“Kagami…
Brother Kagami?”
Naoki stopped in his tracks, looking at this nominal “senior brother” before him, feeling a bit guilty.
After all, he had just used a Fire Release more Uchiha than the Uchiha themselves in front of the entire village at the entrance ceremony.
Now that the real deal had come knocking, how could he not be nervous?
Uchiha Kagami walked over quickly.
His expression was very complex, containing shock, confusion, and more than anything…
an indescribable admiration?
“Naoki, you…
just now…” Kagami opened his mouth, seemingly not knowing where to start.
“What happened just now?” Naoki feigned ignorance, looking at him with an innocent face.
“Didn’t Grandpa already explain?
That was a ‘physical plasma phenomenon,’ an advanced application of Water Release.”
He couldn’t admit it was Fire Release even if it killed him.
Since his grandfather had personally stepped in to vouch for him, contradicting him would be like the God of Longevity hanging himself—tired of living.
“Physical…
plasma…” Uchiha Kagami murmured these words, the confusion on his face deepening.
“But…
but what I saw with my Sharingan was clearly…”
“Brother Kagami!” Naoki immediately interrupted him with righteous indignation.
“Are you saying you don’t believe the Second Hokage-sama’s words?
Do you think Grandpa would lie in front of the entire village?”
He immediately slapped a heavy label of accusation on him.
Uchiha Kagami’s face turned pale instantly, and he waved his hands hurriedly.
“No, no, no!
I didn’t mean that!
I absolutely believe Tobirama-sensei!
I was just…
just too shocked and found it hard to understand for a moment.”
Of course he believed Tobirama.
Or rather, between “believing his own eyes” and “believing Tobirama-sensei,” he chose the latter without hesitation.
After all, Tobirama-sensei was the Hokage, the Ultimate Doctor of Ninjutsu; he certainly knew more than himself.
Since the teacher said it was Water Release, then it must be Water Release!
As for why the Sharingan saw it wrong…
perhaps it was because his Sharingan wasn’t advanced enough to see through the essence of this “Scientific Ninjutsu!”
Yes, that must be it!
Uchiha Kagami quickly convinced himself, and the way he looked at Naoki became even more reverent.
“It was my shallow understanding.” He bowed deeply to Naoki.
“Naoki, you’ve shown me new possibilities for Ninjutsu.
I never knew Water Release could be practiced to such an extent; I was truly a frog at the bottom of a well.”
Naoki: “…”
Looking at this Uchiha genius who was sincerely reflecting on his own path of Ninjutsu, he was momentarily speechless.
Grandpa, your sins are heavy!
Look at how you’ve brainwashed a perfectly promising Uchiha youth!
“Um…
“Oh, right.” Uchiha Kagami straightened up and took a small scroll from his robes, handing it over.
“Tobirama-sensei asked me to give this to you, saying you should’study’ it carefully when you get back.”
Naoki took the scroll and opened it, seeing it was densely packed with writing.
The title was: “Feasibility Report on the Generation of Plasma Phenomena via High Compression and High-Speed Friction of Water Chakra—and an Analysis of the Ninjutsu Demonstration Principles at Senju Naoki’s Entrance Ceremony.”
Naoki’s eye twitched.
Good grief, Grandpa, your efficiency is too high.
It’s only been a short while and you’ve already written a report?
A feasibility report at that?
Are you planning to publish this in the ‘Ninja World Science’ journal?
“Sensei said you must memorize everything on here, not missing a single word,” Uchiha Kagami instructed solemnly.
“…I understand,” Naoki replied weakly.
After bidding farewell to Uchiha Kagami, Naoki returned to the Senju Clan Compound with that “scientific report” that read like a heavenly tome, his heart full of complex emotions.
To settle the storm caused by him (and the system), and to better “observe from nearby” and “educate at any time,” Tobirama ultimately ordered Naoki to attend the Ninja Academy normally, forbidding him from skipping class or oversleeping for any reason.
The next day, Naoki walked into the classroom reluctantly, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes.
He had stayed up half the night memorizing that “physics report,” feeling more exhausted than if he had fought a Great Ninja War.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, the originally buzzing room fell silent instantly.
The gazes of all his classmates, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, snapped onto him in unison.
Then, a miraculous scene occurred.
With Naoki as the center, a vacuum zone three meters wide formed instantly.
Every student, boy or girl, subconsciously grabbed their desks and chairs and scrambled backward as if they had seen a terrifying monster, staying as far away from him as possible.
In the entire classroom, only three people didn’t move.
One was Tsunade, her face flushed red, glaring at him huffily.
One was Orochimaru, arms crossed, staring at him fervently with the look one would give a rare treasure.
The last one was Jiraiya, waving at him with a silly grin, his eyes full of admiring little stars.
Naoki sighed.
Well, it seemed the title of “Humanoid S-Rank Ninjutsu” was here to stay.
Ignoring the reverent gazes around him, he walked straight to his seat and slumped down, preparing to catch up on some sleep.
“Hey!
Senju Naoki!”
Tsunade slammed her hand on his desk with a loud “thwack,” making Naoki’s head bounce.
“You still have the nerve to sleep!” Tsunade stood with hands on her hips like a furious lioness.
“Do you know what you did yesterday?
You almost blew up the school!
Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
After going home yesterday, the more she thought about it, the more scared she became.
If Great-Uncle hadn’t stepped in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
“It’s science,” Naoki mumbled weakly.
“Science my foot!” Tsunade didn’t believe that nonsense for a second.
“Don’t think I don’t know; that wasn’t Water Release at all!
Be honest, where did you learn that strange Ninjutsu?”
Naoki buried his head in his arms, not wanting to deal with her.
“Hey!
Say something!” Tsunade persisted relentlessly.
“Tsunade, forget it, forget it.” Jiraiya hurried over and pulled back the rampaging Tsunade.
“Boss Naoki must have become like this to practice some incredible Ninjutsu.
We should support him!”
Jiraiya had now become Naoki’s number one fan.
In his view, being able to unleash such a cool and powerful Ninjutsu at the entrance ceremony was every boy’s dream!
“Senju Naoki-kun,” Orochimaru also leaned in eerily, his golden slitted pupils shimmering with a thirst for knowledge.
“Regarding the ‘physical plasma phenomenon,’ I have some questions.
According to the law of conservation of energy, converting liquid water into plasma requires an extremely massive energy input.
How did you complete this energy conversion within your eight-year-old body?
Is there something special about your cellular structure?”
Naoki: “…”
He felt his head hurting even more.
A violent girl, a brainless fan, and a science maniac.
This life was unbearable.
Looking at these three very different faces, a thought suddenly popped into Naoki’s head.
He just wanted to be a salted fish in peace, but this broken system obviously wouldn’t let him have his way.
There would surely be no shortage of trouble in the future.
Dealing with it alone was too tiring.
Maybe…
he could develop a few reliable lackeys to help him handle these troubles?
His gaze swept back and forth across the future legendary Sannin.
Tsunade: violent girl, temper too explosive, pass.
Even though they were relatives, if they ever disagreed, he might get punched into a wall.
Orochimaru: science maniac, gaze too creepy, pass.
God knows if he’d try to slice him up for research while he was sleeping one day.
Then, the only one left was…
Naoki’s gaze finally locked onto the white-haired spiky-head who was still grinning foolishly.
Hmm, he looked like he’d be easy to fool.
Plus, he was loyal enough, hot-blooded enough, and could serve as a meat shield at critical moments.
The perfect candidate for a lackey!
“Jiraiya.” Naoki slowly lifted his head, looking at him with a profound gaze.
“Ah?
Yes!
Boss Naoki, what are your orders?” Jiraiya immediately straightened his back.
Naoki pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.
It was a corner he had torn off Tobirama’s report, with a few formulas scribbled on it that he didn’t even understand himself.
He handed the slip of paper to Jiraiya and said calmly, “These are some of my recent insights on cultivation regarding ‘Chakra mass-energy conversion.’ Take it.
How much you can comprehend depends on your own luck.”
Jiraiya treated it like a priceless treasure, taking the slip with trembling hands, his face flushed with excitement.
“Th-thank you, Boss!
I will definitely study it well!”
Watching Jiraiya run back to his seat to study a piece of scrap paper as if he had obtained a secret martial arts manual, Naoki nodded in satisfaction.
Mm, lackey cultivation plan, step one: success.
With a lackey, his future salted fish life should be much easier, right?
Thinking this, Naoki happily slumped back onto the desk.
However, what he didn’t know was that in the eyes of others, this action was interpreted in a completely different way.
A child of the Hyuga Clan saw this scene with his Byakugan and reported to the Clan Head: “The Hokage’s grandson, Senju Naoki, is unfathomable.
Not only is he exceptionally gifted, but he has also begun to mentor his peers, selflessly passing on his insights into ‘Scientific Ninjutsu’ to his companions.
This boy possesses the air of a king!”
…..