Kiyoshi Wins

"Uchiha Kiyoshi actually won?"

"He's... he's so strong."

"No, that bet doesn't count. This was an accident..."

After a brief silence, even fiercer discussions broke out.

Some students had even bet on whether Kiyoshi or Obito would win.

"Hey, are you trying to welch on the bet?"

"Fine, I'll give you all my adult magazines."

Defeating a dead last would not have been shocking.

But someone who could only crudely refine Chakra, essentially an "ordinary person" who had trained for just a few days, had stepped up and defeated a ninja student-in-training.

The implications of that were worth pondering.

Years of accumulated training had actually been surpassed by someone else's starting point after just a few days of practice.

The students in the class all gave Kiyoshi a new label.

Taijutsu genius.

Most terrifying of all, they had heard that Uchiha Kiyoshi had awakened his eyes at this age and could use the power of the Sharingan.

Combined with the Uchiha Clan's renowned talent for Fire Release, no one knew whether Kiyoshi possessed such genius in other areas as well.

"Didn't expect this guy to be pretty good."

Asuma Sarutobi spoke up.

"Yeah."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded.

Her red eyes fixed on Kiyoshi.

Her long, curled black hair swayed gently in the wind, falling over her face.

"How good is his genjutsu, I wonder?"

Kurenai Yuhi murmured.

"Hm? What was that?"

Asuma Sarutobi had not heard clearly.

"Nothing."

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head.

"Alright, Obito, don't lose heart. Work harder next time."

Umino Iruka stepped forward to check on Obito. After taking a look, he found only superficial injuries and offered him a few words of comfort.

"Hmph, I just didn't perform well this time!"

The thought of humiliating himself so badly in front of Rin made Obito furious.

"It's okay, Obito. You've already worked hard enough."

Rin Nohara comforted Obito as well.

Upon hearing Rin Nohara's consolation, Obito's expression turned cheeky again.

"It's such a shame Kiyoshi won't train taijutsu with me."

Might Guy wore a deeply regretful expression.

"If he joined me for special training in the springtime of youth, he'd definitely improve by leaps and bounds."

"No, training with you would ruin him."

The thought of an Uchiha wearing a green jumpsuit and sporting a bowl cut made Kakashi shudder.

"Uchiha Kiyoshi... I should observe him for a while longer."

Kakashi pondered this.

He had already had enough of all the fighting and fooling around at the Ninja Academy.

The thought of Early Graduation grew stronger and stronger.

His father, the Konoha White Fang, was renowned throughout the Shinobi World, yet he himself was wasting time here.

Back when he was four, before entering the Ninja Academy, he had already been able to fully perform Earth Release: Earth Wave.

He had even entered a ninjutsu competition, taken first place, and won a silver kunai as a prize.

If Uchiha Kiyoshi can graduate early too, he wouldn't be a bad teammate from the same class.

That was what Kakashi thought.

Back among the crowd, Kiyoshi dealt with everyone who came up to speak with him.

Lightning Release: Iron Skin was very useful.

He could feel his rate of physical development increasing.

During his fight with Obito just now, Kiyoshi had clearly sensed that he was more agile than he had been the day before.

Lightning Release: Iron Skin could concentrate Lightning Release Chakra into certain muscle fibers beneath the skin. Through a specific Chakra release frequency, it allowed electrical current to seep into the depths of every muscle.

The current stimulated the activity of fast-twitch muscle fibers, triggering the protein synthesis mechanism within them and causing muscle cells to expand rapidly.

This produced better results than traditional exercise.

The drawback was that it could not train the internal organs or bones. At most, it increased the toughness and a certain degree of defensive power of the skin's surface.

For now, that was enough for Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi had not yet mastered this technique. He had only used the method on the scroll to try it on localized muscle fibers.

Once he fully mastered it, his body would quickly become stronger.

Next, Umino Iruka began calling out the next pair for sparring.

Meanwhile, Kiyoshi continued quietly practicing Lightning Release: Iron Skin amid the crowd, guiding the Lightning Release Chakra within his body.

If someone used the Byakugan to peer through Kiyoshi's meridian system, they would see faint currents constantly radiating outward from it and spreading through his body.

He was growing stronger bit by bit.

The current Kiyoshi could easily defeat the version of himself who had just arrived in Konoha over a month ago!

Dusk.

There were still quite a few figures at the Third Training Ground.

At the edge of the Third Training Ground ran a small river.

"Today, we're going to learn how to walk on water."

Rin Nohara explained the trick behind it to Kiyoshi.

Kakashi and Obito were there as well.

Obito folded his arms and deliberately kept his distance from Kiyoshi, moving closer to Rin Nohara instead.

Beneath his black mask, Kakashi remained expressionless as he quietly listened to Rin's explanation.

He already understood all of this.

The reason he had been coming here for several days in a row was that he had noticed Kiyoshi improving every day.

Sometimes, the ability to improve was itself a talent.

Working hard only to remain stagnant was the norm instead.

This is much harder than tree climbing. How will Kiyoshi handle it?

Kakashi looked toward Kiyoshi.

When climbing trees, one only needed to gather Chakra in the appropriate area and maintain it at a certain amount.

Since trees did not move, all one had to do was stick to them.

This was one of the most basic and important aspects of being a ninja: mastering how to produce a certain amount of Chakra.

When it came to water walking—standing on the surface without sinking—one had to "continuously" release the right amount of Chakra.

Moreover, the amount had to be just enough to support one's body.

This was far more difficult than maintaining a fixed amount of Chakra, testing a ninja's ability to sustain Chakra gathered beneath their feet over a long period.

"When ninjas refine Chakra, they are basically always moving. In situations like that, controlling and maintaining Chakra becomes even harder, so you must build a solid foundation."

Rin Nohara explained very earnestly.

It was obvious she always paid attention in class and had committed all this knowledge to memory.

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Obito, who often let his mind wander in class, realized that among everything Rin had just said were many theoretical concepts he did not know.

Obito turned to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi's expression did not change.

Clearly, like Rin Nohara, he already knew all of this.

Then Obito looked at Kiyoshi and saw him deep in thought.

Oh no, was he the only one who had not understood any of it?

Obito's heart tightened.

He decided to cram some knowledge when he got home.

"I'll demonstrate."

Rin Nohara took off her shoes. Her delicate bare feet stepped onto the gently flowing water, sending out small ripples.

She took several steps, her posture steady.

"It'll be easier if you take off your shoes."

Rin Nohara offered another small tip.

Without shoes, one only needed to gather Chakra beneath the feet.

With shoes on, one also had to consider their thickness and how well they conducted Chakra.

"Alright."

Kiyoshi stepped forward a few paces and removed his Uchiha robe, leaving only a long-sleeved inner shirt.

He formed hand seals with both hands, gathered a certain amount of Chakra, and began trying to stand on the water's surface.