Early the next morning, after finishing his workout with Gai, Taiichi ran to the market. He specifically picked out chickens and fish that were injured or had signs of infection. In total, he bought two chickens and three fish.
Back home, Taiichi took the garlic extract (Allicin) out of the refrigerator. He carefully applied it to the wounds of the two chickens. For one of them, he even mixed a little bit of the Allicin into its food, using it as a control to see the effects of internal administration versus topical application.
As for the three fish, the setup was simpler. He placed each fish in a separate basin and added different dosages of Allicin to the water, creating another control group.
With all that done, all that was left was to wait for time to tell. Taiichi cleaned himself up and ran off to the Ninja Academy.
As a first-year student who had just started, there were naturally still rookies in the class who hadn't refined Chakra yet. So, naturally, they spent half the day practicing the Chakra Refining Technique. According to Teacher Yamada, for the next month, they would spend every morning solely on Chakra cultivation.
This was the luxury of the Leaf Village, with its academy system established by Tobirama Senju after Hashirama Senju founded the village. The village didn't put excessive pressure on the students. If this were the Warring States Period, or even some of the other current villages, there wouldn't be this much time for practice. In those places, as soon as you could refine Chakra and learned the absolute basics, you were herded onto the battlefield. But the Leaf, after all, always talked about the Will of Fire.
Feeling the Chakra flowing through his body, Taiichi recalled how, at first, he had to consciously sense and guide it in real-time to make it flow along specific pathways. But after two days of practice, he felt the Chakra becoming like the blood in his veins—circulating naturally on its own.
Taiichi had indirectly asked Teacher Yamada about this. From Yamada's answer, it was clear that this level of control was usually only achieved by Jonin; average Chunin and Genin didn't have this kind of automatic Chakra control. Taiichi guessed this was likely due to his interface—once something became a "Skill," the ability was fixed and would never degrade.
This phenomenon was exactly what would help Taiichi slowly solve the problem of making Chakra refinement instinctive. Later on, as long as he could control the speed of refinement to balance it with his body's endurance, there would be no problem.
Of course, this wouldn't happen overnight. It required constant practice, but now he had a clear direction.
> [You practiced Basic Meditation. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Your skill Basic Meditation has leveled up. Experience +1]
> [You focused on Basic Meditation practice. Apprentice Ninja Class Experience +1]
...
> [Congratulations, Constitution +1, Strength +1, Agility +1]
The strengthening effect of Chakra was immediate. Attributes that hadn't budged after a month of previous training increased after just two days of having Chakra. Although his prior training laid the groundwork, the efficacy of Chakra was undeniable.
There was truly an indescribable gap between a ninja who could command Chakra and an ordinary human. Taiichi, having just crossed that bridge from one side to the other, felt this change keenly.
Accompanied by the occasional notification chime, the morning classes ended.
In the afternoon, Teacher Yamada came to the classroom and announced that the next session would be Ninja Tool Throwing.
Immediately, all the students cheered up. After all, they were just five or six-year-old kids; practical lessons were always more fun than sitting in a classroom learning theory.
The class followed Teacher Yamada out to the training field in a noisy, excited swarm.
Dozens of targets had already been set up on the field—exactly enough for everyone in the class. Opposite each target was a small stand, and on each stand lay a dozen shuriken and kunai.
The students walked to their assigned stands in order.
Taiichi looked at the shuriken and kunai on the stand. He picked them up and weighed them in his hand. The weight was no different from real weapons, but the edges were dull. It seemed these were specifically for practice.
"Alright, eyes on me!" Teacher Yamada shouted, gathering everyone's attention.
"Ninja tool throwing is one of the most basic combat skills for a ninja." Yamada stood in the middle of the field, facing the class, a shuriken in his hand.
"Whether throwing shuriken or kunai, the key lies in angle, force, and timing."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked his wrist. The shuriken traced a smooth arc through the air and struck the bullseye of a target ten meters away with pinpoint accuracy.
"Keep your wrist loose. Use inertia to fling it out, not brute force."
After that, he picked up a kunai. With another flick of his wrist, adding a bit more force this time, the kunai flew straight and true, hitting the center of another target fifteen meters away.
The students watched with excitement, clapping enthusiastically.
"Alright, remember the key points and movements I just showed you. Now, practice on your own."
> [Learning Ninja Tool Throwing. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Learned skill: Ninja Tool Throwing. Experience +1]
Taiichi looked at the panel. This skill came easily, but it was a very practical one.
Taiichi picked up a shuriken, mimicking Teacher Yamada's movements. He adjusted his arm and finger posture, then waved his hand. The shuriken traced an arc... and then, there was no "then."
Taiichi had black lines of embarrassment over his head. He hadn't expected his first throw to not only miss the target but fly off to god-knows-where.
Luckily, looking around, aside from the clan kids, the other children were in the same boat. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Taiichi picked up another shuriken, recalling the feeling from before. He slowly adjusted his posture, sensing that the key was the exertion of force from his fingers. After adjusting, he flicked his wrist again.
Thwack.
This time, it hit the target smoothly. It was only on the edge, but that was a huge improvement.
Next, Taiichi kept picking up the tools and throwing them at the target ahead. The sound of thwack, thwack, thwack rang out continuously as his accuracy improved.
Teacher Yamada patrolled behind the students. whenever he saw someone with poor form, he would step in to correct their throwing posture.
At the same time, he didn't forget to preach the importance of projectile weapons. "Ninja tools aren't just weapons; they're part of tactics. Feints, distractions, ambushes—flexible application allows you to bring out their maximum value."
"Did you get that?"
"Yes, sir!" the students responded loudly.
> [You practiced Ninja Tool Throwing. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Your skill Ninja Tool Throwing has leveled up. Experience +1]
> [You focused on Ninja Tool Throwing practice. Apprentice Ninja Class Experience +1]
...
> [Congratulations, your skill Ninja Tool Throwing has reached Lv1 (0/100)]
Along with the level up, a wave of insight regarding throwing techniques flooded his mind. Taiichi picked up another shuriken and threw it at the target.
Sure enough, dead center. He tried a few more times, hitting the bullseye every single time. The insights granted by skill level-ups were incredible; it was like instantly integrating hours of practice directly into his muscle memory. Talk about a power boost.
"Taiichi."
Taiichi turned at the sound and realized it was Shizune next to him. "What's up, Shizune?"
"I saw how fast you're improving. Could you... teach me?" Shizune asked timidly.
He hadn't expected Shizune to be this quiet and shy as a child. Taiichi looked at the target in front of her; so far, there wasn't a single tool stuck in it.
"Sure. Throw one for me so I can see," Taiichi replied cheerfully.
"Okay." Seemingly encouraged, Shizune picked up a shuriken and threw it at the target. But, unsurprisingly, it missed.
Taiichi keenly noticed that when Shizune threw, she had a habit of hooking her wrist at the moment of release.
"Pay attention when you throw. Relax your wrist. Especially the moment the tool leaves your hand—don't hook your wrist inward." Taiichi pointed out her problem. These were just bad habits; once pointed out, they were simple to fix.
Shizune slowly changed her habit according to Taiichi's instructions. Sure enough, her subsequent throws got better and better.
"Thank you so much, Taiichi!"
Look at her, she was so happy she dropped the formal "classmate" and went straight to his first name.
"Don't mention it. If you have any problems, just come find me."
> [You taught a classmate Ninja Tool Throwing. Your comprehension has improved.]
> [Your skill Ninja Tool Throwing has leveled up. Experience +1]
It turned out that teaching others also granted experience. This opened up even more pathways for Taiichi to gain XP. He had been worried about having too many skills and not enough time to practice them all, but this expanded his options significantly. It made sense—teaching others was also a way to organize and reinforce one's own understanding of knowledge.
Reviewing the old to learn the new. The ancients didn't lie.
Meanwhile, Teacher Yamada noticed what was happening. Seeing Shizune improve significantly under Taiichi's guidance, Yamada felt even more gratified.