Looking at the list of expert-level Tags, Shūichi Hoshita's gaze settled on the [Fire Release Expert] Tag.
Among the various Tags, this one seemed to be the easiest for him to activate at the moment.
The [Fire Release Expert] Tag required him to master at least five C-rank Fire Release jutsu, and he had already mastered two.
Additionally, he had one more C-rank jutsu, the Dragon Fire Technique, that he hadn't yet practiced.
So, he only needed two more C-rank Fire Release jutsu. Perhaps Tsunade could help him with that?
Having set his target, fatigue began to take over.
Shūichi immediately turned off the lights and went to bed to rest.
The next day, at 9 a.m., Shūichi arrived at the Tenka Shop right on time and began working on creating explosive tags in the workshop.
Meanwhile.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just received Shūichi Hoshita's detailed file from the Root division.
As he finished reading through the file, Orochimaru knocked and entered.
Hiruzen immediately handed the file over to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru quickly scanned through it, showing a hint of surprise. Smiling, he said, "He seems to be a genius on par with Minato. Are you planning to have me take him as a student?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "No, I want you to go to the Root."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, instantly realizing that this Shūichi Hoshita must have caught Danzo's attention.
Sending him to the Root was to monitor Danzo, restrict him, divide his power, or perhaps even to succeed him…
"Looks like something quite interesting has happened!" Orochimaru chuckled to himself but simply replied, "Understood, sensei!"
Hiruzen nodded and continued, "Shūichi Hoshita will undergo special training in the Root in the future. When that time comes, I'll leave him to you."
…
After leaving the Hokage's office, Orochimaru went straight to the Root base and met with Danzo.
Once his subordinates had left, Danzo looked at Orochimaru and said, "I hear you're interested in researching Hashirama's cells?"
Orochimaru nodded in acknowledgment. "Indeed, but the village rejected it."
"I can help you with that!"
Danzo knew why Orochimaru had been sent by Hiruzen, but his old friend clearly underestimated him.
"I can provide everything you need!" Danzo offered an extremely tempting deal. "Hashirama's cells, test subjects, funding!"
In one sentence, he covered it all.
"Of course, I'll have the right to enjoy the research results!" Danzo stated his apparent condition.
Orochimaru smiled. "Naturally!"
He agreed to the deal and then added, "That Shūichi Hoshita will soon enter the Root for special training. The old man has entrusted him to me."
Danzo's expression darkened upon hearing this, but as the leader of the Root, he didn't let his emotions take control. "Make sure he can be of use to the Root!"
Orochimaru nodded. "I understand!"
…
Four days passed in the blink of an eye.
Shūichi Hoshita managed to earn 24,000 ryō in one go, but then spent it all at the Tenka Shop just as quickly.
While the store's assistant Tenka generously gifted him a set of ninja tools—shuriken, kunai, and senbon—at no cost, Shūichi used his earnings to purchase a batch of secret medicinal herbs for medicinal baths at a discounted price through the Tenka's Shop. However, that completely drained his summer earnings.
These herbs would last him about three months, which would cover the upcoming academy term.
But Shūichi didn't feel the slightest bit of regret.
The secret herbs were designed to relieve fatigue, heal hidden injuries from training, and strengthen muscles and bones. They also promoted growth and slightly increased chakra, even if they couldn't significantly boost chakra reserves.
They were still useful.
One of the reasons why shinobi from ninja clans were generally stronger than those from civilian backgrounds was not just their systematic training but also their superior nutrition and access to various secret herbs.
Generations of accumulation had widened the gap.
September 15th.
The new academy term began.
Everything seemed the same as it had been two months ago.
But it clearly wasn't.
In the afternoon, during the ninja tools throwing class, the girls cheered enthusiastically for Kakashi, while Obito Uchiha, as usual, was annoyed but couldn't match up to Kakashi.
When it came to ninja tools throwing, Shūichi was just average, not doing anything flashy.
The next class was a combat lesson.
Amid the continuous cheers, Shūichi quietly observed everyone's matches, taking note of their progress and updating the "intel" in his memory palace.
At the same time, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his crystal ball to secretly observe the combat class of Shūichi's class.
"Next match, Kakashi Hatake versus Shūichi Hoshita!"
Kimura Kazuya announced loudly.
Obito immediately protested, "Sensei Kimura, why am I not the one fighting Kakashi?"
Kimura Kazuya sighed inwardly. Could he really say this was an order from the Third Hokage?
Ignoring Obito's objections, Kimura Kazuya said, "Form the Seal of Confrontation!"
Shūichi and Kakashi formed the Seal of Confrontation, with Shūichi smiling quietly, "Kakashi, this time, I'm going all out!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I'll be waiting."
After the Seal of Confrontation was formed, both of them quickly retreated.
Kimura Kazuya glanced at the two, confirmed they were ready, and shouted, "Begin!"
In the next instant, amid the crowd's cheers, Shūichi and Kakashi charged at each other.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Fists and kicks collided, generating bursts of wind.
Their movements grew faster and faster, their strikes creating afterimages, causing the once loud cheers to gradually die down.
Shizune, Rin Nohara, and the others stopped cheering, their eyes fixed on the fight, unable to look away.
Even so, many found it difficult to keep up with the pace.
"Kakashi, that guy... actually..."
Obito clenched his fists tightly, reluctant to admit it, but it seemed Kakashi had improved even more over the break.
Meanwhile, Asuma Sarutobi's gaze remained on Shūichi, feeling a growing sense of urgency.
It was bad enough to be overshadowed by Kakashi, but now Shūichi was catching up too.
It wasn't that he looked down on Shūichi—after all, he was the Hokage's son. One Kakashi was already enough.
But clearly, some things don't change just because of personal feelings.
Shūichi had made significant progress over the summer, but so had Kakashi, who had also trained hard.
In pure taijutsu combat, even with his exceptional reflexes, Shūichi inevitably fell behind.
Not just in skill, but in strength too.
Bam!
Shūichi was kicked away by Kakashi, but as he flew back, he pulled two shuriken from his pouch and hurled them.
Kakashi anticipated this, pulling out a kunai and effortlessly deflecting the shuriken with two clangs, before decisively throwing the kunai back at Shūichi.
He saw that Shūichi was forming hand signs, preparing to use a Fire Release jutsu.
So after throwing the kunai, Kakashi also formed hand signs and crouched down.
He was confident that Shūichi would easily dodge the kunai and continue his jutsu.
Shūichi did indeed dodge Kakashi's kunai with ease and immediately changed his hand signs.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Clone Jutsu!
Kakashi's expression shifted slightly as an earth wall rose up in front of him.
At the same time, numerous clones of Shūichi appeared, surrounding him.
But the key detail was that these clones didn't look like Shūichi—they had transformed into Kurenai Yuhi, Rin Nohara, Shizune, and Asuma Sarutobi…
On the first day of the new term, Shūichi had delivered a small shock to the entire class.
Earlier in the day, Kakashi had impressed everyone by using the Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu in tandem during Kimura Kazuya's assessment, creating a dozen identical versions of the teacher, which drew gasps from the class.
But Shūichi's move was even more captivating.
In that moment, the entire class surrounded Kakashi.
The most impressive part was how Shūichi's transformation was so convincing that even their fighting styles were perfectly mimicked, making it nearly impossible for Asuma, Obito, and the others to tell them apart.
(End of Chapter)
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