章 141: Chapter 141 - Returning to the Fire Capital

When Daichi regained his consciousness and opened his eyes, all he saw was nothing but darkness. He felt like he was floating in an endless void.

'What the hell? Where am I?...'

He tried to move his body but he couldn't. His mind started to panic but after a few seconds a memory popped up in his mind.

'Wait a minute… This feeling… I've only felt it once before… When I was in that void… Before… My reincarnation…'

As Daichi tried to focus on his surroundings he started to see small light balls far far away. There were several of them…

'What is that?'

As Daichi tried to somehow move forward, suddenly he felt as if he was being pulled from behind. As he was being pulled faster and faster the small light balls disappeared and darkness engulfed him.

"Aaaahhh…"

Daichi awoke with a frightening startle. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, his breathing labored and found his face covered in sweat.

Daichi looked around and saw that he was in the exact spot in the dungeon where he fell asleep.

'What the hell was that? Where was I?... Or was that just a dream?'

Daichi slowly got up and walked around. He looked at the return key and saw that he had over 18 hours left in the dungeon. He walked around the place trying to get his emotions under control.

'That felt too real to be a dream. And that place… I'm sure… It was the void where I was before… My Rebirth… But why would I have a dream about it now? What's going on?'

Daichi thought about it and couldn't come up with any definitive answers. He sat down on the ground, turned on his Gamer's Mind and started meditating. A few hours later and with a much calmer mind Daichi stood at the entrance/exit of the dungeon.

Without wasting another moment, he left the place.

Teleporting back to his room, Daichi sat on the bed and looked at the piled up notifications on the side. He started going through them one by one to make sure he didn't miss anything. Among them was one he wanted the most.

[You have leveled up.]

'Excellent. Due to the number of enemies I was able to get enough Exp to reach level 50. Now I don't have to take the risk of doing the penalty dungeon.'

Closing the level up notifications, Daichi immediately opened the status page.

'Status.'

[Name : Daichi Hekima (The Gamer)]

[Class : Student]

[Age : 11]

[Title : Capable Child, Explorer, Prodigy, Beast Slayer, Dungeon Warrior, Executioner, Assassin, Mighty Healer, Slug Sannin's Apprentice, Master of the Elements.]

[Level : 50 (345/65800)]

HP : 18645

CP : 47891

SP : 19144

MP: 7015

[Primary Stats]

Strength - 247

Vitality - 251

Dexterity - 207

Agility - 250

Intelligence - 176

Chakra - 351

Wisdom - 173

[Special Stats]

Sense - 121

Stamina - 207

Indomitable - 29

Charisma - 54

Persistence - 29

Dignity (LOCKED)

Luck - 4

[Stat Points - 638]

[Ryo - 251200]

'Nice. Very nice. My stats are in the Jonin level. Not to mention the many passives that strengthen my body. Now I don't have to worry about getting killed by some random mook.'

Daichi looked over the several skills that leveled up and was quite happy with his progress.

He closed all the blue boxes and thought about his next move. 'The only things remaining are the daily exercises and academic curriculum. I'll complete that with no problem… When this quest is marked complete, the system will give me the option of graduating now or not. But should I take that option this year?'

Daichi's class had one more year in the academy. If he graduated now, he would be a year ahead of them. 'Should I take one more year and train and improve my stats or should I graduate now?... If I graduate now then this quest will be marked as complete and I won't get any weekly stat points. But if I don't and take another year to train, that's one more year worth of stats… But is it worth it?...'

Daichi got up and went outside. He walked through the thick snowy road and looked at the few shops that were open at the moment. He spent a few hours simply wandering around the place and after thinking about several things, he came to a decision. He quickly returned to his inn to find his teacher.

Daichi found Tsunade enjoying a warm tea as she read some scrolls…

"Tsunade sensei, do you have a moment?" Tsunade looked up from the documents her sensei sent her. She noticed that her student had an unusually serious expression on his face.

At that moment Shizune brought some more tea and joined them.

"What is it, Daichi?" The Sannin asked the boy.

After taking a deep breath, Daichi spoke with a determined tone. "Sensei, I would like to graduate this year."

As they heard those words, Shizune's eyes widened but Tsunade remained impassive.

"But Daichi, if you graduate now you'll be a year ahead of your class. Do you really want that?" Shizune was surprised at Daichi's desire to become a Genin ahead of his classmates.

Daichi gave a simple nod as a reply to Shizune. He then turned his attention to his teacher and stood in silence.

A few moments later Tsunade spoke. "What's your reason for this decision?"

"I've already learned everything I could from you. And assessing realistically, my strength is much greater than a Genin or even most chunin. It would be a waste of time and resources if I spent another year as just an academy student. The minimum age for graduation is 11. And by the coming March, I'll be 12. My age, strength and skills more than qualify me to become a Genin."

Daichi concluded his assessment and waited for his teacher's decision.

Tsunade looked at the boy for a few moments and nodded. "You're right. The truth is I've been thinking about your graduation for a while now. As much as I like having you around, I have to agree that it would be a waste of time for you if you spent another year with me. Especially now that your medical training is complete."

Daichi's eyes slightly widened and a grin slowly formed in his face. "Wait you mean…"

Tsunade smirked and replied. "Yeah kid, I believe you're ready too. I'll talk with Sarutobi sensei."

"Yes!" Daichi pumped his fist in excitement.

"Congratulations Daichi. You're going to be a Genin by the end of this year." Shizune smiled and hugged the kid.

"Well, since our objective in the Land of Medicine has been accomplished, what do you say we head back to the capital. This time we can take the route through the Land of Hot Water. I did promise us some relaxing time at the hot springs afterall…" Tsunade got up and stretched her hands.

"Oh that sounds wonderful, Lady Tsunade." Shizune's excitement was shared by Daichi as well. He decided he was going to take the next few months to relax and enjoy himself before the start of his next journey.

Tsunade wrote a detailed report on Daichi's capabilities along with his desire for an early graduation and sent it to the Hokage. The next few days were spent packing things up and getting ready for their journey back to the capital.

The trio left the Land of Medicine and made their way to the Land of Hot Water. Tsunade found a good Inn with a nice bathhouse and soon the trio was relaxing in the hot spring.

"Haaa….!" Shizune sighed and relaxed as she submerged neck deep in the hot spring.

Tsunade was drinking some sake and was relaxed like she had no cares in the world.

The only person uncomfortable despite the relaxing situation was Daichi. He looked at the two partially visible creamy orbs floating in front of Tsunade.

'Damn this woman. She deliberately dragged me here to make me uncomfortable… The only good thing is that even though puberty has hit me, the gamer's mind will keep me safe from the temptations.'

Daichi slightly shook his head and closed his eyes as if to get rid of the impure thoughts. 'Stay strong man. You got this.'

Tsunade chuckled seeing Daichi's state. 'Despite his strength and attitude he's still just a kid. So easy to tease…'

"Feeling alright Daichi?" Tsunade asked with a smirk knowing exactly what she was doing.

A vein popped up in Daichi's head as he heard that question. 'I know plenty of ways to turn this situation around but if I do any of that, it's just asking for a beating.' Daichi mumbled something and submerged in the water until only the top half of his face was visible.

Shizune who looked at the two could only sigh. 'Sometimes Lady Tsunade is just too much.'

The three spent a few days in the Land of Hot Water before resuming their journey.

"Even when you're relaxing or on the move, you still do those exercises daily… Doesn't it get boring?" Shizune asked Daichi as he completed the daily part of his quest.

"No. This kind of training will only get boring if I think of it as a chore or something I have to do… But I think of it as something that I want to do and I know that it makes me stronger each day. So it doesn't bother me at all…" Daichi replied as he completed his push-ups.

Tsunade looked at the kid as she put out the small campfire. 'I haven't seen him miss one day of his training sessions. It takes more than just wanting to do it. One needs extreme discipline, concentration and willpower to keep training like that every day and not slack off. Even when he has nothing to do, he pushes himself… I have no doubt that he would one day reach the top. With his talent and abilities, it's only a matter of time.'

Despite completing the daily quest sets he was only slightly winded. And with the use of Status recovery he felt as good as new.

The group slowly made their way to the capital, taking their time to enjoy the sights and various places. It was more for Daichi's benefit since he would be busy with missions starting next year. By the start of the second week of January, Tsunade and her two students reached the capital.

"I'm gonna see if Gramps is home." With those words Daichi split from the group and headed to Kensei's house.

Opening the door to his temporary home he found Kensei relaxing in the small backyard.

Sensing Daichi's presence Kensei turned around. "You're back? So soon…"

"Yeah. I learned everything needed. We figured it would be a waste of time if we stayed there anymore." Daichi replied, placing his small backpack on the floor. He took a seat and joined his grandfather and watched the sun slowly set.

"I've already talked about this with Tsunade sensei. And she agrees… I'll be taking the Genin exam at the end of this year." Daichi said to his grandfather.

Kensei looked at his grandson and was quiet for a while. "Do you believe you're ready?"

"I do. I'm more than strong enough to face the challenges coming my way."

Kensei looked at Daichi and smiled. "If you think you're ready then I'm not against it. I'm sure the Hokage would also agree with that assessment."

Daichi nodded in agreement. He was strong enough to battle several trained root ninjas and take them down. Along with his skills, strength and medical techniques Daichi would be the most talented and strongest ninja coming out of the academy in a long time. Daichi knew that the Hokage knew that and was hoping he wouldn't hold him back.