Nearly a month passed as Hikaru began to adapt to the new world, its customs and culture, and the people around him. He started his training the day after his rest, and now it's already time to return to the academy.
Most of the building has already recovered from the devastating event. He could see the rebuilding progressing quickly as he walked past the town every day on his way to the training grounds and back home.
The lively atmosphere in the village has slowly returned. Many people left their homes and moved on with their lives. The recent incident was just one of the numerous tragic events that transpired following the third Shinobi War.
Despite the loss of loved ones, people remained hopeful. As long as Konohagakure (the Village Hidden in the Leaves) is still standing, they will continue to thrive and live on.
The most significant announcement of the past month was likely Sarutobi Hiruzen resuming his role as Konoha Hokage. Knowing the story's plot, Hikaru already anticipated this; additionally, no ninja village can endure without its most formidable Shinobi to safeguard or oversee it.
As soon as he returned to his duties, the Third Hokage established many remuneration schemes, one of which was to assist children who had lost their ninja parents while defending civilians from the Nine-Tails demon fox attacks.
The list also included his family, significantly alleviating his sister's burden.
After receiving the compensation, Hikaru could feel that his sister was doing a lot better, worrying less, and being more cheerful. She was still remorseful and cried sometimes when she was alone, trying to hide it from him.
As usual, she set up the barbecue meat stall in the market, despite receiving assistance from the village. Following his suggestion, her business flourished significantly. His special sauces did the trick, and people love them, especially the Akimichi clan.
Hikaru's relationship with his sister also improves a lot, at least from his perspective. At first, sometimes he would feel a bit awkward about the sudden presence of a sister he had never had before.
He was an orphan in his previous life, and this new relationship was something rather unexpected. However, as time went on, he felt closer to her day by day, and he began to accept this relationship from the bottom of his heart.
Getting up early to train was difficult for Hikaru in the first few days, but after a while, it became a normal routine.
His body clock has adjusted to the morning time, and these days he will wake himself up each morning without the alarm clock.
Hikaru returned to his home after the morning training session, taking care of his business quickly and dressing up to prepare to return to the academy.
Checking his attire in front of the mirror, Hikaru feels proud of himself. His training discipline was what worried him the most at the beginning, but surprisingly, it went well.
He had a history of laziness in his previous life, and attempting to change these habits can be quite challenging, as it requires stepping outside of one's comfort zone.
In this month alone, Hikaru made small improvements in many areas, but the one that feels the most improved is his chakra control.
When he combined this with the Tai Chi meditation training exercises, the results were exactly as he had anticipated. Hikaru's chakra control capability grew quickly, and now he can hold onto the leaf for a longer period of time, up to forty minutes.
The increase seems small; it could be due to his talents or his physical-spiritual imbalance. His physical part still couldn't keep up with the other part. Hikaru surmised that it could be due to his soul taking control, leading to an increase in spirit energy.
Hikaru could only speculate about the underlying cause, but he was not entirely certain.
His aim is to be able to hold the leaf on his forehead until he gets exhausted from doing it, or at least until he completes the Tai Chi exercises in two full rounds, which takes about an hour if he does it at a slow pace.
The only regret is that he couldn't get back to the miraculous state he felt on his first attempt at Tai Chi meditation training in this world.
Hikaru only took a day off on Sundays to rest from physical exercise. During this time, he only engages in meditation, studies fundamental books, and reviews his parents notes and previous lessons.
After adjusting his appearance and tidying up his messy hair, he went to prepare his backpack and books for the class.
Hikaru spotted the necessary books on the table. One of them, the introduction to the Hand Seals book he had reviewed, was particularly intriguing.
The academy had taught it right from the beginning. The illustrations in the Hand Seals book mirror those in the anime or manga. There are twelve basic seals, each named after a Chinese zodiac animal.
Together, these hand seals assist people in effectively summoning and molding the chakra required for a technique.
Every jutsu requires you to use different sequences of hand seals. Some jutsu require a minimal number of hand seals, while others require a significant number to execute a single jutsu.
If your skill level is high, you may be able to reduce some techniques to just one hand seal to complete the technique.
Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, serves as an example. He only needed to use one hand seal for his high-ranking water release jutsu.
Seeing these hand seals may look cool, but doing it himself makes him feel somewhat embarrassed. In his free time, Hikaru practiced these hand seals to get himself familiar with them.
He concentrated especially on the tiger hand seal, the sole prerequisite for the Shunshin no Jutsu (body flicker technique).
After backpacking everything and leaving his room for breakfast, Hikaru couldn't help but purse his lips, recalling the only jutsu he had practiced.
His progress with the body flicker technique has not been as impressive. After initially failing to perform a jutsu five to six times, Hikaru was only able to use it for a short distance before halting due to a headache or low chakra.
When Hikaru did successfully use the jutsu for the first time, though, he could describe himself as the happiest man alive. It was very enjoyable and helped keep him motivated to practice.
When he gains a deeper understanding of chakra theory and acquires the three basic jutsu from the academy, he will attempt to mold the chakra with more hand seals later in the future.
"Hikaru-kun, breakfast is ready!" Hikaru heard Ayako's voice as soon as he entered the kitchen. He was a bit taken aback by a sudden call and replied weakly, "I'm here already; no need to yell."
A line appeared between her brows as Ayako gazed at him with one of her hands on her hip and asked, "Have you prepared everything? You need to go back to the academy today."
"All here," Hikaru replied, showing his backpack in his hand as he got into his seat and started eating his fill. He likes his sister's cooking very much—a simple breakfast: fried rice, grilled fish meat, some eggs, vegetables, and miso soup. Just enough energy is required to start the day.
His sister was also eating the same thing, only with a lower amount than him, which made Hikaru wonder whether that would sustain her throughout the day.
After finishing his meal, he rests on the table, pulls out a leaf from his backpack, and holds it between his fingers.
Hikaru also chose to begin his training in wind transformation, the first of the three affinities he possesses. He had two wind-type jutsu on hand, and he thought it would be wise to start with them.
He proceeded with the same routine as described in the story, attempting to split the leaf in half. So far, his progress over the past month has only resulted in a minor nick on a small portion of the leaf. Hikaru could only wonder if the chakra induction paper was fake, as his progress seems slow.
Every day, the wind transformation exercise and the body flicker techniques he was practicing nearly depleted his chakra reserve. Hikaru made sure that he did not overexert it; this way, theoretically, his chakra reserve would continue to grow at a stable pace after a night of sleep.
Hikaru has not yet attempted to initiate his shape transformation practice, or genjutsu; for the same reason, he has refrained from initiating most of his ninjutsu practice. His chakra control was not effective enough yet.
While he was gazing at the leaf, Ayako glanced at the clock and urged him to hurry up.
"Stop messing around! You don't want to be late on your first day back."
She then gets up to clean the table and starts doing her morning chores before getting ready to set up the barbecue stall in the morning.
Hikaru could only get off the table and pick up his backpack, saying, "See you later, O-nee Chan."
"Okay," Ayako responded while doing laundry, realizing that Hikaru had almost left the house. She then quickly turned around and reminded him, "Don't forget to come home early today."
The sudden request causes Hikaru's brow to knit, and he asks, "Why? Do you need help with something?"
"Today is my birthday, Baka! Have you forgotten?" Ayako spoke loudly as a vein popped out in her neck.
'Oh, it seems I really did forget it.' Hikaru thought while scratching his cheek, then said,"Yeah, I'll come back quickly," and waved his hand good-bye.
While Hikaru was on his way to the Ninja Academy, he strolled past the town slowly and lost himself in deep thought.
Hikaru did start his fuinjutsu after obtaining a book from the Konoha library—an introduction to Kanji. He must master the fundamentals before progressing to more complex techniques.
Hikaru throwing techniques also came along nicely; he was able to hit with an accuracy of seven out of ten if he attempted to toss each one individually.
On the other hand, if he tried to throw three to four kunais or shurikens at the same time, it would be a complete disaster.
He could practice a variety of sensory skills and techniques in class, including the chakra suppression technique, among others. He was able to recall the details from his father's note.
This technique hides the user's or allies' chakra, rendering it undetectable, even to a sensor ninja. This technique proves useful when attempting to infiltrate an enemy.
Counting all the things he wanted to accomplish, Hikaru couldn't help but sigh. He had so much training to complete that he wished he could use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) as soon as possible.