[Konoha Genin: Increases the favorability of the village towards the host slightly and reduces the condition of leveling up the skill from the D-Rank Jutsus skill tree by 10℅.]

 

[D-Rank Jutsus]

 

[Ninjutsu]

[Body Flicker Technique (15/15)]

[Wind Release: Skewering Blade (20/20)]

[Water Release: Water Dome (15/15]

[Earth Release: Mudwall (10/10)]

[Fire Release; Pepper Ball (15/15)]

 

[Genjutsu]

[Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (15/15)]

 

'No... Taijutsu?' Kai was positively disappointed. Many taijutsu skills trained his body simultaneously. Of course, he can train his body with actual physical grinding but as Tsunade said— Efficiency.

 

And he also understood that the skills won't grind his body forever. Being in the academy made him understand many things.

 

For instance, E and D-rank Taijutsu that is purchased for 5 and 10 SP and needs 1 and 2 SP respectively to level up will only work till he reaches the stat of 100.

 

Then, he either has to find a Taijutsu skill of higher quality or just train his body traditionally. The D-rank Jutsu Skill tree... made the importance of a clan and a backer evident but Kai was simultaneously eager to train his body. His mind was already filled with ways of fighting that could screw up a chunin, whose stats, at least one of them is above 100.

 

But Kai, who had studied in the academy and discreetly senses the strength of the people surrounding him had realized that Genin, Chunin, and Jonin are only social titles and not an accurate representation of strength. The stat cap of 100 is limited to genins and some chunin around him. Heck, Kai's own chakra had been trained and increased to match if not surpass the clan heirs of many clans easily 4-5 years olders than him.

 

Still, he intended to learn the genjutsu skill and that body flicker technique used for escape. Of course, only a noob would waste specially collected SP but he would wait for Tsunade to teach them. After all, she just became their teacher.

 

Once they returned to the Uzumaki Mansion, Mito summoned them quickly and while it seemed quite formal, when they entered her room, Kushina pouted and climbed the bed to enter the embrace of the woman as Kai took his seat next to Mito's feet with a smile and started massaging her legs. Honestly, now it felt weird if he didn't massage the poor old woman's legs.

 

One thing that the 'extra curriculum' studies the last year managed to do was kickstart Kushina's brain and make her more sensible. This meant, the daily quest of washing her back was long gone and the girl was just an embarrassing mess whenever Mikoto pointed it out.

 

"Hmm, you look tired, Kushina-chan," Mito smiled softly and stroked Tomato's head until she let out a comforted and muffled groan while Mito's expression, in return, grew comfortable as Kai began thumbing her.

 

"I am..." Kushina mumbled but looked up and grinned, "But I passed the test as I promised!"

 

Mito smiled dotingly and nodded, "Congratulations, child. I never doubted it for a second."

 

Kai looked at them quietly with a smile and continued with his work. Another thing he noticed in the academy was called... Will of Fire. Fucking propaganda! What love for village or heart of sacrifice? Would a normal human being not know to protect their loved ones and home already? The Will of Fire was surely a way to pull budding Shinobis and Kunoichis loyalty further into Konoha, rooting it fiercely!

 

Those who were smart enough like Mikoto heard it from one ear and released it through another.

 

Those who were menaces and a gaming trolls wanted nothing more than to write a 'Will of Tits' on the board to correct the mindset of the youth.

 

Those who were too smooth-brained but were lucky enough to have smart friends, like Kushina and Tsume, didn't even feel a thing because it was natural for them to want to protect others. Not at ANY cost as the Will of Fire dictated, mind you.

 

"Kai-kun, congratulations to you, too," Mito smiled and looked towards him with an odd but fearful twinkle in her aged gaze. Kai nodded with a grin and quipped, "Does this mean I can learn Nature Transformation?"

 

Mito chuckled, "That's Tsunade's problem now, brat. Wear her ears out, you've got my blessings. But you will still practice those seals and matrix with me. Although your talent is quite... good," she refrained from stroking the boy's ego and added, "We need to work more on your sealing techniques..."

 

"Fine..." Kai muttered with a huffing pout as Kushina clicked her tongue, "Hey, why are you even feeling bad! You're further than me when it comes to seals, dattebane! Honestly, back at the village, everyone fussed over my talent."

 

"Well, excellence requires hunger!" Kai snorted.

 

"I'm always hungry!" Kushina announced.

 

"Not that kind of hunger, you fool! Hunger for growth!"

 

"Eating promotes growth!"

 

Kai was left speechless. She was... way beyond the topic but managed to still become right.

 

"Alright now, there is no need to raise a ruckus in my bedroom," Mito chuckled.

 

"Yeah! Cause the whore raises ruckus in public!" Mito's brows twitched at the grumble of the voice from within and she sighed softly, "Be a good girl from now on Kushina. I told Tsunade what you need to learn. While we will train seals here, you have to make an effort to learn different skills. A kunoichi must be prepared for many things."

 

And Kushina, after having gone through the victim files, agreed with this seriously.

 

"Ah, now I remember, we don't need to keep it hidden that Kai is my guardian, right?" Kushina blinked.

 

"Why? You want to tell that Uchiha brat?" Mito chuckled, "It's up to you and Kai to decide. Guardian isn't exactly a job announced to others."

 

Kushina looked at Kai. Although Kai had grown... a lot, Kushina had grown, too. But not nearly enough, making him look as old as Kushina just by pure grinding! Damn, he was even stronger than his past self... chakra was kind of broken in this regard. Still, Kushina easily saw Kai as someone not only close but also left many decisions to him.

 

"Well, Kushina-chan," Kai mumbled as she snorted, clearly unhappy with that particular jab, "It's really up to you. But if Mikoto suddenly decided to harm you, she will target me first because I'm kind of your closest ally, too."

 

"She won't!" Kushina blinked and then frowned, "But... it really wouldn't matter if she knows it or not so let's not include her in OUR secret!" She grinned while Kai shrugged.

 

"Alright, my legs feel good enough. The two of you should rest today and eat plenty. Tsunade will definitely use you all to your bones."

 

But as Kai thinks, no rest for the wicked! And with nothing to do, he would spread his chakra awareness while physically training for the night without respite to train his physique and perception!

 

---

 

"First things first!" Tsunade pointed out as she saw her team in one of the training grounds of Konoha, Training Ground 23 just behind the Senju Compound, to be exact, "We will take the day to measure your ability and I will start teaching you a few basic things! As you train, I will hit a few private gamble matches, got it!"

 

Mikoto almost fell down, Kushina nodded eagerly as Kai's gaze glinted, "Can I join, Tsunade-sama!"

 

"Too short!" Tsunade shot him down as he shrugged and stated plainly, "Well, what are you waiting for! Come at me!"

 

[Special Quest: First Impression

 

Summary: Impress your sensei.

 

Rewards: 5 SP

 

Failure: Bamboo spanking from Mito Uzumaki.]

 

The trio looked at each other before Mikoto and Kai shot forward instantly and Kushina followed behind with a Kunai in her hand.

 

"First rule, never engage with Tsunade Senju in a fist fight," The blonde bombshell grinned and easily swatted Mikoto's punch as she... was forced to roll over with unimaginable force passing through her. Seeing this, Kai changed his tactics with four senbon needles slipping down the wrist guard under his sleeves that had an unusual glint and threw them at Tsunade who chuckled and easily dodged them yet her dynamic vision showed an extremely thin seal on all four of these needles... seals that were used in—

 

*BOOM*

 

As a small explosion whipped up dust and ground, Kai spread his awareness out only to duck quickly with a yelp as an unscathed arm clutched Kushina's head instead before being thrown on the ground as the redhead's pained hiss echoed with the crumbling sound.

 

Instantly charging his body with chakra and enhancing his physique by a 100℅ for a second, he leaned back quick enough and diffused the Basic Chakra Enhancement the next instant, while taking a kunai out of his pouch and throwing it on the ground.

 

Before that devilish hand grabbed him, another explosion forced both of them back as Tsunade's annoyed growl echoed loud and clear, making Kai even more motivated to not let Tsunade get her hands on his divine form for she will positively wreck him!

 

"Come here!" Tsunade clapped her hand together with enough force to wave off the smokescreen of dust as Mikoto could be seen standing up slowly with a frown and Kushina was up and at 'em, too. The blonde-haired sensei of theirs glared at Kai with her lips quirked into a dangerous grin... and she still had not a speckle of her dirt on herself much less an injury.

 

"That's exactly why I hate seal masters," Tsunade cracked her knuckles, "Why? Afraid to throw hands with me?"

 

"My sensei told me to never engage with Tsunade Senju in a fistfight!" Kai grinned.

 

"Oh, then let her tell you another rule. Never be a smartass in front of Tsunade Senju!"

 

The woman suddenly punched on the ground and the earth itself had large cracks spreading and destabilizing Kai. Before he knew what was going on, a hand on the back of his head had him pinned to the ground and a large weight fell over his back as he huffed a groan. Damn, she's quick. But surprisingly light for the canons she sported.

 

"Are we clear?"

 

Tsunade inquired as she leaned down while Kai wheezed through the dust, "Yep, Sensei."

 

Smirking in satisfaction, she stood up and let the three catch their breath before proclaiming loudly, "Only Kai-kun is barely good enough to graduate!" And of course, with that, she meant he would have heads of chunins rolling on the ground. "The two of you... why the hell didn't you use seals, and why didn't you go ahead with your shurikenjutsu?" She looked at Kushina and Mikoto as they grew embarrassed while Kai claimed his 5 SP from the successful mission.

 

"Huff, whatever. We have time. I'll beat those bad habits out of you all," Tsunade smirked and looked at the toddlers, "Let's start again. This time, no ninjutsu. I'll beat a semblance of coordination between the three of you today!"

 

---

 

Picking their tired and beaten bodies, Kai, Kushina, and Mikoto returned to Ichiraku ramen before being promptly congratulated by the couple for their graduation. Just when they sat, an unhappy growl made them wince, "Here you are! I can't believe they won't let me graduate just because I failed in the theories!"

 

Tsume entered the stall with an aggressive pout and sat down before looking at the trio's condition and commenting, "Woah? Did you get bullied?"

 

"We did..." Kushina muttered sourly.

 

"Hah? Who was it? Damnit, I'll release all my clan's ninken on the bastard! Nobody bullies my friends!"

 

"Thank you," Mikoto just smiled and shook her head while Kai encouraged, "She lives in the Senju Compound. Send your ninken to a woman named Tsunade Senju."

 

Tsume's grin froze as Kushina and Mikoto broke into giggles.

 

"So... what's it like? Being genin," Tsume inquired with great interest as Kai got the bowl of ramen first and dug in. Mikoto, meanwhile, shrugged, "Nothing much. We've only been a genin for a day. But this week is supposed to be training before we are allowed to get any mission whatsoever."

 

Tsume nodded when a loud clamor broke out. The ramen stall wasn't located in any popular corner so things are peaceful around here but many people had their attention attracted to two Uchiha shinobis capturing a merchant as the man screamed, "I'm not a spy! Please, believe me! It was just supposed to be a trade of clothes, I don't know how it—"

 

The gazes of the people around grew gloomier somewhat. For some reason, security was getting stricter and stricter and they would have complained that the Uchiha were exploiting their power but... the situation was the same for other guards, too, who patrolled the village and men stationed at the gates of the village.

 

'Victims of war crime, special genin tests, and rooting out suspicious individuals... damn, I would have entered the list if I kept on going around sensing and registering everyone's chakra signature.' Kai sighed slightly in relief as Tsume grumbled, "Damn, I forgot! I have to go to the gates to collect a package. See you guys later," Tsume bolted quickly while Mikoto sighed softly and whispered, "People are getting restless even in my clan compound... something is happening."

 

"What is?" Kushina inquired.

 

"If I knew, I would have told you guys," the girl shrugged and looked over at the overly grown infant eating his ramen as Kushina got hers, too.

 

"Kai-chan," Although she kept the same way of calling him, the distinct lack of sweet mocking made Kai very pleased. After all, he proved that he could kick their butts even with their clan training! "I never knew about your sealing techniques. Especially, I haven't really seen exploding senbon needles. Did you make them yourself?"

 

"Yeah," Kai smirked, "I like using Senbon Needles more so there's that and nobody would expect the needles to have a seal since the surface of it and thin width makes it too hard of an effort to mark them with such seals. Exploding tags are still the mainstream use of the seals."

 

Mikoto nodded. She truly was humbled today somewhat and in hindsight, she should have guessed it yesterday when Kai killed a prisoner in a blink of an eye.

 

"Hah! Another bowl!" And like usual, Kushina inhaled her ramen and asked for more.

 

---

 

The trio was only allowed to rest for two hours after their utter violation and was expected to return to the training ground 23 in two hours.

 

Tsunade arrived 30 minutes later with a stormy expression as if she'd lost her property or something and glanced at the trio lying on the ground while clearing her throat and attracting their attention.

 

"Right... I promised you three training. Alright, about time I provide a better application of chakra. The first thing we will master is tree walking. I'm sure your clan wouldn't have taught you the basics of it but must have made up for it in some other fashion," Tsunade looked at Mikoto. After all, many clans had a similar practice. Even the Senjus don't give out chakra theories and techniques on a silver platter. It must be earned, or learned from other sources at times, like a Jonin sensei.

 

Tsunade walked over to a tree and began walking ON the tree as her ponytail dangled down, showing others that gravity still existed.

 

"This is a more advanced version of leaf sticking exercise. You cover the soles of your feet in chakra and then use it as a medium to stick to uneven surfaces. This technique doesn't work on a surface that has been lubricated and even fully polished to a microscopic level and defenses like this exist."

 

Tsunade turned on her heels to face her students and Mikoto and Kushina did face her... but by turning on her heels, Tsunade's torso faced the ground while standing on the tree horizontally, and... gravity does exist.

 

Kai... admittedly, couldn't look away. They were large, they knew it, and they proudly dangled. A few seconds passed since he had zoned out Tsunade's explanation and when he came to be, he found Mikoto staring at him with an annoyed glare, Kushina frowning with a scowl, and Tsunade giving him a murderous smirk.

 

"I was..." Kai opened up. Oh, what the heck. He was out of the academy and knew that he was bound to check his Jonin Sensei out one of these days as he coughed and stayed silent and just faced the brunt of their expressions. Quite admirable, in Tsunade's gaze as she knew perverts greater than the boy and they would rather cow down to her stare.

 

"Hmph, let's start with you, squirt!" Tsunade pointed out and jumped down and again, it was hard to stare away from the jiggle physics.

 

"Stop staring and go!" Kushina hissed.

 

"Fine!" Kai snapped. The hell! 'If you guys don't have one, why the hell are you stopping me for?!'

 

With a snort, he covered his feet in chakra and placed his foot on the bark of the tree before stepping up.

 

[Skill created after special action.]

 

[General theory is mostly found in other skills mastered. Adjusting the skill.]

 

[Tree Walking (1/5): Cover your feet in chakra and walk over uneven surfaces. Each level reduces the chakra consumption by 10℅. Chakra Consumed: 10/min.

 

Next Level: Perform the exercise for 1/10 minutes or 1 SP.]

 

'Damn,' Kai sighed... Skills' main function was to provide relevant knowledge and what he could learn from the Tree Walking exercise about chakra control was greatly mitigated by mastering the Leaf Sticking Exercise. This only left the actual experience in tree walking left to be mastered which was quantified into 5 levels.

 

Tsunade nodded as Kai easily walked up and even stood under the branch easily but... "Not coming down?" They looked at Kai weirdly.

 

"Hmm... can I stay here for two hours?"

 

Tsunade shrugged, "Sure, today you're supposed to learn the tree walking exercise itself. If you have chakra after that, try walking on water. You two, your turns!" She looked at Kushina and Mikoto who nodded with a determined expression.

 

***

 

Shoutout to x xx, Cdubey, Derrick Porter, TC, Seliores, Mordeus, Justin Cuningtion, and Joseph Bibb!!

 

Read 15 advance chapters here—

 

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