Kamiya Keiyun felt that his strength was already quite good. Whether in speed or leg techniques, he had begun to surpass those students at the academy who attended combat class every day.
Though he had not fought them yet, Kamiya Keiyun believed he could win!
He had also learned that after graduating from the ninja academy, one became a Genin. Then, after as little as a few months or as long as two or three years, one could take the Chunin Exams and become a Chunin.
After that, after completing several high-difficulty missions, one could apply to become a Jonin.
From Genin to Jonin, it seemed like the difference was only a few years. How large could the gap in combat strength be?
Now, he had seen it.
Or rather, he had seen nothing at all. He had merely felt a flash of blue light before something icy cold was pressed against his neck.
It was a white short blade.
"W-what was that?" Kamiya Keiyun turned around in confusion and saw Hatake Sakumo already sheathing his sword.
How was that possible? I hadn't even gotten into position. I didn't see anything, didn't hear anything. It was like the ears I'd trained for days were fake!
My Chakra hadn't even reached my legs yet!
The Walking Step I invented hadn't even been used!
And I lost just like that?
Why was the gap so huge?
I don't even know how I lost!
Are Jonin all monsters like this?
Could that Shimura Ken be the same?
"Form the Reconciliation Seal!" Kakashi called expressionlessly from the side.
He had expected this outcome long ago. There was nothing surprising about it.
It would have been strange if Kamiya Keiyun had managed to resist.
Still dazed, Kamiya Keiyun formed the Hand Seals, then turned and left the Hatake Family residence.
Kakashi watched Kamiya Keiyun's retreating back and shook his head. "Father, wasn't that a little too harsh?"
"I was helping that child," Hatake Sakumo said with a shake of his head. "If he can emerge from this battle, he is destined to grow considerably. Kakashi, you have another opponent in your future!"
Kakashi's mouth twitched. Why was everyone suddenly my opponent? That Might Guy was like an idiot. I couldn't see what was special about him at all.
And this Kamiya Keiyun too. He slept in class, slept after class, and even overestimated himself enough to challenge my father. It made no sense at all.
You probably can't even beat me!
"Fine, whatever you say. I'm going to train." Kakashi waved a hand and turned to leave.
Hatake Sakumo blinked. He felt that Kakashi was somewhat different today from how he had been a few days ago.
A few days ago, because of his missions, Kakashi's relationship with him had nearly hit rock bottom.
Was that change brought by that child?
Hatake Sakumo turned his head. That child's back was still visible in the distance.
"What was that?" Kamiya Keiyun walked down the road, still contemplating the battle he had just fought.
Had he been crushed by the blow? Not really.
He had long known there was a gap between Jonin and himself, and he had been mentally prepared for it.
He simply had not expected the gap to be so immense, leaving him without even the slightest ability to fight back.
A shadow could not help but fall over his plan to assassinate Shimura Ken.
But give up? Impossible!
Kamiya Keiyun had to resist, and Kamiya Sanyō's engagement had to be called off!
Otherwise, he would be unable to face himself. Even if he got through today, he would regret it when he looked back five, ten, or twenty years later!
Shimura Ken has lost a leg. That must have a considerable effect on his combat ability. I refuse to believe he can still run that fast with a crutch!
Kamiya Keiyun knew that speed came from Chakra enhancing the legs. Losing a leg might seem to reduce one's weight, but that tiny amount of weight was negligible under Chakra enhancement. On the contrary, losing the Chakra enhancement of one leg would severely affect one's speed.
Kamiya Keiyun began recalling Hatake Sakumo's methods. His weapon had been a sword, but before the sword had reached Kamiya Keiyun's neck, there had first been a burst of electricity!
Why could he use the power of lightning?
Kamiya Keiyun had never seen ninjutsu clash. His village had immediately relocated whenever they received word that ninjas were approaching. He knew ninjutsu existed, but did not know what form it actually took.
Therefore, Kamiya Keiyun could only use his limited knowledge from training to understand this phenomenon.
First, he ruled out Chakra. Throughout his training, Kamiya Keiyun had never sensed even the slightest connection between Chakra and electricity.
Then it had to be bioelectricity!
Within the body's tissues, cells, and organs, changes in electrical potential and polarity occurred constantly during life processes. These changes were mainly concentrated in nerve cells and neural networks.
That was high school biology knowledge, and Kamiya Keiyun only knew that much. He was still studying biology in college, but his focus was primarily botany.
But for the Heaven Rewards Diligence talent, having a door to enter through was already enough!
"He must have used Chakra to strengthen his nervous system. That would allow commands from the brain to reach the body faster, producing the result where I heard the sound and hadn't even prepared myself before he had already slit my throat!" It was like someone else was in Bangzi Country while you were connected through a VPN with two hundred milliseconds of latency. Their skill had already hit you before you even thought to dodge.
There was no way you could avoid that!
As for the current, strengthening the nervous system must also have amplified electrical currents. That allowed the bioelectricity in the nervous system to be used not only within the nerves, but in other cellular tissues as well. Once those tissues were stimulated by bioelectricity, they produced an acceleration effect.
The higher the energy, the faster molecules moved!
"So although it looked like I was completely crushed, maybe the gap isn't actually that large?" Kamiya Keiyun thought it over and came up with another possibility.
Did becoming a Jonin mean that one had already fully strengthened one bodily system with Chakra?
For example, perhaps Hatake Sakumo had strengthened his nervous system.
Kamiya Keiyun himself had chosen the digestive system. Besides those two systems, there were also the musculoskeletal system, circulatory system, endocrine system, respiratory system, urinary system, and reproductive system. Did each system have its own effects?
The nervous system clearly focused on reaction speed, while also granting the ability to control lightning.
Then what did the urinary system focus on? Detoxification? Maybe it could even control water.
The respiratory system might allow one to control wind.
Which one had Shimura Ken cultivated?
"Choosing the digestive system will be very beneficial in the future, but from a combat perspective, the nervous system seems better. It lets you control lightning, and the speed is absurdly fast. But lightning crackles so loudly that it isn't suitable for assassination." Kamiya Keiyun frowned.
"Kid, watch where you're going!" A hand suddenly pressed down on Kamiya Keiyun's head and pushed him aside.
"Hm?" Kamiya Keiyun turned his head blankly and saw four adults wearing black vests, each with a ping-pong paddle painted on the back, swaggering down the street.
One of them was even smiling at him. In that man's eyes, two scarlet tomoe-shaped patterns spun on each side, four in total, staring at Kamiya Keiyun until panic surged through his entire body.
"Chitose, don't scare the child!"
"When did I? I only saw him spacing out and woke him up!"
With that, the four-tomoe Uchiha turned and left with his other three companions.
"So this is the Uchiha Clan and their Sharingan?" Kamiya Keiyun remembered that the Hokage was also known as the Legend of Eyes!
Their eyes really were unusual. They gave people a bone-chilling feeling.
So, did they train their eyes?
Eyes did not seem to be among the eight major systems. As expected of the protagonists, what they trained was different from everyone else's.
Kamiya Keiyun considered it, then shook his head. That clan had nothing to do with him yet. He first needed to find a way to deal with Shimura Ken.
"I wonder how Sister's intelligence gathering is going. What does Shimura Ken cultivate? It would be best if I could train specifically against it!"
Before you continue