At dawn, inside Konohagakure's training grounds, Higashino Makoto sat quietly cross-legged on a tree trunk, carrying out the second stage of chakra control training.
He was now nine years old. He was much taller than before—taller even than most of his peers—and his features had grown more mature. He still wore his hair short and slightly tousled, but his dark brown hair looked a shade darker than before.
What reassured him was that his appearance still closely resembled his mother, Higashino Megumi. His features were well-defined, and it was easy to imagine that in the future he would undoubtedly grow into a strikingly handsome man—one who would leave young girls staring slack-jawed and even charming young women flustered and at a loss.
After a long while, Higashino Makoto opened his eyes and let out a faint sigh. He was not very satisfied with his training progress.
The second stage of chakra control training involved adjusting the ratio at which physical energy and spiritual energy merged into chakra, pushing that balance toward the dual extremes of yin and yang.
Over the past few years, through helping out at the hospital, he had learned that for most shinobi, pushing the proportion of physical energy to around sixty percent was enough to become a competent medical ninja. Conversely, when spiritual energy accounted for sixty percent, training in genjutsu or certain yin-aligned secret techniques became far smoother and more effective.
As for Higashino Makoto, by the time he was just over five years old, he had already pushed the yin-oriented proportion to seventy percent.
He did not know about the Senju or the Uchiha, but for ordinary ninja, this was likely the peak they could reach in an entire lifetime of training. Beyond that point, without the reinforcement of bloodline power, an ordinary person simply could not take another step forward. This was no longer something effort alone could overcome.
Yūhi Kurenai had trained in genjutsu for decades, yet she was taken down by a single glance from Uchiha Itachi.
Severe injuries that ordinary medical ninja could not heal were resolved simply by letting Karin have the wounded person take a bite from her.
This was the ninja world—bloodline advantages were just that unreasonable. The endpoint of a lifetime of training for one person was merely the starting line for those with powerful bloodlines.
If Higashino Makoto had not possessed white natural energy that continuously transformed his body, he would never have had any chance to break through the ceiling faced by ordinary ninja.
However, now that four years had passed, and after pushing both the yin and yang proportions to eighty-five percent, the progress that followed could only be described as crawling at a snail's pace.
As with natural energy training, he was stuck at the second stage. More than that, he had a premonition that if he forced it further, his body would not be able to withstand it.
Perhaps things would change once natural energy entered the third stage—the stabilized Sage Mode. After all, the reason he had reached his current level was not just day-after-day effort; white natural energy was the greatest contributor.
For now, he had temporarily finished developing his own offensive and defensive methods. Even his medical ninjutsu had grown rapidly, because he often went to the hospital to assist his mother.
And since the two paths he primarily trained in were not something he could speed up just because he wanted to, it was time to graduate.
After confirming his direction, Higashino Makoto leapt out of the forest. His body drifted toward home like a wisp of light smoke. The way he traveled was already completely unlike that of ordinary shinobi.
Higashino Makoto's movements were airy and fluid, his style far above that of shinobi who charged straight ahead.
...
At the breakfast table, Higashino Megumi seemed a little absent-minded.
After Higashino Makoto finished eating carefully, he asked, "Mom, are you worried about me?"
"What else would it be? Son, I don't know whether to praise you for being sharp-minded or scold you for being a crow's mouth—damn Kirigakure really did join."
"Don't worry, Mom. If Kirigakure were at full strength, it might still have an important impact on the overall situation. But this broken village is in a half-crippled state now—it can't affect the final outcome. Didn't Duy-senpai cripple their strongest Seven Swordsmen?"
"Duy… I didn't expect he could reach that level. Even though he died in the line of duty, he also saved his own son. He really was a great father." Higashino Megumi sighed and continued, "What you said is true, but no matter how useless Kirigakure is, it still dragged out the time it would take for the war to end—and you're about to graduate."
"The timing is just right. Don't worry—I'll be fine."
"I hope so. Do you need me to go to school with you?"
"No. Please focus on your own work." After saying that, Higashino Makoto waved and went out, heading for school.
Higashino Megumi watched his departing figure and shook her head. Her own child had suddenly grown up. She was probably the most worry-free mother in Konohagakure's history.
Perhaps having another child might let her experience the joy of raising a child again, but she and Higashino Jirō had gradually lost that inclination.
What if the next war were to break out again in a few years? In a shinobi family, if a child had aptitude, they were destined to become a ninja. She truly did not want to go through that kind of worry one more time.
...
Konohagakure looked even more desolate than before. The flow of people had dropped sharply, and households holding funerals changed every few days.
What kind of thoughts did those shinobi who died in the line of duty carry at the moment before their deaths? Had anyone ever thought about why they possessed extraordinary power, yet generation after generation were consumed by the meat grinder of war, while daimyō and nobles—who did not even have the strength to truss a chicken—could rest easy, see their descendants prosper, grasp power generation after generation, and live lives of luxury and decadence?
Who knew when a ninja would finally be born who would trample over the bones of the nobility.
With the shinobi world's distorted education system and twisted way of thinking, that was probably very unlikely.
In any case, Higashino Makoto would never do such a thing. After all, before his rebirth, he had already been an adult with firmly established values. Fundamentally, aside from his family and a small circle of close friends, it was difficult for him to be selfless enough to worry about everyone else. Moreover, getting involved in the arduous task of changing the mindset of an entire world—especially the conflicts that would inevitably follow, turning him into the world's public enemy—would pose serious risks to his family and those close to him, all the more so given how ungrateful the villagers of Konohagakure could be.
He had never changed in that regard. Being reborn into this world was to enjoy a different kind of brilliant life, not to become a savior.
Letting his mind wander, taking in the familiar scenery, Higashino Makoto soon met up with Uzuki Yūgao, and together they arrived at the multipurpose classroom.
Quite a few people had already arrived. All of the remaining fourth-grade students were present.
In truth, everyone had only attended school for three years. This year, having just been promoted to the fourth grade, they were being required to graduate early. Compared to the complete six-year system during peacetime, wartime education had its duration cut cleanly in half.
There were some in the crowd who were older—upperclassmen who had never managed to graduate successfully—and also some who were very young, second- and third-year students still enrolled, confident in their own strength and eager to become formal ninja as soon as possible.
He did not know what Senju Hashirama, now in the Pure Land, would think if he saw this scene.
"Hey, Makoto-nii, what do you think this year's graduation exam topic will be?" Uzuki Yūgao was once again about to put her external brain to work.
"How would I know? Do you take me for a fortune-teller? And besides, what difference does it make for you? Which of the Three Basic Techniques can't you perform? I can teach you on the spot."
"Ahahaha, that's true."
As the two chatted casually, the exam began quickly.
After forty minutes of a general knowledge written test, there was a one-hour break. The teachers rapidly graded the papers, recorded the results, and then moved on to the ninjutsu assessment.
What surprised everyone was that this year's ninjutsu assessment was not limited to a single technique from the Three Basic Techniques. Instead, the students were allowed to choose freely.
Those lacking confidence could select the technique they were best at, while those with enough confidence could even demonstrate them in rotation.
In front of the many teachers responsible for scoring, as well as the Third Hokage, the students were like goods being inspected—each wearing an excited expression as they displayed their abilities on stage.
The Three Basic Techniques, as the most fundamental entry-level ninjutsu for ninja, were more significant as a means of evaluation than for actual combat.
They allowed the teachers to judge a student's mastery of chakra and ninjutsu, their basic observational ability, instant memory, and their sense of timing when executing techniques.
Based on this, suitable team leaders could be assigned to them, and their future paths planned accordingly.
Because it was wartime and manpower was insufficient, the assigned team leader was not necessarily a jōnin—it could also be a tokubetsu jōnin.
As for what the students would be able to learn from their assigned teacher in the future, that depended entirely on how responsible the teacher was, as well as how well the two got along.
That said, ninja chosen to serve as team leaders generally either had good personalities or special considerations tying them to their students. They were individuals specifically selected by the higher-ups.
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