In the small forest, Shūichi Hoshita, Kakashi, and Might Guy lay side by side on the grass, gasping for breath. Their stamina was completely drained.
Despite his physical exhaustion, Shūichi's mind was buzzing with excitement.
The activation conditions for the Strong and Sturdy tag had finally been met!
Activation!
In Shūichi's mind, the Strong and Sturdy tag fully lit up, glowing green.
Immediately, he felt a mysterious power surge through his entire body.
Perhaps because his stamina was depleted, he could distinctly feel his body rapidly recovering.
Strong and Sturdy: Brimming with energy and vitality. Recovery rate increased by 100%, resistance to injuries and illness increased by 100%, and taijutsu talent increased by 100%.
While he hadn't experienced the other effects yet, just the doubled recovery rate alone made Shūichi feel incredible.
However, as his stamina returned, a strong wave of hunger swept over him.
His stomach growled with urgency!
"It seems this recovery isn't coming from nowhere. The tag enhances my body's natural constitution…"
Understanding this, Shūichi quickly got up, grabbed his bento, and began eating voraciously.
Bringing a bento for training had already become a habit for him. Of course, the bento was store-bought, and he always brought two.
High focus and high efficiency also meant high energy consumption.
As he ate, the hunger subsided, and by the time he finished one bento, his body started to feel a warm, comforting sensation.
"So fast… could the increased recovery rate also mean my digestion has doubled?"
Shūichi was pleased with this discovery but decided not to eat the second bento himself. Instead, he handed it to Kakashi, who hadn't brought food since his visit was spontaneous.
Might Guy, like Shūichi, had prepared a bento during lunch.
"Thanks!"
After thanking him, Kakashi accepted the bento and joined Might Guy in replenishing their energy.
Meanwhile, Shūichi got up and took a walk.
The recovery effect was already evident, but it would take long-term training to assess the increased resistance to injury and illness.
Then there was the 100% increase in taijutsu talent. If his original talent level in taijutsu was a 5, it would now be a 10.
If his taijutsu talent was 5, how high must Kakashi's be? And how high would Guy's be?
At this moment, Shūichi couldn't help but wish he had some kind of system that could quantify these abilities.
But based on his memory, if he didn't consider the Eight Gates, Kakashi's and Guy's performance in taijutsu shouldn't differ too much.
And the Eight Gates… Kakashi could only open the Third Gate.
Could this secret technique be the true measure of one's taijutsu talent?
…
After digesting most of his food, Shūichi was tempted to test the effects of his enhanced taijutsu talent, but he restrained himself.
Too much of a good thing can be harmful, and today's training had already been intense.
The three packed up and headed home.
Once at home, Shūichi first cleaned up, washed his clothes, and then headed to the kitchen to prepare more food.
His body, still signaling hunger, told him he needed more food to replenish and store energy.
After eating until he was about 70% full, Shūichi cleaned up and headed to his study.
It was 9 PM.
Nighttime Study Session Continues,
That night, Shūichi Hoshita's study session resumed.
This time, his focus was on one of the Three Basic Jutsu: the Transformation Jutsu.
After so many weeks since the start of school, their teacher, Kazuya Kimura, had finally taught the Transformation Jutsu, one of the Three Basic Jutsu.
Given the progress of their class, where all the students had already mastered the refinement of chakra, the timing for teaching ninjutsu was just right.
Entering a focused state, Shūichi began by recalling the explanations his parents had left him about the Transformation Jutsu, along with Kazuya Kimura's teachings. He reviewed these three sets of memories.
Building on what he had learned during the day's lessons, Shūichi deepened his understanding, forming his own insights and comprehension.
After completing this step, Shūichi began to practice.
First, he formed the hand seals while guiding his chakra. The hand seals for the Transformation Jutsu were already deeply ingrained in his memory. Due to Nono's teachings and his own dedicated training, he was also quite proficient in refining and controlling chakra.
In this aspect, Shūichi had a clear advantage.
The third step was to choose a target for transformation.
This required a thorough understanding of the person he wanted to transform into.
The level of skill in the Transformation Jutsu depended on the control of chakra, but the key lay in the details.
The person Shūichi was most familiar with was, without a doubt, Might Guy, with whom he had been training for over three months.
With memories of Might Guy in mind, a puff of smoke rose, and Shūichi, sitting in the chair, transformed into Might Guy.
He stood up and walked to the bathroom mirror. The appearance was flawless, but the demeanor was slightly off.
Releasing the jutsu, Shūichi took a moment to gather himself and then formed the hand seals again, performing the Transformation Jutsu once more.
*Poof!*
Might Guy reappeared, this time with a more accurate demeanor.
However, when Shūichi tested his voice, it was still far from perfect.
This was the subtlety of chakra—even the voice could be altered.
After three more attempts, Shūichi finally achieved a transformation with no discernible flaws.
"Hmm?"
His Tag Tree began to stir again. Shūichi quickly checked it and saw that a new leaf had sprouted on the tree.
Tag: Transformation Expert
Condition to Obtain: Transform into 100 different targets, meeting certain criteria.
Effect: Your keen insight allows you to quickly grasp the characteristics of others, making the jutsu second nature to you. You can even skip the hand seals, transforming into anyone with perfect accuracy. Even seasoned ninja can only detect you through flaws in intelligence. However, beware of chakra-sensing ninja, especially those with the Sharingan or Byakugan.
Shūichi was both surprised and a bit disappointed.
When it comes to the Transformation Jutsu in the Naruto world, the most powerful user is White Zetsu, who can even mimic chakra, making it undetectable by the Byakugan, Sharingan, or even sensory techniques like the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. This Transformation Expert tag fell a bit short of that level.
Still, transforming into 100 targets wasn't too difficult.
Between his classmates and the companions from the orphanage, Shūichi had more than enough people to meet the requirement.
"So the criteria are…"
Shūichi realized that he had already completed one of the 100 targets—Might Guy had met the standard.
"Appearance, demeanor, and voice…"
Shūichi now had a clear understanding.
He then thought, since the Transformation Jutsu could trigger a tag, could the Clone Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu do the same?
Should he self-study the Clone Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu first?
Even though Kazuya Kimura hadn't taught them yet, with the notes left by his parents and Nono Yakushi, Shūichi felt confident that these basic ninjutsu wouldn't pose a problem for him.
The key to the Clone Jutsu lay in chakra control.
The most basic Clone Jutsu only created a false image, not a solid clone, making it far less difficult than techniques like the Shadow Clone Jutsu or Water Clone Jutsu.
As for the Substitution Jutsu, the most critical aspect was timing and prediction.
It required preparing a substitute item in advance.
Often, the Transformation Jutsu served as the foundation for this.
This was also why Kazuya Kimura had taught the Transformation Jutsu first.
A more advanced form of the Substitution Jutsu involved using a clone as the substitute.
For instance, Orochimaru's Earth Substitution or Kakashi's Lightning Clone Substitution could even counterattack when the clone was destroyed.
Going even further, Shūichi considered that Uchiha Sasuke's Amenotejikara could be seen as a form of the Substitution Jutsu.
Just like how the Flying Thunder God Technique could be classified as a Body Flicker Jutsu.
(End of Chapter)