"Congratulations, host, on completing the mission: Undying Xiaoqiang!"
"Your physical constitution is now much stronger than that of an average adult, comparable to a Jonin's! With your excellent physique supporting you, you'll have more to work with in your daily research."
"Reward: the low-level Scholar Skill, Gravity Technique!"
"Gravity Technique: Scholar research projects sometimes involve moving research materials. Overly heavy materials can hinder your progress. Gravity Technique can lighten or increase the weight of research materials, making it easier for you to conduct your research. Weight can be adjusted by up to a hundredfold."
Gong Yi frowned as he examined this reward, pondering it carefully.
There was no doubt about it: this skill was pretty useless.
For a ninja with supernatural power and Chakra, a skill that increased or reduced weight wasn't all that effective.
Besides, Gong Yi knew the limitations of low-level Scholar Skills: they could only be used on himself, not on others.
That was true of the Recovery Technique, so the same should apply to Gravity Technique.
Otherwise, Gravity Technique would be almost on par with the Added-Weight Rock Technique and Light-Weight Rock Technique from Earth Style.
Of course, Added-Weight Rock and Light-Weight Rock mainly changed an object's density, which was fundamentally different from the system's Gravity Technique.
Moreover, Gong Yi's current research projects didn't involve many research materials. Most of them were related to the Ninjutsu he already knew.
"Huh?"
Gong Yi murmured in surprise as an idea occurred to him.
There was no doubt that he'd obtained Gravity Technique after completing the Undying Xiaoqiang mission, which was related to improving his physical constitution.
At this point, his training was no longer producing very good results.
In that case, Gravity Technique could serve as a continuation of his training and help him improve his physique.
At the thought, Gong Yi's eyes lit up.
"Weight training is an essential part of countless protagonists' early training in novels!"
With a thought, Gong Yi applied Gravity Technique to himself.
A tremendous force of gravity crashed down on his young body.
But despite the formidable physique he'd built through training—one comparable to a Jonin's—he could barely resist it and soon collapsed.
Thud!
Gong Yi fell straight from the tree to the ground, leaving a huge crater in the dirt!
"Argh!"
His agonized wail carried a long way. Gong Yi climbed out of the crater, covered in dirt, and spat out several clumps of mud.
"I was careless. Even a Kage Level powerhouse couldn't withstand a hundredfold increase in gravity all at once!"
Feeling the several broken bones in his body, Gong Yi grimaced.
"Looks like I'll have to take this weight training one step at a time. I'll start by getting used to training under onefold gravity, then gradually increase it."
"But this injury is going to be a problem."
The next day, Gong Yi went to school with injuries all over his body.
When his classmates and teachers asked him about it, he made up an excuse about having taken an accidental fall, then requested leave to go to Konoha Hospital.
As the medical ninja treated his injuries, Gong Yi endured the pain and found himself envying them.
On the battlefield, overwhelming strength could certainly crush an enemy, but superb Medical Ninjutsu was indispensable, too!
Even Senju Hashirama, the First, had died from his severe injuries after the Battle of the Valley of the End against Uchiha Madara.
After all, Medical Ninjutsu hadn't yet been developed in those days, and even the First's powerful body hadn't been enough to endure his injuries completely.
Gong Yi began to consider that he might want to learn a trick or two of Medical Ninjutsu, just in case.
Thinking of this made him feel a little frustrated about the Recovery Technique's limitations.
The Recovery Technique could effectively relieve physical fatigue, restore Chakra, and recover lost stamina, but it couldn't heal wounds.
He wondered what would happen if he upgraded the Recovery Technique.
Because of his injuries, Gong Yi got a few rare days off. Aside from the library, he hardly went to school.
He also put his astonishing daily training routine on hold.
During this time, Gong Yi took the opportunity to calm down and reassess the results of his training over the past year.
There was no doubt that his greatest gains lay in his improved physical constitution and mastery of Ninjutsu.
He'd built a physique comparable to a Jonin's through day after day of training, sweating countless buckets along the way.
As for his Ninjutsu, he'd relied on his formidable mental strength and precise Chakra control to master six or seven Earth Style techniques, as well as two techniques from Water and Fire Style.
They were all common techniques, but for a civilian ninja, that was already the limit.
His formidable body and exceptional mental strength allowed Gong Yi to draw out a tremendous amount of Chakra.
And completing several research projects had halved the Chakra required for three of his techniques.
With the right tactics, Gong Yi could now hold his own against any ordinary Chunin.
He could even last a few exchanges against an ordinary Jonin. At the very least, he could protect himself.
For most people, Gong Yi's current strength would already have been the goal they pursued their whole lives.
But when he thought of the Fourth Shinobi World War to come, with its world-destroying Ninjutsu and one monster after another, Gong Yi knew he couldn't stop.
In truth, he was still very, very weak!
Graduate early? Impossible!
Now that he had Gravity Technique, he could improve his physique even further through training.
And as he continued working on research projects, he could master his Ninjutsu completely.
What Gong Yi needed was time!
Give him just a few more years to develop steadily and build up his strength, and he'd grow far stronger.
If the Third Shinobi World War came, the tremendous opportunities it brought might even allow him to earn enough merit to get a glimpse of Konoha's Scroll of Seals!
"Flying Thunder God Technique, Impure World Reincarnation, Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Eight Inner Gates, Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness, Wood Release Ninjutsu..."
Gong Yi licked his lips, his eyes shining.
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