In the small forest behind the Ninja Academy, the last glow of sunset gradually disappeared beyond the horizon.
Asuma stood motionless in the woods like a soulless statue, murmuring to himself, "Impossible... impossible..."
Beside him, Seiki manipulated the "threads" between his fingertips and asked, "Asuma classmate, is this Chakra?"
Coming back to his senses, Asuma looked at Seiki with a complicated expression. "How could he have learned Chakra refinement so quickly? Could it be that even in terms of talent for becoming a ninja, I'm still inferior to him?"
An average person would need about half a month to one month to learn Chakra refinement, while a genius could do it in just three days—that's what his private tutor, a Tokubetsu Jonin, had told him after he himself had refined Chakra in only three days.
Asuma never imagined it'd take Seiki even half a month to get the hang of Chakra refinement. As someone he recognized as a "strong opponent," being able to achieve this within five days seemed quite reasonable.
Yet, hadn't it been less than ten minutes since he taught Seiki? If I am a genius, then what does that make him? Asuma stared at Seiki like he was some kind of monster, finally couldn't help but ask, "H-how did you manage to successfully refine Chakra on your very first attempt?"
Seiki shook his head. "Actually, this wasn't the first time I've tried Chakra refinement."
"Aren't you saying nobody has ever taught you how to refine Chakra?" Asuma asked in confusion.
"Perhaps you don't know, Asuma classmate, but I've actually been working part-time as an aide in the hospital. Although I personally don't possess any Chakra, I've seen many nurses refining their Chakra several times already." Seiki explained with a smile. "And today, didn't teacher Yamakei explain a lot about the theoretical system of Chakra?"
"Huh? Did he?" Asuma asked dazedly.
It's not that he had been daydreaming or sleeping during class—he already knew this material beforehand. However, he himself never took theory seriously; in his opinion, he'd rather spend that time practicing hand seal formation speed.
Seiki wasn't surprised by Asuma's reaction at all. At the Ninja Academy, theoretical knowledge had always been undervalued. What teachers emphasized most was students' practical skills and ability to adapt under pressure.
So during certain exams that were more theoretical in nature, not only did the Ninja Academy tolerate cheating, they practically encouraged students to cheat—as long as the methods weren't too obvious.
"There definitely was such instruction," Seiki continued calmly and patiently. "I was finally able to understand how Chakra refinement works by learning this complete theoretical knowledge today combined with my previous observations of Chakra. Unfortunately, my imagined method for refining Chakra was still too crude—I tried the whole day without success until you told me the complete Chakra Refinement Method."
"Oh right, that makes sense now." After hearing all that, Asuma found it easier to accept what happened.
What he didn't realize was that being capable of deducing the Chakra refinement technique simply from observation and understanding the theory was far more terrifying—infinitely more so—than succeeding in refining Chakra on the first try.
After saying that, Asuma became cheerful again. "You truly are my destined rival!"
"But I have to remind you," Asuma declared passionately, "Chakra is merely the foundation. Ninjutsu represents a ninja's true essence! Ordinary shinobi might spend years just mastering the basic Body Replacement techniques, but for geniuses like us, normal rules are meant to be broken!"
Seiki nodded earnestly. Indeed, this world had never been fair.
Seeing Seiki agree with him, Asuma felt particularly delighted, experiencing for the first time a feeling of camaraderie. "Come on, I'll treat you to some super delicious ramen."
"No, let me treat you. Without your help today, I would've been in serious trouble."
"But... Is the village allowance enough?" Asuma hesitated slightly, knowing well that Seiki's family circumstances weren't great.
"You forget," Seiki smiled warmly like sunshine, "I'm still working part-time at the hospital. At the very least, treating a friend to one meal of ramen isn't a problem."
"A friend... This is what friendship feels like?" Asuma whispered softly, a sudden sting in his nose. He quickly changed the subject, "Wait, how did you even pull off those Chakra Threads earlier? That was seriously impressive!"
"Well, it mainly tests one's coordination and control of both body and spirit. If you want to learn, I'd recommend starting with ordinary suturing operations... By the way, you can find plenty of uncleaned animal skins and flesh at the marketplace."
Hearing such horrifying words from Seiki's gentle voice made Asuma give an uneasy laugh, "Ha... Ha-ha, no way. No thank you. I'm not becoming a puppeteer or a medical ninja."
...
At the Third Hokage's residence.
"Shouldn't today be Asuma's first day at school?" The Third sighed while rubbing his temples as he noticed Asuma hadn't returned home so late, "He hasn't even started properly and already causes trouble."
"Hokage-sama, perhaps you're misunderstanding Young Master Asuma this time," the ninja standing aside respectfully replied. (Ebisu used the honorific suffix '-sama' for Konohamaru)
"Oh?" The Third turned somewhat surprised, knowing that Takayuki Takenouchi, though somewhat slick in personality, would never dare deceive him regarding such matters.
"Please tell me exactly what happened."
"According to my information, Young Master Asuma performed extraordinarily brightly at school today! He was one of only two students who expressed willingness to serve everyone and ran for class president. Though he lost the election, Young Master Asuma eventually became a close friend with mutual respect and understanding with his rival..." Takayuki Takenouchi conveniently 'skipped over' the messy middle parts, "The reason Young Master Asuma hasn't returned home yet is because he wanted to help his friend master Chakra control techniques sooner."
"Oh? Asuma lost!" The Third's eyes lit up. Although his son possessed somewhat rebellious traits, his talent indeed ranked quite highly. Added to his status as the Hokage's son, suffering defeat in an election was something he absolutely hadn't anticipated.
However, the more he listened, the more suspicious he became.
"Mutual respect? Friend? Help?" The corners of the Third's mouth twitched slightly, "Your way of speaking makes me even more confused. Can you explain the entire incident's detailed process to me?"
Takayuki Takenouchi awkwardly pulled out a document and handed it to The Third.
Looking at the records on the file, The Third's eye twitched violently. Asuma's performance was indeed... "blinding."
Hmph! It almost blinded my old eyes.
But soon, his attention was drawn to another person mentioned in the document.
"A civilian Ninja's child who lost his parents during the war? Still maintaining such a positive and bright attitude—how admirable."
The Third sighed slightly. Just then, his eyes suddenly locked onto one sentence written on the document, unable to look away. "It's not that you're only recognized once you become Hokage. No—it's those who've truly earned people's recognition... that should become Hokage!"
"Such conviction..." This time, The Third was genuinely moved. He couldn't imagine such words could come from the mouth of a mere five-year-old child.
"I see the flame of the Will of Fire burning bright within him! It is precisely because of juniors like him that everything we do has meaning, and the legacy of our fallen heroes can continue to live on."
After a moment's contemplation, The Third continued, "Remember to remind me about the match half a month later."
Takayuki Takenouchi was surprised. "Lord Hokage, are you actually going there personally...?"
The Third smiled. "Don't think too much of it. I'm just… checking in on my son like any other father would."
Takayuki Takenouchi suddenly understood. Ah, right—as if he were just another tool in the game. Got it!
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