So You Said You Only Knew Basic Ninjutsu?

"An A-rank difficulty ninjutsu like the Waterfall Technique is better left unused. I'll use a D-rank ninjutsu instead."

Ninjutsu were divided into S, A, B, C, D, and E ranks. Rank did not represent power; the higher the rank, the harder it was to learn and master, while lower ranks were easier to grasp. The Three Basic Body Techniques taught at the Ninja Academy were E-rank ninjutsu.

Kanami weighed his options. A genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy mastering an A-rank difficulty ninjutsu without any teacher—if he wasn't worshipped as a genius, he would probably be captured and dissected.

Seeing that Kanami still looked worried, Kiba Inuzuka could not help asking, "Still not ready, Kanami?"

Kanami glanced at Kiba and said, "I'm ready. Come on."

Hinata stopped practicing with her shuriken and stepped aside, silently chanting in her heart, Kanami, go...

"You're not going to make the first move? Then I will."

Kiba Inuzuka dropped to all fours. "Four Legs Technique."

His chakra flow gathered in all four limbs, and his previously slender arms and legs instantly swelled with muscle.

It looked like a reinforcement-type ninjutsu.

Kanami still did not move. This was his first real fight, and his estimation of Kiba's abilities came entirely from Kiba's performance in Naruto from his previous life.

Now, he was rather curious about what it would feel like to experience it himself.

"Kanami, why aren't you moving?"

Kiba Inuzuka stared at him in confusion from the ground.

Kanami was equally baffled. "You haven't attacked yet. Why would I move?"

"I didn't expect you to be this arrogant," Kiba Inuzuka said coldly.

With his body enhanced by the Four Legs Technique, Kiba's speed and strength had both doubled. He believed that if he struck first, Kanami would not have time to react at all.

Yet Kanami's casual attitude infuriated him.

Whoosh!

Using both hands and feet, he suddenly launched his assault. The four shallow pits where he had been standing showed just how greatly the Four Legs Technique enhanced the body.

Not only was it powerful, it was incredibly fast. In an instant, he appeared in front of Kanami.

Kiba Inuzuka swung a claw at Kanami.

Kanami still did not move. In Kiba's eyes, his speed was simply too fast for Kanami to even react.

"It's over."

"Kanami..." Hinata did not dare look and hurriedly covered her eyes.

At such close range, there was no way he could dodge!

Bang!

Bang, bang!

What?!

Kiba Inuzuka's pupils contracted as he stared in disbelief at the wooden log he had sent flying with his claw.

"Substitution Technique!"

His nose suddenly twitched, and he immediately clawed behind him.

Kanami, standing behind him, hurriedly dodged and could not help sighing.

"Trying to sneak attack a sensory-type ninja is still difficult, even with the visual misdirection of the Substitution Technique."

Kiba Inuzuka remained on all fours, meeting Kanami's gaze.

If not for his sharp sense of smell, he would have already lost.

"Looks like I was the arrogant one."

"Fang Over Fang!"

Kiba Inuzuka suddenly spun at high speed through the air, like a miniature tornado, and charged at Kanami.

Kanami immediately leaped backward.

While suspended in the air, his hands quickly formed six seals: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger.

Over the years, he had long since become proficient in the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu. He could cast it with only the final Tiger seal.

But in a spar, there was no need to reveal his true strength.

"Fire Release: Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu."

Whoosh—

A spherical blaze five meters in diameter suddenly burst from his mouth and shot toward the pursuing Kiba Inuzuka.

"Damn it, I clearly only used a tiny bit of chakra."

He had deliberately controlled his chakra, yet the area it covered was still so large. That was the pain of possessing a chakra reservoir—he found it hard to judge exactly how much counted as "a tiny bit."

Kiba Inuzuka had still been spinning at high speed when he saw such an enormous fireball. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Didn't he say he only knew especially basic ninjutsu?!

How was he supposed to take that head-on? He did not want to become a roasted suckling pig.

Kiba forcibly stopped spinning and sprang to the side.

Even so, when the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu struck the ground, small flames splashed onto him.

He hurriedly rolled farther away, trying to smother the flames against the ground.

Kanami and Hinata quickly ran over to help.

After several stomps, the flames on Kiba Inuzuka's body were completely extinguished.

He let out a long breath.

Good thing Kiba Inuzuka was fine. Otherwise, he would have broken the rule that Fire Release could never kill anyone.

Kiba Inuzuka staggered up from the ground, clutching his burned pants. They had been scorched away enough to reveal pink boxers printed with dog heads. With a dark expression, he shouted, "Didn't you say you only knew the most basic ninjutsu?!"

Faced with Kiba Inuzuka's questioning, Kanami awkwardly rubbed his nose.

He could not do anything about it. After thinking for a long time, he could not recall any useful D-rank ninjutsu. The Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu might be C-rank, but it was still a basic Fire Release technique.

"But why didn't I ever see you use that move when we sparred at the Ninja Academy? Don't tell me you only just learned it?"

Kiba Inuzuka stared at him with an incredulous expression.

At the Ninja Academy, Kanami slept every day and slacked off during sparring sessions. Most of their classmates considered him a dead last who was only slightly better than Naruto, because Naruto had failed the ninja qualification exam while Kanami had passed.

For a dead last like him to suddenly use such a powerful ninjutsu, the gap in anyone's expectations would have been enormous.

But if Kiba knew that Kanami had mastered the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu when he had just learned to walk, he would probably start doubting his entire life.

"No. I practiced for a long time too. I only barely mastered it on the eve of graduation."

Kanami calmly deceived the emotionally wounded boy.

"So that's how it is. I almost thought you were some hateful genius. It really was the result of hard work! Looks like I still haven't worked hard enough!"

My dream is to become Hokage. I can lose in anything, but I can't lose when it comes to hard work!

Kiba Inuzuka clenched his fists. After seeing Kanami's strength, he resolved to train twice as hard.

"Kanami, you will be my second opponent!"

Kanami asked in confusion, "Why the second?"

"My first opponent is him."

Kiba Inuzuka cast his gaze toward the person quietly feeding bugs in the corner.

Following his gaze, Kanami saw a man dressed completely differently from everyone else. His raised collar covered his mouth, and he wore dark sunglasses that concealed any change in expression—a fashionable Konoha man, Shino Aburame.

So it was Shino.

Kanami had not seen Shino from the start and had thought he had not come to train.

"His name is Shino Aburame. Don't let his lack of presence fool you—he's actually very strong. If you don't use Fire Release, he'll definitely give you a terrible headache."

Kanami nodded.

Kanami completely agreed with that. In his memories from his previous life, Shino Aburame was a man who had never suffered defeat.

There was another point he strongly agreed with as well: Shino played with bugs. It did not seem like much in anime, but now it felt just like reality. The moment Kanami imagined bugs hidden beneath Shino's clothes, or even inside his body, his scalp tingled.

After that, they each went back to training. The bug feeder fed bugs, and the dog feeder fed dogs.

Hinata was the only one training seriously.

Kanami deliberately found a good spot to sit nearby and watched Hinata.

Whenever Hinata activated her Byakugan, she noticed Kanami sitting behind her and looking at her. She became so nervous that she stopped activating her Byakugan altogether.

As long as I can't see him, he isn't looking at me!

Clinging to that self-hypnosis, Hinata finally managed to focus on training.

When the four had trained until noon, a familiar figure slowly approached.

Kanami and the others greeted her in unison, "Teacher Kurenai."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded. "I'm back. I also picked up a commission for you while I was out."

"Great!"

Kiba Inuzuka and the other two were delighted. They had long wanted to shine during a mission.

Enjoy being happy for a little longer. Once you see what the mission is, you won't be laughing.

Kanami gave them a sympathetic look.