On the viewing platform.
Watching Sarutobi Asuma execute Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Combined Ninjutsu with unparalleled fluidity, the spectators couldn't help but praise him.
To these Jonin, this wasn't much.
But Sarutobi Asuma was currently participating in the Graduation Exam.
He was up against a seasoned Chunin, yet he had already gained the upper hand.
His combat was so smooth, showing no signs of being a rookie at all.
"Another genius like Kakashi!"
"He's no worse than Shinya was back then!"
"At this age, he's far stronger than I was!"
"Truly worthy of being taught by the Third Hokage!"
...
The chorus of admiration made Sarutobi Hiruzen beam with pride.
Praise for Sarutobi Asuma made him happier than praise for himself.
Sarutobi Shinya chuckled, "Father, it seems my younger brother hasn't disappointed you!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen offered no comment.
He felt that if Asuma had listened to him and not spent so much energy on cultivating other Chakra Nature Transformations, his Fire Style jutsu would have been even more powerful.
Jiraiya laughed, "Asuma is much like Minato – a Ninjutsu prodigy with sharp reflexes and keen insight!"
Minato quickly replied, "Jiraiya-sensei, I wasn't this strong when I was nine!"
Jiraiya didn't refute him and, looking at Orochimaru, who was watching with great interest, asked with a smile, "Orochimaru, are you interested in taking on any disciples?"
"I've trained Minato, and Tsunade is going to teach that girl Shizune. If you don't take any students, you'll be left behind by us!"
Orochimaru didn't answer, but a hint of temptation flickered within him.
Everyone likes a genius.
However, upon thinking of Nawaki, Orochimaru's heart grew cold.
Life was too fragile. Sarutobi Asuma, despite his impressive performance, might die to a Trap on the battlefield.
Even the son of the Hokage was equal when facing an Explosive Tag!
On the other side.
Hatake Sakumo watched the battle below with a slight regret, "Given the situation, it seems my Sword Technique won't be needed!"
He was very curious about how far Sarutobi Asuma's Sword Technique had progressed.
After all, Asuma was half his student.
Below.
The battle continued.
Kazuki, who had landed on the ground, immediately rolled to the side, narrowly dodging Sarutobi Asuma's Fire Style jutsu.
But before he could get up, a Kunai appeared by his neck.
He was defeated!
Kazuki froze for a moment, then forced a smile.
To be beaten like this by a Graduate...
Shaking his head, Kazuki stood up and smiled, "Congratulations!"
"Thank you, Senior!"
Sarutobi Asuma was very polite.
Nishikawa Masato had already approached Sarutobi Hiruzen and handed over his score.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly as he looked at it.
The score was too high!
Since the establishment of the Ninja Academy, no one had ever received such a high score in the Graduation Exam.
Both in the Three Basic Ninjutsu assessment and the practical combat assessment, he had received a perfect score of 10.
This meant full marks!
Sarutobi Shinya remained silent at this moment; it wasn't appropriate for him to speak.
But in his heart, he felt his brother Asuma deserved this score.
At the age of nine, he himself couldn't achieve what Asuma had.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression, Nishikawa Masato quickly said, "Third Hokage-sama, with Asuma's performance, he completely deserves this score."
"In the past, no graduate could do what Asuma did. Setting aside combat experience, Asuma is now no less than any Chunin!"
Nishikawa Masato argued his case.
Jiraiya and the others gathered around. After looking at the scores, they all spoke up, agreeing with him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment before nodding.
Nishikawa Masato beamed. After bowing, he leaped from the stands and handed the prepared ninja headband to Sarutobi Asuma. Nishikawa Masato smiled, "Congratulations, Asuma! Starting today, you are a true ninja!"
"Thank you, Teacher Masato!"
Sarutobi Asuma took the headband, his emotions a mix of feelings.
He had been in this world for over four years.
Four years of training, day in and day out, had led him to this point. It hadn't been easy.
"But I'm still a child!"
Sarutobi Asuma sighed.
Nine years old.
He was about to start fighting and killing people!
As he was thinking, the system notification chimed.
[Congratulations on obtaining the achievement "Konoha Ninja Academy Top Graduate." You have received 1 Attribute Point, 1 Skill Point, 10,000 bonus Experience Points, and one Graduation Skill Pack.]
Sarutobi Asuma was both surprised and delighted.
However, he didn't check the system immediately. He left the examination area, met up with Yūhi Kurenai and the others, and they went to the Dango Shop to celebrate. Afterward, he went alone to the waterfall where he often trained.
Sarutobi Asuma, now already 1.6 meters tall, sat cross-legged on a smooth stone surface, his bronze skin glistening under the roar of the waterfall.
He opened the system.
Sarutobi Asuma's first action was to open the Graduation Skill Pack he had just received.
[Congratulations on obtaining Level 3 Body Flicker Technique.]
Another Level 3 skill!
Sarutobi Asuma was overjoyed.
Moreover, Body Flicker Technique was precisely a ninjutsu he hadn't yet learned.
He immediately claimed it. The system's infusion allowed him to instantly master Level 3 Body Flicker Technique.
Sarutobi Asuma immediately demonstrated it. With a swish, his figure vanished from the stone and reappeared a hundred meters away in an instant.
Using Body Flicker Technique again, he returned to the smooth stone surface.
Reseating himself, Sarutobi Asuma focused his attention on his character panel.
Character: Sarutobi Asuma
Level: 32
Age: 9
Affiliation: Konohagakure, Land of Fire
Experience Points: +/251,800
Achievements: [Savior (1/10)], [Konoha Ninja Academy Top Graduate]
Dopaminergic Attribute Points: 33+1
Dopaminergic Skill Points: 33+1
In over four years, his character level had reached 32.
However, in his first year after transmigrating, Sarutobi Asuma had risen through the ranks by 15 levels.
In the years that followed, his level progression had plummeted. By May of this year, he hadn't even leveled up once.
This was because the experience required increased significantly with each subsequent level.
For levels 0-10, the experience difference between each level was 200.
For levels 10-20, the difference increased to 1,000 per level.
For levels 20-30, it jumped to 10,000.
For levels 30-40, it was 50,000.
The higher the level, the harder it became to level up.
It was estimated that by level 50, the experience required for each subsequent level would reach a staggering one million.
If he relied on ordinary training, it would take an unknown amount of time to gain a single level.
"I wonder if completing missions and engaging in real combat will grant a large amount of experience points. If not, then I'll just have to wait it out," Sarutobi Asuma sighed.
Of course, seeing the accumulated 34 points in attributes and skills was still quite satisfying.
He then expanded his attribute list.
Constitution: 31.26 + 17.54 = 48.8
Agility: 24.64 + 14 = 38.64
Intelligence: 38 + 22 = 60
Charisma: 31 + 14 + 7 = 52
The improvements over nearly three years felt less significant than the first year, with Intelligence remaining the fastest-growing stat.
This stat represented mental strength, comprehension, and learning ability.
In fact, from the second year onwards, Experience Points were mainly gained from studying.
Constitution was still in the second tier. In terms of training for this stat, Sarutobi Asuma's intensity was no less than Might Guy's. He had maintained this for years, coupled with good nutrition and supplements, and his body was still in its growth phase.
Agility and Charisma saw similar improvements.
However, regarding the former, Sarutobi Asuma had felt the improvements become negligible over the past month or so.
It seemed to have reached a bottleneck.
To improve quickly, it seemed he could only allocate points.
As for Charisma, Sarutobi Asuma hadn't caused any trouble in recent years; it had accumulated through steady effort.
Today's Graduation Exam alone had brought him 7 points in Charisma.
Moreover, as news of his exam results spread, potentially even being disseminated by spies from other ninja villages and gaining attention from major villages, he was sure to gain more Charisma in the future.
This was different from saving Hatake Sakumo last time.
At that time, the news couldn't be spread widely; only Konoha's high-ranking officials knew.
Pulling his thoughts back, Sarutobi Asuma looked at his Four-Dimensional Stats.
"With a Constitution nearing 50, comparing it to Chakra amount, it's almost at Jonin level!"
Sarutobi Asuma couldn't see others' physical stats, so he could only make comparisons based on Chakra.
Chakra was formed by the combination of Physical Ability and Mental Energy, so to some extent, it could reflect the strength of one's Constitution.
A month ago, Sarutobi Asuma had roughly determined his Chakra level by comparing it with his tutor, a Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan.
His Chakra amount was about four-fifths of that Jonin's, very close.
Going back another two months.
Sarutobi Asuma had also compared himself to Kakashi.
His Chakra amount was about 1.5 units.
Of course, Kakashi was much younger than him.
Furthermore, this was also closely related to his high Intelligence stat.
After all, the amount of Chakra was determined by both Constitution and Spirit.
The weakest stat determined the upper limit of Chakra amount!
Sarutobi Asuma was confident that, excluding the lunatics of the Uchiha clan, among his peers, very few, if any, had an Intelligence stat equal to or higher than his.
"When allocating attribute points, prioritize Constitution and Agility. Although Intelligence is also very important, for someone like me with a System, it's actually the easiest to improve."
Looking at his stats and then at his attribute points, Sarutobi Asuma pondered for a moment before finally making up his mind.
"Allocate points!"
Constitution +12 = 60.8!
The moment he allocated the points, Sarutobi Asuma felt a warmth spread through his entire body.
His internal organs, muscles, bones, and skin, every cell seemed to be breathing, absorbing energy.
His Stamina began to surge noticeably.
Twelve attribute points at once, this was equivalent to a quarter of his original Constitution.
"Awesome!"
Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but laugh heartily.
After a while, the changes in his body finally subsided.
He immediately leaped onto the shore and picked up the large, person-sized stone he usually used for training.
Light!
It felt too light!
This was Sarutobi Asuma's first impression.
After he threw the stone down and looked at his stat panel again, he found that his Agility and Intelligence stats had also increased.
Agility +1, Intelligence +2!
Sarutobi Asuma was both surprised and delighted, as this hadn't happened before.
But upon closer reflection, he understood.
The body and spirit are inseparable; a strong body often leads to a stronger spirit.
Agility is closely related to both Constitution and Spirit.
Furthermore, Constitution, Agility, and Intelligence are among the cornerstones of the Charisma attribute.
The reason such phenomena hadn't occurred in the past was that there had never been a simultaneous increase of this magnitude.
The subtle influences, coupled with constant daily training, prevented him from noticing their close correlation.
Unfortunately, his experience points didn't increase.
Keep adding points!
Sarutobi Asuma was hooked.
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Machine Translation by: beta.randomtranslator.com
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