu Furukawa expectantly.
"Chidori!"
Shu Furukawa smiled as he gave the Lightning Release technique its name. In his mind, he pictured the time back in middle school when he had imitated the hand seals, with a bunch of chuunibyou kids chasing one another around.
"I didn't expect it to be such a good name. It's surprisingly fitting!"
Tsunade laughed heartily, as if the name had reminded her of something, and teased him:
"Looks like you're much better at naming things than Jiraiya's student! No wonder you're a genius I trained myself!"