Chương 40: Chapter 40: Progress and Communication
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Today was the last day of the semester at the ninja school, and the Third Hokage had already settled into his seat, reviewing the report cards submitted by various teachers.
As expected, the most outstanding students were clearly Neji Hyuga from the second year and Natsuro Shindōkawa from the first year.
Their results were impressive even when compared to higher-year students.
"Hyuga...", Hiruzen glanced at Neji Hyuga's name and couldn't help but think of his father, letting out a sigh. He wondered what he was thinking.
Then, he looked at Natsuro's name and pondered. He had already reviewed all the details about Natsuro's father many times, from his early years to his ordinary background.
Of course, his father's talent was decent. From an overall perspective, he was striving towards the level of Special Jonin. With some luck, he might even become an ordinary Jounin through achievements.
It was surprising that someone so ordinary could produce such an exceptionally talented child. Both theoretically and in terms of willpower and innate ability in ninjutsu, Natsuro was extraordinary.
The last person the he'd seen with such exceptional talent had become the Fourth Hokage. Outside of Kakashi, who unfortunately, despite his high talent, had his potential wasted due to the issues with White Fang and Obito situations.
Nevertheless, Kakashi had become an elite Jonin and a pillar of the village. Looking at Natsuro's achievements, the he smiled, anticipating that the village may soon gain another.
If he could reach the 'combat power' level of Kakashi without the Sharingan, investing in Natsuro would be worthwhile.
After reviewing all the results and arranging the graduation class for this year, the Hiruzen turned his attention to the crystal ball, which displayed the scene in the ninja school. The final focus was, as expected, on Naruto Uzumaki.
However, after Naruto left, the Hiruzen's attention shifted to Natsuro. He knew from frequent observations that Natsuro was usually the first to leave the classroom. Today, however, he had ushered Naruto out and stayed behind, which implied he had something to do. What could it be?
The he kept a close eye and continued observing. After a while, he refocused on the ninja school.
"Ah, a match with Iruka, huh?", Hiruzen felt a strange sense of anticipation.
Soon, he watched the entire battle between Natsuro and Iruka unfold in the crystal ball.
Even though Natsuro and Iruka's skills seemed modest to the him, given their ages, the potential and progress were evident. Iruka's talent had reached its limits, but he was still a competent teacher.
Natsuro, however, had indeed achieved victory against Iruka. His talent in ninjutsu was even more extraordinary than the Third Hokage had anticipated. Not only could he use C-rank jutsu, but he could also control them effectively.
The simplified three-seal Substitution Jutsu, a seal speed of over three seals per second, full mastery of C-rank Wind Release techniques, and the temporary enhancement with Lightning Release—all were remarkable, especially considering Natsuro was only six years old!
Even Kakashi, at this stage, had shown a performance slighty better to Natsuro, he had the guidance of his father, the White Fang. Natsuro had just started learning ninjutsu at 6. Although Kakashi hadn't put in as much effort when he was young, it didn't diminish the fact that Natsuro's talent was exceptional.
Such talent seemed almost beyond the ordinary. However, he had no doubts about Natsuro's identity. If he were a spy planted by another village, it would be a wasteful decision by their village. Such a talent should be nurtured, not wasted elsewhere!
Taking a puff of his pipe, the his thoughts began to solidify. It was likely that Iruka would soon report on Natsuro's talent, so calling him over seemed like the next step.
...
Natsuro walked towards the training ground after leaving the ninja school, reflecting on the recent battle.
Overall, he felt the battle had gone well. The initial probe provided more information than he had expected, thanks to Iruka's oversight. He learned about their physical differences, sealing speed, and Iruka's relatively weaker skills.
These insights were crucial for combat. Having gathered this information, he had already devised a subsequent successful plan, leading to his victory.
Indeed, battles with intelligence were fundamentally different from those without it. If he fought Iruka again, the chance of winning might be lower, but with time and growth, achieving victory would become easier.
He knew he still had much to improve. His throwing skills, while precise, lacked variation. Though it partly depended on the stones he used, it was more about not knowing how to train for better techniques.
He understood that the Uchiha were known for their adeptness with throwing techniques. Iruka likely didn't excel in this area, so he had to rely on his current precision and speed.
Despite this, he wasn't discouraged. He believed that even against Chunin ninjas, his current abilities meant that he was completely powerless. If necessary, he could escape using Lightning Release and Gale Palm to enhance his speed. Most Chunin ninjas, who were not speed-focused, would find it difficult to catch him.
However, he knew better than to be complacent. His basic attributes still fell short compared to most Genin ninjas, so he needed to keep improving.
Natsuro walked towards the training ground after leaving the ninja school, continuing to reflect on the recent battle.
After his match with Iruka, he still had plenty of energy left, so he wasn't in a hurry to go home. He figured Shinai might still be working, so he decided to train a bit more.
At the training ground, as expected, Lee was already there, seemingly more motivated than usual, as if he were venting frustration.
Natsuro could guess why. It was likely because of the end-of-semester grades. The second-year exams were different from the first year's. With the addition of ninjutsu classes, the importance of ninjutsu was obvious, so it had a significant weight in the grades.
Given Lee's situation, he likely scored zero in ninjutsu. Coupled with his poor theoretical scores, despite being top in physical training, his overall grade remained at the bottom of the class.
So, Lee's current state was probably a result of being motivated by his grades.
Seeing Lee's dedication, he felt inspired and joined in the training session.
Unbeknownst to Natsuro, Iruka had arrived at his home looking for him but found no one there. Iruka scratched his head, feeling somewhat deflated. He had been sent by the Third Hokage to bring Natsuro over.
Iruka had reported Natsuro's victory to the Third Hokage, which was a standard procedure. All teachers reported promising students to the Hokage. Iruka thought this would be just another routine process, but the Third Hokage wanted to see him directly.
"Does this mean that the Third was willing to invest in Natsuro?" Iruka was genuinely happy for his student, so he hurriedly went to Natsuro's home based on the address left at registration. But Natsuro wasn't home!
Iruka wondered if Natsuro was training again. He took a deep breath of the cold air and realized it was quite possible. In fact, he felt it was acceptable given his impressive talent.
Iruka glanced at the cold weather and sighed. With the break starting, he had no other commitments, so he decided to wait outside.
Meanwhile, Natsuro finished his training and began a Lightning Release massage with his remaining chakra. Even though he had done this many times, each session was an enjoyable experience that improved both his body and mind.
After the massage, Natsuro closed his eyes and entered the Void State.
Indeed, his progress this semester was significant. He no longer needed to be in an extreme state after training to enter the Void State. Although he couldn't yet enter it during normal times, he felt he was getting close.
The first time entering this state had been very challenging, but once achieved, it became easier, like climbing a 90-degree steep cliff, after passing that hurdle, all was left and then a slope. The difficulty had reduced, though it was still challenging to do.
Currently, the benefits of the Void State were less pronounced, but he enjoyed it and used it to observe and reflect on various things. His thoughts were particularly clear in this state.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't think for too long without exiting the state, but he felt it wasn't far off.
The combination of the Void State and Lightning Release massage was well-planned. However, Natsuro knew there was still a long way to go to achieve his ultimate goals.
Eventually, he opened his eyes and called Lee over.
"I'm going to trouble you again today, Natsuro." Lee said, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"It's fine. A free test subject is still valuable to me." Natsuro joked.
"Mm-hmm." Lee nodded appreciatively, not minding the comment and feeling grateful.
He wasn't joking. Each time after the mediative Void state, his understanding of shape transformation deepened, and Lee, with his strong physical talent, was the ideal subject for experimentation.
After experimenting with Lee, any progress would be reflected in his own massage techniques the next day. It was a win-win situation.
He had no guilt about using Lee as an experiment. If others were given the same opportunity, they would likely agree to become test subjects, given that it involved no life-threatening risks and could improve their physical strength.
Lee soon felt completely relaxed and worn out from the massage. As Natsuro progressed, the effects of the Lightning Release massage on Lee improved, though it still couldn't compare to his own results.
Lee's resistance to Lightning Release limited the benefits he could gain from the massage. Despite receiving it daily, his resistance to lightning attributes didn't increase significantly.
So, as Natsuro improved, he could control his chakra more precisely. However, Lee's limit was still determined by his resistance to lightning attributes. Exceeding this limit could harm Lee's body, making it counterproductive.
Soon, the Lightning Release massage session ended. Natsuro looked at his hands and smiled, feeling that he had met his goal in this aspect and was ready to proceed with his plans.
After finishing his training, Natsuro bid farewell to Lee. Lee still had a long way to go with his training.
Though it would be best to maximize the massage effects by waiting until Lee finished his training, Natsuro didn't have the time, and Lee didn't expect him to.
Despite knowing the optimal approach, neither mentioned it.
Natsuro didn't mind helping Lee, as long as it didn't affect him. He always prioritized his own interests.
Looking at the sky, Natsuro realized it was the last day of the semester, so there were no classes. Even after finishing his training, it was still early. He figured Shinai was likely still at work.
With that thought, Natsuro headed home and found Iruka waiting outside.
"Iruka-sensei? What brings you here?" Natsuro asked in surprise, wondering if Iruka was here for revenge after losing to him.
Iruka, shivering from the cold, noticed Natsuro sweaty state, it was obvious he had been training. He sighed, Iruka quickly explained that he had been sent by the Third Hokage to bring him over.
His eyes widen in surprise and excitement.
A message from the Third Hokage meant something significant. Given his clean family background and talent, it was likely to be beneficial rather than problematic.
"Let's go. The Third Hokage must have been waiting for a while." Iruka said, though he was cold.
"Let me freshen up before we go." Natsuro said, pointing to his sweaty body. It wouldn't be very polite to visit like this.
"Oh, right." Iruka agreed.
After welcoming Iruka inside and making him some tea, Natsuro went to the bathroom to clean up.
As he washed, Natsuro couldn't help but feel excited about the upcoming meeting!
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