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(Wu Yue offers his thanks!)
"Whoa..."
The moment Uchiha Yue finished speaking, the crowd around them erupted. Almost everyone was cheering for him!
The ninja world respected strength above all else. Even in an environment like the Ninja Academy, the strong were always admired.
What was more, it was common for older students to bully their juniors at the Ninja Academy. Those juniors who arrived with reputations as prodigies were especially likely to be challenged. Yet in the entire history of the Ninja Academy, there had never been a precedent like Uchiha Yue's: someone who had just enrolled and already defeated its second-ranked prodigy.
There was no denying it: before he had even enrolled, Uchiha Yue had already worked a miracle. Though he wasn't yet a student, he had defeated the Ninja Academy's second-ranked prodigy!
But Uchiha Yue didn't take his achievement to heart at all, because he knew he still had a long way to go before he could match Hatake Dansui.
Even without considering Hatake Dansui's extensive battle experience, his mastery of the Hatake Clan's swordsmanship alone was beyond Uchiha Yue's reach. Yue had only won this time because his opponent was immature. And if Yue hadn't realized the value of spiritual energy during the fight and used it to slow down Hatake Dansui's attacks, he would have lost long ago.
But Uchiha Yue was the victor now, so he naturally had the right to taunt the loser standing before him.
Besides, Uchiha Yue needed a goal to keep moving forward. Hatake Kakashi was his goal, and Yue didn't mind at all if Kakashi took notice of him.
As for Hatake Dansui, the one known as the Blade of the Night, his face had turned a deep purplish red as Uchiha Yue mocked him.
Then, when Uchiha Yue tossed his short blade to the ground, Hatake Dansui sheepishly picked it up, left a few threatening words, and fled.
"Uchiha Yue, just you wait!"
"One day, I, Hatake Dansui, will defeat you fair and square!"
"Get lost already! You're so annoying!"
As Hatake Dansui sheepishly led his group away, Uchiha Obito hurried over to Uchiha Yue and clapped him on the shoulder. "Yue, you really are a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan! You even beat Hatake Dansui! Hmph, that guy's all flash and no substance. He doesn't have any real skill. And his cousin, Hatake Kakashi, is just as overrated!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Yue wiped away the sweat left by the intense fight and said seriously, "Hatake Dansui is actually very strong. I still have a ways to go before I can match him. Besides, he's only the Ninja Academy's second-ranked prodigy. Hatake Kakashi may already be as strong as a Genin. He's not someone to underestimate!"
"So what? Hatake Dansui still lost to you!"
Uchiha Yue's words were a bit of a letdown for Uchiha Obito. He pursed his lips and said, "Hatake Dansui, Hatake Kakashi—just hearing those names annoys me. There isn't a single likable person in the Hatake Clan. If I ever run into one of them, I'll knock them flat!"
"Heh..."
Seeing how much Uchiha Obito disliked the Hatake Clan's ninja, Uchiha Yue couldn't help laughing. This was how Obito came to hate the Hatake Clan and start targeting Hatake Kakashi. But Yue soon set the matter aside. For now, the most important thing was to review what he had learned from the fight, especially to figure out how spiritual energy worked.
"During my fight with Hatake Dansui, all I had to do was focus my spiritual energy, and I could easily see through the patterns of his attacks."
"Could spiritual energy really be useful in that way?"
"No wonder skilled ninja can predict their enemies' attacks in advance. Is that another use of spiritual energy?"
As he thought this over, Uchiha Yue began to lose track of his conversation with Uchiha Obito. His focus shifted to using his spiritual energy. His spiritual energy was unusually strong, so controlling it wasn't much trouble. He quickly found the same sensation he'd felt earlier and began using it to observe his surroundings.
Just as Uchiha Yue had guessed, spiritual energy really could reveal the patterns of an enemy's attacks.
And if his spiritual energy was powerful enough, it could even help him predict certain dangers nearby, giving Uchiha Yue another way to sense what was around him.
Soon after...
Once Uchiha Yue had learned to use his spiritual energy with ease—to sense nearby dangers and see through the patterns of his enemies' attacks—the Ninja Academy instructor appeared before the group. By then, the Third Hokage had taken control of Konoha, and naturally, the Ninja Academy, a place where the next generation was trained, was under his control.
The instructor who appeared before Uchiha Yue and the others was an elite ninja from the Sarutobi Clan named Sarutobi Shinsuke.
Next, Instructor Sarutobi Shinsuke simply had the prospective students state their names and clans, then began recording their information.
After roll call, Sarutobi Shinsuke didn't start teaching them right away. Instead, he explained the Ninja Academy's schedule and what they would be studying.
The Ninja Academy of this era wasn't like the one in the original story, where it took a full six years to train a ninja.
At this time, the Ninja Academy's curriculum was divided into four stages: basic training, practical training, applied training, and the graduation exam.
Anyone who completed the training in these stages could pass the graduation exam and become a Genin.
If they felt ready after completing each stage, they could take an exam to skip ahead. It wasn't impossible to become a Genin early.
In addition to the four stages of training, the Ninja Academy also taught students theory, general knowledge of training, training insights, combat experience, Konoha's history, and a range of other subjects. Overall, what the academy taught at this time was fairly practical. After all, resources for ninja were scarce during the Shinobi Wars. The academy's purpose was to quickly train Genin who could fight, not to let students learn without a care in the world like in the original story.
Every day, classes at the Ninja Academy ran from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, with an hour-long lunch break starting at eleven.
On their first day reporting to the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Yue and the others didn't have to attend classes. They would officially enroll three days later.
After finishing his registration, Uchiha Yue didn't go straight home to train. Instead, he brought Uchiha Obito along and went to befriend some of the talented students in their year. Ninja like Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, and Sarutobi Asuma already had a good impression of Uchiha Yue. And now that he'd just defeated the Ninja Academy's second-ranked prodigy, he was at the height of his fame. When he went over to introduce himself, they were naturally even warmer toward him.
While befriending Konoha's new generation of ninja, Uchiha Yue also made sure to introduce them to his friend, Uchiha Obito.
But when Uchiha Yue noticed Obito staring blankly at Rin the whole time, he sighed to himself:
Sigh, Obito, you really are a hopeless romantic!
Too bad I don't have time to spend chasing girls at the Ninja Academy.
To grow stronger, my next goal...
Will be mastering the most basic ninjutsu: the Three Body Techniques!
Before you continue