Chapter 2: The Great Martial Arts System
Kudo Ryoichi's home is located far from the Ninja Academy in Konoha, almost at the edge of the village. It's not that Kudo Ryoichi's family cannot afford a home closer to the center of the village; rather, knowing the plot, he understands that purchasing such a home would be a loss in the long run.
It is now the 39th year of Konoha, and it has been just over a year since the Second Ninja World War. Kudo Ryoichi is well aware that soon the disparities arising from uneven resource distribution among the major nations will escalate tensions, leading to the impending Third Ninja World War. However, given his current abilities, he estimates he would merely be cannon fodder, even less than that.
Like usual, Kudo Ryoichi has not given up on his dream of becoming a ninja. Although he never paid attention to his teachers during classes (what's the point of listening when he couldn't even sense chakra?), he diligently practices chakra refinement every day after school.
Unfortunately, the results have been consistent. Today, Ryoichi was inspired by Might Guy's passionate words, and in a fit of defiance, he forcefully tried to refine chakra and store it within his body.
Sadly, reality proved harsh: after three hours of futile attempts, he resigned in despair.
Suddenly, Ryoichi's vision went black, followed by a sudden wave of pain. "Ding! System is auto-matching... Generating Great Martial Arts System, automatically granting awakening reward: One random Yellow-level martial arts manual. Reward is being issued..."
A strange voice echoed in his mind. Thankfully, Ryoichi was already faint from the pain; otherwise, he might have yelled something like, "Who are you?!"
After a while, Ryoichi slowly regained consciousness. Just as he was about to make sense of what had happened, another mechanical voice echoed: "Ding! Host, please check your reward: Yellow-level martial arts manual: Golden Bell Shield (incomplete)."
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Ryoichi exclaimed, feeling very anxious. Not only had he been knocked out for no reason, but now someone was playing tricks on him. However, five minutes passed, and there was no response.
Instead, a voice said, "Hello, host! The Great Martial Arts System is at your service. I am the Martial Arts Sprite! Because I exhausted all my energy during the time-space traversal, I had to attach myself to your body. The chakra you have been refining over the years wasn't disappearing for no reason; it was consumed to activate the system!"
Upon hearing this, Ryoichi felt a wave of anger. If the Martial Arts Sprite were in front of him, he would surely give it a beatdown it wouldn't forget. The sprite seemed to sense Ryoichi's feelings and comforted him, "Please don't be angry! Although all the chakra you refined has been consumed by me, there are still benefits for you.
"All your veins have been unblocked to a great extent, making you highly suitable for martial arts training! Additionally, your chakra pathways have been expanded. Your chakra capacity is now close to that of an average genin!"
Ryoichi seemed to finally understand what had happened. He immediately sat down and began to refine his chakra again. After an hour, he found that the chakra he refined did not simply disappear anymore, but was stored within his cells.
Excited, Ryoichi shouted, "Haha! I can store chakra now!" That entire night, he was immersed in joy—the long-held aspiration he had finally came true.
Not wasting any time, Ryoichi continued to practice chakra, spending a full eight hours refining it. Finally, his cells were filled with chakra.
The next day, Ryoichi arrived on time at the classroom. Although he was present, he was, as usual, engaged in his unique form of "training"—sleeping. Indeed, even though Ryoichi felt the chakra flowing vigorously through his veins, he couldn't compensate for the lack of sleep from the previous night. He still had many questions he needed to ask the Martial Arts Sprite.
In his mind, he quietly asked, "Sprite, what does Yellow-level martial arts mean?"
"Host, the Great Martial Arts System categorizes all martial arts into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Yellow-level corresponds to the martial arts techniques that can be learned by acquired practitioners, and the most they can achieve is a state of great perfection in their practices! Of course, the host can also actively exchange for manuals and weapons, as long as you have corresponding good and evil values. Completing the tasks issued by the system will naturally reward you with good and evil values!" the sprite replied in its mechanical voice.
"Then how many good and evil values do I have now, and what techniques can I exchange for?" Ryoichi asked.
"Since the host has yet to embark on the ninja path and has not accepted any tasks, your good and evil values are currently zero."
Well, Ryoichi didn't want to be picky. He silently thought, "Practice Golden Bell Shield!" A stream of numbers flowed into Ryoichi's mind.
In an instant, he felt as if he had been practicing the Golden Bell Shield for many years. His understanding of the incomplete Golden Bell Shield was as clear as his own body.
When he covertly tested the Golden Bell Shield under his desk, he found that when a wooden kunai scratched him, it only left a slight white mark.
Although Ryoichi couldn't determine what level of ninjutsu he could withstand with just his body rather than chakra, he felt that his physical qualities had indeed improved significantly. While he couldn't compare to Might Guy, Ryoichi felt that he had at least become quite formidable!
At that moment, the middle-level teacher Tsushima Saichirou on the podium announced, "Today we will conduct a ninja cooperative combat assessment. The assessment results will be counted toward your total score. Exceptional performers may be honored by the Hokage! There may even be legendary ninjutsu scrolls waiting for you!" The enticing talk instantly ignited the entire classroom!
All the little kids were excitedly discussing the "secret news" about the ninjutsu they knew. Among them, only three were unmoved by this atmosphere—our protagonist Kudo Ryoichi, the talentless Kai, and the famous Kakashi.
That's right; at this time, Kakashi was only five years old, while Kudo Ryoichi and Might Guy were already six. Only two years remained until Kakashi's father, White Fang, would be killed. Although Ryoichi had considered saving Sakumo's life, he couldn't simply approach him and say, "Don't go on any missions!" All he could do was silently wish for his safety.
Now that everyone had headed off to the assessment location, Ryoichi naturally brimmed with confidence. To become stronger, he couldn't rely solely on the Great Martial Arts System; mastering ninjutsu was essential.
Though Ryoichi's parents had not reached the jōnin level, they had achieved the highest level attainable by a civilian ninja. Therefore, after this assessment, he surely planned to head home and learn some real ninjutsu from them.