Going to complain to the Hokage had apparently really worked. For the following stretch of time, Taiichi neither saw Danzo again nor received any threats from Root.
Life seemed to have returned to how it was before, but only Taiichi knew that things were different. Feeling the pressure, he became even more diligent. Not only did he spend more time training every day, but he also became stricter with himself. If he could swing his blade one more time during practice, he would never rest early. Every night, he exhausted all his Chakra before going to bed.
This high-intensity training affected more than just him. The Companions around him, whether consciously or not, followed Taiichi's pace and increased the intensity of their own training.
Finally, in the woods after school that day, when everyone sat down to rest in exhaustion once again, even Guy, who focused solely on training, noticed something was wrong.
"Taiichi~ what's been up with you~ lately? Why are you working~ so desperately every day? You've got my youthful blood~ constantly burning too!" Might Guy panted heavily as he asked in broken intervals.
"Yeah, yeah. I've been eating several extra bowls at every meal these past few days. My grandma even asked if I was sick!" Obito chimed in from the side.
Taiichi watched as everyone looked over curiously, their faces full of concern as they waited for his answer. Warmth filled his heart. Having such a group of friends was truly his good fortune.
"It's nothing. I lost a fight with someone a while ago, and I lost terribly. So I've been thinking of working hard and getting even someday!" Naturally, Taiichi could not tell his Companions the truth. There was no benefit in them knowing about such things. Put seriously, it would be called discussing the higher-ups recklessly.
"Oh? Someone actually beat you, and beat you that badly?" Obito's face lit up with excitement. "Was it an upperclassman? Want us to go beat him up together?"
Kakashi rolled his eyes from the side. He knew Taiichi's strength. There were probably very few people in the Ninja Academy who could defeat Taiichi, and likely not a single one who could beat him that badly.
"Could it have been a real ninja?" Rin Nohara, standing nearby, hit the mark.
"Something like that." Taiichi remained calm. "It just happens to be a good motivation to train harder. We're going to become ninjas after all. Strength is what matters most."
Seeing that Taiichi was unwilling to say more, no one pressed him further. The training had indeed been hard lately, but their progress had also been substantial.
After recovering their strength, everyone resumed their individual training. Guy struck a tree stump, making leaves rain down from a tree half a meter thick. Kakashi practiced with his blade nearby, his sword flashing in an impenetrable blur. Rin Nohara and Obito sparred in Taijutsu, trading blows back and forth.
Taiichi trained Basic Taijutsu alone nearby as well. He had cast too many ninjutsu just now and had no spare Chakra left. His body moved on instinct, but his attention was focused on the panel.
[Chakra Refinement Technique Lv10 Max Level, new trait: Instinct] [Instinct: From now on, Chakra refinement becomes a bodily instinct. You can refine the maximum amount of Chakra using the least physical and mental energy, with no loss. Effect: Chakra recovery speed doubled, maximum amount of Chakra independently refined per day doubled] [Basic Taijutsu Lv10 Max Level, Constitution +2, Strength +1, Agility +1, deduced and upgraded to Advanced Taijutsu Lv1 (0/1000)] [Basic Meditation Lv10 Max Level, Spirit +2, mental resilience and mental resistance doubled, deduced and upgraded to Advanced Meditation Lv1 (0/1000)] [C-rank Healing Technique Lv10 Max Level, Yang Release Nature Transformation EXP +500] Name: Taichi Matsushita Class: Genin Lv9 (52/1600) Talents: Diligence Makes Up for Mediocrity, Academic Overachiever Age: 6 Constitution: 17 Strength: 18 Agility: 15 Spirit: 22 Chakra: 6000 (13500) Attribute Points: 11 Skill Points: 12 Fire Nature Transformation Lv4 (12/600) Wind Release Nature Transformation Lv4 (4/400) Water Nature Transformation Lv3 (376/400) Yang Release Nature Transformation Lv6 (324/800) Skills: Advanced Taijutsu Lv0 (0/1000), Advanced Meditation Lv0 (0/1000)), Ninja Tool Throwing Lv9 (535/1600), Three Body Technique Lv9 (231/1600), Hatake Style Kenjutsu Lv7 (534/1200) [Fire Style: Fire Release: Flame Bullet Lv8 (623/1400), Phoenix Sage Fire Lv9 (423/1600), Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Lv5 (13/800)] [Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Lv8 (312/1400), Air Palm Lv5 (23/800)] [Water Style: Water Formation Wall Lv4 (589/600)] [Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique Lv7 (23/1200), Delicate Illness Extraction Technique Lv6 (563/1000), Chakra Scalpel Lv5 (697/800] [Max Level: Healing Technique, Chakra Refinement Technique: Instinct] Evaluation: Your Chakra weakness has gradually been made up for. You can start taking some risks now, but be careful not to get carried away.
Taiichi was stunned by the changes in his panel, and even his movements stopped. Although he had long guessed that maxing out skills would bring changes, he had not expected them to be this drastic. After silently absorbing the experience imparted by the skill upgrades, he carefully sensed the changes in his body.
First came his body. The changes in strength were still acceptable, but this vibrant feeling made Taiichi feel as though his former self had been an old man. Seeing that his maximum daily Chakra refinement had now surpassed ten thousand, Taiichi finally felt that he no longer needed to carefully calculate every bit of Chakra he used.
Then there were the changes to Taijutsu and meditation. Based on the experience that had surfaced in his mind, Basic Taijutsu and Basic Meditation from Lv9 through Advanced Taijutsu and Advanced Meditation at Lv0 were all within the range of a Chunin. Once he raised the advanced skills to Lv1, he would step into the realm of a Jonin.
He had just been worrying about his lack of strength, yet the improvement of several skills immediately eased some of that concern. Steadying himself, Taiichi slowly began practicing the new Advanced Taijutsu according to the memories in his mind.
Advanced Taijutsu was far more complicated than Basic Taijutsu, and its movements were much more difficult. Taiichi slowed down as much as possible, yet he still stumbled through the entire routine. But after completing the whole set of movements, he received not even a single point of experience. Unconvinced, Taiichi practiced it again, only to get the same result.
He practiced again and again until he could finally complete the entire form smoothly, at which point the notification for +1 experience appeared. After practicing several more times, Taiichi finally discovered that if he lost focus even slightly during training, or if any movement was even slightly flawed, that session would grant no experience. In other words, improving Advanced Taijutsu required not only a massive amount of experience but also far more effort in training. It required the full cooperation of both body and mind.
The difficulty had increased by more than an order of magnitude. No wonder Advanced Taijutsu Lv1 was already at the level of a Jonin.
The Companions also noticed Taiichi's abnormality. Obito had just wanted to go over and ask when Kakashi stopped him. Facing Obito's puzzled gaze, Kakashi explained, "Taiichi should be practicing a new Taijutsu form. It looks like he can't be disturbed. We'll watch over him here."
"Mm!"
So everyone spread out to the four corners, continuing their basic training while also blocking anyone who might disturb Taiichi. It was nearly an hour before Taiichi finally stopped, and only then did everyone gather around him again.
When Taiichi stopped and saw his Companions' positions, he immediately understood their intentions. Moved, he did not forget to thank them. "Thanks, everyone. I just gained a little insight into Taijutsu. Sorry for making you all worry."
The Companions were also happy for Taiichi. After all, sudden insights like that were rare and could not be sought out. Whenever they occurred, they meant a rapid increase in strength, so they were naturally worth celebrating.
"To thank everyone, I'll treat you all to barbecue today. I heard the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant is the best in all of Konoha." Taiichi invited his Companions.
"Sure, sure! Let's go eat barbecue!" Everyone happily agreed.
The evening glow reflected off their figures, brilliant red like the flames of the children's passion.
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