School and Exams

Nawaki was already a perfect politician. In front of all these children, under their innocent gazes, he lied without batting an eye. He felt not the slightest guilt. On the contrary, after gaining Wish Power and their admiration, he was filled with joy.

"I don't know what he said, but it sounds really impressive." That was one of the average-IQ extras.

"Is he really only two? Why is he taller than me?" This one was a little smarter and had spotted the key point at a glance, but he was still an extra.

"He's so handsome!" "So cool!" "I like him so much!" Those were the lovestruck girls.

"He actually announced that he plans to become Hokage? The young clan leader has quite some ambition!" That was the Senju Clan.

"The Will of Fire? What a truly remarkable conviction! I'll have to work even harder, too!" That was Hiashi and Hizashi, who had been completely taken in.

"Hmph! What's there to be so proud of? What an attention-seeking brat! There's no way I'd be friends with a kid like that. I'll make you pay one day!" That was, of course, Big Pillar, Uchiha Sasuke's father.

From that day on, Nawaki became the center of attention in class. But once lessons began, he found the Ninja Academy's curriculum far too easy. He knew the so-called theory better than the teachers did. It was a complete waste of time.

So, starting the next day, he made an extra Shadow Clone to attend school in his place. Meanwhile, he began practicing ninjutsu of every elemental nature and continued his Taijutsu training.

Since his body hadn't fully matured and he didn't have enough chakra, he didn't recklessly practice the other forbidden techniques in the Scroll of Sealing. Instead, he began training in ninjutsu of all five elemental natures, while using it to improve his Hand Seals speed and learn to form them one-handed. He could now form four seals per second, but he still hadn't mastered one-handed Hand Seals. He couldn't match Itachi's godlike speed, which even the Sharingan couldn't follow. Nawaki figured that it was easier to improve one's Hand Seals speed at a younger age. In the original story, very few people ever managed to improve their speed; most seemed to have reached their limit.

Hand Seals were the foundation of most ninjutsu. Except for a handful of seal-less techniques and Taijutsu, even bloodline techniques required Hand Seals. So he needed to improve his speed and strive to perform every Wood Release technique in a single second. As far as he knew, the ninjutsu with the most Hand Seals was the B-rank Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, which required a full forty-four seals. Although the Second Hokage could simplify it, it still took several seconds to complete. Fortunately, Wood Release required no more than six seals, so once he mastered one-handed Hand Seals, he'd be able to perform every Wood Release technique in a second.

At the same time, he began training in nature transformation. Although his innate affinity for all seven elements let him use ninjutsu of every nature, some seal-less techniques demanded a high degree of control over nature transformation, so he still needed to train if he wanted to master them completely. Since he couldn't make many Shadow Clones, his progress wasn't very fast, but sooner or later, he'd master every nature transformation.

"So, the principle behind the five elements' cycle of overcoming one another is..." Matsushita Ida, the Chunin in charge of the elite class, noticed that the youngest student, Senju Nawaki, was sprawled over his desk, daydreaming. He decided to quiz him. "Nawaki, if you're attacked by Fire Release, what technique should you use to defend yourself?"

"Teacher Matsushita, it depends on the situation. If it's a C-rank Fire Release technique with a small area of effect, like the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, it's best to dodge with Taijutsu or use the Substitution Technique. There's no need to defend with another elemental technique and waste chakra. Of course, if you're protecting someone else, it's best to use the C-rank Water Release: Wild Water Wave to extinguish the enemy's technique.

"If it's a wide-area B-rank Fire Release technique, like Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique, and you can't dodge with the Substitution Technique, then it's best to defend with Water Release: Water Formation Wall, since it requires fewer Hand Seals.

"If it's an A-rank Fire Release technique with an enormous area of effect, like Majestic Destroyer Flame, it's most likely to appear on a battlefield. So the best choice is for several people to use Water Release: Water Formation Wall together. Alone, you should defend with the Water Wall Technique or extinguish it before it reaches you with Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique. As for S-rank Fire Release techniques, none have ever appeared in the Shinobi World, so we don't need to consider them.

"Teacher Matsushita, do you think my answer is right?"

What could Matsushita say? He hadn't even heard of some of those techniques. He was at a loss himself.

"Oh... excellent! You may sit down." He felt as if this two-year-old student had just taught him a lesson. Was this what a genius was like? Was this the depth of a distinguished clan's heritage? It was absurd. Matsushita's confidence had taken a greater hit than ever before.

"He's so amazing!"

"He's so handsome! I think he's even better than the teacher!"

"Hmph, showing off again!"

The students chattered among themselves. Teacher Matsushita was so flustered that he could barely focus. Well... there was no way he could continue the lesson.

After that lesson, Matsushita stopped interfering with Nawaki. He let him do whatever he wanted, whether daydreaming or sleeping, as long as he didn't disrupt the class. Once Nawaki figured out where Matsushita drew the line, he had his Shadow Clone practice nature transformation with leaves during lessons. Matsushita couldn't figure out what he was doing and assumed he was just staring at a leaf.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. The Ninja Academy only taught students how to extract chakra, the Three Basic Techniques, and Shurikenjutsu. Students trained on their own in their free time; there were never any ninjutsu training classes.

However, the school held an exam at the end of every semester. The exam tested the Three Basic Techniques, Shurikenjutsu, and combat.

First came the exam on the Three Basic Techniques. Since a Shadow Clone couldn't use the Clone Technique, Nawaki had to go to school and take the exam himself this time. (That sentence sounded so awkward.)

"Nawaki, you're up." At Matsushita's call, everyone turned to look at him.

Nawaki's hands swiftly formed a series of different signs. In less than a second, he performed all three techniques in succession. Three sharp puffs rang out, and a chair appeared where Nawaki had been standing. Nawaki sat on it without moving.

Matsushita immediately realized that the one sitting on the chair was a clone, but he couldn't tell where Nawaki himself was. "Come out, Nawaki."

With a puff, the chair beside Matsushita turned into Nawaki.

Matsushita broke out in a cold sweat. "He performed all three techniques in less than a second? He used the Substitution Technique to swap places with the chair while simultaneously using the Transformation Technique to turn into one, and his clone happened to be sitting on the chair. He performed all three techniques almost at once, and even I, a Chunin instructor, couldn't spot the flaw. His control over the Three Basic Techniques is already perfect—better than mine! Genius doesn't even begin to describe him. He's a monster!"

Only after hearing Matsushita's explanation did the students around them understand what had happened in that instant.

"So cool! Nawaki-kun is the best!"

"Th-that's amazing!"

"Even the teacher admits he's outmatched? Is this the power of conviction, Nawaki-kun?"

"Damn it! That brat is actually this strong? Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll definitely be able to see through it!"