Chapter 11: Adding Weight Training
The first six months of Academy life continued in this fashion.
After the six-month mark, Adachi Genki had to report his class's progress to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He arrived at the Hokage's office at the appointed time and knocked on the door.
After receiving permission to enter, he walked into the room and said respectfully, "Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded and asked, "How is your class progressing? Are there any particularly gifted students?"
Genki replied, "The progress has been very smooth. While it's still early to draw definitive conclusions, I believe most of these children will become elite chunin, and several have the potential to reach jonin rank."
He continued, "Senju Teru and Uchiha Rai show the most natural talent. Hyuga Hodaka and Hyuga Hana are also performing exceptionally well, and Shimura Shin shows great promise. The other students from the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans, as well as our sole Aburame member, are all progressing acceptably."
"Among the civilian students, there have been some pleasant surprises as well. Kaito from the orphanage is advancing quite rapidly. I've observed him closely—he's extremely diligent and hardworking. He's definitely someone we should cultivate carefully for the future. There's also another civilian child performing exceptionally, Aoki Norio. The remaining students are all progressing adequately."
"Overall, this class's talent level is actually higher than last year's cohort."
He spoke enthusiastically, but then sighed and added, "It's unfortunate there's no one quite like Itachi in this group."
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully. "That's perfectly fine. We cannot expect to produce someone of Itachi's caliber every year. However, your report still sounds very promising. If we can develop a dozen jonin over the next fifteen years, with the rest achieving chunin rank, that would be more than sufficient and provide tremendous support to the village."
"You've done excellent work. Keep it up. Continue being responsible for training this group into outstanding shinobi for Konoha."
Genki nodded respectfully. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
Then he exited the room.
After Genki departed, Hiruzen thought to himself, It seems we're about to welcome another generation of capable shinobi. And another dedicated orphan working hard to prove himself. I wonder how his story will unfold.
Genki's praise for Kaito was more than warranted.
Kaito had made tremendous progress over these six months—even exceeding Genki's assessment.
After all, even Genki didn't know that Kaito spent nearly all his free time training systematically, even at home.
The most significant progress was in Kaito's ability to mold chakra using hand seals.
His speed had finally reached an acceptable level, and he could now complete six random hand seals in rapid succession.
He decided it was finally time to begin learning actual ninjutsu techniques.
In Earth Release nature transformation, he'd successfully crushed small rocks into powder.
Clay manipulation was also progressing smoothly.
He could now shape clay freely with chakra alone and partially harden it, though not yet completely solidify it.
Kaito found that his progress with Earth Release was considerably slower than with Wind Release.
However, this was entirely expected, since Wind was his natural chakra affinity.
Using Wind Release, Kaito could now carve deep cuts into stones.
In terms of taijutsu, he'd adapted well to the Academy's standard style.
He frequently sparred with Senju Teru, Hyuga Hodaka, and Uchiha Rai at school and could now consistently rank among the top four.
Senju Teru, in particular, had somewhat become Kaito's regular training partner.
During extended matches, he also noticed his stamina was exceptionally high compared to his classmates.
Only Senju Teru could match his endurance in prolonged combat.
He wasn't sure if this was because his body was more thoroughly conditioned, or if his chakra reserves were simply larger than others'.
It made sense for Senju Teru to have substantial chakra, being from the Senju Clan known for their vitality and life force.
Shuriken throwing had also improved significantly.
He could now hit the target with all six shuriken using his right hand, though not all hits landed in the bullseye.
But throwing with his left hand still needed considerable practice—he could only land four out of six throws with his off-hand.
He decided to intensify his training until he could consistently hit the bullseye with both hands.
After that, he could progress to throwing while moving or running.
In the weekly shuriken competitions, Kaito had gradually climbed into the top ten rankings.
Perhaps the most surprising development was that he'd managed to pop a water balloon about four months after the Academy started.
After that success, he'd moved on to the rubber ball stage of Rasengan training, but this proved extraordinarily difficult.
He estimated it would take several more years to successfully complete the second stage.
The lessons proceeded in a similar pattern throughout the months.
The initial enthusiasm had faded somewhat, but competition among students had intensified dramatically.
The 'proud' Uchiha Rai had transformed into a 'frustrated' Uchiha Rai.
Although he was undeniably skilled, he clearly wasn't another Itachi.
In shuriken throwing, he remained tied with Teru, while others were slowly catching up and could now hit the center target with all six throws.
In taijutsu, both Senju Teru and Hyuga Hodaka were clearly stronger than him, while Kaito and Hyuga Hana were approximately equal to his level.
Even in academic classes, Hyuga Hana and Senju Teru frequently outperformed him.
Overall, Senju Teru was demonstrably superior to Rai, and Hyuga Hana matched him in most areas.
Kaito wondered idly, Can this kind of jealousy and rivalry awaken the Sharingan? Or does there need to be major trauma, like witnessing someone's death, to unlock it?
Well, Kaito genuinely hoped Rai would awaken his Sharingan eventually—gaining combat experience by sparring against someone with the Sharingan would certainly be invaluable training.
Setting those thoughts aside, Kaito also had his own concerns.
His morning physical training had become monotonous and routine.
He'd fully adapted to these exercises and didn't know how to increase the difficulty without extending his training time significantly.
Actually, that wasn't entirely true—he did know one method: adding training weights.
But he wasn't sure if restricting his body with weighted equipment when he wasn't even seven years old yet would cause developmental problems.
He'd already inquired about the price of training weights at a shinobi equipment shop.
After six months of careful saving, Kaito had accumulated over 1,200 ryo and could afford lighter weight sets.
After considerable thought, he decided to consult Genki directly.
Unlike other aspects of his training, there was nothing to hide about his physical conditioning.
He performed his morning exercises in public areas where anyone paying attention could observe them anyway.
So one day after class, he approached Genki for guidance.
He explained his training plateau to his teacher.
Genki thought for a moment, then personally demonstrated several more challenging exercises.
He also helped Kaito design a new, more intensive training regimen.
Seeing the improved plan, Kaito thanked his teacher politely while thinking, This is really helpful! I should have asked him sooner. He's genuinely enthusiastic about helping me improve. Though I suspect even this enhanced training will become comfortable again in a few months.
So after thanking him, Kaito asked again, "Sensei, would it be appropriate if I added training weights to make the exercises more challenging?"
Genki looked startled by the question and asked seriously, "Where did you learn about weighted training?"
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