Two of Might Duy's former teammates mocked him, so Might Guy stepped forward to argue with them, only to be humiliated by the pair.
"Your dad is a useless wreck who can't do ninjutsu, genjutsu, or even taijutsu!"
"What part of him looks like a ninja? He should become a private detective who looks for cats instead!"
"He's just a comedian who knows how to crack jokes about youth!"
After being beaten by adult ninjas, Might Guy walked home dejectedly.
Are we, father and son... really not even good at taijutsu?
Might Duy had completed three D-Rank Missions that day, finding two cats and one dog. Exhausted, he returned home and saw that his son's face and forehead were wrapped in gauze.
After asking a few simple questions, Might Duy learned that his son was questioning his passionate Ninja Way. His expression grew complicated; he was no longer his usual carefree, passionate self.
In the middle of the night, Might Guy couldn't sleep. He wandered aimlessly near his home, agonizing over whether he would persist until he became a laughingstock like his father—a Genin who would remain one forever.
A figure suddenly appeared ahead.
Might Duy stopped Might Guy.
"Son, although you're hanging your head, I can tell that you've improved rapidly over the past year.
I know your pain.
There's only one last thing I can do for you.
Watch carefully. This is our Ninja Way!"
Might Guy thought his father was about to say something else about youth and passion.
However, what happened next overturned Might Guy's understanding.
The Eight Gates Technique?
His father had actually mastered a forbidden taijutsu technique?
Might Guy knew the strength of the teachers at school. He could tell that all the teachers combined would not be a match for his father!
That surging Chakra even formed a cloud of Chakra steam around his body!
Might Guy understood. It wasn't that taijutsu was weak, nor that someone who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu couldn't become a ninja. It was that Uchiha Ling had never seen true taijutsu!
Might Guy spent the entire holiday arduously training in the Eight Gates Technique.
Once school began, he would give Uchiha Ling a shock he would find impossible to accept. He would put pressure on Uchiha Ling!
After New Year, Uchiha Ling turned eight.
On the first day of school, Uchiha Ling was surprised to see all three teachers enter the classroom.
Yamano, Xia Cha, and Quan Yan swept their gazes across the students.
Teacher Yamano said, "I'm sorry to tell you all that in the short span of one holiday, our class has gained twelve orphans."
At this news, many people looked left and right.
Uchiha Ling sat in the last row and could roughly tell who had become an orphan.
Anyone looking around was definitely not an orphan, or had already been one. They knew nothing.
Those who remained motionless, their bodies even tensed, had undoubtedly become orphans.
Teacher Yamano continued, "One year after the Third Shinobi World War began, Kumogakure was originally the only village to declare war on Konoha, but Iwagakure declared war as well at the end of last year.
The pressure on the front lines is immense. Too many ninjas have been killed or wounded, and the shortage is severe.
To deal with this situation, the village and the school have decided that everyone in this class will graduate early!
At this time next year, after you've grown another year older and New Year has passed, you'll return to school to take your graduation assessment.
At that time, you'll be assigned a Jonin team leader and a Chunin team leader."
At this terrible news, Uchiha Ling grew tense.
I don't want to graduate.
Useless Konoha can't even defeat Kumogakure and Iwagakure, yet it's sending children under ten years old to the battlefield.
When Hashirama Senju established Konoha, wasn't it so that children could grow up safely?
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, setting aside whether you're good people or bad people, you're at least useless people—so useless that you can't fulfill Konoha's promise to every child.
He swept his gaze over the backs of his classmates' heads. No, I can't hold back anymore. I have to increase the pressure and make more of my classmates break down.
Every little bit counts. Even if they only provide me with some Chakra, that still counts as making a contribution.
The Three-Body Technique teacher, Quan Yan, said, "Substitution Technique was originally a course for ten-year-olds. It has been moved up to this semester."
The theory teacher, Xia Cha, said, "From now on, all theory classes will be compressed into these two semesters."
The sparring teacher, Yamano, said, "From now on, afternoon sparring classes will have shorter breaks. Everyone must spar at least twice."
When Uchiha Ling heard this, he finally received some good news. If we spar at least twice, I can put pressure on two people.
"And furthermore, the use of kunai, shuriken, Ninja Blades, and other ninja tools will be permitted during sparring class."
Mitaraishi Anko asked, "Teacher, are you preparing blunted ninja tools?"
"Of course we're using sharpened ninja tools. The next two semesters aren't child's play. Bloodshed is permitted, and even deaths are permitted." A bone-chilling air surrounded Yamano's words.
"Ninja training must inevitably involve bloodshed, and accidents are bound to happen.
"The Ninja Academy stipulates that if only one student in a class dies during training each year, the teacher will not be held responsible.
"You're the elite class of this year. Don't worry. I'll coordinate one or two slots from the other classes. If two or three students from our class die this year, it will still fall within what the village and school can accept."
The students sucked in cold breaths. It was terrifying.
When Uchiha Ling had attended university in his previous life, he had helped deal with the aftermath of a classmate jumping off a bridge, so he knew an obscure statistic.
Three ten-thousandths was the annual number of students at a university who died from various accidents or blows. As long as it remained below three ten-thousandths, no one would investigate the school's management responsibilities.
Once the population exceeded ten thousand, there would always be people dying from various accidents.
He hadn't expected the Ninja Academy to have a similar rule. Its ratio was one in thirty.
The other teachers left, but Quan Yan remained.
"Next, we'll study the last of the Three-Body Technique—the Substitution Technique."
He hadn't expected the pace to be so tight. The students weren't even given time to discuss or digest the material.
The students with good study habits, such as Kurenai Yuhi, hurriedly took out their notebooks and began taking notes.
"The Substitution Technique is actually a form of visual deception.
"Prepare objects such as logs in advance, then use the Transformation Technique to make the log look like you.
"When an attack is about to hit you, rapidly switch places with the version of yourself made from the log, causing the enemy to misjudge the situation and creating an opportunity for you to counterattack."
Quan Yan said, "In the past, I would have designed a few questions and answers when I reached this point, guiding you along. But time is limited now, so I'll simply give you the answers.
"The Substitution Technique is highly effective, but its conditions of use are extremely demanding. There are generally two ways to apply it.
"First, advance substitution.
"Prepare a substitute well in advance. When the enemy loses sight of you—for example, when ninjutsu, a large tree, or something else blocks their vision—hide yourself and let the substitute act.
"This way, the enemy will mistake the substitute for you and waste their attack on it.
"Second, the speed-based Substitution Technique.
"The Substitution Technique isn't the legendary Flying Thunder God. It isn't Space-Time Ninjutsu.
"When you're fast enough, you can use your speed to switch places with your substitute over a short distance.
"The first method is easier, but it tests your ability to judge the right timing on the battlefield.
"The second method is more difficult. It relies on overwhelming the opponent with speed and is generally used against weaker opponents."
Many students in the classroom were utterly confused. The pressure of the war had finally reached them in a tangible way.
Before you continue