Chapter 50: The Ultimate Genjutsu, Kotoamatsukuchi
Today was the day to report to school, so there were no classes, but there was an opening ceremony.
Hoshikawa saw the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, again.
Compared to the graduation ceremony last time, he was even more talkative this time, speaking for a full three hours.
At first, because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's great reputation, the elementary school students were somewhat attentive.
But later on, they all had blank eyes, unaware of what was happening around them.
Hoshikawa was filled with regret now.
I should have brought Tsunade with me. If I had, I could've slipped away halfway through.
After the opening ceremony ended, it was time to pay tuition and get textbooks.
"How about we all go to lunch together?" Rin Nohara asked proactively.
"Of course!" Obito Uchiha said excitedly.
He didn't forget to give Kakashi Hatake a look, telling him not to be a third wheel.
"I have to train," Kakashi Hatake said. Although he had suffered a major blow, he still hadn't given up on the idea of defeating Hoshikawa.
"Hoshikawa and the others are going too," Rin Nohara added.
"..." Kakashi Hatake paused.
"Why are you asking them?" Obito Uchiha asked with dissatisfaction.
"Obito, we're all friends," Rin Nohara explained. "Besides, Hoshikawa has helped me a lot."
"Rin!" Kurenai Yūhi, holding Hoshikawa's hand, waved to her as she hopped along.
Obito Uchiha subconsciously glanced at them, then looked back at Rin Nohara.
If only he could hold Rin's hand, he would die a happy man.
"What do you guys want to eat?" Rin Nohara asked gently.
"What do you want to eat?" Kurenai Yūhi asked, looking at Hoshikawa.
"What's the most famous ramen shop in the village?" Hoshikawa asked after thinking for a moment.
He had wanted to say Ichiraku Ramen, but he didn't know if it was open yet.
"The one at the village entrance is called Ichiran Ramen," Rin Nohara replied.
Looks like it's not open.
Hoshikawa nodded and said, "Let's go to that one then."
"Wait!" Asuma Sarutobi caught up to them, blocked their path, and said, "Hoshikawa, let's have a match."
"Let's eat first," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "You can come with us."
"I..." Asuma Sarutobi was momentarily speechless.
But then he had a change of heart. This was an opportunity.
Because they definitely weren't as rich as he was.
"I don't want to owe anyone a favor," Asuma Sarutobi said grandly, looking at Kurenai Yūhi. "It's on me!"
"Sounds good," Hoshikawa agreed without hesitation.
Kurenai Yūhi pouted.
She didn't have a good impression of Asuma Sarutobi. He would always look for a fight with Hoshikawa for no reason and constantly interrupt their time together. He was so rude.
The group soon arrived at Ichiran Ramen at the village entrance.
"Pork bone ramen," Hoshikawa said, looking at the menu.
"Me too," Kurenai Yūhi said with a grin.
"Me too," Asuma Sarutobi said, acting like a parrot.
Kurenai Yūhi immediately stopped grinning.
This guy is so annoying!
"Hoshikawa," Kakashi Hatake asked hesitantly, "How did you get so strong?"
He had been reviewing the fight all morning and found that the key issue was that inhuman strength.
"Don't you know who my teacher is?" Hoshikawa asked in return.
He naturally couldn't say it was because of his system, so he could only let Tsunade take the blame.
Kakashi Hatake was stunned for a moment, and he finally found the reason.
Tsunade, besides being a medical ninja, was also a taijutsu ninja.
Her 'Monster Strength' technique, in particular, was famous throughout the ninja world.
"What do you mean, strong?" Asuma Sarutobi was confused and asked.
"Hoshikawa defeated Kakashi in one move this morning, you know," Kurenai Yūhi said with a proud look.
"..." Asuma Sarutobi instinctively looked at Kakashi Hatake.
"..." Kakashi Hatake nodded in silence.
Asuma Sarutobi suddenly wanted to run away.
Although he had learned two more Wind Release ninjutsu, Hoshikawa's improvement had clearly exceeded his imagination.
But he was unwilling to give up just like that.
After eating, Hoshikawa said goodbye to them and walked toward Tsunade's house.
But he quickly noticed Asuma Sarutobi following him stealthily.
"Come on out," Hoshikawa stopped.
"How did you find me?" Asuma Sarutobi walked out and asked.
"With my eyes," Hoshikawa said casually.
"Hmph, do you have eyes on the back of your head?" Asuma Sarutobi didn't believe him.
"You want to spar with me?" Hoshikawa changed the subject.
"Yes!" Asuma Sarutobi was playing a little trick.
He had originally wanted to defeat Hoshikawa in front of Kurenai Yūhi, but after seeing Kakashi Hatake get defeated in one move, he decided to play it safe.
"Why should I spar with you?" Hoshikawa asked in return.
"..." Asuma Sarutobi was stunned. "I challenged you, so you have to accept!"
"What kind of rule is that?" Hoshikawa shook his head. "This isn't a sparring class."
"No, you..." Asuma Sarutobi said anxiously, "You have to spar with me!"
"How about this?" Hoshikawa said when the time was right. "If you lose, you let me look at the Wind Release ninjutsu scrolls you've learned."
"You want to learn Wind Release?" Asuma Sarutobi's eyes widened.
You've learned genjutsu, swordsmanship, and medical ninjutsu, and now you want to learn Wind Release? You're a jack-of-all-trades!
"No, I'm not learning it. It's to save time," Hoshikawa lied. "By looking at them, I can defeat you faster."
"You bastard! Don't you look down on me!" Asuma Sarutobi's blood rushed to his head, and he immediately formed hand signs.
He leaned back slightly and suddenly spewed out a ball of chakra.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
The chakra grew with the wind, instantly turning into a small storm in front of him.
Hoshikawa raised his hand and threw a kunai.
With immense power, the kunai flew like a bullet, piercing through the storm and whizzing past Asuma Sarutobi.
Boom!
Asuma Sarutobi subconsciously looked back and saw the kunai embedded deep into a tree trunk, leaving a deep crater.
He couldn't help but swallow.
If that had hit him, his head would have exploded like a watermelon.
"Do you still want to fight?" Hoshikawa walked up to him and asked.
"..." Asuma Sarutobi gritted his teeth and took out a scroll.
It contained three Wind Release ninjutsu: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Wind Release: Gale Palm, and Wind Release: Flowing Air Dance.
Hoshikawa looked at it for a moment, then gave it back to him.
The E-rank entry 'Hero' gave him a 10% boost in memory. Combined with the memories from his two lives, he had memorized everything.
"Thanks," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "Do you want to train with me?"
"Huh?" Asuma Sarutobi looked at him, his face full of disbelief.
"Helping each other is the only way to improve, isn't it?" Hoshikawa asked, not minding at all.
He could get an entry, and he could also show Hiruzen Sarutobi his Will of Fire. Why not?
This was the way to survive in Konoha.
Asuma Sarutobi was stunned on the spot.
For a moment, he felt ashamed.
He wasn't a bad person by nature. He only went against Hoshikawa because of Kurenai Yūhi.
But now he realized that he was indeed inferior, in every way.
Hoshikawa was slightly taken aback. He had triggered a new entry.
[E-rank Talent Entry: Kotoamatsukuchi.]
[Trigger Condition: Successfully gain Asuma Sarutobi's conviction.]
[Effect: Hand sign speed increased by 10% from the original base.]
This works too?
But why was it a boost to his hand speed and not his speech or tongue speed?
....
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