What Do You Suppose Happened?

As Mikami Yu made his choice,

the text box began to change:

"Sorry, Transformation Technique. I was too clumsy last time. I'll definitely work hard this time."

[Transformation Technique: Hmph, good that you know! But... seeing how sincere you are, I'll cooperate with your practice a little this time!]

The dialogue box disappeared.

Mikami Yu waited for a while, then tried tapping [Practice] again, but nothing changed.

"What does that mean... Do I have to practice on my own?"

Mikami Yu scratched his head.

He had rested enough by now, so he got to his feet with a try-it-and-see attitude. He walked to a corner of the training field, formed hand seals with both hands, and tried to channel the chakra within his body.

The Three Techniques were the most basic of all Ninjutsu.

But basic did not mean easy.

Take the Transformation Technique, for example. The results varied greatly from person to person. Some could transform so vividly that they seemed real, while others could be seen through at a glance. Then there were people like Naruto, whose creativity was stronger than most. He had practically turned the Transformation Technique into a godly skill and even hard-controlled Otsutsuki Kaguya for a second.

As the descendant of civilians, Mikami Yu's chakra reserves and chakra control were both fairly average. The same went for the Three Techniques.

Right now,

as he focused, chakra circulated through his body. White smoke flashed, and he transformed into the teenage Kakashi. Even the broom-like silver hair and black mask had been faithfully reproduced.

"Huh?"

This transformation...

seemed much smoother than before?

Mikami Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, savoring the sensation from just now. Then he formed the hand seals again and transformed into Might Guy this time, equally vivid as reality.

[Your practice impressed the Transformation Technique. She discovered that you really had improved, so she praised you.]

[Transformation Technique: Wow, that was so much better this time! You even copied their aura! Not bad, not bad. Little Mikami has improved!]

[A: I could only do it because of your help. Thank you, Transformation Technique!]

[B: Of course. I'm a genius, so don't underestimate me!]

[C: (Silent, merely looking at her intently)]

"...A."

[Transformation Technique Favorability +1]

Huh, this might actually work!

Mikami Yu nodded slightly. Just as he was about to keep up the momentum and see what would happen once he raised her favorability, another dialogue box popped up:

[Clone Technique: Sister, why are you wasting words on him? He's just an unremarkable piece of trash. Maybe one day he'll die on the battlefield.]

[Clone Technique: Besides, other than when they first got to know us and acted all attentive, which of these ninja didn't quickly succumb to temptation and go chasing after more powerful, flashy Ninjutsu? Those words are nothing more than an act.]

"?"

No, sis...

Who are you?

Why were you insulting people the moment you showed up?

Mikami Yu wanted to see how the Transformation Technique would respond, but nothing came.

Still, since he had already begun practicing, he could not give up halfway. So he merely paused to recover. Once his chakra flow stabilized, he used the Transformation Technique again. This time, he transformed into a Ninja Academy teacher.

He held it for half a minute, then released it. Then he transformed again!

Again!

Just as mentioned before, Mikami Yu did not have much chakra. Forget one Kakashi—he probably only had one Kurenai.

Well, Yuhi Kurenai, that was.

Although Yuhi Kurenai had the lowest chakra reserves among the jonin team leaders of Naruto's generation, she still came from a Ninjutsu family and was certainly stronger than ordinary civilians. As for Guy... he simply lacked talent for Ninjutsu, not chakra. In fact, his total chakra reserves were rather astonishing.

"Huff..."

After using the Transformation Technique seven or eight times in a row,

the chakra Mikami Yu had refined earlier was basically exhausted.

He adjusted his breathing and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His vest had turned sticky, and every strand of his messy silver-white hair was soaked with sweat, drooping over his forehead and lending several traces of weariness to that remarkably well-crafted face.

"I'll rest for a while, then keep practicing!"

Mikami Yu sat down beside the training field and watched the green, frog-like figure in the distance run lap after lap as though he never tired. His expression was helpless.

See? This guy had cheats too.

Although Might Guy, like him, came from a civilian background, Mikami Yu simply could not compare to that sturdy, durable physique that could withstand any kind of punishment without issue.

Even if children in the Shinobi World were all practically walking plants, each with 130 trillion cells in their bodies, if everyone trained through this sort of self-abuse, half of them would probably train themselves to death before graduating from the Ninja Academy. But look at Might Guy...

What do you suppose happened?

These thousand laps were merely his daily appetizer. Once he finished running, he still had to go to the back mountain to keep practicing push-ups, straight punches, and kicks!

After resting for another ten-odd minutes,

Mikami Yu got up again and continued practicing the Transformation Technique.

And so it went three times.

By the time his chakra was exhausted for the third time, Mikami Yu finally felt completely drained. Leaning against the wall, he panted heavily. He looked as though he had just been fished out of water and could barely remain standing.

At that moment, the text box that had been absent for so long appeared again:

[When you practiced until you were utterly exhausted, the Transformation Technique, who had been watching for a long time, finally stopped you. She said that training could not be rushed; work and rest had to be balanced for it to last.]

[Transformation Technique: All right, Little Mikami. You've already worked very hard today, so there's no need to keep practicing. Get some proper rest, or your whole body will be sore tomorrow.]

[Transformation Technique Favorability +4]

[Transformation Technique (Current Favorability: 15/100 - Stranger)]

Only four points...

That was a little low.

Still, considering he had only just activated the system, Mikami Yu had not expected to become fat in one bite. He simply silently recalled the sensations from his training.

Then,

another line of text appeared:

[The Substitution Technique watched your entire training session from outside the field. She was pleased by your diligence, but due to her personality, she did not come forward to strike up a conversation. She merely left quietly.]

[Substitution Technique Favorability +2]

"...Hm?"

An unexpected gain too?

But why was it the Substitution Technique, rather than the Clone Technique that had interrupted earlier?

As Mikami Yu pondered this,

Might Guy had already finished his thousand laps. Panting, he returned to the training field and looked at Mikami Yu. "Yu, how's your recovery? Want to come with me to the training ground and do a thousand push-ups? If we can't manage that, we'll throw two thousand straight punches!"

"...First, call me Yu. Don't add 'ya.'"

Mikami Yu corrected him.

Honestly, ever since coming to this world, he had always found his name rather strange. Unfortunately, it had been chosen by his father in this life, and he had been called it since childhood, so he could only go along with it...

"Second, you go train by yourself. I'm too tired today. I need to go back early and rest."

"All right, then."

Might Guy nodded and glanced at the sweat-drenched Mikami Yu. "You really are exhausted and need to go back and rest. Then I'll complete those push-ups in your place. If I can't finish these two thousand push-ups, I'll throw four thousand straight punches!"

"6."

Mikami Yu raised a thumb.

Might Guy immediately returned the thumbs-up, flashing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth. "Thanks for the encouragement, Yu. You're great too!"

"..."