Swordsmanship Entry

The leaves on the ground were finally swept up, floating in midair.

At that very moment, an electric current flashed through Kiyoshi's right arm, greatly increasing his cells' activity.

He suddenly drew his kodachi and slashed at the leaves.

A crack gradually appeared in the leaves suspended in the air. Then they split in two and fell to the ground.

Kiyoshi slowly shifted from his drawing stance to sheathing his blade. The cold metallic gleam reflected from the blade was faintly visible.

"Just as I thought, it's based on speed."

Kiyoshi thought to himself.

His eyesight could keep up with the leaves' speed, allowing him to catch their trajectory.

The drawback was that his body could not react quickly enough, and his precision was lacking.

He had practiced swordsmanship for too short a time; he still could not hit the leaves in an instant.

Yet extreme speed happened to make up for that lack of precision.

If one slash was not enough, then two.

If two were not enough, then three.

Kiyoshi's first slash had missed just now, but he immediately adjusted slightly and delivered a second slash, splitting the leaves in half.

It was simply too fast. Ninjas without sufficient perception could only see Kiyoshi draw his sword, make a blurred slashing motion, and then watch the leaves split apart.

You have comprehended a new entry: Apprentice Swordsman Ninja (White)

A translucent panel appeared before Kiyoshi's eyes.

Entry: Apprentice Swordsman Ninja (White)

Requirement: Use a swordsmanship technique.

Progress: (Completed).

Effect: Your swordsmanship training speed increases by 10% from its original baseline.

Note: Can continue advancing later.

Before buying his secondhand kodachi, Kiyoshi had used a kitchen knife to carve a branch into the outline of a "sword" to practice Cloud-Hidden Style swordsmanship.

After five days of practice, Kiyoshi had barely managed to use "Cloud-Style Swordsmanship: Flying Bird" today, gaining a new entry.

It could increase Kiyoshi's swordsmanship training speed by 10% compared to an ordinary person.

"This is about the level of an average genin."

Kiyoshi set down his kodachi and went inside to pour himself a glass of water.

The gap in strength between one genin and another was greater than the gap between a human and a dog.

The strong ones included Maruboshi Kosuke, the eternal genin.

After becoming overly eager for success during a mission and rashly issuing commands that led to the deaths of two companions,

he swore to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, that he would remain a genin forever. Yet his true strength could be considered elite even among jonin.

He had displayed impressive strength in the original story.

As for weak genin, they were the children of civilians.

The Three-Body Technique, which other ninjas with clan inheritances rarely used, was already the strongest ninjutsu available to them.

As long as they knew the Three-Body Technique and possessed a little common sense, they could be pushed into becoming genin.

"I still need to graduate as soon as possible."

Kiyoshi put down his cup.

He should be able to obtain the Strong Physique entry this week. Once he did, he could directly synthesize the Lightning Release Genin entry.

Continuing at the Ninja Academy would be a waste of time. It would be best to graduate early.

For other ninjas, early graduation might mean becoming expendable sooner.

But Kiyoshi was different.

He could encounter more things and have more opportunities to trigger the Entry System, fulfill its conditions, and rapidly strengthen himself through it.

Ninja Academy.

Besides physical training, the ninjas also had to learn shuriken throwing.

Most ninjas carried shuriken with them.

There were also quite a few ninjutsu involving shuriken, such as the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson.

"Listen up. Shuriken are a ninja's last line of defense. When a ninja does not have enough chakra to release ninjutsu, skillful shuriken throwing can very likely turn danger into safety..."

Kyohei Fujimoto, the chunin teacher responsible for teaching shuriken throwing, spoke animatedly at the front. From time to time, he took out several different kinds of shuriken for the students to identify.

There were Fuma Shuriken, far larger than ordinary shuriken, as well as variants such as right-angle shuriken and curved-angle shuriken.

Kiyoshi quietly watched Kyohei Fujimoto demonstrate the various shuriken.

When it came to shuriken throwing, the Uchiha Clan stood among the best.

"Kiyoshi, how good is your shuriken throwing?"

Kurenai Yuhi asked softly.

Kiyoshi was a transfer student.

Shuriken had been taught last semester, which was why this semester's lesson had been scheduled so late.

Since Kiyoshi was both from the Land of Lightning and an Uchiha,

Kurenai Yuhi was very curious about his throwing skills.

"I don't know. I haven't practiced much."

Kiyoshi shook his head.

A person's energy was limited. He could only make the optimal choice in the shortest amount of time.

He first had to strengthen his body to gain more chakra, then learn more ninjutsu.

While the two were talking, Asuma Sarutobi watched Kiyoshi and Kurenai Yuhi from behind.

No, who exactly was supposed to be the childhood sweetheart here?

Asuma Sarutobi was almost unable to hold it together.

He wanted to apologize to Kurenai for what had happened before, but he could not think of a good way to start.

"Asuma, are you in a bad mood?"

Shino Inuzuka came over and asked.

"No."

How could he possibly say that he was watching his childhood sweetheart keep chatting with another man?

Asuma Sarutobi waved his hand as though nothing were wrong.

As the Hokage's son, countless expectant gazes had been fixed on him ever since he was young.

So Asuma Sarutobi did not want anyone to see his weak side.

"All right, everyone, practice on your own for now."

Kyohei Fujimoto waved his hand and handed out the shuriken the academy loaned to the students.

Twenty dummies had been placed on the training ground for the students to practice on.

"Where's Kakashi?"

Obito asked.

He had not run into Kakashi at all today.

"The teacher said this morning that Kakashi took leave. Obito, were you even listening in class?"

After collecting her shuriken, Rin Nohara returned to where they practiced.

The shuriken were blunt, and it was obvious that they had been used for many years.

"Hehe, Rin, I forgot."

Obito grinned foolishly.

"But Kiyoshi really is popular. He's only been here a short while, yet he already knows so many people."

Rin Nohara spoke softly, her voice pleasant.

Kiyoshi had previously always trained together with the few of them.

Yet before they knew it, Kiyoshi seemed to have become quite close with Kurenai Yuhi, one of the top students in the class.

"Hmph, everyone's just curious because he's a foreigner."

Obito snorted.

Once everyone's initial interest wore off, Kiyoshi Uchiha would still be the same as always.

He looked toward Kiyoshi and saw him walking over toward Rin Nohara with shuriken in hand, Kurenai Yuhi following behind him.

"Kakashi didn't come all day?"

Kiyoshi asked calmly.

Since he had expected to obtain the Strong Physique entry today, and all of today's classes happened to involve training, he had been focused on exercising and had not noticed when Kakashi disappeared.

"Yeah. Maybe Kakashi has something to do."

Rin Nohara said.

"Kakashi must be secretly practicing at home."

Obito suddenly said suspiciously.

He refused to believe Kakashi was truly that talented. He had to be secretly practicing behind everyone's backs—that was why his grades were so good.

"Obito, Kakashi isn't that kind of person."

Rin Nohara's brows furrowed slightly at Obito's words.

Kiyoshi paid no attention to the rest of their conversation.

At that moment, there was only one thing on his mind.

Konoha White Fang had most likely returned.

And he had returned in failure!