The summer of Konoha Year Thirty Seven was unusually hot.
On the training ground, the sunlight baked the air until it shimmered slightly, and cicadas screamed themselves hoarse in the trees.
Today was Taijutsu class.
The Chunin instructor in charge crossed his arms and swept his sharp gaze across the young faces in the formation.
"Pair up and spar in combat practice."
"Remember, this is a spar, not a fight to the death, stop at the point of contact."
"The goal is to let you see your own limits and find your weaknesses."
"First pair, Kakashi Hatake versus Inoichi Yamanaka."
As soon as the words fell, everyone's eyes focused on the white haired boy.
Kakashi stepped out of the line with a calm expression, as if what awaited was not a match, but just a casual walk outside.
The start and end of the fight happened almost in the same instant.
Just as Inoichi raised the stance of his clan's secret technique, a white shadow rushed in front of him.
There were no flashy movements, just a simple hand chop that was so fast it reached the extreme, striking precisely at the back of Inoichi's neck.
Inoichi's body went limp and he collapsed on the spot.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
The training ground fell into dead silence.
This was what a genius looked like.
A record holder who graduated at five years old and became a Chunin at six.
What he displayed was combat ability far beyond what this age should have.
Roy stood in the line and quietly watched this scene.
His attention was not on Kakashi's victory, but on analyzing every detail from just now.
Kakashi's footwork, the way he exerted force, and the emotionless calmness at the moment he attacked.
This was no longer just technique, but an instinct carved into the bones.
An instinct for killing.
"Next pair, Obito Uchiha versus…"
There was no suspense in Obito's fight.
He charged forward shouting, his movements wide and exaggerated, full of openings, and he was quickly swept to the ground by a leg sweep from his opponent, ending up covered in dust.
Roy's observation continued.
He saw the stubborn refusal to give up in Obito, saw the worried look in Rin Nohara's eyes, and also saw Kakashi's indifference from start to finish as he did not look over even once.
These seemingly unrelated pieces of information were, in his eyes, fragments used to piece together the future.
"Next pair, Roy versus Tsume Inuzuka."
It was finally his turn.
Members of the Inuzuka Clan were famous for their wild fighting style.
The boy named Tsume Inuzuka grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth, and dropped to all fours in a beast like stance.
"Roy, let me see if you are really just a weakling who only girls like, like the rumors say," Tsume growled as he suddenly lunged forward.
He was very fast, carrying a completely unreasonable force of impact.
Roy did not take the attack head on.
He simply turned his body slightly, his right foot acting like a pivot to guide his body in a small arc, narrowly avoiding Tsume's pounce.
When Tsume missed, he immediately twisted his body and swung a kick, bringing a sharp gust of wind.
Roy stepped back half a step, controlling the distance perfectly so that the opponent's toes just barely brushed past the tip of his nose.
To others, these were two extremely lucky narrow dodges.
Only Roy himself knew this was not luck.
In his perception, Tsume's attack intent, muscle movement, and even changes in breathing were all captured half a second in advance.
This was the result of him concentrating his mental energy and analyzing the surrounding environment in his mind, a system he called Mind Net.
This system was still very crude, far inferior to Observation Haki, but for this level of combat, it was enough.
After Tsume's consecutive fierce attacks all hit empty air, his breathing began to fall into disorder.
His combat experience was still limited, and once his rhythm broke, openings appeared.
This was the moment.
At the instant Tsume charged again when his old force was spent and new force had not yet formed, Roy stopped dodging.
He stepped forward, lowered his body, and used a standard grappling technique, both hands precisely locking onto the opponent's wrist and shoulder.
Tsume felt a clever force redirect his forward momentum completely out of his control.
His center of gravity collapsed, and he stumbled forward.
Roy followed the motion and lightly pressed his knee against his back.
The match was decided.
"Roy wins," the Chunin instructor announced.
Roy released his grip, stepped back, deliberately making his breathing sound slightly heavy, and a few beads of sweat appropriately appeared on his forehead.
This was a perfect performance.
A fight where he barely defeated a strength type opponent through technique and timing.
"Your combat awareness is excellent, and your timing is very accurate."
"But your strength and speed still need improvement."
"If you meet a real enemy, they will not give you this many chances to dodge."
"Yes, I understand, sensei," Roy replied humbly.
This was exactly the result he wanted.
An evaluation of someone with a good brain but average physical ability.
Not eye catching, but definitely not mediocre.
After sparring ended, the day's lessons were nearly over.
Roy declined his classmates' invitation to walk together and walked home alone.
His mind was still replaying the battles from the day.
Tsume's brute strength and Kakashi's precision were both standards he used to measure himself.
With his current body, if he did not use his trump cards, his pure Taijutsu level indeed had shortcomings just as the teacher said.
And his trump card, Armament Haki, was too aggressive, its energy nature completely different from chakra, and once used in front of others, it would be the same as exposing himself.
He needed a transitional power.
A power that could effectively increase his regular combat ability without raising suspicion.
A thought slowly became clear in his mind.
Armament Haki was pure hardness, incomparably solid.
Chakra, according to theory, could flow and change like water, a kind of softness.
What if he used soft chakra to wrap a layer of clothing around the hard Haki?
He did not seek to merge the two powers, only the most superficial level of attachment.
Use chakra to disguise the energy fluctuations of Haki, and at the same time use the hardness of Haki to strengthen attack effects.
This idea was very bold, even somewhat fantastical.
Two completely different power systems, and if he was even slightly careless, the conflict might result in crippling himself.
But in Roy's eyes, there was no fear, only a nearly cold thirst for knowledge.
Returning to the apartment that belonged only to him, he locked the door, and the gentle smile on his face disappeared.
This time he did not take out the iron ingot, but instead sat cross legged and closed his eyes.