Genius

Chapter 7: Genius

After Iruka finished speaking, Ayato immediately began extracting chakra in front of him. This time, he extracted all of it at once and released it without restraint, wrapping his entire body in a layer of blue chakra.

Iruka's eyes widened as he stared at Ayato in disbelief. He had extracted so much in one go—just how terrifying was Ayato's chakra reserve?

Then, in the next moment, Ayato and Iruka stared at each other.

Ayato: Stare...

Iruka: Uh...

"Ayato, why didn't you continue extracting chakra? To compare chakra reserves, you need to extract all of your chakra," Iruka reminded him.

"I already extracted all of it." Ayato frowned and looked at Iruka's reaction. "Iruka Sensei, is my chakra reserve very small?"

If it really was too small, that would be troublesome. Many ninjutsu would be limited by his scarce chakra.

"Small? No, no, of course not. It's just that I didn't expect you to be able to extract all your chakra at once." Seeing Ayato frown, Iruka realized he might have misunderstood and hurriedly explained.

"Then, Iruka Sensei, what level is my chakra reserve at right now? How does it compare to a Genin's?" Ayato stared at Iruka. This concerned the results of his efforts over the past few years.

"Hmm, let me think." Iruka looked at Ayato, thought for a while, and said, "Right now, your chakra reserve is only about half that of the weakest newly graduated Genin. Compared to the average, though, it's roughly one-third."

"That far behind?" Ayato frowned again.

"No, no, Ayato, your chakra reserve is already quite substantial. After all, you're still growing. Your chakra reserve will increase along with your body's growth, and at this stage, the chakra gained naturally through physical development makes up a greater proportion than the chakra gained through training."

After speaking, Iruka sensed the chakra around Ayato once more. With a sigh of amazement, he continued, "So as long as you grow normally until graduation, your chakra reserve should far surpass the average."

"I see." Ayato finally breathed a sigh of relief. That meant the results of his efforts were still pretty good. Far above average, huh.

Suddenly, Ayato remembered that something was off. There was Naruto Uzumaki in his class. Because Naruto had been the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki since childhood, was Asura's reincarnation, and possessed the Uzumaki Physique, his own chakra reserve was already absurdly terrifying even without counting the Nine-Tails' chakra.

If Naruto was included, Ayato felt that he probably would not even reach the average. Still, he couldn't compare himself to a freak. As he thought about it, Ayato smiled.

Seeing Ayato smile, Iruka also breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost discouraged him just now. If he had crushed a genius's spirit, and that genius was his own student, he would never forgive himself.

That was right. In Iruka's eyes, Ayato had already become a genius. He had learned to extract chakra from nothing in such a short time, and judging by what Iruka had just seen, he was already quite proficient at it. More importantly, at the beginning of the school year, his chakra reserve had already reached the average level of Third Grade students! How could that not make him a genius? In fact...

"There's one more thing, Ayato." Iruka smiled as well. He was happy that his student was a genius.

"Hm?" Ayato looked at Iruka in confusion.

"The amount of chakra you can extract at once already exceeds that of most Genin. It can even rival some Chunin. That's extremely impressive." Iruka admitted that he had been startled at first. Seeing Ayato extract so much at once had made him think Ayato's total chakra reserve was enormous.

"Oh." Ayato did not pay much attention to that point. After all, the amount one could extract at once was related to mental strength, and in that regard, he had more than enough confidence.

"By the way, Iruka Sensei, can I learn the Three Body Technique in advance?" Ayato finally brought up his second reason for coming. The two goals complemented each other—only by displaying a level far beyond First Grade could he possibly obtain the Three Body Technique.

"Well, normally, the Three Body Technique is a basic ninjutsu taught in Second Grade. But your current level has indeed surpassed that of Second Grade students, so you can learn it." After thinking for a while, Iruka agreed.

He would have to teach it eventually anyway, and there was no rule against teaching it early. It would even be possible to move Three Body Technique instruction up to First Grade. But not everyone was like Ayato. Most students still needed to start with the basics, so it was better to leave things as they were.

"Thank you, Iruka Sensei." Ayato thanked him sincerely. He had sought out Iruka because he knew what Iruka was like from the original story. If it had been Mizuki, he definitely would not have gone to him. Even though he knew Iruka would most likely agree, he was still grateful. Iruka did not owe him anything, after all.

"Ah, it's nothing. Besides, I think you earned the Three Body Technique through your own hard work, Ayato." Iruka scratched his head and laughed heartily. Being thanked by his student made him happy.

Then Iruka handed Ayato three Scrolls and said, "These are the Three Body Technique. They contain some of my own insights. Read them first, and if there's anything you don't understand later, come ask me. But remember to return the Scrolls to me."

"Okay." Ayato took the Scrolls and looked them over. There were quite a few markings on them. These were probably Scrolls Iruka had prepared for future lessons; some even included notes on how to explain things. If he still could not learn from these, he might as well bang his head against a wall.

"Is there anything else, Ayato?" Iruka asked.

"You've helped me so much, Sensei. I'd like to treat you to a meal," Ayato said.

"Haha, helping students is what teachers should do. Besides, I have something to take care of later..." Iruka wanted to refuse.

"Ichiraku Ramen," Ayato added.

Iruka immediately hesitated. He did like Ichiraku Ramen, but there was no need for a student to treat him. It was not that expensive, and as a Chunin, he could afford it.

But seeing Ayato's serious expression, Iruka figured that a meal at Ichiraku Ramen was nothing much for Ayato's family. It would be all right to accept.

"Then go ahead and take care of your business, Iruka Sensei. I'll head home first. I'll wait for you in front of Ichiraku Ramen at six this afternoon." Seeing Iruka hesitate, Ayato did not give him another chance to refuse. After saying that, he turned and left.

As Iruka watched Ayato's retreating figure, he was slightly stunned. Ayato did not seem like a child of this grade. Thinking about Ayato's family circumstances, Iruka could not help but sigh.

Children from poor families grew up early, indeed. Still, Ayato actually knew he liked Ichiraku Ramen. He had mentioned it before, but most students probably would not remember. How nice!