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Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: A Small Boost Isn't Really Cheating

Hagawa soon met Shinku Yuhi.

The man sat with a stern face on the living room sofa, dressed in a black bodysuit and a green Jonin vest, looking extremely serious. Hagawa remembered that he had tragically died during the Nine-Tails Rampage.

"Sit," Shinku Yuhi said with a slight nod.

"Thank you, Uncle Shinku," Hagawa said politely.

"From now on, you will live here, and I will teach you genjutsu," Shinku explained, pausing for a moment. "This is an order from Lord Hokage."

Lord Hokage? Hagawa wondered. Could it be because of my [Innate Full Soul] Trait?

"Eh?" Kurenai, who was listening from the side, asked with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "Why?"

"Hagawa is naturally suited for genjutsu," Shinku replied. After receiving Hiruzen's notice, he had examined Hagawa himself and confirmed it to be true.

"Better than me? Didn't you say my talent for genjutsu was amazing?" Kurenai asked, puffing out her cheeks with her hands on her hips. Her exquisite face, now wearing an expression of defiance, looked adorably fierce.

Hagawa couldn't help but chuckle. In the original series, Kurenai had a rather strong personality, which was evident from her taste for strong liquor like shochu and vodka.

"Kurenai, you are already a student at the Ninja Academy. How can you compare yourself to Hagawa?" Shinku countered with a light cough. He wasn't lying to his daughter, but even among geniuses, there are vast differences.

"He's not a student?" Kurenai blurted out, stunned.

"Not at the moment," Shinku said, recalling the file Hiruzen had given him. "He has never even been exposed to the basics of being a ninja."

"Oh, I see." Kurenai turned her head to look at Hagawa. Her first impression was that he was incredibly handsome, like a finely crafted doll.

"Alright then!" Kurenai suddenly raised her voice, patting her chest. "From today on, I'll take care of you!"

She projected the air of a "big sister" gang leader, but paired with her doll-like face, it only came off as cute. If Shinku wasn't present, Hagawa would have loved to reach out and pinch her cheeks; they surely had to be incredibly soft.

But what should I call her? Big Sis Kurenai? Little Sis Kurenai? That sounds more like we're in some kind of senior citizens' club.

A fatherly smile appeared on Shinku's face. His gaze shifted from his daughter to Hagawa. "Let's eat first. Afterwards, I will teach you some ninja fundamentals."

"Is Hagawa not going to school?" Kurenai asked instinctively.

"He will," Shinku answered. "Lord Hokage has already arranged for him to join your class as a transfer student."

"Yay!" Kurenai suddenly became excited. In her mind, Hagawa was now her personal underling, and bringing him around would give her a lot of prestige.

Hagawa pondered for a moment. Who were the other ninja in Kurenai's year? The timeline in the original series is a bit messy, so I'm not entirely sure.

After the meal, Hagawa followed Shinku into the small courtyard outside the house. Kurenai tagged along, using "consolidating her basics" as an excuse, though she was actually just curious about Hagawa's talent.

"A ninja's first lesson is to knead chakra," Shinku explained, standing opposite Hagawa as he detailed the concept.

According to the Book of Confrontation databook, the combination of physical energy and spiritual energy is called stamina, which is the foundation for using taijutsu. The chakra that a ninja extracts is a non-elemental form converted from this stamina. By using hand seals, this chakra can be guided and processed—undergoing nature and shape transformation—to finally release a ninjutsu.

"Is there anything you don't understand?" Shinku asked, looking at Hagawa's focused expression.

Kneading chakra was taught at the Ninja Academy, but many students, especially those from ninja clans or with ninja parents, started early. Training in advance undoubtedly gave them an advantage at the Academy. A prime example was Kakashi Hatake from Kurenai's class. While others were learning the three basic Academy jutsu, he was already learning Earth Release. Besides his talent, the most important factor was that his father was Sakumo Hatake, Konoha's White Fang, which meant he never lacked for resources.

"No," Hagawa said, shaking his head.

"Then give it a try," Shinku said with anticipation. "Normally, it takes a month to learn how to knead chakra, but a genius only needs three days."

"It took me three days!" Kurenai quickly raised her little hand, her eager expression making sure Hagawa wouldn't miss her.

Is she really a genius? Hagawa thought. Come to think of it, she is. Her combat record was poor only because she had the bad luck of running into several monsters. But to be fair, over 99% of ninja couldn't do a thing against a monster like Itachi Uchiha. In short, Kurenai is a normal kind of genius.

Hagawa exhaled, focusing on controlling the physical energy produced by his one hundred and thirty trillion cells and the spiritual energy he inherently possessed. In the original series, spiritual energy referred to the accumulation of training and experience. But thanks to his [Innate Full Soul] Trait, Hagawa already had a significant amount of it.

"So fast!" Shinku's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What's so fast?" Kurenai asked, not comprehending for a moment.

"He has already successfully kneaded chakra," Shinku said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"How is that possible?!" Kurenai froze on the spot, completely petrified. If someone who takes three days is called a genius, what do you call someone who does it in three seconds? He was simply a monster.

At that moment, a tremor ran through Hagawa's body as excitement welled up within him. Before he could even rejoice over his newfound chakra, a notification for a new Trait arrived.

[New Trait has been acquired.]

[E-Rank Talent Trait: Ninja]

Activation Condition: Successfully knead chakra.

Effect: Increases the speed of kneading chakra by 10%.

Note: Has two possible evolution paths.

Path 1: Combine with E-Rank Trait [Three Academy Jutsu] and E-Rank Trait [Shurikenjutsu] to synthesize the D-Rank Trait [Average Genin].

Path 2: Combine with E-Rank Trait [Three Academy Jutsu], E-Rank Trait [Shurikenjutsu], and E-Rank Trait [Academy's Top Student] to synthesize the C-Rank Trait [Genius Genin].

Hagawa now roughly understood the system's logic. The conditions for triggering new Traits were likely based on his actions. This meant he could experiment with different behaviors in the future, which might lead to pleasant surprises.

The system had mentioned that certain special Traits could be evolved. [Ninja] was clearly one of them. The fact that the system provided two evolution paths gave him more freedom than he had imagined. Without a doubt, the effects of [Genius Genin] would far surpass those of [Average Genin].

However, dominating the Ninja Academy would be incredibly difficult. After all, Kakashi Hatake was in his year.

But it's not hopeless. And I don't want to be an ordinary person.

A small boost isn't really cheating, he thought. I'm a man with a system, after all!

Hagawa emerged from his state of deep meditation. He looked over at Kurenai and was taken aback. The little loli now looked like a frost-bitten eggplant, her long, curly hair seeming to droop with disappointment.

So pinchably cute, he thought.

"Congratulations, Hagawa," Shinku said with a wide smile.

Hagawa had been entrusted to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and with such incredible talent, his family's future was now secure.

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