Strength Test

Chapter 13: Strength Test

Mirai began training his body with all his might. It was the only thing he could do for now. Compared to the others, he had one natural advantage: he knew what would benefit him. A person's energy was limited. He couldn't learn from hot-blooded Guy's life-risking taijutsu, but he still needed a body that could handle any situation.

As their homeroom teacher had said, refining chakra too early would put a strain on the body, so there was no need to start training it prematurely. Hand seals, however, required practice. In the anime, even the children at the Ninja Academy practiced hand seals while playing. There were twelve seals, and mastering them took a long time.

Besides, Mirai had already been practicing for half a year. He'd found the hand seals through a Baidu search back on Earth. He'd thought they were fun and practiced them for amusement. When he grew up, he'd thought himself foolish for it, but now he realized he was lucky to have been so foolish back then—his hand seals were faster because of it.

There were twelve hand seals in sequence, and Mirai could complete them in five seconds. He was now working hard to reach three seals per second. His goal was five per second. He didn't have Uchiha Itachi's talent for forming seals with one hand, so he'd make up for it with greater speed.

After finishing his training, Mirai lay down to rest. He'd used up a lot of energy that day, and he had school again tomorrow. He set his alarm and soon fell fast asleep.

School days passed quickly. Before long, a month had gone by. Mirai trained diligently every day, and before he knew it, he seemed to have become much stronger. His body was more nimble and agile, and his hand seals had finally reached a speed of three per second. That was already very fast; getting even a little faster would be extremely difficult.

Mirai also completed the school's training exercises to a very high standard every day. Before long, he had made a name for himself among his classmates.

Of course, Uchiha Itachi, who was on about the same level as Mirai, did just as well on the training exercises assigned by the school. The children's accomplishments naturally reached their parents' ears, and parents passed the news on to others. Before long, Mirai had become a gifted young boy known to many.

Everyone in the class had gathered at Training Ground No. 1, seated on the ground. Their homeroom teacher, Nakamura Hino, stood before them and said, "It's been over a month since you enrolled. You've all completed the training program set by the school, but the training here alone isn't nearly enough. That's why I often remind you not to spend too much time playing after school and to practice more. Now it's time to see what you've actually accomplished."

"Ninjas have to fight. It's thanks to the brave, tireless battles of those who came before us, who risked their lives without hesitation, that Konoha is as prosperous as it is today. So today's practical training will be different. You'll fight one another and determine a winner. I'll grade you based on your performance, and your rankings will be recorded as part of your graduation results. This strength test will be held once a month. If you want to become true ninjas, then fight hard to win!"

[Ding! A school mission has been triggered. For the host's safety, defeat your opponents in this strength test. Mission reward: 1 Point for each opponent defeated. Points will be deducted for each loss. Mission difficulty: F]

Mirai heard the System Shop's notification and pursed his lips. How stingy. Just one Point? Couldn't they give me a few more? Still, it didn't matter. Every little bit helped, and the mission wasn't difficult. Mirai accepted it.

All the students in the class were eager to fight. Obviously, whether boys or girls, anyone who had come to this school hoping to become a ninja wasn't willing to fall behind. Besides, Nakamura Hino was right. If ninjas didn't fight, what was the point of all their training?

"We'll now draw lots to decide the matchups. The two people whose names are drawn will fight one-on-one until there's a winner." Nakamura Hino brought out a cardboard box containing slips of paper with every student's name.

"Yamazaki, you'll go first," the teacher said, calling on a student. Everyone in the class had a number, and Yamazaki Kawa was number one.

"Yes!" Yamazaki Kawa pointed at himself, stood up, and went to the box to draw a slip. He handed it to Nakamura Hino, who opened it. The name on it was Uchiha Itachi. Mirai smiled when he saw it. What bad luck—to run into Uchiha Itachi right away. Still, that's good for me. At least I don't have to worry about facing him in the first round.

"The first match is Yamazaki Kawa versus Uchiha Itachi," Nakamura Hino announced.

Uchiha Itachi stood up without a change in expression and said to Yamazaki Kawa, "I look forward to our match."

Yamazaki Kawa replied, "Likewise." Uchiha Itachi was usually quiet, and there were only a few people who spoke with him. Everyone had completed the regular training exercises, and Uchiha Itachi and Mirai had only done slightly better than the rest. Many people didn't think that made much of a difference.

"Here I come! Aaaah!" Yamazaki Kawa yelled as he ran straight at Uchiha Itachi. When he got close, he swung a fist at him.

Uchiha Itachi dodged to the side. Yamazaki Kawa froze, realizing his target had suddenly disappeared. He whipped his head around, only to see a fist growing larger right in front of his eyes. Terrified, he squeezed his eyes shut. But when the pain he expected never came, he opened them and saw Uchiha Itachi standing in front of him, his hand withdrawn.

"Thank you for the match," Uchiha Itachi said calmly.

Nakamura Hino announced, "Uchiha Itachi wins the first match!" He recorded how both boys had performed. He had to admit Uchiha Itachi had done well; the gap between their abilities was enormous. With proper training, he could very well become a formidable ninja in the future. As a teacher, Nakamura Hino naturally wanted to help cultivate ninjas like the Fourth Hokage. Since he couldn't go to the battlefield himself, training ninjas was an especially important job.

"Good. Next match, Fukuda Yumiko versus..." Nakamura Hino began announcing the next pair of students.

After a while, it was finally Mirai's turn. His opponent was a boy named Sato, who was loud and boisterous in class. Mirai had hardly ever spoken to him.