Complete! (Seeking Follow-ups!)

Time flew by, and before anyone knew it, the year 41 of Konoha was drawing to a close.

In a small grove, Shita Genichi looked at the tiny blue sphere of chakra in his hand, a smile of immense satisfaction spreading across his face: "Finally... it's done!"

From March until now in December, he had finally mastered the Rasengan.

The reason it had taken so long was not because Shita Genichi lacked talent or comprehension, but rather... he was severely lacking in chakra.

Without the Shadow Clone Technique to cheat, he also had no way to dedicate all his time to practicing the Rasengan.

Furthermore, although he possessed the chakra reserves of a teenager, it still wasn't much, and he couldn't sustain his training for very long each session.

Just like that, it had taken nearly ten months to complete.

Compared to Naruto, this was a difference of a hundred thousand miles.

But in the end, it was finished.

"I wonder if the Yellow Flash has finished the Rasengan yet? If not, hehe..."

Shita Genichi's smile grew slightly twisted, but he quickly composed himself, then slammed the Rasengan into the tree trunk in front of him.

Wood chips flew everywhere!

The Rasengan spun at high speed, boring a large hole into the tree like a drill. After Shita Genichi gave it a forceful twist, the entire tree trunk, thick enough for one person to hug, was pierced through, and the Rasengan flew out the other side.

"Impressive!"

Shita Genichi praised inwardly.

However, feeling his body go weak, he couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

His chakra was simply too scarce.

With a Rasengan only the size of a pigeon egg, he could fire at most two shots before he would be lying flat, unable to get up.

"As expected, what limits the vast majority of ninjas might not be ninjutsu resources, but... chakra!"

Shita Genichi pondered to himself: "I must find a way to increase my chakra reserves, otherwise the title of genius will inevitably be an empty one."

"Besides, even if I possess many ninjutsu in the future, it will be useless; without chakra, I simply can't unleash them."

When it came to increasing chakra, the first person Shita Genichi thought of was Orochimaru.

Immediately after that were the Tailed Beasts.

"I definitely can't become a Tailed Beast jinchuriki; with my chakra levels, I would absolutely be unable to suppress one."

"As for Orochimaru..."

Cell transplantation, human experimentation, or even Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Shita Genichi frowned slightly, feeling that it was a very thorny issue.

Fortunately, he still had plenty of time and wasn't in a huge rush.

Packing up his things, Shita Genichi turned and headed home.

The next day.

Just as he arrived at school, Shita Genichi received some news from Shizune.

Kakashi had applied for early graduation!

Good grief!

He hadn't even been at school for a year and was already graduating.

However, the Ninja Academy really had no way to teach Kakashi anything more.

He was incredibly proficient in the Three Body Technique, excellent in taijutsu and shuriken throwing, had mastered Earth Release nature transformation, and even possessed the family-inherited Hatake Sword Technique.

For Kakashi, staying at school was simply too boring.

That didn't fit his personality.

Shita Genichi could tell that while Kakashi appeared cold and aloof on the surface—seemingly the polar opposite of the hot-blooded Might Guy—in reality, the guy had a very strong drive within him.

He wouldn't allow himself to waste time at school, so he chose to graduate early.

"Genichi, you aren't any weaker than Kakashi; will you be graduating early too?"

Shizune's voice interrupted Shita Genichi's train of thought.

Shita Genichi shook his head: "I won't be graduating that quickly for now."

He was afraid of death!

He would stay low for as long as he could!

Unless there was absolutely no other way, graduating early wasn't exactly a good thing.

In the blink of an eye, the time for the holiday break arrived.

But on this day, Shita Genichi, Shizune, Might Guy, Nohara Rin, and even Uchiha Obito were all waiting at the school gate.

Because today was the day of Kakashi's graduation exam.

After waiting for about half an hour, Kakashi walked out.

In an instant, everyone's gaze fell upon the ninja headband Kakashi was wearing.

The heart that Nohara Rin had been holding in her throat finally settled back into place.

"Congratulations, Kakashi. From today on, you are a true ninja."

Shita Genichi smiled as he offered his congratulations.

The others chimed in one after another.

Kakashi said, "If you wanted to, Genichi, you could definitely pass the exam too."

Yuhi Kurenai added, "You two are the famous geniuses of the academy, so of course it wouldn't be a problem."

"But tell me, Genichi, are you planning to graduate early?"

Shita Genichi shook his head, his eyes fixed on Kakashi as he said, "Kakashi, let's spar. I just happened to develop a new ninjutsu!"

Developed his own ninjutsu?

Kakashi and the others were all startled.

Uchiha Obito curled his lip.

Are you kidding me? Is ninjutsu really that easy to develop?

He probably just tweaked the Three Body Technique or some shuriken throwing method and is trying to pass it off as a new ninjutsu, right?

It wasn't just Uchiha Obito who thought this; Sarutobi Asuma felt the same.

It wasn't that he looked down on Shita Genichi, but coming from a family with a deep background, he understood better than anyone the difficulty of creating a new ninjutsu.

However, Shizune, Kakashi, and Might Guy believed him completely.

Might Guy even shouted, "Then let's have a passionate, youthful duel! Genichi, I believe in you!"

Shizune raised her small fist, "Go for it, Genichi!"

Soon, the group arrived at the academy's training ground.

Might Guy volunteered to be the referee: "Begin!"

As his arm swung down, Shita Genichi and Kakashi clashed.

After a dozen rounds, relying on his combat experience, Shita Genichi seized an opening in Kakashi's defense and threw him aside. He then raised his right hand, chakra gathering in his palm, and a small Rasengan rapidly took shape.

At this moment, Shizune and the others couldn't help but widen their eyes.

"Amazing!"

"Such powerful chakra!"

"It really is a new ninjutsu!"

Exclamations erupted from Shizune and the others.

Kakashi, who hadn't yet climbed up from the ground, was also stunned by the Rasengan: "Such strong chakra. If that hits, it will definitely..."

"Watch out, Kakashi!"

Shita Genichi charged toward Kakashi.

What no one noticed was that outside the training ground, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Sakumo, and several teachers from the ninja academy were watching quietly.

When the Rasengan appeared, they all wore expressions of shock.

After his initial surprise, Hatake Sakumo smiled: "This child truly has extraordinary talent!"

He had heard his son mention Shita Genichi and had seen him more than once; he had always felt that Shita Genichi was unusual, and he was right.

"A ninjutsu without hand seals—this is at least A-rank!"

The one speaking was the teacher, Yome.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly: "Pure shape transformation, highly condensed chakra; the difficulty is extremely high."

"Sakumo, get ready, just in case something goes wrong."

Hatake Sakumo nodded, but laughed: "I trust this child, and I trust Kakashi."

As his voice faded, a massive roar erupted from the training ground, and everyone's vision was obscured by dust and smoke.

Futaki Ryusei couldn't help but use the Body Flicker Technique to reach the training ground, waving his hand to clear the dust.

He saw a slightly panting Shita Genichi standing before a crater filled with wood splinters.

Substitution Technique!

Futaki Ryusei breathed a sigh of relief.

Not far away, Kakashi, who had dodged the blow, swallowed hard.

It was a good thing he had dodged.

"That... that's incredible!"

Uchiha Obito stood there, dumbfounded.