Ninja Academy classroom.
The teacher had not arrived yet. The students were gathered in twos and threes; some were chatting nonsense, while others were occupied with their own things.
The three sitting together up front were probably this year's Ino-Shika-Cho. The one still stuffing his face was said to be Akimichi Todō, the one boredly sleeping was Nara Shikaji, and the one sitting solemnly upright seemed to be Yamanaka Shinno.
The one next to them was definitely from the Inuzuka clan, though Taiichi did not know his name. His head was practically buried beneath the desk as he played games with the ninja dog hidden in his drawer, having the time of his life.
Over there, a Hyuga child wore an icy expression. His Byakugan stared straight ahead without any focus, making the student seated in front of him shudder.
Taiichi looked over the entire classroom. Some of these classmates would become renowned throughout the Ninja World, while others would die in war. This was the world of the Hokage. Of course, Taiichi would not waste time. Beneath the desk, his hands continuously practiced hand seals, repeating the twelve seals forward and backward until he could form the seals he needed by instinct alone.
Once the classroom was full, a burly ninja entered carrying a stack of booklets.
"I am your teacher, Yamada Mitsuki." The ninja wrote his name on the blackboard, then turned around and said, "I like obedient children and dislike undisciplined ones. I specialize in Taijutsu and Fire Style, and I will be responsible for teaching you Taijutsu as well as managing this class."
"Now, introduce yourselves according to the roster. Taichi Matsushita, you're first."
Taiichi had not expected to be first, but he was not intimidated. He stood up openly and said, "My name is Taichi Matsushita. I like learning new things and do not particularly dislike anything. My dream is to become the strongest ninja and protect the Orphanage and Director Nonō. That is all." With a mental age greater than his actual age, Taiichi naturally knew how to answer in a way that would satisfy the teacher.
"Dream on. The strongest in the Ninja World are us Uchiha."
"Idiot, the Hokage is the strongest."
"Quiet!" Teacher Mitsuki said loudly. "That is a very good dream, Taiichi. Sit down."
"Next, Obito Uchiha."
"Hello, everyone. My name is Obito Uchiha. Rather than my favorite thing, I suppose it would be my favorite person... ahaha." Obito scratched his head and laughed foolishly, glancing toward Rin Nohara.
"The person I hate most is Kakashi." Obito said that without the slightest hesitation. Kakashi merely rolled his eyes upon hearing it and could not even be bothered to look at Obito. Everyone burst into laughter as well; they had long heard about the grudge between Obito and Kakashi.
"My dream is to become Hokage!"
"Damn it, Obito! I'm the one who'll become Hokage!" someone below shouted first.
"My dream is to become the absolute strongest ninja, even stronger than Hokage-sama! When you see me, you'll all have to bow to me."
Ignoring those unreliable dreams, Taichi Matsushita silently memorized every classmate's name and basic information.
Hatake Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Shizune, Sarutobi Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, Might Guy—these future famous ninjas were all still little brats, and they were all classmates from the same year as him.
"Alright, that concludes the introductions. Now, we will officially begin class," Yamada Mitsuki said.
"First, does everyone know what the most basic requirement for becoming a ninja is?"
"Chakra!" everyone answered in unison.
"That's right, chakra. But does everyone know what chakra actually is, and where it comes from?"
This time, hardly anyone could answer. The few who could were children of Ninja Clans. Naturally, Obito was definitely not among them.
"The physical energy drawn from the human body's 1.3 million billion cells represents the Yang aspect. The spiritual energy cultivated through training and accumulated experience represents the Yin aspect. The power formed by harmonizing and combining these two energies is chakra. It is the foundation for a ninja to perform Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and even Taijutsu. Ninjas are able to be ninjas because of chakra."
"Of course, having chakra does not mean you can use Ninjutsu. Between pure energy and Ninjutsu with various effects, there are still hand seals. That is for later lessons. Today, we will discuss chakra first."
"For those determined to become ninjas, the first step is both the most important and the most difficult. Although the concept of chakra is not complicated to explain or describe, extracting physical energy is not simple in itself, while so-called spiritual energy is even more elusive."
"Fortunately, through the efforts of generations of Seniors, we have developed a highly effective method: the Chakra Refinement Technique. Now, everyone follow my instructions."
Next, everyone followed Teacher Mitsuki's instructions and found the most comfortable posture possible, forming the Ram seal with their hands to aid their perception of physical and spiritual energy. The classroom soon fell silent.
As his mind calmed, Taiichi followed Teacher Mitsuki's instructions and circulated the Chakra Refinement Technique. Gradually, he felt streams of warm energy gathering from all over his body at the Shanzhong Acupoint in his chest. At the same time, streams of cool energy in his mind flowed toward the Shanzhong Acupoint. The two converged and collided there, slowly giving rise to a new power. Most of that power settled in the Lower Dantian around his navel, while a considerable portion dispersed throughout his body.
Taiichi could sense that the chakra dispersed through his body strengthened and nourished it. It seemed chakra was not harmful to the body. Rather, ninjas often engaged in high-intensity battles and excessively refined chakra, causing bodily depletion and shortening their lifespans.
As the first wisp of chakra was successfully refined, system notifications occasionally sounded by his ear. However, Taiichi was focused on refining chakra and ignored them all. While someone was supervising him, he wanted to become as familiar as possible with chakra refinement.
In the classroom, Teacher Mitsuki, who was patrolling around to prevent the students from having accidents, noticed Taiichi.
That was far too fast. Twenty minutes have not even passed yet. Thinking this, Teacher Mitsuki approached Taiichi and carefully sensed him. That's right, it's a chakra fluctuation. It seems a genius has emerged among this year's commoners as well. I need to report this good news to Hokage-sama early today.
Over the next hour or so, two more students successfully refined chakra: Rin Nohara and Might Guy.
Clap.
"Alright, everyone, stop for a moment." Teacher Mitsuki clapped his hands, releasing a faint chakra fluctuation that woke several students engrossed in chakra refinement, including Taiichi.
"That will be all for today. Those of you who have already refined chakra must not become arrogant. Go back and continue reinforcing this feeling," Mitsuki urged.
"Those who have not refined chakra should not lose heart either. It is normal not to sense physical and spiritual energy right away. Your teacher also spent two days before refining chakra back then. Go back and keep working hard," Mitsuki encouraged.
"Class dismissed."
With Teacher Mitsuki's dismissal, the classroom became lively. The students gathered together one after another, asking about each other's progress. Some were dejected, while others were delighted.
"Taiichi, did you refine chakra?" Might Guy ran over with animated excitement and immediately grabbed Taiichi to ask.
"Of course. I refined it quite early. What about you? You must have refined it too, right?"
Guy stretched out a hand, raised his thumb, and flashed his signature dazzling white teeth. "Haha, as expected of my Taiichi! You guessed it! Ahaha, youth truly requires competition between one another!"
Seeing how happy Guy was, Taiichi was sincerely happy for him as well. Guy, who had been specially admitted by the Hokage, had always worried that he would not be able to refine chakra. Now, all those worries could be thrown away.
Thinking that, Taiichi shifted his attention back to the panel in his mind. The notifications he had not checked earlier appeared one after another.
[You have learned Chakra Refinement Technique Lv0 (0/10)] [You have practiced chakra refinement. Related comprehension increased.] [Your Chakra Refinement Technique skill has improved. Experience +1] ... [Your Chakra Refinement Technique skill has improved. Experience +1] [Congratulations, your Chakra Refinement Technique skill has reached Lv1 (0/100)] [You have cultivated your first wisp of chakra, meeting the class change requirements: Constitution 6, Spirit 6, Chakra Refinement Technique Lv1] [Beginning class change...] [Class change successful. Related experience converted. Class: Genin Lv1 (85/100)] [Constitution +2, Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1] [Obtained talent: Academic Overachiever] [Academic Overachiever: There is nothing an Academic Overachiever cannot learn, unless physical conditions do not allow it. Focus x10, thought processing speed +100%, learning effectiveness doubled.] [Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1] ... Name: Taichi Matsushita Class: Genin Lv1 (91/100) Talents: Diligence Makes Up for Mediocrity, Academic Overachiever Age: 6 Constitution: 9 Strength: 10 Agility: 9 Spirit: 18 Chakra: 500 (4000) The number in parentheses is a person's maximum daily chakra extraction amount. Exceeding it will cause bodily depletion. Attribute Points: 5 Skill Points: 5 Skills: Basic Taijutsu Lv6 (113/1000), Basic Meditation Lv6 (754/1000), Chakra Refinement Technique Lv1 (23/100) Evaluation: Outstanding among your peers, but you are still a tiny nobody in the Ninja World.
Looking at the brand-new panel, Taiichi kept his expression calm, but inwardly he was overjoyed. He had taken another step closer to his goal.
The rest of the day consisted of theoretical classes. Perhaps some children from ninja families did not care, but Taiichi studied with utmost seriousness. This was the foundation for his future survival and progress!
[You have studied ninja-related knowledge. Genin class experience +1]
So studying could also grant experience. Taiichi became even more focused.
Before you continue