Over the years, Uchiha Aozora had studied the Heavenly Book countless times.
He discovered that whenever he mastered a new ability, the Book would refine and optimize it, then teach him directly through an almost revelatory insight.
For example, after learning chakra refinement, pale-gold characters appeared in the Book, and he received the technique Guided Qigong. Later, after mastering the Transformation Technique, gray characters appeared, granting him a new skill, Illusory Form.
Aozora had originally thought this was the extent of the Heavenly Book's functions—different colors representing different categories or levels.
It wasn't until he learned the Substitute Technique that he realized he had been wrong.
When he mastered the Substitute Technique, the Book didn't generate new characters. Instead, the original gray characters for Illusory Form deepened and solidified into pale gold.
Upon visualizing Illusory Form again, he discovered that it could not only transform his body but also replace other objects to take his place.
The truth became clear: each character in the Book represented a complete method or mystical technique. The deeper and brighter the color, the more perfected the method.
By that standard, the newly appeared Samadhi True Fire in the Book was highly refined.
Uchiha Aozora couldn't contain his excitement and focused his mind.
Characters appeared one by one in his mind, forming organized passages.
Scene after scene unfolded vividly in his imagination, playing like a film before his eyes.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he finally opened his eyes, looking a little weary.
Stepping outside, he noticed the sun had nearly reached its zenith.
"No wonder… this meditation took three or four hours."
Despite the long duration, Aozora felt it had been time well spent. A bright smile spread across his face.
The Samadhi True Fire in the Heavenly Book was not a destructive blaze that could incinerate mountains and terrify deities. Instead, it was a fire born from the cultivation of spirit, energy, and essence—true fire cultivated within oneself.
In Daoist practice, anyone who had truly succeeded in cultivation would know this technique.
Although Samadhi True Fire was a common Daoist skill, it still held immense significance for Aozora.
Even if its outward power was limited, it could destroy spiritual entities externally and refine one's own body internally.
Externally, it could burn the world's demons and spirits, cleansing the void of malevolent forces.
Internally, it could burn the body to eliminate impurities and purify the practitioner's inner essence.
Of course, that described the full Samadhi True Fire. What Aozora could learn now was only the Qi Fire, roughly one-third of the full technique. Even so, Qi Fire could still be used both externally and internally—to refine the body and purify his breath and internal energy.
Since the foundation of his Daoist cultivation was already complete, there was no new method to progress. Whether training his energy or strengthening his body, he felt he had been treading in place.
Now, with Qi Fire, he at least had a temporary substitute to continue his cultivation.
After a quick lunch, Aozora spent the entire day at home, immersing himself in studying Samadhi True Fire and practicing the Phoenix Fire Technique.
Unfortunately, the Phoenix Fire Technique offered almost no contribution to perfecting Samadhi True Fire.
To master the full Samadhi True Fire, Aozora guessed he would also need Divine Fire and Essence Fire.
He had some ideas about Divine Fire—Amaterasu was likely the embodiment of spiritual fire.
But Essence Fire remained a complete mystery to him.
Time quietly slipped by as Aozora trained, and soon the sky darkened.
Following Konoha's usual procedure, instructors might administer a test the next day. To ensure he performed well, Aozora chose not to stay up all night practicing.
Even though Konoha was short on ninjas and unlikely to demand repeating graduation, it was better to be cautious.
The next morning was bright and clear.
Aozora rose early, washed, changed into his training uniform, and tied his forehead protector. Then he made his way to the Ninja Academy.
Today was class assignment day—being late was not an option.
When he arrived at the academy's main classroom, there were still twenty minutes before the official time, yet most of the graduating students were already there.
Scanning the room, Aozora casually picked a corner seat and rested his head on the desk, drifting off to sleep. The previous day's intense cultivation had left him exhausted; he needed every minute of rest he could get.
Unfortunately, fate was unkind. The moment he closed his eyes, a bothersome girl entered the classroom.
She made a beeline for him and began chirping incessantly in his ear:
"Uchiha's lazy tail-end, where were you the day before yesterday? Scared of me, Inuzuka Aya?"
Aya Inuzuka's voice wasn't unpleasant, but her rapid-fire chatter, combined with the barking of her dog, was more than enough to overwhelm him. One girl and her canine companion were a force that rivaled three meddling aunts, leaving him completely unable to rest.
Aozora regretted ever crossing paths with Aya Inuzuka—she was far too energetic.
Desperate for peace, he clasped his hands together and apologized: "I'm sorry, ma'am! Please trouble someone else… let me sleep for a while!"
"Apology accepted," she said.
Aozora exhaled in relief, but Aya showed no intention of leaving.
She had let go of previous grievances, but she disapproved of him sleeping in class. With an air of righteousness, she scolded:
"Aozora, no matter how you graduated, now that you have, you must honor the forehead protector on your head. You cannot continue sleeping in class."
Aozora cast a weary glance at the incessant girl and decided it wasn't worth arguing—he merely nodded.
Satisfied, Aya sat beside him, eyes constantly darting to him as if to say, "I'm watching you. No sleeping!"
Aozora's gaze dimmed. He abandoned all hope of rest and silently lamented:
"What did I do to deserve this girl?"
Before he could dwell on his misery, it was time for the class assignments.
A striking middle-aged female ninja entered first.
"Hyūga You, Yagyu Ichirou, Kurama Saki, follow me!"
Her voice was crisp. As soon as the three stood, she led them out without a word.
"That's Jonin Aizawa Konan!" someone whispered.
"Her taijutsu is incredible, and her water-style jutsu is first-rate!"
"She's seen countless battles and even taught as a private tutor. Her experience in both combat and instruction is outstanding. I'm so jealous!"
"Jealousy is twisting my face!"
From the murmurs, it was clear that Aizawa Konan was extremely powerful.
This made sense—the three students she had called were all high-potential ninjas who deserved strong guidance.
Hyūga You, for instance, was a prodigy of the Hyūga clan. Had she not been injured last year, she would have graduated even earlier.
Kurama Saki, though lacking a clan bloodline, had the strongest genjutsu talent among her peers.
Yagyu Ichirou appeared ordinary, but that was only because he came from a civilian background; with proper lineage, his performance might rival anyone.
As Aozora analyzed this, another instructor entered, taking another group of students.
Even those leaving were among the top of their class, and their guiding ninjas were formidable as well.
Seeing this, Aozora couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry about his own assignment.