Daichi was jogging along the woods early in the morning and he had a companion who was just as obsessed with training as he was.
"Yosh! That's over... 30 kilometers. This... was a wonderful idea... Daichi."
Lee exclaimed with a wide smile and haggard breath. At the moment he was not the person that could fight and train with great intensity and Daichi knew that. Both Lee and Daichi slowed down and slowly came to a stop. Daichi woke up early and went to the forest where Lee trained and found the boy at his spot as usual. Daichi decided to have Lee as his workout partner. They both completed several sets of exercises which took over a couple hours.
[Reward: Status Recovery.]
The blue system reward message appeared in Daichi's view.
They were both resting at the moment and Daichi discreetly opened his quest 'Path to the strongest.'
[Ongoing quest - 'Path to the strongest' updated.]
It was the first day of Daichi's 4th year at the academy. And as Daichi expected, he got the quest update notification when he woke up.
[Tasks to complete this year have been updated. Training clothes in your inventory have been modified. Wear them when completing the daily quests.]
[Conditions:]
Complete 400 Push ups (Daily)
Complete 400 Squats (Daily)
Complete 400 Punches(Daily)
Run 30 Kilometers (Daily)
Complete at least 1 Dungeon before the end of this academic year.
Take the top spot in your class.
Learn advanced chakra control techniques.
Improve at least 6 Skills to LV. MAX.
.
Daichi looked over the details of the quest the moment he got them. 'It seems other than increasing the workout there doesn't seem to be any other major change… Improve at least 6 skills to Max huh… That's going to be tricky but doable.' He then looked at the rewards.
[Rewards:]
Status Recovery (Daily)
Random Reward(Weekly)
+3 Stat Points (Weekly)
Special reward for clearing a dungeon.
Additional rewards for each extra dungeon cleared.
New Skill for successfully Improving at least 6 Skills to LV. MAX.
.
'There is no skill reward for learning advanced chakra control this time… Oh well!'
[Failure:]
-5 Stat points.
Penalty Dungeon.
Death.
Accept (Y/N)
The system also increased the weight of Daichi's training clothes. Daichi's eyes focused on the weight of the clothes.
[Weighted Training Clothes] [Rare Item: Rank C]
[...Consists of 2 leg warmers to be worn below the knee and 2 arm sleeves to be worn below the elbow. Each weighing exactly 4 KG.
Consists of 1 undershirt and 1 trouser to be worn under the clothes. Each weighing exactly 12 KG.]
'40 Kilos total huh. I can handle much more than that but I'm not complaining. I must be the strongest 9 year old currently alive.'
Daichi closed the quest box and got up. "I'm heading home. Need to get cleaned up. Don't want to be late for the first class of the year."
Lee nodded and they went their separate ways. Daichi, after disappearing from Lee's view, used the status recovery reward. His body was instantly refreshed as he made his way home.
—-
Many children join the academy in the hopes of becoming a powerful, famous ninja but only a portion of them even graduate and even less become Genin with a Jonin teacher. In the Academy there are divisions among the first, second and third year classes due to the number of children. But these numbers reduce during the first 3 years. Some children will find that becoming a ninja would be much harder than they thought and quit. While some would have no talent or ambition to improve themselves.
At the end of the third year the teachers assess the students based on the total marks of their first three years, their skills, talent and willingness to improve in the shinobi arts and separate them into two groups at the beginning of the 4th year. Students who have absolutely no skill, talent, interest or drive in becoming a ninja are separated from the ones that show potential. This was to maximize resources and priorities.
The students who show no potential in becoming a shinobi are transferred to a class that is designed for civilians. These classes would teach them the basics of subjects like math, science, business, marketing, economics and other essential aspects needed for the village.
Now for the students who show talent or the willingness to improve themselves and could potentially become a ninja are all placed together in a single class.
Daichi was in class listening to Iruka's lectures. He looked like he was paying attention but his mind was on something else entirely.
'I need to complete the second step of the fire nature chakra in 2 or at most 3 months. Then I need to start learning medical ninjutsu. I'm sure the old man would help me with that. Need to complete a dungeon as usual. That's no biggie… Last but not least I need to improve 6 skills to Max level. I need to choose the skills which are close to being maxed out… So that takes care of this year's quest…'
Daichi looked around and saw several new faces. He used 'observe' on them one by one and saw nothing noteworthy until he reached the last one. Daichi used his 'observe' skill and found something unexpected.
[LV.22] [Touma Asai]
Age: 8
HP: 2764 CP: 2350
[Touma Asai is an orphan who was handpicked by Danzo Shimura for the Root program over 2 years ago. He has received basic training from his handler. His talents lay in taijutsu and swordsmanship. He is here to keep an eye on Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Daichi Hekima.]
Daichi was calm on the outside but he was nervous in his heart. 'What the fuck? This guy is Root? That means Danzo knows about me. It even says this guy is here to keep an eye on me. Well there is Naruto and Sasuke on his list but that's understandable. One is a Jinchuriki and the other is the last Uchiha… Still… Kensei was right. The moment I got the top spot, Danzo must have had his eye on me. But will he come for me?... No. With everything that's happened last year he won't make any big moves… I hope.'
Daichi also used 'observe' on Naruto and Sasuke. He went over Naruto's information.
[LV.17] [Naruto Uzumaki]
Age: 8
HP: 4130. CP: 10755
[Naruto Uzumaki is the son of the late fourth hokage Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. He is the current host of the nine tails. His status as a jinchuriki caused him to be shunned by most of the leaf-citizens. He is an orphan who longs for a family. He has a positive and friendly attitude despite his harsh circumstances. His dream is to become Hokage of the village. He has a powerful chakra that is currently dormant.]
'Wow. His chakra is more than twice his health points. And it's almost near mine. I had to train my body every day and add points to my chakra stat just to increase it over 11000 points, but this kid… Without doing anything his chakra level is almost near mine. And once he hits puberty his reserves will increase massively… Is this what they call protagonist halo?... Some information has changed. Powerful dormant chakra. It didn't show that the last time. I remember seeing this only in Sasuke's 'observe' info… Must be talking about Ashura's chakra…'
Daichi then looked at Sasuke.
[LV.23] [Sasuke Uchiha]
Age: 8
HP: 3122 CP: 2769
[Sasuke Uchiha is the son of the Uchiha clan head Fugaku and his wife Mikoto. He is the youngest of two children. His goal now is to become strong enough to kill his brother Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha has a vast amount of hidden potential and talent. He trains hard everyday to become strong enough to defeat the 'player'. He has a powerful chakra that is currently dormant.]
'Sasuke's level is much higher than Naruto but he has nowhere near Naruto's chakra reserves. His level indicates that he's the strongest in the class. And just like Naruto some information about him has changed… It seems that Root kid is almost as strong as Sasuke. I'll have to keep an eye on him without getting myself caught… I wonder how this year will go? Only time will tell I suppose.'
As the classes for the first day came to an end, Daichi went to meet Iruka sensei. He thought about what skill he could completely level up within the year and one came to mind. Daichi met Iruka in his office.
"Daichi! Thought you would be out with your friends. What brings you here?" Iruka asked while going over some student reports.
"I was wondering if I could get some scrolls on advance Leaf academy taijutsu. I feel like I've hit a barrier with my current understanding of the taijutsu style."
"Daichi that scroll is only for the final year students. And even then it's only given to those that show talent in taijutsu."
"Are you saying I lack talent in taijutsu?" Daichi raised an eyebrow at that.
"No. No! It's not that." Iruka quickly corrected himself. He had seen Daichi fight and he would be a fool to say that Daichi didn't have any talent in that field. He then let out a small sigh.
"Look Daichi, I know you're strong but that scroll is only given to 6th year students or Genins."
"I get that but I could improve my skills in Taijutsu if I could get the scroll."
Iruka shook his head. "Sorry Daichi. Rules are rules. And if I break the rule for one student then I'll have to break them for all."
Daichi let out a sigh. "I understand." He bowed and left the office.
'That was a bust. But I'm sure the old man would have the scrolls I need. I just didn't want the hassle of answering questions on where I learned advanced taijutsu style only taught to 6th years.'
That night Daichi asked for the scrolls and Kensei gave them to him.
"Some rules in the academy need to change. I've seen your skills. You're more than ready to learn the advanced forms of this style."
—-
Daichi spent the months of April and May trying to complete the second stage of his advanced chakra control training. Even though he got the scroll for the taijutsu style he focused on his chakra control training. He didn't like the fact that he hadn't completed the fire nature control training before the end of March. So he decided to finish the second step before starting anything else.
Daichi and his clones were standing on a small rocky bridge trying to separate the waterfall. With each passing day the skill leveled up and by the end of May he leveled it up to maximum.
[Fire - Waterfall separation technique - (Active/Passive)(LV. MAX):An advanced fire chakra affinity training skill obtained through continuously focusing the chakra to heat and separate the flow of water. An advanced technique to help the user increase the control and strength of their fire nature chakra.]
[Note: Increasing the level of this skill will increase the level of the skill 'Fire Affinity.']
[Effects:]
200% Increase in Fire Chakra control.
300% Increase in power of Fire Chakra nature.
[CP cost : 18/sec.]
"Finally!"
Daichi released his shadow clones and jumped down from the stone bridge. He took several breaths and steadied himself. He quickly weaved several hand seals and shot a fast and powerful fireball at the bridge he was previously standing on.
The fireball struck the bridge and destroyed it and still didn't stop. It traveled a bit further and struck the waterfall. There was a small explosion and the water parted ways around the exploded area due to the force of the attack. Daichi could see the scorched rocks behind the waterfall for a couple seconds before it was once again covered by the rushing water.
"Not bad. The speed and strength of that fireball was on a completely different level from when I first used it. And there is still a third step remaining…"
Daichi smiled at the results of his work. In a happy mood Daichi left for his home.