Breathing

The Uzumaki Bloodline... Toru Kujyo's heart surged with excitement. This was the bloodline of the descendants of Asura, the Sage of Six Paths' second son, renowned for their immense vitality and chakra reserves. Although it was only purple rare-grade, rather than the highest-tier gold or even rainbow, its potential was already immeasurable.

He also knew that, beyond the basic boosts to vitality and chakra, the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline came with several powerful, unique abilities.

Mind's Eye of the Kagura... Toru Kujyo focused his attention. It was an extraordinarily powerful sensory ability that could detect chakra over a vast area, even distinguishing its good or evil nature and quantity while pinpointing enemies' positions and movements. On the battlefield, it was practically a human radar. If he could awaken it, his ability to locate enemies and counter reconnaissance would grow exponentially.

And the Adamantine Sealing Chains... he continued to reflect. This was the Uzumaki Clan's signature Sealing Jutsu, capable of extending chakra chains from the user's body. Immensely powerful, they could not only bind enemies but even suppress a tailed beast. Both Karin's mother and Karin herself had demonstrated this ability. Though he might not be able to reach that level yet, awakening it would undoubtedly give him another powerful trump card.

And that almost absurd bodily healing ability... Toru Kujyo's eyes lit up. Most members of the Uzumaki Clan possessed exceptional self-healing abilities and resilience, recovering from injuries far faster than ordinary people. They could even restore others' chakra and heal their injuries by letting them bite them, just as Karin did. In the brutal Ninja World, such an ability was practically an extra life.

Although the system notification only said he had integrated the "Uzumaki Bloodline," without directly granting those specific abilities, Toru Kujyo believed that as his bloodline activated and his strength increased, the talents hidden deep within it would awaken one by one sooner or later. That filled him with even greater anticipation for the future.

The commotion over the taijutsu match gradually subsided, but the shock Toru Kujyo had given the students in his year was far from over. That afternoon, the academy added a special exercise on short notice-"survival hide-and-seek."

The exercise area was expanded to include the entire hill behind the Ninja Academy and part of the training grounds. Iruka and several other chunin instructors would play the seekers. Within the allotted time, the students had to use the Invisibility Technique, Substitution Technique, Clone Technique, and their observations of the environment to evade the instructors' searches. Alternatively, they could successfully "steal" the bells the instructors carried without being discovered.

This was undoubtedly a comprehensive test of the students' Three Basic Techniques and their overall ability to adapt in real combat.

When the news broke, most of the students groaned in dismay. The Three Basic Techniques might seem elementary, but very few could apply them flexibly in actual combat, let alone against experienced chunin instructors.

Yet when Toru Kujyo heard the rules, the corners of his mouth rose again in an almost imperceptible smile. For him, this sort of test was practically free points.

As the exercise began, the students scattered in every direction, searching for hiding places. Naruto was as loud as ever, trying to get by with the most primitive hiding methods. Within minutes, Iruka dragged him out and gave him a dose of "loving" instruction.

Toru Kujyo, meanwhile, slipped into the dense woods behind the academy like a wisp of smoke. His steps were as light as a cat's, making almost no sound. With his Uzumaki Bloodline partially activated, his perception had yet to reach the level of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, but his five senses had sharpened considerably, allowing him to detect the slightest movements around him with ease.

Rather than hide passively, he took the initiative. From beside a thicket, he spotted a chunin instructor searching the area with somewhat lax attention.

Toru Kujyo silently circled into the instructor's blind spot, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. "Clone Technique!"

A clone identical to him appeared and quietly approached the chunin from the other side, deliberately making a faint sound.

"Who's there?" Sure enough, the sound caught the chunin instructor's attention, and the instructor immediately gave chase, alert.

The instant the clone drew the chunin instructor's attention, Toru Kujyo's real body shot out of hiding like a cheetah, moving so fast he left only an afterimage. His target was the conspicuous bell at the chunin's waist.

Body Flicker Technique!

Although it was only a basic Body Flicker Technique, Toru Kujyo used it with an elusive, unpredictable quality. Almost before the chunin instructor could react, he swept past the instructor's side. With a deft hook of his fingertip, the bell was his.

Once he had it, he did not linger for even a moment. He used the Body Flicker Technique again and vanished into the depths of the woods in a few bounds, leaving the chunin instructor staring at an empty waist in bewilderment.

Throughout the afternoon, Toru Kujyo moved through the training grounds like a ghost. Sometimes he evaded patrolling instructors with exquisite concealment techniques; sometimes he slipped away with an unexpected Substitution Technique; and sometimes he seized a bell with lightning speed.

While the other students were still agonizing over how to avoid being caught, Toru Kujyo had already collected three bells at his leisure-the maximum required for full marks under the exercise rules.

When the whistle sounded to end the exercise, Toru Kujyo appeared calmly at the assembly point and handed his three bells to Iruka.

Iruka looked at Toru Kujyo, then at his spotless clothes and composed expression, and felt another surge of amazement. Whether in theory, taijutsu, or practical application, this student displayed maturity and experience far beyond his peers.

Without a doubt, Toru Kujyo had once again passed the survival exercise with full marks. There was practically no question left about who would be the top student.

After school, the sunset's lingering glow painted the sky a warm orange-red. Toru Kujyo and Hinata walked home side by side.

"Kujyo, you were... really amazing today." Hinata lowered her head slightly, a blush of admiration coloring her fair cheeks, her voice barely above a whisper. Both his overwhelming taijutsu victory over Naruto that morning and his elusive movements during the afternoon's survival exercise had left an extremely deep impression on her.

"It was just a matter of using basic techniques proficiently." Toru Kujyo smiled slightly. "By the way, Hinata, why don't we train somewhere else starting tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Hinata raised her head and looked at him in surprise.

"The Hyuga Clan's training grounds are great, but they always feel a little... restrictive." Toru Kujyo chose his words carefully. "How about the academy field, or my yard? My yard is fairly spacious. It should be enough for us to practice."

Toru Kujyo's expression remained calm as he mentioned his home. His parents in this life had been ordinary Konoha chunin who had died on a mission, leaving him a death benefit and a detached house with a small yard. In Konoha, simply being able to retain such an inheritance was already fairly good treatment for an orphan. At least it kept him fed and clothed, so he did not have to live as lonely and forlorn a life as Naruto.