Hinata

Shino Aburame adjusted his sunglasses, his voice quiet but clear. "Shino Aburame. My dream is... to study more varieties of kikaichū. Because insects don't lie." The traits [Secret Insect Technique (Green)] and [Family Contract (Blue)] above his head seemed rather mysterious.

When Sasuke's turn came, he simply stood up with a cool air, his hands in his pockets. "Sasuke Uchiha." No dream, no extra words, yet a ripple of hushed exclamations rose from the girls in the classroom. To Toru Kujyo, the glowing traits above his head-[Sage Eye (Red)], [Sharingan Potential (Purple)], [Kage Level Aptitude (Purple)], and others-were especially striking.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My favorite thing is the ramen Iruka-sensei treats me to at Ichiraku Ramen! My dream is to become Hokage! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge me!"

Naruto sprang up, his voice booming and a brilliant smile on his face. The dazzling array of traits above his head, including [Sage Body (Red)], [Super Kage Aptitude (Gold)], and [Nine-Tails Jinchuriki (Red)], stood in stark contrast to his current performance as the class's dead last.

When Hinata stood up, her cheeks were bright red and her voice barely louder than a mosquito's hum. "I... my name is Hinata Hyuga... What... what I like... um... My dream is... I hope I can... become a little stronger..." The traits [Princess of the Byakugan (Red)] and [Jonin Aptitude (Purple)] above her head formed a curious contrast with her shyness.

At last, it was Toru Kujyo's turn. He rose calmly, his gaze sweeping over the class before settling on Iruka, and spoke in an even tone. "Toru Kujyo."

Then he sat down, without another word or expression.

Yet the moment he sat down, he felt several intense gazes on him. A few girls were stealing glances at him and whispering among themselves.

"Wow, Kujyo is really handsome too! He's a different type from Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah, yeah! His skin is so fair, and his eyes are really pretty!"

Toru Kujyo felt helpless. He hadn't expected his face to make him a magnet for little girls just like Sasuke. The children in this ninja world were ridiculously precocious. The face he had inherited from the parents he'd gained in this life was indeed handsome and refined. Paired with his calm demeanor, it made him stand out among his peers.

Iruka cleared his throat, drawing the students' attention back to him. "All right, everyone has introduced themselves. I hope you'll all get along and improve together."

He lifted a stack of brand-new textbooks and several scrolls from beneath the lectern and began handing them out. "These are the textbooks we'll be studying: National Language, Mathematics, Biology, Medicine, and Chemistry. And this scroll contains the method for extracting chakra."

The children curiously leafed through the textbooks and scrolls in their hands.

Iruka continued his explanation. "Chakra is the foundation of every ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu a ninja uses.

"It's a form of energy produced by perfectly combining physical and spiritual energy. Successfully extracting chakra and mastering its basic uses is the first screening criterion for new students at our Ninja Academy. If you still can't reliably extract chakra by the end of your first year, or fail the assessment for the three basic techniques, the school will ask you to withdraw. So make sure you study seriously and train hard!"

Toru Kujyo leafed through the chakra extraction scroll in his hands. He already knew its contents by heart. He glanced around at his classmates and found that this year's intake really did have good overall aptitude. Aside from Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, whose gifts were practically cheats, most of the others also had green or blue potential traits.

His gaze lingered on Sakura Haruno for a moment. The pink-haired girl was listening intently to Iruka's explanation. The glowing orb above her head was [Chunin Aptitude (Green)], but one of her traits caught Toru Kujyo's attention-[Precise Chakra Control (Purple)]!

A purple-tier talent for chakra control! No wonder she becomes an outstanding medical ninja later on and can precisely control her monstrous strength. This talent might not stand out early on, but it has enormous potential down the line.

Meanwhile, Hinata, who sat beside him, had [Jonin Aptitude (Purple)] in addition to her dazzling [Princess of the Byakugan (Red)] trait. This showed that her own talent wasn't poor; her personality and the pressure within her family had simply kept her from displaying it for now.

The morning lessons were mainly academic. Iruka covered ninja history, geography, and some basic theoretical knowledge. The afternoon was devoted to physical education, which was relatively simple as well, consisting mainly of conditioning, stone throwing, and shuriken target practice.

Toru Kujyo learned that the Ninja Academy's first year wouldn't immediately include taijutsu sparring, focusing more on building a foundation instead. This gave him a new idea.

After school, Toru Kujyo didn't go straight home. He went to a secluded grove and formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof!

A shadow clone identical to him appeared at his side.

Thanks to the [Otsutsuki Bloodline (Red)] he had obtained at age three, his chakra reserves far surpassed those of his peers and were even greater than those of many genin. A chakra-hungry B-rank ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone Technique wasn't much of a burden for him, and his shadow clone could last quite a long time while retaining a certain amount of combat strength.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll attend school," Toru Kujyo ordered his shadow clone.

The shadow clone nodded, showing the same calm demeanor as the original.

To Toru Kujyo, the Ninja Academy's basic lessons were far too simple. Rather than waste his time, he could have a shadow clone attend in his place while his real body trained more efficiently.

The real Toru Kujyo skillfully used the Transformation Technique to take on the appearance of an utterly unremarkable boy, then slipped quietly into Training Ground No. 3 outside Konoha. It was a remote spot that rarely saw visitors.

Standing in the center of the training ground, he took a deep breath. Instead of forming hand seals, he gathered and compressed chakra directly in his palms, feeling the flow of wind-nature chakra.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Whoosh! A visible stream of pale blue-green air burst from his palms and slammed into a large tree ahead. Its trunk shook violently, and leaves came fluttering down.

This was one of his hidden trump cards. With the powerful talents granted by [Otsutsuki Bloodline (Red)] and [All-Attribute Constitution (Purple)], he had discovered that once he became proficient in techniques of the five elemental releases, he could actually skip the cumbersome hand seals!

This was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage. In the ever-shifting chaos of battle, skipping hand seals meant faster technique activation, allowing him to seize the initiative and potentially decide life or death. Of course, it wasn't without limits. Some advanced or complex combination ninjutsu still required hand seals for now, but he could already perform basic techniques of the five elemental releases without them.