Curious Child

Umino Iruka returned quickly. The Ninja Academy was very close to the Hokage's Office Building—just turn your head, and you could see it.

"Cough, cough!" He clapped his hands first.

"Whoa, Teacher, what are you doing? I was almost there!" Uchiha Obito said irritably.

"Well, there's no need to rush the Chakra Refining Technique. From now on, we'll have an hour to study every morning. Now, you two, come with me to carry some books. The rest of you may be dismissed!"

He pointed at two students—the two sitting by the door. Just as he finished speaking, the dismissal bell rang right on cue!

With a rustle, the other students immediately stood up. Quite a few ran out to play, while some gathered around Kamiya Keiyun.

"Kamiya Keiyun, did you really refine Chakra?"

"Yeah!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded.

"Wow, that's amazing! You're such a genius!" the student exclaimed. She was the girl with face paint, looking lively and cheerful, with the air of a little wild child.

"So, refining Chakra in fifteen minutes makes someone a genius?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

"Of course! It took me four days!" the wild girl said. "Oh, right, I'm Inuzuka Hana."

"So during those four days, did you keep trying without stopping?" Kamiya Keiyun asked again. "Or did you only practice for a while each day?"

"Huh?" Inuzuka Hana froze. How could anyone ask that sort of question?

"Not continuously, I guess. My father said children's mental strength wasn't strong enough, so we could only practice for three shichen a day." Inuzuka Hana thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, exactly!"

"So you didn't take four days to learn it. You took twelve shichen!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded.

"Huh, you can explain it like that?" Inuzuka Hana paused, then excitedly patted Kamiya Keiyun on the shoulder. "That's right, that's right! I only took twelve shichen! Looking at it that way, the gap between Kakashi and me isn't that huge after all!"

No one knew what expression Kakashi had under that mask.

"So Inuzuka Hana came from a clan and took twelve shichen. She says Kakashi is amazing, and Kakashi took two shichen. Then fifteen minutes really does seem pretty impressive!" Kamiya Keiyun gained a rough understanding of his own talent.

After all, he was a college student who had received a modern education. He would not muddle through the learning process, nor would he be the sort who was clearly exceptional without realizing it.

On the contrary, he had his own way of assessing his learning and progress.

But there were too few samples, so he could not yet reach any more reliable conclusions. He could only make a rough estimate.

"The books are here!" The two children at the door came in carrying a stack of books, then handed them out one by one.

Kamiya Keiyun took one and looked at it. He had thought it would be a book about Chakra, but it turned out to be Five Hundred Characters of Mongolian Script from the Land of Fire, a literacy textbook for children.

He was far too familiar with this book. His soul had transmigrated here, and he had possessed awareness and memories from the moment he was born.

Yet he did not know Japanese. Because of the influence of his native language, his progress in learning Japanese had been far slower than that of newborn children. He had wrestled with this book for over three years!

He flipped through it and, regrettably, found that it was an official literacy textbook issued by the Land of Fire, no different at all from the copy at his home.

"So I have to learn this all over again? What a waste of time." As Kamiya Keiyun thought this, the class bell rang.

Umino Iruka was the one teaching again, and he truly began teaching the children how to read.

To be fair, there was nothing wrong with that. A bunch of four- and five-year-olds who could not read was perfectly normal.

"Fine, I'll keep studying Chakra instead!" Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. He could practically recite this book backward, so there was naturally no need for him to study it again.

Chakra was much more interesting—supernatural power!

After all, people from Huaxia grew up reading Wuxia and xianxia novels. Who had never fantasized about Internal Energy and true qi?

Chakra was not true qi, of course, but as far as Kamiya Keiyun was concerned, there was not much difference. Both were energies that existed within the body and could be controlled with the mind!

Naturally, he had to study it properly.

He refined a strand of Chakra, then controlled it as it moved about within his body.

First, he discovered that it felt very unfamiliar to control, like trying to hook a shark with a fishing rod. The force was too weak, the thing being moved too large—he could not reel it in at all.

But after splitting off a tiny bit, it became easy to control. Kamiya Keiyun could guide it all around inside his body.

Then he discovered that Chakra could not move about freely either. There were pathways in the body specially meant for Chakra, similar to the Meridians in Wuxia novels.

However, these Meridians were naturally open, unlike in Wuxia novels where one had to unblock them. Still, some were thick and some thin. His strand of Chakra could easily pass through some, while others would not admit it no matter what. Some Meridians were so tiny that he would overlook them if he was not careful.

He was having so much fun that he had nearly mapped out the Chakra Meridians within his body when the bell rang outside again.

"Alright, class is over. Since it's the first day of school, there are no afternoon classes today. But starting tomorrow, there will be classes in the afternoon, so remember to bring lunch when you come to school. Otherwise, bring money to buy something outside!" Umino Iruka called out.

"Woohoo, school's out!" There was no student who did not love dismissal. The moment he finished speaking, the children rushed out.

Kamiya Keiyun saw Umino Iruka preparing to leave, hurriedly packed up his books, and chased after him.

He followed Umino Iruka into the office. Umino Iruka set down the books, looked at Kamiya Keiyun, and asked gently, "Kamiya Keiyun, is there something you need?"

"Um, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, Teacher!" Kamiya Keiyun said honestly.

"Oh?" Umino Iruka was startled. It was only the first day of school, and a student already had questions?

Not bad, not bad. What teacher would not like a student who loved asking questions?

"Come, sit!" Umino Iruka pulled over a chair for Kamiya Keiyun. It was meant for adults, and even after Kamiya Keiyun sat down, his feet still hung more than ten centimeters above the floor.

"What do you want to ask? Is there something from the lesson just now that you didn't understand?" Umino Iruka asked.

"Um, I can refine Chakra in fifteen minutes. Is that very impressive?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

He might not have been able to gather enough samples, but Umino Iruka was a teacher who had taught so many classes of students. He should have had enough samples.

"This..." Umino Iruka froze for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, it's very impressive. Or rather, among all the students and classmates I've seen since I entered the Academy and became a teacher, you're the most impressive!"

He had originally wanted to dampen his enthusiasm a little, but then he remembered that this student's deskmate was Kakashi.

Kakashi was a genius renowned throughout Konoha. Kamiya Keiyun might not have heard of him before, having come from a civilian family, but after spending some time together, he should have learned about him.

Even a genius like Kakashi had taken four hours. If you said Kamiya Keiyun wasn't a genius, who exactly would that be insulting?

"However, being fast at extracting Chakra doesn't actually prove much. I've seen plenty of people who extracted Chakra slowly and still became Jonin. On the other hand, many who were fast failed to grow into anything. So you mustn't get arrogant. Being a genius for a moment doesn't mean anything!" Umino Iruka continued.

Kamiya Keiyun nodded. He had only wanted confirmation.

"So, do you have anything else you want to ask?" Umino Iruka felt that there probably wasn't anything more.

"Oh, I do!" Kamiya Keiyun hurriedly said. "I just tried it, but why is it so difficult to move Chakra around?"

"Ah..." Umino Iruka was speechless. That did not sound like a question a first-year student should be asking!

In fact, even top students like Sasuke and Sakura had not thought of such a question by their sixth year!

The main reason was that they had nothing to compare it with. If you didn't know what fast was or what slow was, you would naturally think the state inside your body was perfectly normal.

"That's because you've only just extracted Chakra, so your Chakra Control is insufficient!" After thinking it over, Umino Iruka answered.

"Chakra Control?" Kamiya Keiyun understood. "So can that be trained?"

"It's still too early for you," Umino Iruka said. "You're only in your first year of elementary school. It's far too soon to learn that!"

"Teacher, please teach me. I know my limits. If I can't use it, then I just won't!" Kamiya Keiyun lay across his desk and looked at Umino Iruka pitifully.

The Kamiya Family oversaw rituals and held a high status in the town. Naturally, the family would not marry unattractive women, and after generations of genetic refinement by beautiful women, the Kamiya Family's genes were naturally quite good.

Kamiya Keiyun had fine features, red lips and white teeth, and large, lively eyes. This move was devastating against young girls and women.

Of course, Umino Iruka could withstand it, because he was a ninja.

"It's not that I won't tell you. It's that this training method carries a certain degree of danger. Without a high-level ninja watching over you, it can be dangerous!" Umino Iruka said.

The training methods were tree climbing and water walking. Tree climbing meant climbing trees dozens of meters high. What would happen if a four- or five-year-old child fell from that height?

Even with cushions laid underneath, they might not be able to take the impact!

Water walking needed even less explanation. As Chakra was consumed, physical strength would decrease along with it. If they fell into the water with no strength left to climb out, wouldn't they drown?

"Alright!" Kamiya Keiyun nodded. But it didn't matter. If you won't teach me, I'll find a way to learn it myself!

"Then, Teacher, I have another question!" Kamiya Keiyun continued. "I noticed that my Chakra can travel everywhere through some kind of network. What is that?"