Ninjutsu Selection

The next day.

Konoha Public Training Archive.

Uchiha Shingetsu stood at the entrance, looking up at the unremarkable building before him.

From the outside, it looked no different from any ordinary archive building.

Gray-white walls, wooden door frames, and two Chunin standing guard at the entrance.

It was neither as eye-catching as the Hokage Building nor as heavily guarded as an Anbu base.

Yet, Shingetsu knew very well that for him right now, this place was more important than a pile of high-level ninjutsu.

A ninja's strength did not rely solely on bloodline limits.

It relied even more on a systematic foundation.

Chakra Control.

Ninja tool taijutsu.

Tactical deduction.

Trap setting.

Sealing Basics.

Intelligence analysis.

These things were not prominent in the original story, but when it came to actual combat, every single one of them could determine life or death.

What Shingetsu lacked most right now was not a flashy ultimate move that could kill in one hit.

It was the need to transform himself from a "gifted child" into a "truly qualified ninja."

The gatekeeping Chunin glanced at him.

"Uchiha Shingetsu?"

Shingetsu handed over the Hokage Compensation Scroll.

"Yes."

The Chunin took the scroll and, after verifying the Hokage's seal, his expression shifted slightly.

He had clearly already heard about Shingetsu's affairs.

A nine-year-old with Two-Tomoe.

Attacked twice in a row.

Uchiha Clan Secret Passage.

The most sensitive topics currently circulating in the shadows of Konoha were almost all related to the child standing before him.

"Authorization confirmed."

The Chunin returned the scroll to him.

"You may enter the first floor."

"The time limit is two hours."

"Materials on the first floor may be read, but they cannot be taken out, and you may not transcribe complete ninjutsu scrolls."

"If you wish to learn C-rank ninjutsu, you must register with the administrator."

Shingetsu nodded.

"Understood."

He stepped into the archive.

As soon as he entered, the faint scent of paper and ink drifted through the air.

Rows of wooden shelves were arranged neatly.

Scrolls were organized by category.

Fire Style Basics.

Water Style Basics.

Earth Style Basics.

Wind Style Basics.

Lightning Style Basics.

Taijutsu training methods.

Ninja tool throwing techniques.

Tracking and counter-tracking.

Trap setting.

Field first aid.

Squad Tactics.

Basic Sealing Technique.

The first floor certainly lacked high-level secrets.

However, the content was quite comprehensive.

This was precisely the advantage of a ninja village system like Konoha.

An ordinary ninja might not have access to secret techniques, but as long as they had the clearance, they could learn a relatively systematic foundation of ninjutsu.

The Uchiha Clan had its own heritage as well.

But the Uchiha heritage leaned more toward the Sharingan, Fire Style, and Shurikenjutsu.

The Konoha Archive, however, was more well-rounded.

Shin-getsu did not waste any time.

He first walked toward the "Tracking and Counter-Tracking" section.

His probing encounter with Root last night made him realize even more the importance of reconnaissance capabilities.

He could not remain passive forever, waiting for others to come and kill him.

If he wanted to survive, he had to learn how to spot a tail, shake off a tail, and even turn the tables to utilize that tail.

He pulled out a scroll.

Footprint Analysis in Village Environments.

Upon opening it, he found records of how footprints changed on different ground materials.

Muddy ground.

Gravel.

Roof tiles.

Wooden rooftops.

Damp walls.

There were also the subtle characteristics that might remain after a ninja used chakra to lighten their footsteps.

Shin-getsu read quickly.

Although his Two-Tomoe Sharingan was not activated, his mental energy was already far stronger than that of an ordinary child.

Coupled with the [Mental Resistance] and [Chakra Control] traits, his memory efficiency was extremely high.

He could memorize the general framework of much of the content after reading it just once.

Of course, memorizing was not the same as mastering.

True mastery still required training.

But his current goal was to first build a framework of knowledge.

One book.

Two books.

Three books.

Shin-getsu finished the tracking section quickly and turned to counter-tracking.

Introduction to Chakra Trace Cleanup

Ninja Tool Residue Misdirection Method

Fundamentals of Scent Masking

Identification of Common Eavesdropping Talismans

When he saw the last book, Shin-getsu's eyes flickered.

Eavesdropping talismans.

These were exactly what the intruder had used last night.

He pulled out the scroll and quickly unfurled it.

The scroll contained detailed records of the structures of several common types of eavesdropping talismans.

The first type, Sound Conduction Type.

The second type, Chakra Fluctuation Sensing Type.

The third type, Short-term Image Recording Type.

The fourth type, Trigger-based Intelligence Talisman.

Shin-getsu soon discovered that the talisman he had shattered under the roof tiles last night was likely a simplified hybrid of the Sound Conduction and Chakra Sensing types.

This kind of talisman was not considered high-level.

But its strength lay in its concealment.

If he hadn't possessed Causality Retrospection and his Two-Tomoe, it would have been difficult to detect it at first glance.

Uchiha Shingetsu silently noted the key identification points.

The creases on the edges of the paper charms.

The lingering scent of chakra-infused ink.

The breaks in the dust where the charms had been affixed.

And the three most common angles used to conceal paper charms.

These were all lessons from practical combat experience.

After finishing, Shingetsu continued to browse through Sealing Basics.

Sealing jutsu was a vital yet often overlooked system in the world of the Hokage.

Powerful sealing jutsu could seal Tailed Beasts, seal the Reanimated, seal space, and even affect the soul.

Shingetsu did not expect to master high-level sealing in the short term.

But he had to understand the basics.

At the very least, he couldn't be left completely in the dark when encountering a sealing trap.

Time slipped away bit by bit.

He was like a parched sponge, frantically absorbing the knowledge on the first floor of the archives.

It wasn't until the administrator reminded him:

"Half an hour remaining."

Only then did Shingetsu lift his head from the basic sealing section.

Half an hour.

It was time to choose a C-rank ninjutsu.

He walked over to the ninjutsu registration desk.

The administrator was a gray-haired, elderly chunin who looked quite advanced in age.

He pushed up his glasses.

"Uchiha Shingetsu, is it?"

"The Hokage has granted you one C-rank ninjutsu learning slot."

"The available options are here."

He handed over a catalog.

Shingetsu opened it.

C-rank Fire Style:

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.

Fire Style: Flame Bullet.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

Fire Style: Fire Run.

C-rank Lightning Style:

Lightning Style: Earth Flash.

Lightning Style: Thunder Ball.

Lightning Style: Electric Shock.

C-rank Earth Style:

Earth Style: Earth Wall Simplified.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.

Earth Style: Earth Spear Introduction.

C-rank Water Style:

Water Style: Water Formation Wall Simplified.

Water Style: Water Violent Wave.

Water Style: Water Clone.

There were also some general-purpose ninjutsu.

The Shadow Clone Technique was not among them.

Clearly, although Shadow Clone was a B-rank jutsu, it was impossible for Konoha to easily grant it to an Uchiha child.

Shingetsu looked at the catalog, lost in thought.

He already knew the Great Fireball Technique.

Although he wasn't familiar with it yet, the Uchiha Clan could teach it.

Therefore, there was no need to waste the quota granted by the Hokage.

The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique paired well with shuriken, and the Uchiha Clan likely possessed it as well.

Lightning Style was his secondary affinity.

If he chose Lightning Style, it could supplement his offensive repertoire beyond Fire Style.

Lightning Style: Earth Flash.

In the original work, it was a relatively common Lightning Style technique that could conduct electricity through the ground to restrict an enemy's movements.

For Shin-getsu right now, crowd-control ninjutsu was more valuable than pure attacks.

He was already adept at using steel wires, traps, and terrain to design traps for his enemies.

If he added Lightning Style: Earth Flash, his battlefield control would improve significantly.

However, Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu was also tempting.

This was a classic ninjutsu used by Kakashi.

It involved diving underground and pulling the enemy into the earth to restrict their movement.

If combined with the Sharingan and traps, it would be incredibly underhanded.

But Shin-getsu's chakra reserves were limited, and Earth was not his primary affinity, so the efficiency of learning it might not be high.

Water Clone was also good, but it required a water source.

After a moment of thought, Shin-getsu looked up.

"I choose Lightning Style: Earth Flash."

The administrator was somewhat surprised.

"You are an Uchiha; why not choose Fire Style?"

Shin-getsu replied calmly, "I can learn Fire Style within the clan."

The administrator was taken aback, then nodded.

"Clever enough."

He retrieved a scroll from behind him and placed it on the table.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash, C-rank."

"The key points for learning it are the nature transformation of lightning-affinity chakra and the stability of chakra projection."

"It is best to have someone watching during your first time practicing."

"The backlash from Lightning Style is no joke."

Shin-getsu took the scroll.

"Thank you for the reminder."