Hanekawa soon met Shinku Yuhi.
The man sat stiffly on the living room sofa, dressed in a black shinobi bodysuit and a green Jonin flak jacket.
He looked exceptionally stern.
Hanekawa remembered that this man would unfortunately lose his life during the future Nine-Tails’ Attack.
“Take a seat,” Shinku said, nodding slightly.
“Thank you, Shinku-ojisan,” Hanekawa replied politely.
“You will be living here from now on, and I will be teaching you Genjutsu,” Shinku paused, explaining, “These are the orders of the Hokage-sama.” The Hokage?
Hanekawa thought to himself.
Could it be because of the ‘Innate Full Soul’ trait?
“Eh?” Kurenai Yuhi, who was listening in, asked with a mix of surprise and curiosity.
“Why?” “Hanekawa is a natural-born prodigy when it comes to Genjutsu.” After receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi’s notice, Shinku had examined Hanekawa himself and confirmed it to be true.
“Even better than me?
Didn’t you say my talent for Genjutsu was incredible?” Kurenai placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.
Her delicate face twisted into a defiant pout, making her look adorable yet fiercely competitive.
Hanekawa couldn’t help but chuckle.
Kurenai’s personality in the original series was quite strong—which made sense, considering her canonical fondness for shochu and vodka later in life.
“Kurenai, you are already a student at the Academy.
How can you compare yourself to Hanekawa?” Shinku cleared his throat and countered.
He wasn’t lying to Kurenai, but even among geniuses, there were levels.
“Wait, isn’t he a student?” Kurenai blinked, asking impulsively.
“Not yet,” Shinku recalled the file Hiruzen had given him.
“He hasn’t even been introduced to the basics of shinobi knowledge.” “Oh, I see.” Kurenai turned her gaze back to Hanekawa.
Her first impression was that he was incredibly good-looking—finely sculpted, like some kind of exquisite doll.
“Alright then!” Kurenai suddenly raised her voice, patting her chest proudly.
“From today on, I’ll look after you!” She tried to exude the aura of a big sister, but when paired with her doll-like face, it just came across as pure cuteness.
If Shinku weren’t standing right there, Hanekawa would have loved to reach out and pinch her cheeks.
They looked incredibly soft.
But how should he address her?
Kurenai-nee?
Kurenai-chan?
Shinku wore a classic, doting fatherly smile.
Shifting his gaze from Kurenai to Hanekawa, he said, “Let’s eat first.
After that, I will teach you some of the basic fundamentals of being a shinobi.” “Isn’t Hanekawa going to school?” Kurenai asked instinctively.
“He is,” Shinku answered.
“The Hokage-sama has already arranged it.
He will be joining your class as a transfer student.” “Awesome!” Kurenai suddenly became excited.
In her mind, Hanekawa was officially her little follower now.
Dragging him along with her when she went out would definitely give her massive bragging rights.
Hanekawa fell into deep thought.
Who else is in Kurenai’s graduating class?
The timeline in the original work was notoriously messy, so he couldn’t be entirely certain.
After the meal, Hanekawa followed Shinku out into the small courtyard behind the house.
Kurenai tags along too, claiming she wanted to ‘review the basics,’ but in reality, she was just curious about Hanekawa’s talent.
“A shinobi’s very first lesson is chakra refinement.” Shinku stood opposite Hanekawa, explaining the concept of chakra.
Chakra was a mix of physical energy and spiritual energy.
By using hand signs, a shinobi could guide and process this chakra, triggering changes in form and nature to ultimately unleash ninjutsu.
“Is there anything you don’t understand?” Shinku asked, looking at the attentive Hanekawa.
Chakra refinement was taught at the Academy, but many students got a head start—especially those from prominent shinobi clans or those whose parents were active ninja.
Training early undoubtedly gave them a massive advantage at school.
Take Hatake Kakashi in Kurenai’s class, for example.
While others were still struggling with the basic Three Academy Jutsu, he was already learning Earth Style.
Aside from raw talent, the biggest reason was that his father was the White Fang of the Leaf, Sakumo Hatake, ensuring he never lacked resources.
“No, I understand,” Hanekawa shook his head.
“Then give it a try,” Shinku said expectantly.
“Generally speaking, refining chakra for the first time takes about a month.
True geniuses only need three days.” “I only took three days, you know!” Kurenai quickly raised her hand, her eager expression practically begging Hanekawa to notice her.
Is she really a genius?
Thinking about it carefully, Kurenai actually was.
Her poor win-loss record later on was simply due to her terrible luck in running into absolute monsters.
But truth be told, against a freak of nature like Itachi Uchiha, 99% of ordinary shinobi would be utterly helpless.
In short, Kurenai was a genius by normal standards.
Hanekawa exhaled slowly, focusing on controlling the physical energy generated by the 130 trillion cells in his body, as well as his own innate spiritual energy.
Due to the Innate Full Soul trait, he possessed far more spiritual energy than the average person.
“So fast!” Shinku suddenly raised an eyebrow, speaking in shock.
“What’s fast?” Kurenai didn’t react immediately.
“He has already refined chakra.” Shinku’s tone carried a hint of profound excitement.
“How is that possible?!” Kurenai froze on the spot, completely turned to stone.
If managing it in three days made someone a genius, what did you call someone who did it in three seconds?
A literal monster.
Right then, Hanekawa’s body shuddered as a wave of excitement surged within him.
Before he could even celebrate the success of his chakra refinement, a new notification materialized.
[New trait acquired.] [E-Rank Talent Trait: Shinobi.] [Trigger Condition: Successful Chakra Refinement.] [Effect: Chakra refinement speed increased by 10%.] [Note: Possesses two synthesis pathways.] [Pathway 1: Combine with E-Rank Trait ‘Three Academy Jutsu’ and E-Rank Trait ‘Weapon Tool Throwing’ to synthesize D-Rank Trait: ‘Average Genin’.] [Pathway 2: Combine with E-Rank Trait ‘Three Academy Jutsu’, E-Rank Trait ‘Weapon Tool Throwing’, and E-Rank Trait ‘Top of the Class’ to synthesize C-Rank Trait: ‘Genius Genin’.] Hanekawa roughly understood the system’s logic now.
The conditions for triggering new traits were mostly tied to his actions.
This meant he could experiment with different behaviors in the future to fish for surprises.
According to the system’s initial explanation, certain special traits could be evolved and synthesized.
Shinobi was clearly one of them.
And the fact that the system provided multiple synthesis pathways meant it was far more flexible than he had initially expected.
Without a doubt, the effects of a Genius Genin would vastly outperform an Average Genin.
But dominating the Academy was going to be an uphill battle.
After all, Hatake Kakashi was in this exact generation.
Still, it wasn’t impossible.
He had no intention of staying an average nobody anyway.
A minor cheat isn’t really cheating.
After all, he was a man with a system!
Hanekawa snapped out of his meditative state.
Looking at Kurenai, he couldn’t help but pause.
The little loli looked completely deflated, her slightly wavy long hair drooping like a wilted flower.
How cute.
“Congratulations, Hanekawa,” Shinku said with a wide smile.
Hanekawa had been handed to him directly by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
With such monstrous talent, their family had essentially secured a powerful future guarantee.