บท 4: Chapter:4

"Yeah, I didn't really notice." Kirito responded casually, not mentioning that his recent training had dramatically improved his physical fitness and spiritual energy, putting him far ahead of his peers.

If he refined chakra like an ordinary ninja, he would already have about half a unit of chakra at the age of six. If he entered Sage Mode, that amount would increase tenfold. And this was just the beginning; his chakra levels would only keep growing as he got older and more skilled. (Note: One chakra unit is equivalent to the amount possessed by Kamui Kakashi.)

"Of course! You used to be shorter than me, but now you're taller," Izumi exclaimed in an exaggerated tone. Kirito noticed for the first time that Izumi was carrying two lunch boxes.

Izumi's face turned red as she noticed Kirito's gaze on the lunch boxes. She tightened her grip on the bag and looked away, flustered. "Don't get the wrong idea! I just happened to make an extra lunch box this morning. It's not like I was worried you wouldn't have anything to eat at noon or anything."

"Thank you very much," Kirito said, feeling a warmth in his heart. He had indeed forgotten to prepare lunch, and the school didn't provide any.

"You're welcome!" Izumi responded, a wide smile spreading across her face. "Come on, let's go to the classroom together."

They soon arrived at the classroom. Kirito opened the door and saw that the room was almost full. Their entrance didn't draw much attention, as most of the students were focused on Uchiha Itachi, who had arrived earlier. Kirito could hear the hushed excitement of the girls around him.

"Wow, Uchiha Itachi is so cool!" one girl whispered.

"Yeah, he's the son of the Uchiha clan leader!" another chimed in.

Girls in the Naruto world tended to mature quickly, just like Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, who were always ready to support each other until their friendship was strained by their rivalry over Uchiha Sasuke.

Hearing the girls fawn over Itachi, Kirito couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at how easily they were infatuated.

Seeing this, Izumi thought Kirito might be feeling envious of Itachi and quickly tried to comfort him. "Well, I think you're more handsome than Itachi."

Remembering how Kirito had bravely rescued her a month ago, Izumi's cheeks flushed again.

"Let's just find a seat and sit down," Kirito suggested, trying to shake off the awkwardness.

"It's them," Itachi noticed Kirito and Izumi as well. He hesitated, wondering if he should go over to say hello, but ultimately decided against it. Itachi wasn't great at expressing his emotions and didn't feel close enough to them to strike up a conversation.

Soon, the teacher arrived. He was a slightly plump Chunin with a beard. After writing his name on the blackboard, he introduced himself briefly and then asked the students to introduce themselves one by one. The classroom buzzed with excitement as the students shared their names and backgrounds.

After the introductions, the teacher handed out the textbooks, including "Modern History of Konoha," "The Will of Fire," "Detailed Explanation of Chakra Refinement," "The Three Basic Techniques," "Basic Taijutsu Training Methods," and "Ninja Tool Throwing: From Beginner to Mastery." There were also books on subjects like humanities, geography, and mathematics. These books would guide the students throughout their six-year journey at the Ninja Academy—unless they managed to graduate early.

As a veteran of the Hokage series, Kirito first opened "Modern History of Konoha" for a quick look. To his dismay, the book glossed over the First Hokage's efforts to end the warring states era and establish the village, as well as the Second Hokage's contributions. There was no mention of the Uchiha clan joining forces with the Senju clan to create Konoha. The Fourth Hokage, who sacrificed himself for the village, was briefly mentioned, but most of the book was dedicated to praising the Third Hokage, hyping him up as the "strongest Hokage in history," a Ninjutsu master, and a ninja hero who led Konoha to victory in the Second and Third Ninja Wars.

The over-the-top glorification was almost laughable, yet it seemed to work. Many civilian students were wide-eyed with admiration. Uchiha Itachi, who had been well-versed in ninja knowledge since childhood, couldn't put down "The Will of Fire" and "Modern History of Konoha," especially the former. His eyes lit up as he read it, and it was from this moment that Itachi began to adopt the so-called Hokage way of thinking, leading to a rebellious attitude towards his own family. When it came to the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha, he started believing that the Uchiha's arrogance was beyond redemption, all while overlooking the mistreatment his clan had suffered from Konoha's leaders.

Despite eventually realizing more about the situation, confessing to Sasuke before his death, it was too late by then—almost the entire Uchiha clan had perished.

Kirito couldn't help but think that these misleading textbooks were highly toxic. Had he not been a time traveler, he might have actually believed the propaganda about the Third Hokage. After skimming through "The Will of Fire," Kirito tossed it aside, uninterested in the exaggerated history and more eager to dive into the ninja knowledge, like the "Detailed Explanation of Chakra Refinement," "The Three Basic Techniques," "Basic Taijutsu Training Methods," and "Ninja Tool Throwing: From Beginner to Mastery."

By noon, Kirito and Izumi met up on the rooftop to have lunch together. After eating, Kirito, feeling a bit cheeky, shamelessly asked Izumi, a well-off young lady from the Uchiha clan, for some ninjutsu.

"Ninjutsu?" Izumi put down her lunchbox, looking puzzled. "Didn't the teacher go over the Three Basic Techniques this morning?"

"That's too easy," Kirito said with a smirk. Using his trained perception, he made sure no one was watching and then showed off by performing the Three Basic Techniques one by one for Izumi. Since learning the God's Breath, Kirito could master low-level ninjutsu almost instantly. He could even perform the Three Basic Techniques without using any seals, simply relying on ordinary chakra.

Moreover, Kirito had discovered that after using regular chakra to perform the Three Basic Techniques, he could activate Sage Mode and mimic the chakra flow of these techniques, allowing him to perform them without hand seals. This realization thrilled him—if he could reach the level of the First Hokage or Uchiha Madara, he could make anything happen just by clapping his hands and calling it out.

The First Hokage: "Madara, are you going to use a hand seal?"

Madara: "I don't need to use a hand seal. What about you, Hashirama?"

The First Hokage shook his head: "No need for seals when you can just clap your hands and make it happen."

Kisame, Zabuza, and Kakashi: They all fainted from disbelief.

(End of chapter)