Basic Body Technique

In the blink of an eye, the morning passed.

At the Ninja School, mornings were generally devoted to theoretical knowledge, while afternoons were mostly for practical lessons.

Thanks to his adult way of thinking, coupled with the previous owner's memories, Qian had barely managed to keep up with the morning's theory class.

As for the afternoon practical lessons...

As long as they did not test the Three Body Technique, he could muddle through.

As for the Three Body Technique...

According to the previous owner's memories, it was tested about once a week. The rest of the time was spent teaching combat knowledge and how to use ninja tools.

The last test had been three days ago, so there was no need to worry about being exposed for the time being.

As for the next one...

Four days would be enough for him to grind the Clone Technique to the beginner level.

With that as a foundation, he would not have to worry about the assessment.

In the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived.

At the Training Grounds.

Sugi Itto looked at the thirty-odd students below and said sternly, "Next, I'll divide you into groups. After that, you will fight each other. Until I call for a stop, you are not allowed to stop. Even if you are defeated, you must get back up and keep fighting. Do you understand?"

At those words, the students below immediately became noisy.

There was no other reason. In the past, they had fought group by group, with Sugi Itto watching over them from the side while offering commentary and analysis.

But now, not only were they required to fight simultaneously, they were not allowed to back down. This had never happened before.

Qian did not know what the others thought, but he sensed urgency in it.

Yes, urgency.

Normally, this kind of combat format would not be introduced until fifth grade, or even sixth grade. Making them undergo this sort of training now clearly meant the curriculum had been moved forward.

Combined with the current situation in the Ninja World, it was not hard to guess that the school intended to have them graduate early.

Still, that was only natural.

During peacetime, a six-year system was nothing unusual. But during wartime, the front lines desperately lacked manpower, so naturally the time spent in school would be shortened.

If I remembered correctly, Konoha's Graduation Assessment takes place from October 7th to the 10th every year.

Over the following three days, the school would submit the assessment results to the higher-ups. After receiving the Hokage's personal approval, they would be officially registered on October 15th.

And today was September 3rd!

In other words, in roughly a month at the earliest, he would be forced to graduate.

That could not help but stir a sense of urgency in Qian's heart.

"Quiet!"

Sugi Itto's voice came from above, instantly silencing everyone.

"Those whose names I call, step forward. Hanada Suntao."

At the call, a sturdily built student stepped out.

"Hirai Matsu."

Another student stepped out.

Sugi Itto looked at the two and said, "You two are a group."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Hanada Suntao and Hirai Matsu stood together and answered in unison.

"Mm."

Sugi Itto nodded and continued, "Yamanaka Hana, Aoki Ryuko."

As he called out names one after another, the whole class was soon divided into more than a dozen groups.

Qian was no exception. He was paired with a Civilian Ninja named Senmu Zhe. The boy's aptitude was not bad, and his strength was about on par with the previous owner's.

But that had been the previous owner. The current Qian had no confidence in defeating him.

The other party might have only been a little brat around ten years old, but when it came to Battle Experience, Qian could not compare no matter how hard he tried.

After all, his school in his previous life had not taught him how to fight.

Fortunately, his adult mentality allowed him to remain calm.

Soon, Sugi Itto's voice rang out again. "Remember, weapons are not allowed in the upcoming fights."

Hearing this, Qian quietly let out a breath of relief. Though the training Kunai were not sharpened, getting hit in a vital spot would still not feel good.

Perfect. He needed to accumulate experience anyway. The less suffering he had to endure, the better. It was not like he was some kind of masochist.

That was right. Qian had already prepared himself to get beaten up.

All I could hope was that this beating wouldn't be for nothing.

With that thought in mind, Qian opened the panel and gave it a quick glance. If his guess was right, another skill would be added to it after today.

"Get ready—form the Confrontation Seal!"

Sugi Itto's voice rang out.

Qian and Senmu Zhe simultaneously raised their right hands and formed the Confrontation Seal.

"Begin!"

The moment Sugi Itto gave the order, Senmu Zhe lunged forward, his right fist viciously smashing toward Qian's face.

Even though Qian had mentally prepared himself for the swift attack, it still caught him off guard.

Yet, whether due to the influence of his predecessor's memories or muscle memory ingrained in his body, he reacted at the critical moment, twisting aside and narrowly avoiding the blow.

What was more, almost the instant he dodged, he instinctively struck out, driving a fist toward Senmu Zhe's cheek.

Bang~

Senmu Zhe raised his right arm and blocked the blow.

As the two passed each other, Senmu Zhe pivoted on his left foot, twisted his body ninety degrees with a forceful turn of his waist, and swept his right leg toward Qian's head.

Damn, he's just a little brat. Why is he hitting so hard?

Feeling the gust of wind by his ear, Qian frantically cursed inwardly.

But he also knew that this was how ninjas fought. They were ruthless toward themselves, and even more ruthless toward their enemies. Fighting was a dance on the edge of a blade.

This was only the adaptation phase. Once Sugi Itto allowed them to use weapons, it would become even more dangerous.

If he wanted to survive in this chaotic world, he had to adapt as quickly as possible. Otherwise, even with the Proficiency Panel, he would ultimately be nothing more than useless.

With that thought, Qian stopped dwelling on it. Instead, he focused all his attention on the memories in his mind and the battle before him, absorbing the legacy his predecessor had left behind as quickly as possible.

Second by second, time passed. The fighting on the Training Grounds never stopped, and cries of pain rang out from time to time as someone was injured.

However, no matter how miserably they cried, Sugi Itto never called a halt.

During that time, Qian was knocked down several times as well.

Although he had his predecessor's memories and could hold his own against Senmu Zhe for a short while, his moves were far too stiff, and his weaknesses were quickly exposed.

As a result, he suffered badly.

Qian had no idea whether Senmu Zhe had some grudge against his predecessor or what, but he hit viciously. By the time school ended, bruises covered Qian's body.

"Hiss~"

Rubbing his bruised eye as he walked down the street, Qian felt little resentment. On the contrary, he even wanted to thank the other boy.

The reason was simple: a new skill had appeared on his panel—Basic Body Technique.

"Panel!"

With a thought, Qian opened the panel.

Immediately afterward, a pale blue screen appeared in his field of vision:

[Name: Uchiha Qian

Age: 10

Physical Constitution: 5

Spirit: 7

Chakra: 6 (127)

Bloodline: Sharingan · Unawakened (51/100)

Skills: Chakra Refining Technique: lv0 (2/100)

Clone Technique: lv0 (19/100)

Basic Body Technique: lv0 (35/100)]

It was clear that after just one battle, his "Basic Body Technique" had reached lv0 (35/100), directly surpassing "Clone Technique" to become the skill with the fastest fusion progress.

By Qian's estimation, his predecessor's mastery of this skill had only just entered lv1.

In other words, after two or three more battles like this, he would be able to completely integrate everything his predecessor knew about the skill.

And he owed such progress to Senmu Zhe's vicious attacks, which had forced him to respond with everything he had.

How could he possibly resent him for that?