Chapter 32: Muscle Enhancement, Growing Stronger
That afternoon's class was a practical test.
The chunin instructor stood at the front and explained the rules.
The objective was simple: hit thirty target dummies scattered across the field with shuriken in the shortest possible time.
"Next up—Uchiha Seiji."
The instructor called Seiji's name.
Seiji stepped forward. With a smooth motion, he raised his hand and flung a shuriken—
Thwack!
The blade sank cleanly into one of the targets.
He had already practiced enough with throwing shuriken that his progress bar for unlocking the shuriken-throwing trait had reached 88%.
Even though he hadn't officially unlocked the skill yet, his technique had clearly improved.
Where others saw only a distant black dot, Seiji could pinpoint the target with precision, giving him a significant edge in accuracy.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After hitting the first dummy, Seiji began sprinting forward.
Each target was spaced far apart, forcing the students to throw shuriken while on the move. That was the only way to minimize the total time.
Before long, Seiji finished, his breathing only slightly heavy.
"Nine points!" the instructor called out his score. Ten was the maximum.
"You've improved a lot, Seiji," the chunin instructor commented while jotting down the result.
In his eyes, only Kakashi could still be considered more talented than Seiji. He couldn't help but wonder—what if Seiji had enrolled earlier? And with the Sharingan too…
But his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Lately, the borderlands had been turbulent. Too many comrades had returned injured from missions.
Seiji simply nodded and returned to his seat.
"Seiji, your progress is amazing!"
"Do you have any special tips or training methods?"
By now, Seiji had been attending the academy for several months. Most of his classmates knew who he was and occasionally tried to strike up a conversation.
But Seiji rarely spent much time socializing. He desperately wished he could split time in half to train more.
"It's just hard work. If everyone puts in the effort, I'm sure you'll all improve quickly too," Seiji replied with a polite smile, giving them the answer they wanted.
The next student up was Kakashi.
Expressionless, Kakashi stepped into position and began throwing shuriken.
In just a few moments, he was already done.
As Seiji was still carefully observing Kakashi's movements, hoping to pick up a few techniques through imitation, a soft, pleasant voice spoke up beside him.
"Seiji-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?"
It was Rin Nohara. The purple markings on her cheeks were especially vivid under the sunlight.
Seiji lifted his gaze and looked at her calmly before giving a slight nod.
Rin got straight to the point. "We've known Kakashi much longer than you have… so why is he more willing to approach you, Seiji-kun?" She hoped Seiji could help her understand.
Seiji was quiet for a moment, then replied, "Because Kakashi needs an outlet—something to help him vent his emotions and escape the village's constant gossip. I assume… Rin-san, you don't know kenjutsu, do you?"
"...No," Rin lowered her head at the question.
Her grades at the academy were quite good—she was near the top of the class. The school had also begun teaching some basic medical ninjutsu, and she excelled at it. In fact, one of the instructors from the Medical Corps had even offered her an opportunity to specialize further after graduation.
But when it came to swordsmanship—or combat in general—she wasn't particularly skilled.
Seiji continued, "If he doesn't have an outlet like this… Kakashi might start having issues."
"Issues? What do you mean?" Rin looked confused, unable to understand what Seiji was getting at.
Seiji didn't elaborate. "Who knows." He turned and walked away.
What he really meant were psychological problems.
This was the dark side of Konoha.
They dressed everything up in fine words like the Will of Fire, but when someone gave up a mission to save their comrades, the village only repaid them with judgment and scorn.
If the higher-ups had at least commended Sakumo Hatake's selfless act, even if they also punished the failed mission, it might've been balanced. Instead, there was silence from above, and even those Sakumo had saved turned their backs on him.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi had publicly spoken in Sakumo's defense, Seiji doubted anyone would have dared criticize him. After all, the Third Hokage was known as both the Professor of Ninjutsu and the Strongest Hokage—though these titles came more from the newer generation, who had never witnessed the power of the First Hokage firsthand.
Rin stood in place, frowning in thought.
She turned and saw Kakashi had already finished his test and was blending into the crowd.
What… should she do?
---
Several days passed. Seiji spent most of his extra time training at home, preparing for early graduation.
"You've unlocked the Trait: [Three Basic Techniques – White]."
[Trait: Three Basic Techniques (White)]
Requirement Fulfilled: Learned Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu.
Progress: 100%
Effect: Your mastery of the Three Basic Techniques exceeds the norm, making them 5% more effective.
Note: Can be upgraded.
With this, Seiji had completed the core ninja techniques. What normally took average ninjas years of practice, he had condensed into a few short months.
Of course, that timeline was for civilian-born ninjas. For clans with secret techniques or Kekkei Genkai, the process was usually much faster.
Even so, Seiji's speed of progress was among the fastest even within the Uchiha clan.
"Time to upgrade a trait." Seiji opened his trait panel.
When he had unlocked [Tree Climber (White)] and [Water Walker (White)], an upgrade path had appeared—requiring the Three Basic Techniques to be completed.
"You've unlocked a new Trait: [Master of Basics – Green]."
Trait: Master of Basics (Green)
Condition Fulfilled: Master the fundamental skills required of a ninja.
Progress: 100%
Effect: Increases total chakra by 20%.
Note: Can be upgraded.
"It feels like my body's being torn apart…"
As the system message faded, a wave of pain surged through Seiji.
Every cell in his body screamed. From his muscles to his bones, and even his nerves, it felt as if they were being forcefully stretched and then filled from the inside out.
"Chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy," Seiji recalled. "So if my chakra is increasing, then both my mind and body must be evolving."
In other words—his physical strength was growing.
One minute… two minutes…
After about fifteen minutes, the pain slowly faded.
His already fit body looked even more muscular now.
Seiji glanced down at his hands. They were thicker, stronger. After removing his shirt, he could see clear definition in his muscles. His fingers were more powerful too—more elastic and flexible than before.
He stood up straight and rolled his neck.
His body had definitely changed.
Even his height seemed to have increased slightly. He looked down—his pant legs were riding up a bit.
"So I'm still growing taller."
The ache in his muscles lingered, but in its place came a deep sense of power and clarity. He felt more focused—more alive.