The Ninja Academy, inside the classroom.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and the students were grouped in twos and threes. Some were boasting and goofing off, while others were minding their own business.
Those three sitting together in the front row must be this generation's "Ino-Shika-Cho." The one currently stuffing his face was apparently named Tōtō Akimichi. The one bored out of his mind and sleeping was Shikaji Nara. And the one sitting properly and seriously seemed to be Shinyo Yamanaka.
The kid next to them was definitely from the Inuzuka clan, though Taiichi didn't know his name. His head was practically buried under the desk, having the time of his life playing games with the ninja dog hiding in his drawer.
Over there, a Hyuga kid with a frosty expression sat with his white eyes staring straight ahead, completely unfocused. It was enough to give the student sitting in front of him the creeps.
Taiichi looked around at the classroom full of students. In the future, some of these classmates would become renowned across the ninja world, while others would die in the war. That was the reality of the Naruto world. Of course, Taiichi wasn't wasting time. His hands were under his desk, constantly practicing hand seals. He repeated the twelve basic seals over and over, forward and backward, training until he could form the necessary seals by pure instinct.
Once the classroom was full, a burly ninja walked in holding a stack of booklets.
"I am your teacher, Kōki Yamada." The ninja wrote his name on the chalkboard, then turned around. "I like obedient kids, and I hate kids who don't follow the rules. I specialize in Taijutsu and Fire Style. I'll be teaching you Taijutsu, and I'm also your homeroom teacher."
"Now, according to the roll call, everyone introduce themselves. First up, Taiichi Matsushita."
Taiichi hadn't expected to be first, but he wasn't fazed. He stood up confidently. "My name is Taiichi Matsushita. I like learning new things, and I don't really dislike anything. My dream is to become the strongest ninja and protect the orphanage and Director Nono. That is all." As someone with a mental age far older than his physical body, Taiichi knew exactly how to answer to satisfy the teacher.
"Keep dreaming! The strongest in the ninja world belongs to the Uchiha!"
"Idiot, the Hokage is the strongest!"
"Quiet!" Teacher Kōki shouted. "That's a very good dream, Taiichi. Sit down."
"Next, Obito Uchiha."
"Hey everyone! I'm Obito Uchiha. Instead of what I like the most, I'd rather say who I like the most... ahaha." Obito scratched his head and laughed foolishly, his eyes darting toward Rin Nohara.
"And the thing I hate the most is Kakashi." Obito said this without a moment's hesitation. Hearing this, Kakashi rolled his eyes, not even bothering to look at Obito. The class erupted in laughter; everyone had heard about the grudge between Obito and Kakashi long ago.
"My dream is to become Hokage!"
"Damn it, Obito! I'm going to be Hokage!" Someone shouted from the crowd.
"My dream is to become the most super-awesome ninja, even stronger than the Lord Hokage! Whenever you see me, you'll all have to bow!"
...
Ignoring the unrealistic dreams, Taiichi silently memorized the names and basic intel of every classmate.
Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Shizune, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Might Gai... All these ninjas who would be famous in the future were just little brats right now, and they were all his classmates in the same year.
"Alright, that's enough for introductions. Let's start the official lesson," Kōki Yamada said.
"First, does anyone know the most basic requirement to become a ninja?"
"Chakra!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Correct, Chakra. But does anyone know what Chakra actually is, and where it comes from?"
This time, hardly anyone could answer. The few who could were children from ninja clans—though, of course, that definitely didn't include Obito.
"The physical energy gathered from the 130 trillion cells in the human body represents the Yang side. The spiritual energy forged through training and experience represents the Yin side. By coordinating and kneading these two energies together, the resulting power is Chakra. It is the foundation for ninjas to perform Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and even Taijutsu. The reason a ninja can be a ninja is because of Chakra."
"Of course, having Chakra doesn't mean you can just cast jutsu. To go from pure energy to specific effects requires 'Hand Seals,' but that's a lesson for later. Today, we're talking about Chakra."
"For those aspiring to be ninjas, the first step is the most important and the most difficult. While the concept of Chakra isn't complicated to explain, extracting physical energy is no simple task, and spiritual energy is even more abstract."
"Fortunately, through the efforts of past generations, we have developed a very effective method: the Chakra Refining Technique. Now, everyone do as I say."
Following Teacher Kōki's instructions, everyone found a comfortable position and formed the Ram seal to help sense their physical and spiritual energies. The classroom fell silent.
As his mind quieted down, Taiichi followed the method taught by Teacher Kōki to circulate the Chakra Refining Technique. Gradually, he felt streams of warmth gathering from all over his body toward the acupuncture point in the center of his chest. Simultaneously, streams of cool energy from his mind flowed toward the same point. The two energies converged and collided in the chest center, slowly birthing a new power. Most of this power settled in the lower abdomen , near the navel, while a significant portion dispersed throughout his body.
Taiichi could feel that the dispersed Chakra was strengthening and maintaining his body. It seemed Chakra wasn't inherently harmful to the body. Ninjas only suffered shortened lifespans because frequent high-intensity combat forced them to over-extract Chakra, leading to a bodily deficit.
With the successful refining of his first wisp of Chakra, notifications from the interface chimed in his ear, but Taiichi ignored them to focus on refining Chakra. He wanted to take advantage of having supervision to get as familiar with the process as possible.
In the classroom, Teacher Kōki, who was patrolling to prevent any accidents, noticed Taiichi.
"That's way too fast. It hasn't even been twenty minutes." Thinking this, Kōki walked closer to Taiichi and sensed carefully. "No mistake, that's Chakra fluctuation. Looks like a genius has appeared among the civilians this year. I need to report this good news to Lord Hokage early today."
Over the next hour or so, two more students successfully refined Chakra: Rin Nohara and Might Gai.
Clap.
"Alright, everyone stop." Teacher Kōki clapped his hands, releasing a faint wave of Chakra from his palms. This snapped the students who were deep in concentration out of their trance, Taiichi included.
"That's it for today. Those who have refined Chakra, don't get arrogant. Go back and consolidate that feeling," Kōki urged.
"Those who haven't succeeded yet, don't be discouraged. It's normal not to feel physical and spiritual energy right away. It took me two days to refine Chakra back in the day. Go back and keep trying," Kōki encouraged.
"Class dismissed."
With Teacher Kōki's dismissal, the classroom buzzed with activity. Everyone gathered in groups, asking about each other's progress. Some were frustrated, others elated.
"Taiichi, did you refine Chakra?" Might Gai ran over, eyebrows dancing with excitement, and asked immediately.
"Of course. I got it a while ago. How about you? You must have got it too, right?"
Gai gave a thumbs up, flashing his trademark sparkling grin. "Haha! As expected of you, Taiichi! You guessed it! Ah-haha! Youth really does require mutual competition!"
Seeing Gai so happy, Taiichi was genuinely happy for him. Having been admitted by special permission from the Hokage, Gai had actually been worried he wouldn't be able to refine Chakra. Now, all those worries could be thrown away.
Thinking this, Taiichi shifted his attention back to the interface in his mind. The notifications he had ignored earlier popped up one by one.
> [You learned Chakra Refining Technique Lv0 (0/10)]
> [You practiced Chakra refining. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Your skill Chakra Refining Technique has leveled up. Experience +1]
> ...
> [Your skill Chakra Refining Technique has leveled up. Experience +1]
> [Congratulations, your skill Chakra Refining Technique has reached Lv1 (0/100)]
> [You cultivated your first wisp of Chakra. Class Change Conditions Met: Constitution 6, Spirit 6, Chakra Refining Technique Lv1]
> [Initiating Class Change...]
> [Class Change Successful. Experience converted. Class: Apprentice Ninja Lv1 (85/100)]
> [Constitution +2, Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1]
> [Obtained Talent: Academic Genius]
> [Academic Genius: There is nothing an academic genius cannot learn, unless physical conditions do not allow it. 10x focus, 100% increase in thought processing speed, learning efficiency doubled.]
> [Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]
...
> Name: Taiichi Matsushita
> Class: Apprentice Ninja Lv1 (91/100)
> Talents: Diligence, Academic Genius
> Age: 6
> Constitution: 9
> Strength: 10
> Agility: 9
> Spirit: 18
> Chakra: 500 (4000) (The number in parentheses is the maximum daily Chakra extraction limit for a person. Exceeding this will cause bodily deficit.)
> Attribute Points: 5
> Skill Points: 5
> Skills: Basic Taijutsu Lv6 (113/1000), Basic Meditation Lv6 (754/1000), Chakra Refining Technique Lv1 (23/100)
> Evaluation: A standout among your peers, but you're still just a small fry in the ninja world.
Looking at the brand-new panel, Taiichi kept a poker face, but inside, he was ecstatic. He was one step closer to his goal.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with theory classes. Maybe some of the kids from ninja clans didn't care, but Taiichi studied with intense focus. This was the foundation for his future survival and progress!
...
> [You studied ninja-related knowledge. Apprentice Ninja Class Experience +1]
It turned out that studying could also grant experience. Taiichi became even more focused.