Chakra theory class

Sunlight slanted through the window, falling across the densely packed writing on the blackboard.

Chakra extraction formulas, the principles of combining physical and spiritual energy, the routes through the chakra pathways-the entire board was filled with neat, orderly writing.

Iruka stood beside the podium and brushed the chalk dust off his hands.

"Today, we'll learn the basics of extracting chakra."

Iruka clapped his hands. "Who can tell me what chakra is?"

Silence.

Not one of the twenty-odd students in the class said a word.

Naruto sprawled over his desk, drumming his fingers against it as he watched the birds outside.

Choji was sneaking potato chips into his mouth. The crunching sounded especially clear in the quiet classroom.

Sasuke sat with his arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the blackboard, but Kiyoshi noticed that he had no intention of answering either.

Iruka sighed.

"Chakra is a combination of physical and spiritual energy..."

He began reading from the board in a flat voice, sounding bored himself.

Kiyoshi listened, his fingers tapping unconsciously against his desk.

Physical energy, spiritual energy, proportions that varied from person to person, the key to extraction being the balance point...

He had known all this in his previous life.

He had read so much Naruto fanfiction that he could practically recite the lines in his sleep.

Iruka was still reading.

"...so when extracting chakra, you must pay attention to the ratio of physical to spiritual energy. If that ratio becomes unbalanced..."

Kiyoshi's mouth moved faster than his brain.

"Chakra is a combination of physical and spiritual energy. The ratio varies from person to person, and the key to extraction is finding the balance between the two."

He picked up the explanation smoothly, his voice as emotionless as if he were reciting a textbook.

Once he finished, he froze.

The classroom went quiet for a second, then everyone turned to look at him.

Iruka paused too. He glanced down at his lesson plan, then back up at Kiyoshi.

"...Uchiha Kiyoshi explained that very well. That's exactly right."

Kiyoshi kept his face blank.

His temple twitched. He hated people who finished other people's sentences, and now he was one of them.

He took a deep breath. It didn't help.

It felt like there were nails in his seat.

He took another breath. Still no help.

He lowered his eyes and added inwardly, So the first use I've found in this life for what I learned in my last one is finishing someone else's sentences. No idea whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Iruka asked a second question. "Besides balance, what other factors are key to extracting chakra?"

Silence.

Kiyoshi clenched his back teeth.

But his mouth refused to cooperate.

He hadn't really tried to stop it, either. "Physical energy improves through exercise, while spiritual energy grows through meditation and willpower. Both require long-term development. There are no shortcuts."

After speaking, he closed his mouth and lowered his eyelids briefly.

It's over.

There's no going back.

Iruka's eyes lit up. "Uchiha Kiyoshi's answer was very accurate!"

He looked down and wrote something in the attendance register.

Naruto turned around, his eyes shining. "Kiyoshi, you're amazing! How did you know that?"

Kiyoshi kept his face blank. "...Reading."

"Whoa... What books did you read? Can I buy them?"

"...I forgot."

Shikamaru leaned against the back of his chair, tilting his head to glance at Kiyoshi.

There was something hard to place in that look. It wasn't admiration or curiosity.

He watched for a while, then looked away and went back to staring at the ceiling.

Sasuke sat in the front row without turning around.

But his fingers tightened around his pen.

The bell rang.

Iruka closed his lesson plan. "That's all for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

He paused, then added, "Uchiha Kiyoshi, come to my office after class."

Kiyoshi's back stiffened, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Damn. Did I draw his attention by chiming in too much?

He looked down at the tips of his shoes, then up at the ceiling before finally answering, "Yes."

When he stood up, his knee knocked against a desk leg. He didn't make a sound.

The office was small, with a desk, a chair, and the Ninja Academy's motto hanging on the wall.

Iruka sat in the chair, leafing through a file.

Kiyoshi stood before the desk, unconsciously rubbing his fingers against the seam of his trousers twice, his face expressionless.

"Kiyoshi," Iruka said, closing the file and looking up at him, "has anyone at home... taught you chakra theory?"

Kiyoshi's mind raced.

Say I taught myself? That's too far-fetched. A six-year-old teaching himself chakra theory?

"...My father taught me a little." He chose the safest answer.

"I see." Iruka nodded and didn't press him.

But something had changed in the way he looked at Kiyoshi. There was curiosity there, but no malice.

Kiyoshi lowered his eyes.

Iruka was a good teacher. He genuinely believed education could change people.

But he didn't know that the system itself was a filter-the school taught "how to fight," not "why to fight,"

because it didn't need ninja who could think. It only needed soldiers who could carry out orders.

He had learned a term for this in his previous life: standardized training, an assembly line in an arms factory.

He didn't say it aloud. The thought circled through his mind, and he swallowed it back down.

"All right, that's everything. You can go."

Kiyoshi bowed and turned to leave. As he pushed the door open, his fingers slipped on the metal handle. His palm was slick with sweat, and he hadn't even noticed.

When he reached the doorway, Iruka's voice came from behind him.

"Kiyoshi."

He stopped.

"You answered very well. Feel free to answer more questions in class."

The corner of Kiyoshi's mouth twitched.

"...Yes."

He left the office, pulling the door shut behind him. It closed, but didn't latch, so he pushed it back open a little and pulled it shut again with a click.

He stood in the corridor, where the slanting sunlight drew a line between light and shadow across the floor.

He glanced down at the black iron bracelet on his wrist.

The words "Don't panic" were still there.

It's all over. There's no going back.

I got some face value out of it, so it wasn't a loss. I've already embarrassed myself. A little more won't matter.

He started walking back to the classroom.

At the end of the corridor, Sasuke stood by the corner. He glanced at Kiyoshi, then turned and left.

Kiyoshi didn't notice.

A light screen popped up.

[System settlement: face value +156 (Iruka, Chunin, 80 + 5 classmates, 10 × 5 = 50), awkwardness value +60 (host + 4 classmates).]

[Total: awkwardness value 556, face value 440.]

[Current equipment multiplier: 1.2 (Jiahao Bracelet · Black iron +0.2).]

Kiyoshi stared at the numbers, the corner of his mouth twitching.

556 awkwardness value, 440 face value. Still a long way from the next draw. As long as I'm alive, the points keep coming. Not a loss.

He pushed open the classroom door and returned to his seat.

Naruto turned around again. "Kiyoshi! What did Iruka-sensei want?"

"...Nothing much."

"Really? He didn't tell you off, did he?"

"No."

"That's good!" Naruto grinned. "Oh, right! Want to get ramen together after school? My treat!"

Kiyoshi glanced at him.

Naruto grinned, showing a gap where one tooth was missing. His smile was like sunshine.

"...Next time."

"Okay! It's a promise!"

Kiyoshi turned back, his gaze settling on the view outside the window.

Tomorrow, they had a practical chakra class. He looked down at his open palm.

He knew the familiar formulas, but this would be his first time actually putting them into practice.

He rubbed his palm. The first person to extract chakra tomorrow...