Early Graduation!

Ever since Liuxia had spoken frankly with Mito Uzumaki, he'd been looking for ways to free up enough time to secretly practice the new rewards from the system and master Wood Release, his Kekkei Genkai. Every day, he sent a Shadow Clone to accompany Nawaki and Kushina to the Ninja Academy. As for himself, he used the secret passage Mito had told him about to slip past the sensory barrier and make his way to the training ground in Tobirama's long-abandoned secret laboratory, where he practiced ninjutsu.

"System, show me my stats!"

Name: Liuxia (Senju Liuxia)

Gender: Male

Age: Nine

Strength: Chunin, proficient in Taijutsu and ninjutsu

Ninjutsu: Rasengan, Water Dragon Jutsu, Water Wall, Great Waterfall Jutsu... (Let's all do our part to stop padding out the story. Though I just padded it by a few words again, hehe.)

Chakra Nature: Water, Earth, Yang

Special Abilities: Sage Body (Intermediate), Wood Release, Otsutsuki bloodline (faint), no hand seals, natural physique

"I still haven't made Jonin? Seriously? Kakashi became a Jonin at twelve without even having a cheat." Liuxia muttered to himself, a trace of frustration and disappointment in his eyes.

"Beep... The host meets the basic requirements for becoming a Jonin, but still lacks the combat experience and various forms of knowledge and skills required of one. Please keep working hard, study well, and strive to improve every day!" A cold electronic voice rang out in Liuxia's mind.

At the system's prompt, Liuxia nodded thoughtfully. He had a rough idea of the problem. He'd always been king of the Ninja Academy, picking on the weak and showing off in the pond. Aside from a handful of decent opponents, most people weren't even at Genin level. In an environment like that, he couldn't gain any truly valuable combat experience.

Besides, Liuxia knew full well that while his cheat was incredibly powerful, it couldn't directly implant combat experience in his brain. If he wanted to grow stronger, he'd have to explore and put things into practice himself.

Taking a deep breath, Liuxia silently made up his mind. Looks like I'll have to bring my graduation plans forward. I need to leave my comfort zone and take on missions, building up combat experience through life-and-death battles with other ninjas! Only then can I become a true Jonin as soon as possible!

Liuxia had just finished training and was on his way back, still thinking about how to apply for early graduation, when a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Liuxia, I was just looking for you!"

"Lady Tsunade? What do you need?"

"The Third Hokage wants to see you. Of course, whether you go or not is up to you."

Liuxia was surprised by the news. "The Third Hokage wants to see me? Lady Tsunade, do you know why?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm not sure about the details. But the commotion we made when we were practicing at the training ground was pretty big. Someone from Anbu reported it to the Third Hokage. He may have found out that you invented the Rasengan because of that. I'm guessing this summons has something to do with it. Either way, if you decide to go, I'll come with you. If you don't want to, that's fine too. I'll explain things to the old man."

Liuxia looked thoughtful as he quietly considered the Third Hokage's true intentions. After a moment, he made up his mind. "All right. Since the Third Hokage summoned me, I should go. I also plan to ask him for permission to graduate early. Lady Tsunade, sorry for the trouble, but could you come with me?"

Tsunade was startled. "Huh? You want to apply for early graduation? Why didn't you talk it over with your family first? You're still so young! I can't agree to this."

"Lady Tsunade, you know what I'm capable of. Staying at the Ninja Academy would just be a waste of time for me. Only eagles that have weathered countless storms can spread their wings and soar through the sky."

Tsunade seemed about to say something, but Liuxia didn't give her the chance.

"Lady Tsunade! You've said yourself that tensions between the villages in the Ninja World have been rising lately. I have a feeling war is right around the corner. If it breaks out, students of my and Nawaki's year will end up on the battlefield too. Rather than sit around and wait, we should take the initiative and build up valuable combat experience by going on missions!"

"Liuxia, hmm... You do have a point. But you have to trust that I'll protect every one of you! You, Nawaki, and Kushina—no one's going to lay a finger on you!" Tsunade said firmly.

"Of course I trust you, Lady Tsunade. In that case, let's hurry over and see what the Third Hokage has to say!" Liuxia nodded.

"Old man, I've brought Liuxia!"

Tsunade called into the room distractedly, then kicked the Hokage Office door open with all her strength. It wasn't the first time she'd done that, so neither the Anbu in the Hokage Office building nor the Third Hokage himself was surprised anymore. Maybe Tsunade had lost all her money gambling again, and that was why she was acting up. But a few Council of Elders members who never got along with her were left fuming.

Tsunade ignored Danzo and the other elders completely. She led Liuxia straight to an empty seat, shoved him down into it, then plopped down beside him.

"Tsunade! How can you be so disrespectful? Do you think the Hokage Office is your home?" Utatane Koharu finally scolded her, fed up with the way Tsunade showed no respect for any of them.

Tsunade only pursed her lips. "Oh, sorry. I got used to kicking the doors in when I came to see Grandpa and Second Grandpa as a kid. I really did forget the Hokage Office wasn't my home."

"You!" Utatane Koharu was so enraged by Tsunade's unrepentant attitude that she could barely speak.

"All right, Koharu, let's get down to business!" Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, the Third Hokage hurriedly intervened. He took a long drag on his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke, as if that might ease his headache.

"Phew..." The Third Hokage set down his pipe and looked at the young man before him. "Liuxia, I called you here for two reasons."

"First, Tsunade reported a few days ago that you invented a hand-seal-free ninjutsu. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. I named it the Rasengan." Liuxia held out his palm. Chakra spun rapidly in it like a whirlwind, stirring up a powerful gust of wind that swept through the Hokage Office.

"Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh..."

As the chakra activity in the Hokage Office grew more intense, a large number of Anbu appeared like ghosts. Their expressions tense, they stood ready for anything, fearing that something might go wrong.

But when they heard the Third Hokage's calm, firm voice—"Everything's fine. Stand down!"—the well-trained Anbu members finally relaxed and quietly vanished into the shadows.

The Third Hokage was shaken beyond words. He stared at the nine-year-old before him, marveling inwardly. The boy had created a hand-seal-free ninjutsu with such incredible potential. Even he, the man hailed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," couldn't help but feel outdone!

The Third Hokage looked around and saw that the other old men wore the same astonished expressions he did. He felt somewhat relieved. After all, it would've been awkward if he were the only one surprised. Still, by convention, they had to start with a democratic discussion.

He turned to Danzo, his gaze questioning. "Danzo, what do you think?" Then he looked at Koharu and Homura. "What about you? If you have any thoughts or suggestions, let's hear them."