School Welfare

The next day, Riyue arrived at school right on time. No sooner had he reached the classroom than he was summoned to the faculty office by Ebiki's father.

Inside the office, Teacher Ebiki pointed at the "Riyue" Substitution Puppet and asked sternly, "Student Riyue, what is the meaning of this?!" Only then did Riyue remember that he had been having too much fun yesterday and had gone straight home after school, forgetting to retrieve his puppet.

Seeing that Riyue remained silent, Ebiki began to lecture him with earnest gravity.

"Student Riyue, you must understand that this is a school, and I am here to cultivate elites! Members of the Hyuga Clan have always been at the top of their class. As a member of the Hyuga Clan, you should be working even harder. Sleeping and slacking off in class is one thing, but how could you skip school..."

"Student Riyue, if you want to become a ninja, you must work hard. There is a shortcut waiting for you right here..."

"Student Riyue, you are someone destined to become an elite..."

"Student Riyue, a future elite would never skip class!"

Riyue was on the verge of losing his mind, inwardly ranting, Teacher Ebiki, were you sent by the Tang Monk? You keep spouting 'elite' this and 'elite' that. It sounds just like the training school commercials from my past life. Are you from 'Which Excavator School is Best'? Or do you teach computer repair? Could it be cooking? Are you the cradle of culinary elites?

"Uh... Teacher Ebiki, is it enough if I just become an elite? Does that mean I don't have to attend every single class?" Riyue couldn't help but raise his hand to interrupt the lecture.

"Of course! My goal as a teacher is to cultivate you into elites. If you want to be an elite, the first step is to listen well in class..."

"Uh... then Teacher Ebiki, based on my current situation, what level of strength is considered elite?"

"Hmm? At least the level of a Genin," Ebiki said without hesitation.

"I see. If I currently possess the strength of a Genin, does that make me an elite?"

"Well, I suppose so." Teacher Ebiki thought to himself, A five-year-old Genin—that's not just an elite, that's a genius.

"Then... Teacher, I would like to apply for the Graduation Exam!"

The teachers in the office dropped their jaws in unison, all stopping their work to stare at Riyue.

"Yes! Admitting your mistakes is the right—wait, what did you say, Riyue?" Ebiki snapped back to reality, staring intently at him.

"I am applying for the Graduation Exam," Riyue repeated earnestly.

"Riyue, you've only been in class for one day. How can you graduate with your current strength? Even if you were strong enough, you can't take the exam now. Early graduation must be conducted alongside this year's official Graduation Exam."

"I understand. I'll take the test now, and when graduation comes, I'll graduate then. That shouldn't be a problem, right? Teacher, can this application be approved?"

"But, Riyue, your strength..."

"I am very clear about my own strength. If I fail the exam, I will drop out immediately! However, Teacher Ebiki, during the time I remain in school after passing the exam, I hope you can teach me something useful."

"This..." Teacher Ebiki looked at Riyue, who remained perfectly calm.

"I must consult with the Third Hokage." Teacher Ebiki left the office and hurried toward the Hokage Office Building.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was in his forties, in the prime of his life. He was spirited and vigorous, possessing a mature and restrained aura, his wise eyes hiding a hint of sharpness. Wearing his Hokage hat and puffing on a pipe, with a small black goatee on his chin, he was busy handling official business.

Ebiki knocked on the door, entered the Hokage's office, and bowed to the Third Hokage.

"Your Majesty!"

"Hmm? Is there something wrong at the school?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, somewhat surprised, as he set down the file in his hand.

Ebiki hurriedly explained Riyue's request to take the exam. After hearing the report, the Third Hokage was surprised and quite curious. He smiled and said, "To think such a thing would happen. It's the child from the Hyuga Clan, isn't it? How interesting. You may approve his exam application. Keep this matter confidential; only you and I should know."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ebiki turned and left.

The Third Hokage took out a crystal ball, wiped it with a cloth, and revealed a meaningful smile: "Perhaps the Hyuga Clan really has produced a genius."

Due to his extensive training in reaction and sensory perception, Riyue felt a faint, lingering chakra fluctuation in the surroundings. He secretly activated his Byakugan and discovered a trace of subtle chakra hidden on the office ceiling. Judging by the flow of the chakra, it seemed to be transmitting the situation here to another location. It seemed... someone was spying on him.

Is that old peeping tom, the Third, spying on me in secret? If it weren't for the Byakugan, I wouldn't have even found him. Riyue thought, But it's better if the Third sees. With the village's power protecting me, it won't be so easy for those old fogies in the main family to harm me.

With that thought, Riyue didn't care how the old pervert spied on him. Just then, Teacher Ebiki returned and said to Riyue, "Student Riyue, your application has been approved. Let's go take the exam."

Riyue walked toward the training ground with Teacher Ebiki. The other teachers went back to their work; after all, he was just a child. How could a five-year-old's words be taken seriously? He would hit a wall soon enough.

"Let's start with the test for throwing ninja tools," Teacher Ebiki said, pointing to six targets over 100 meters away. "Walk over to the 50-meter mark and throw six shuriken in succession. You pass if you hit at least four." In reality, the standard exam distance was 40 meters, but Ebiki wanted to make things difficult for Riyue.

"That won't be necessary. I'll do it from here," Riyue said, standing still and looking at the six targets 100 meters away.

"What?!" "What?" Both Teacher Ebiki and the Third Hokage were shocked.

Riyue didn't notice Ebiki's expression. He casually flicked his wrist, throwing six shuriken. Each one traced a different, bizarre arc, yet all six simultaneously struck the center of their respective targets. Teacher Ebiki's jaw dropped, and the Third Hokage stared in stunned silence.

"This... this shuriken technique is no less impressive than the Uchiha Clan's throwing style," the Third sighed, his gaze toward Riyue shifting.

After a long while, Ebiki finally closed his mouth.

"The... the throwing test is passed. We will now proceed to the Three Basic Techniques exam. Please perform the Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique in order."

"[Clone Technique]!" Riyue formed the seals at high speed, creating nine copies of himself. With almost no smoke, ten identical-looking Riyues stood before Ebiki.

"[Transformation Technique]!" All ten versions transformed into the likeness of Ebiki.

"[Substitution Technique]!" The nine clones vanished in puffs of white smoke, and the tenth turned into a log.

"This, this..." The Third Hokage was even more astonished. The speed of his hand seals was too fast—three seals per second! More importantly, Riyue hadn't used any hand seals for the Substitution Technique! He had actually mastered the technique to such a level of effortless control.

Hyuga Nichigetsu stepped down from a nearby tree, his feet clinging to the trunk as he descended.

The Third Hokage was instantly petrified. "This child... he's actually mastered Tree Climbing training. When did such a genius appear in Konoha? He's only five years old... Back in the day, the three of them were eight or nine before they reached this level."

Nichigetsu asked Ebiki, "Teacher, did I pass the Three Basic Techniques test?"

"..." Ebiki was completely stunned.

"Teacher?"

"Pa-passed... Let's try taijutsu then. Let's spar." Ebiki nodded blankly.

"Alright! It's been a while since I've sparred with a Chunin!" Nichigetsu was quite excited.

"Come at me with the intent to kill!" Ebiki said.

"Byakugan!" Nichigetsu activated his Byakugan immediately, raising his palms in front of him in a staggered stance, assuming the posture for Gentle Fist.

The Third Hokage thought, He can activate the Byakugan without hand seals?

"Watch out, Teacher!" Nichigetsu charged straight at Ebiki.

"So fast!" Ebiki was startled; having been a bit careless, he wasn't prepared.

Nichigetsu closed the distance, his palm wind carrying pale blue chakra as he struck toward Ebiki's chest. Ebiki tried to block the strike with his hand while shifting his body to the side. These muscle contractions and releases could not escape Nichigetsu's eyes.

Nichigetsu instantly switched his palm to fingers, unexpectedly striking a pressure point in the center of Ebiki's palm. Ebiki felt a sudden ache in his palm, and at the same time, the chakra in his left arm began to leak out from that point.

Simultaneously, Nichigetsu's other hand followed up, striking the ache point on Ebiki's elbow. Ebiki felt half his arm go numb, and his chakra continued to drain from his palm. He hurriedly used a sweeping kick to force Nichigetsu back.

Stimulating my pressure points to make my chakra leak uncontrollably? And striking points to make my arm numb and weak—is this the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist? I was careless! To think he could execute such sharp Gentle Fist! Ebiki secretly flexed his numb arm, a cold sweat breaking out.

"Teacher, don't lose focus." Nichigetsu didn't give Ebiki a chance to breathe and lunged again. Ebiki swung a fist with his functional arm, but Nichigetsu ducked, dodging the blow while attacking his lower stance. At this moment, Nichigetsu's small stature became an advantage.

"Oh no!" Ebiki tried to jump back, but Nichigetsu's fingers were already crossed and pressed against his thigh. Ebiki felt the muscles in one leg go stiff and heavy, while the other began to twitch uncontrollably. He couldn't jump!

"Pop! Pop!" Nichigetsu's fingers quickly struck Ebiki's waist from both sides. Ebiki felt a wave of numbness in his waist and found it difficult to breathe; it seemed his diaphragm had lost control. Losing his balance, he slumped to the ground.

At this, Nichigetsu deactivated his Byakugan and bowed to Ebiki. "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher." With his diaphragm weakened, Ebiki struggled to breathe and couldn't speak, so he could only nod.

Nichigetsu walked over to Ebiki and pressed a few points, dispelling his chakra needles and unblocking the meridians. Only then did Ebiki feel he could move, and the various physical abnormalities slowly faded.

"Nichigetsu, you've passed the exam. You already possess the strength of a Genin." Ebiki nodded, very pleased. Although he had been defeated by his own student due to carelessness and a focus only on taijutsu, a loss was a loss.

Ebiki felt no frustration, however; he couldn't hide the surprise in his heart. This is a genius. To think I could be his teacher. He's only five! His future is limitless!

The Third Hokage watched all of this silently, feeling quite stirred. Nichigetsu has more than just Genin-level strength; he's already reached the level of an elite Genin. I suspect he didn't even use his full ability in that spar.

The Third Hokage picked up Nichigetsu's file and read it. "Hyuga Nichigetsu, of the Hyuga Branch Family. His father died in battle the year before last. His mother was an ordinary person from the Senju Clan! Although his bloodline isn't very concentrated, the boy is a descendant of the Senju after all. His skills must have been taught by his cousin, Hyuga Mizuki. His Gentle Fist is quite unique; it seems to have many special effects. As far as I know, even the Hyuga Main Branch's Gentle Fist isn't this formidable. Could he have created this himself? A five-year-old child, actually capable of this... he truly is a genius."

"Ebiki-sensei, can you teach me something impressive? I've already mastered everything in the curriculum," Nichigetsu asked.

"Nichigetsu, what do you want to learn?" Ebiki stood up and asked with a nod.

"I want to learn the Shadow Clone Technique! That way, I can send a shadow clone to class, and you won't lose face, Teacher," Nichigetsu said after thinking for a moment.

"Alright, I will teach you the Shadow Clone Technique." Ebiki agreed readily. This was a genius; if he was still willing to let him teach him ninjutsu now, he might not get the chance later. Ebiki wanted to train elites, but he wanted even more to train a genius—someone who would make a name for themselves in the ninja world.

Ebiki explained the hand seals, the method of refining and using chakra, and the precautions for the Shadow Clone Technique to Nichigetsu. Under Ebiki's guidance, Nichigetsu learned the technique in a single day. Ebiki became even more convinced that his decision was correct.

"Teacher, from now on, when I skip class, I'll use a shadow clone to take my place. I'll continue to study until it's time to graduate."

"Fine, no problem." Ebiki nodded. After all, the school's curriculum was no longer suitable for Nichigetsu, and Ebiki didn't want to waste his time.

Nichigetsu was very happy to have learned the Shadow Clone Technique. It was an incredibly useful jutsu—perfect for gathering intelligence, delivering messages, assisting in combat, accelerating training, and confusing enemies. It was a powerful tool.

Heh, I guess this is one of the perks of being in school.