Ninja Academy (New Book, Please Bookmark and Follow)

"Hey, Rogge!"

Rogge spun around, his gaze snapping toward the source of the voice.

A red-haired little girl came jogging toward him. Her eyes first fell on the fallen tree beside him before she asked, "Did you do this?"

"No." Rogge immediately shook his head in denial, then asked, "Kushina, what is it?"

That's right. This seemingly feisty little delinquent was Kushina Uzumaki, the future mother of Naruto Uzumaki!

But right now, she was only an eight-year-old brat.

Rogge and Kushina were both children from other villages, and they had lived together at the Sunshine Welfare Institute in Leaf Village when they were young. After Rogge learned that she was Kushina Uzumaki, his fondness for her from watching the Naruto anime in his previous life prompted him to approach her. Before long, the two became friends.

However, their treatment could not have been more different.

Kushina had been sent to Leaf Village as the next generation's Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and she had a powerful background.

Although Whirlpool Village had been destroyed, and the Uzumaki Clan had either died or scattered, with only a few surviving members living anonymously in the world... Leaf Village still retained the Uzumaki Clan's power!

Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, was the current Nine-Tails jinchuriki of Leaf Village.

Out of concern for her fellow clansmen, Mito Uzumaki took exceptional care of Kushina Uzumaki, her junior. Thus, Kushina could be considered a treasured "jewel" in Leaf Village.

By comparison, Rogge was like a nobody. Not only did he have no background whatsoever, he also had no talent for ninjutsu and was rather withdrawn, so he was often bullied and mocked by others.

When Kushina had first arrived alone in Leaf Village, with no family or friends to rely on, Rogge's appearance during her most helpless moment had made her feel warmth and care. She would never forget that day.

"Hmph! You don't appreciate kindness. If I weren't worried you'd get beaten to death tomorrow, I couldn't be bothered with you."

Kushina handed him a bundle, and Rogge caught it reflexively.

"What's this?"

"Open it and find out." Kushina tilted her chin up slightly, her expression full of pride.

Rogge opened the bundle and found a pile of healing medicine inside, some for external use and some to be taken orally.

This was not the first time Kushina had brought him medicine for his injuries.

Whenever he trained himself until he was covered in wounds, Kushina would bring him medicine, nagging endlessly in his ear like an older sister.

Rogge was deeply moved, yet the next day, he would still train like his life depended on it.

"Tomorrow is the practical exam. Don't push yourself too hard. If you can't win, just surrender. There's no shame in that," Kushina urged earnestly.

"Thank you." Rogge looked at her seriously.

"Idiot, who wants your thanks? I want you to cook for me." Kushina crossed her arms and turned away, though she could not hide the faint pout on her face.

"Fine. What do you want to eat later? But let me make this clear first: you bring the ingredients. I don't have money to buy them."

"I know. I already prepared the ingredients. Today, I want mapo tofu and spicy chicken."

Rogge nodded and brought Kushina back to his little home.

It was a shabby little house provided by Leaf Village. The appliances, tables, and chairs inside were all very old, but Rogge did not care. As far as he was concerned, as long as they worked, that was enough.

Kushina sat on the tatami, eagerly anticipating the food, while Rogge carried a bag of ingredients into the kitchen and began cooking.

While they ate, Kushina could not resist saying again, "Rogge, even if you can never learn ninjutsu, I'll always protect you... If you can't win tomorrow's practical exam, don't force yourself. Just surrender. I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"Got it." Rogge chewed his rice and replied casually.

After Kushina left, Rogge locked the door, sat down on the sofa, and silently summoned his three systems.

"Today's refreshed ability is the Chop-Chop Fruit. It can turn me into a blade man and give me defenses as tough as steel. But the practical exam isn't until tomorrow, so there's no point training the Chop-Chop Fruit's ability now. Once the system refreshes automatically at midnight, it'll be gone."

"The check-in system's location today was Leaf Village, and it gave me the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Let's try it first."

Rogge stood in the room and rapidly formed hand seals.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke appeared. When it dispersed, an identical Rogge stood in the room.

"I did it!" Rogge's face was filled with excitement. He had finally mastered a ninjutsu.

The shadow clone beside him remained calm as he analyzed the situation. "Original, although you successfully performed the technique, haven't you noticed? You can currently only create one shadow clone. That's because your chakra reserves are simply too low."

Rogge nodded slightly. "I know. I'll find a way to solve that problem later. You can dispel yourself first."

Poof!

The smoke dissipated, and the shadow clone vanished from where it stood.

Rogge could not help feeling a little helpless. Although he had successfully mastered the Shadow Clone Technique through the check-in system, the chakra he could extract from his body was extremely limited. He simply could not create hundreds or thousands of shadow clones at once to assist him in battle like Naruto Uzumaki.

"Tomorrow is the practical exam! If tonight's refreshed Devil Fruit ability is even worse than the Chop-Chop Fruit, then I'll use the once-a-year chance to permanently bind a Devil Fruit ability to the system and make the Chop-Chop Fruit one of my fixed skills!"

After lunch, Rogge headed out to train again, his destination still the small forest behind the school.

"One hundred and three, one hundred and four... two hundred and thirty-one... two hundred and fifty..."

Rogge crazily pushed his body to its limits, supporting himself on only ten fingers as he continuously did push-ups.

The ground beneath him had already been soaked by his sweat.

His body grew heavier and heavier, and his arms ached with increasing intensity, as though they were being scorched by blazing flames.

Yet at this moment, he relied entirely on sheer willpower as he struggled to break through his limits.

Yesterday, he had only managed three hundred and twelve.

Today, he had resolved to do more than three hundred and thirty.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to complete his goal!

Though he wanted to keep pushing himself further, he eventually collapsed limply onto the ground from exhaustion, panting heavily like a tired old ox.

At that moment, both his arms had temporarily gone numb.

"Very good. I broke through my limits again today. Tomorrow, I'll set the target at four hundred!"

"Even with the system, I absolutely can't slack off and rot. Otherwise, even I'd look down on myself."

"Over these past two and a half years of insane training, diligence has already become a habit that's hard to change."

After resting for about ten minutes, Rogge struggled back to his feet. With a ten-kilogram sandbag on each shoulder, he began doing squats.

"Yesterday, I did four hundred and twenty squats. Then today, I'll do five hundred!"

Down, up, down, up, over and over again.

Before long, Rogge successfully completed his goal. His calves throbbed with soreness, and he dropped straight onto the ground.

"That felt great!"

Exercise could be addictive, especially in a world like Naruto that was filled with supernatural powers.

Rogge summoned the red panel of the Grind King System.

[Name: Rogge]

[Race: Human]

[Wing Chun: Beginner (0/500)]

[Ninja Basic Combat Technique: Beginner (23/500)]

"I'll practice Wing Chun and Ninja Basic Combat Technique properly later and raise my proficiency."

Rogge closed the Grind King panel, then opened the blue check-in system panel.

[Checked in today. Please return tomorrow.]

[Skill: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (Proficient)]

"What a pity. I can only check in once a day, and I have to personally reach a specific location or come into contact with a specific person."

"My chakra reserves are simply too low right now. The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique can only be used like an ordinary clone technique for the time being. It seems I need to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible!"

Rogge closed the check-in system panel and opened the green Devil Fruit System panel.

[Refreshed today. Please return tomorrow.]

[Devil Fruit Ability: Chop-Chop Fruit.]

[Refresh Countdown: 8 hours 22 minutes 22 seconds]

[Would you like to permanently make the Chop-Chop Fruit your skill: Yes/No (This option may be selected once per year)]

"No rush deciding yet. I should practice combining the Shadow Clone Technique with Wing Chun first. After all, the practical exam is tomorrow!" Rogge closed the green panel.

The next day.

Rogge woke up feeling refreshed. After a simple breakfast, he headed toward the Ninja Academy.

The Ninja Academy had been established ten years ago by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, as an educational institution for cultivating ninja. At this time, the Senju Clan had not yet declined and was still a major clan in Leaf Village.

The Uchiha Clan was also at the height of its power.

"Rogge, you finally came. I thought you hid because you were scared of getting beaten up."

The moment he stepped into the classroom, he heard Kushina's familiar voice.

Rogge turned and saw Kushina waving at him, signaling for him to come over.

In this class, Kushina was the only classmate who would take the initiative to speak to him.

Most of the others treated him like he was invisible. Even when they met him, they would not greet him.

Some bored classmates in the classroom looked at him mockingly. Perhaps in their imaginations, Rogge would soon be beaten to the ground, crying surrender and making a complete fool of himself.

"Yeah, I'm here."

Rogge gave Kushina a warm smile, then walked over and sat in his own seat.

When Kushina saw that Rogge had not come to sit with her, she angrily walked over on her own and sat beside him.

Kushina puffed out her cheeks and looked at Rogge. "Don't let yourself get beaten into a pig's head later!"

"I won't. Don't worry." Rogge replied calmly.

Seeing how carefree Rogge looked, Kushina felt like she had worried about him for nothing.

"I know you're stubborn and have always trained very hard, but... Rogge, forgive me for being honest. Maybe you really aren't suited to being a ninja. If you lose this practical exam, give up on the path of being a ninja, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt. Even if you stay an ordinary person forever, I'll protect you."

Kushina's words stirred a ripple in Rogge's tranquil heart.

This little girl truly considered him a good friend...

But... he had never planned on being an ordinary person!

He had finally been given a second life and transported into this incredible world of ninja. No matter how terrible his talent for ninjutsu was, he had never given up on becoming stronger.

What was more, he was now bound to three systems. He had cheats!

"Don't worry. I'll definitely win. Just watch carefully, and don't be dazzled by how cool I am."

Rogge gave Kushina an extremely confident smile, his tone calm as though victory were only natural.

"Show-off!"