Shinichi listened quietly to their conversation, his expression remaining as gentle and calm as ever.
That meddlesome student was naturally himself.
Just last month, during another practical combat class where the two classes' schedules overlapped, Shinichi had once again refrained from rushing to challenge Kakashi.
Standing silently in the crowd, he watched as Kakashi defeated Asuma, the Hokage's son, cleanly and decisively with a more proficient and suppressing Fire Release.
When the surrounding classmates exclaimed in amazement that "Kakashi seems to be able to use ninjutsu of all five nature types," Shinichi acted as if he were simply recalling something. In a casual, chatty tone, he inadvertently mentioned, "Speaking of which, when I was looking through materials in the library before, it seemed that the First, Second, and Third Hokage-sama all possessed constitutions naturally capable of five chakra natures..."
Whether the First, Second, and Third Hokage's five-element chakra was entirely innate was unimportant. Whether other such ninjas existed in Konoha's history was also unimportant.
What was important was that a simple yet powerful association had been quietly planted into the minds of the listeners through that sentence: Five-element chakra ≈ Hokage.
Kakashi had the makings of a Hokage!
For Shinichi, the greater Kakashi's fame grew and the brighter his halo shone, the better.
"Still, I think Shinichi is more impressive," Ishizuka Ryu's voice carried an undisguised bias. "If Shinichi went up against Kakashi, he would definitely win."
Hearing this, Shizune raised her eyes, her gaze lingering for a moment on Shinichi's calm profile.
Shinichi?
In her heart, this deskmate was undoubtedly excellent. He was the top student in their class, with impeccable grades in all subjects—a model among models.
His habit of running on the school playground with a giant rock on his back every morning, rain or shine, was indeed a bit abstract, but his day-after-day hard work and persistence were admirable for their sheer perseverance.
Shinichi was indeed very outstanding, but in Shizune's eyes, this excellence was that of a steady and reliable model student.
Kakashi... on the other hand, seemed to exist in another dimension. His talent was too dazzling: five-element chakra, comprehensive strength that crushed his peers, and that title of "Hokage Material" which had already spread throughout the village.
All these factors combined to form an impression of a near-legendary, epoch-making genius.
It was a distant light that made it difficult for people to even entertain the thought of comparison.
Shinichi took in the subtle assessment contained in Shizune's glance. He stood up with a smile, his tone peaceful:
"Whoever I get matched with, I'll just do my best. I'm going to practice swordsmanship now."
[Name: Higashino Shinichi]
[Profession: Ninja Academy Student / Sword Apprentice]
[Talents: Natural Divine Strength (Green), Diligence Redeems Dullness (Green), Intelligence (White), Affinity (White), Glutton (White), Tenacity (White), Agility (White), Calm (White), Wind Release Basics (White), Taijutsu Basics (White), Swordsmanship Basics (White).]
Shinichi withdrew his gaze from the personal panel visible only to himself.
Compared to when he first enrolled, his panel had undergone significant changes due to his continuous persona management throughout the semester.
First was the promotion of the originally white trait [Diligence] to the green [Diligence Redeems Dullness].
[Diligence Redeems Dullness (Green): Diligence can make up for lack of talent; there will surely be gains! When studying, training, or working, focus is increased and fatigue is reduced, while ensuring slight progress is made every time!]
The effect of this trait was simple yet powerful: increasing focus and reducing fatigue—these two points were only slightly improved compared to the previous white trait.
But its true essence lay in the second half of the sentence—"ensuring slight progress is made every time."
These few simple words, in Shinichi's view, were practically a god-tier skill to some extent.
It meant stability, it meant predictability, and it meant no bottlenecks.
As long as he invested time and sweat, he would definitely receive returns. No matter how meager the return, over time, it would become a stairway to infinity.
In addition, two new white traits had been added to the panel:
[Taijutsu Basics (White)] and [Swordsmanship Basics (White)].
[Taijutsu Basics (White): Your body coordination, strength, and endurance are superior to ordinary people. You learn and master taijutsu moves faster and can more easily grasp the timing of exerting force in taijutsu confrontations.]
[Swordsmanship Basics (White): You possess excellent feel and comprehension for the sword. You learn sword moves quickly, your stance is steady, and you can more accurately spot an opponent's openings in combat.]
The changes brought by these two were direct and practical: Taijutsu Basics improved his body control, efficiency in exerting force, and timing in confrontations; Swordsmanship Basics enhanced his sense for the sword, comprehension in learning moves, and acuity in spotting flaws during battle.
Both solidly raised his baseline and growth speed in these two fields.
He collected his thoughts, stopped looking at the panel, and began to swing his sword earnestly. The practical combat assessment in the afternoon would be an occasion to test his current results and continue sowing seeds of perception.
He was practicing his sword, and also warming up!
In the afternoon, on the training grounds. The homeroom teachers of Class 1 and Class 2 gathered together, exchanging a few words in low voices, seemingly confirming the final arrangements.
Subsequently, the Class 2 homeroom teacher, Chunin Matsumoto Fumio, walked to the front of the formation and took out a new list.
"Students, next is the final part of this term's final exam—the practical combat assessment." Teacher Matsumoto's voice rang clearly across the playground. "Considering the comprehensiveness of the evaluation, this assessment will be conducted jointly by Class 1 and Class 2. Based on everyone's past performance records, Teacher Inoue and I have matched opponents of similar strength for you. The purpose is to test everyone's learning outcomes in taijutsu, basic ninjutsu, and practical combat response this semester."
He cleared his throat and scanned the list: "So, first up is the first group: Aoba Yamashiro from Class 1 versus Higashino Shinichi from Class 2..."
"Please wait a moment, Teacher Matsumoto."
A calm and clear voice rang out, interrupting the teacher.
Teacher Matsumoto, having been interrupted, was slightly startled. However, seeing that it was Shinichi, he showed no displeasure. This student had always been steady and sensible; speaking up now must have a reason. He asked gently, "Student Shinichi, is there a problem?"
"Teacher, since you said opponents are assigned based on past performance, then..."
Shinichi stepped out from the crowd. His gaze slowly swept across the formation of Class 1 opposite him, finally landing on that quiet, silver-haired figure.
"As the number one student in Class 2, my opponent should be the number one student in Class 1, Student Kakashi."
As his words fell, a wave of low murmurs rose on the playground, gazes shifting back and forth between Shinichi and Kakashi.
Ishizuka Ryu suddenly clenched his fists, his eyes shining; Shizune's eyes widened a little as she looked at Shinichi.
Students in the Class 1 formation also showed expressions of surprise or curiosity.
Teacher Matsumoto clearly hadn't anticipated this direct and specific request and felt troubled.
He knew what Shinichi said was a fact, but the arrangement was also partly due to his own bias.
In his view, although Shinichi was very talented, the gap between him and Kakashi Hatake was simply too large.
He worried that in such a disparate duel, if Shinichi were defeated swiftly and decisively, it might severely damage this excellent child's confidence. As a teacher, he naturally harbored a desire to protect him.
Just as Teacher Matsumoto was in a dilemma, pondering how to smooth things over, a voice as calm as still water rang out:
"I have no objections."