Morning.
Yuichi slipped on a freshly washed white coat, a plain short-sleeve shirt underneath, and simple black trousers without any design.
Brimming with energy, he opened the door.
The warm morning sunlight spilled over his face.
Down the stairs, the neighbor aunt greeted him as usual.
"Good morning, Yuichi-kun."
"Good morning, Aunt Mitte." Yuichi replied with a bright smile. He waved before running off toward the Ninja School.
In just a blink, he was gone.
Mitte blinked in surprise at his cheerful figure.
"…This kid finally looks happy. I thought he'd stay gloomy forever."
At the school gates, Yuichi was about to step in when a familiar voice echoed in his head.
[Daily Selection Activated]
[Please choose one option]
[1] Participate in and pass the Ninja Graduation Exam → Reward: Water Style – Great Waterfall Technique
[2] Give up the Ninja Graduation Exam → Reward: Wealth of an enemy nation
Yuichi froze for a moment.
"Give up the exam? Who in their right mind would do that?"
He scoffed and immediately chose the first option.
Now that he had a system—and an infinite MP buff—why would he give up becoming a ninja?
Power was worth far more than money. Without strength, wealth was just waiting to be stolen.
"Yuichi! Why are you standing there? Let's go!"
A friend hooked an arm around his shoulder, pulling him toward the school.
Inside, another boy rushed past them—a little devil with spiky blond hair and an Uzumaki crest on his back.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Yuichi felt relief. Crossing into this time period meant safety. For now, at least, the village wasn't in immediate danger.
The graduation exam began.
The test: Clone Technique.
Yuichi's perfect Clone Technique cleared it effortlessly.
At the gates afterward, the children who passed wore their brand-new forehead protectors with pride. Yuichi tied his own on, the symbol of a new ninja shining on his brow.
Excited chatter filled the air as friends celebrated their new status and dreamed about future missions.
But Yuichi barely listened.
After a quick excuse, he slipped away, eyes glued to the glowing system interface.
[Congratulations! Host has obtained A-rank Ninjutsu: Water Style – Great Waterfall Technique (Elementary, 0/1000)]
Yuichi's heart pounded.
The Great Waterfall Technique!
With unlimited chakra, he couldn't wait to unleash it.
'If I can learn one ninjutsu every day… in one hundred days, I'll have mastered one hundred jutsu.'
An arsenal of a hundred techniques—fired endlessly thanks to infinite chakra.
He grinned.
The walking ninjutsu machine gun.
'Enemy in front? No need for words. Just spam dozens of A-rank techniques. If that doesn't work—throw a hundred more.'
Of course, that was for the future.
For now, he needed to test his new technique and grind its proficiency to max.
The system reminder was clear: to raise it from Elementary to Intermediate required 1,000 proficiency points.
For a normal Genin, even improving 20 points a day was considered excellent progress. At that rate, reaching 1,000 would take fifty days.
Yuichi patted his chest in relief.
"Luckily, I've got infinite MP. Otherwise, becoming strong would just be a dream."
Konoha Village – a small forest near a river.
Yuichi found a perfect spot.
The Great Waterfall Technique required a water source at the Elementary stage, so a river was essential.
Standing at the bank, he took a deep breath and began weaving seals.
Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Rat → Pig → Rooster → Ox → Horse → Dog → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit
Seventeen hand seals in total.
At Yuichi's current speed, it took about ten seconds to finish.
"Ten seconds…" he muttered.
Against a powerful enemy, even against an average Genin—ten seconds was suicide. Way too slow.
Still, he wasn't discouraged. With constant practice, his seal speed would skyrocket.
"At this rate, it should only take about three hours to grind this to Intermediate."
He clenched his fists.
"Good. Let's get started."