“You’re being ridiculous.”
Asahi curled his lip in disdain.
“Do you think I’m stupid or something?”
This little girl certainly had some grand plans.
He had only just refined his chakra, and the amount he had was tiny and barely enough to do anything at all.
Of course he would win easily – that was obvious.
But if for some strange reason he lost, he would end up making a complete fool of himself.
Getting beaten by a six-year-old girl would be far more humiliating and upsetting than getting beaten by a wild monkey!
However, just as Asahi was about to refuse her request, the familiar voice of the system suddenly rang out in his mind once again:
[Ding.
As the future Spirit King who governs the three realms, your legendary journey will be filled with challenges at every step.
You must show that you fear no challenge from any Shinigami!
Mission Issued: Defeat the challenger, Rumi Ochiai!
Mission Reward: Hadō #1.
Shō!]
Asahi: “…”
Good news: the system had given him another mission.
Bad news: it seemed the system really was full of bugs and errors, just as he had suspected.
Who on earth was Rumi Ochiai?
He had absolutely no idea…
But then again, if the system could mistake the Ninja Academy for the Shin’ō Academy, it was hardly surprising that it could also mistake Yūhi for some stranger he had never heard of…
Rumi Ochiai was probably just some random background character or extra from the world of Bleach, wasn’t she?
Pushing that confusing detail aside, Asahi immediately changed his tone, acting as if he had never intended to refuse her in the first place.
“But having said that…”
He spoke with great confidence and made it sound as if he was doing this entirely for Yūhi’s own good.
“Uncle Shinku said that anyone who can refine chakra within a few days is already considered a genius.
And I did it in just ten seconds – which makes me a genius among geniuses.”
“If we keep putting this off for too long, it won’t be fair to you at all.
Besides, you might even try to back out of the agreement later.
So I accept your challenge.
We’ll have our match tonight!”
Well, now that the system had given him a proper mission, how could he possibly refuse it?
Even though the reward was only the lowest-level attack spell in existence, getting something was still better than getting nothing at all.
This silly little girl really had no idea what she was getting herself into.
So what if she had been refining her chakra for half a year already?
She was still just a little girl, wasn’t she?
He could defeat her and prove his superiority in seconds!
“Really!?” Yūhi didn’t care at all that Asahi clearly looked down on her and thought he would win easily.
Right now, the most important thing was to settle once and for all who was the older and who was the younger.
Putting her hands firmly on her hips, she declared, “Then it’s settled!
Neither of us is allowed to go back on our word!
Father, you have to be our witness and make sure everything is fair!”
Shinku Yūhi glanced at Asahi, simply smiled, and nodded.
“Alright then, I’ll be your witness.”
Asahi reached out and gently ruffled Yūhi’s hair, patting her head affectionately.
“Yūhi, you should just accept your role as the little sister quietly and obediently.
Yūhi slapped his hand away and let out a soft huff.
“Who wins and who loses is still up in the air!
We’ll just have to wait and see!”
…
Afternoon
After finishing lunch, Asahi went back to the backyard to continue refining and building up his chakra reserves.
Feeling the energy flowing smoothly inside his body, Asahi stroked his chin and muttered quietly to himself, “I really do have to take things step by step and work my way up.
Natural talent only determines what you can achieve in the future.”
“Even if you have great talent, you still need time to develop it and make it work for you.
Having a head start and being stronger than others in the beginning doesn’t mean you can just sit around doing nothing and still get stronger automatically…”
It was most likely due to his outstanding natural talent that Asahi was able to refine chakra quite quickly.
However, because his body had not fully developed yet, and also because this was his very first time refining chakra, the total amount he had stored within him was still quite low.
It probably wasn’t even enough to support the use of an E-Rank ninjutsu…
Asahi came to this conclusion.
“Does my body still need time to adjust and adapt?
In the original story, Kakashi graduated from the Academy at the age of five and was already at the level of a Genin back then.
There’s no way he only had such a small amount of chakra as I do right now…”
Having figured this out, Asahi felt much more at ease.
He knew he just had to take things one step at a time.
The fact that the system had activated successfully and its rewards actually worked had already made him incredibly happy and satisfied.
He never expected or hoped that the system would simply grant him invincibility or overwhelming power right from the start…
The system had made its purpose very clear: he was meant to walk step by step along the path that would lead him to the legendary status of the Spirit King.
By design, the system would never allow him to reach the peak in one single leap…
Asahi then turned his thoughts to something else entirely: how was he going to defeat Yūhi in their match later that evening?
This was a battle he absolutely had to win.
The very thought of having to call a little girl “older sister” was terrifying enough to make his skin crawl!
During these past two months, Asahi had never seen Yūhi learning any formal ninjutsu or combat techniques from Shinku Yūhi.
Her daily routine only consisted of basic physical training and refining chakra – doing just enough to let the amount of chakra inside her body grow steadily over time.
After all, she was only a six-year-old child, and laying a solid foundation was the most important thing for her right now.
Still, there was no denying that Yūhi had a larger amount of chakra and a stronger physical condition than Asahi did.
But that was pretty much the only advantage she held over him.
She hadn’t learned any ninjutsu or fighting skills yet, so she was completely unable to make full use of that advantage.
As for Asahi…
well, back in his previous life, when he had nothing better to do to pass the time, he had actually signed up and trained at a martial arts gym.
He might not have mastered high-level combat techniques, but he definitely knew a thing or two about how to fight effectively.
On top of that, he could control the chakra inside his body freely and precisely.
Even though the amount he had was still small, this was a huge advantage for him.
When it came down to it, he had this match completely in the bag!
Just then, Shinku Yūhi walked over towards him and raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve never seen you work this hard before.
But remember, too much of something is just as bad as too little.
You’ve only just started refining chakra, so be careful not to injure your body.”
Asahi spread his hands helplessly.
“I can’t really afford to lose to Yūhi, can I?
As the older brother, I’d never be able to live down the shame of something like that!”
“And yet you still agreed to have your match with her tonight?
Right now, she’s probably wracking her brain trying to figure out every possible way to beat you…”
“Pressure is what creates motivation.
It’s good for her, and it’s good for me too.”
Shinku Yūhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and he teased him playfully.
“To be honest, I’d actually love to see what it would look like if you lost to Yūhi and had to call her ‘older sister’.
I bet that would be quite an amusing sight…”
The corner of Asahi’s mouth twitched slightly.
“That is highly unlikely to ever happen.”
After pausing for a moment, Asahi suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, Uncle Shinku, I just thought of a new way to use chakra.
Do you think this method would actually work?”
Shinku Yūhi looked surprised and curious.
“Oh?
And what method is that?”
“Besides using chakra to cast ninjutsu, it should also be possible to use it directly to strengthen physical attacks, right?
For example, if I release chakra instantly from specific points in my body the exact moment I land a hit, would that make my attack more powerful and destructive?”
Hearing this, Shinku Yūhi was absolutely stunned.
“Did you come up with this idea all by yourself?”
Of course it was possible!
Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, was especially famous and skilled for using exactly this kind of fighting technique.
Asahi had actually thought of this on his own?
What kind of monstrous genius was this child?
Asahi nodded calmly.
“It just popped into my head out of nowhere.”
Of course, that wasn’t exactly true.
As someone who came from another world, Asahi had a very active imagination and way of thinking.
Plus, he had seen exactly how this type of chakra manipulation was used in the original story.
Both Tsunade and the members of the Hyūga clan were masters of this art, though they focused on different aspects – one focused on delivering devastating blows, while the other focused on striking precise pressure points.
The real reason he was asking Shinku Yūhi about this was that he had actually tried doing it just a moment ago, but…
the effect had been practically non-existent.
He wanted to learn from Shinku Yūhi, who was a fully qualified Jōnin, and see if he could offer any useful guidance or suggestions.
If he could master this technique, his victory in tonight’s match would be even more guaranteed!
Yes, Asahi was nothing if not thorough and cautious!
This kid really is a true genius!
Shinku Yūhi took a deep breath and nodded seriously.
“What you said is completely correct.
Tsunade, one of the three legendary Sannin, is a ninja who specializes in exactly this kind of technique.”
“However, mastering it is far from easy.
It requires precise control over your chakra, perfect timing, and the ability to carefully regulate exactly how much chakra you use.
To be honest, even I haven’t reached a level where I can use this technique properly…”
Knowing the general principle behind something and actually being able to do it are two completely different things.
Take the Rasengan as an example.
Its basic principle is simply to gather chakra in the palm of your hand, make it flow continuously in different directions while compressing it, and eventually form a dense ball of rapidly spinning energy.
It sounds simple enough when you explain it like that, doesn’t it?
But without a proper teacher to guide you, anyone who tries to learn it on their own will end up getting nowhere fast!
“Schedule”
Monday – Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday – Sunday – Off