The next day, the butler informed Aota of his father's intentions. Aota readily accepted the private tutor's instruction.
However, regarding the matter of inviting Riku to a banquet, Aota didn't understand the reasoning, but he could vaguely guess his father's attitude toward it.
"Since Father is having me do this, it must be because, one, I'm familiar with Riku, and two, he wants to show this isn't a major issue. Otherwise, he wouldn't entrust it to me."
"That is correct, Young Master."
"Please tell Father that I will invite Riku, but not until I have defeated him! I believe that day is drawing nearer!"
With that, Aota turned and left for school without a backward glance.
In the classroom, their teacher, Mr. Oshima, addressed the students.
"Everyone, today let's welcome a new student. With his outstanding talent and diligent hard work, he has successfully enrolled in the Ninja Academy. Let's welcome--Might Guy!"
A green figure walked into the classroom.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Might Guy! I'm delighted to meet you all, and I hope my youth can clash splendidly with all of yours!"
"To be unyielding, tenacious, and to charge forward through hardship and adversity--that is what youth is all about!"
"I hope for your support in the days to come, and I will work even harder to let my youth bloom!"
… (200 words omitted here) …
By the time Shikamizu, who was wearing earplugs, had already woken from a nap, Guy was finally "invited" off the stage by Mr. Oshima.
Guy saw that the seats next to Riku were already taken, so he sat down beside Kakashi.
Just as Guy was about to say something to Kakashi, Kakashi lifted his dead-fish eyes and said flatly…
"Youth-obsessed idiot, pay attention to the lesson."
Guy fell silent.
Obito, who had witnessed the whole thing, was slapping his thigh, struggling to hold back his laughter.
"Did you see that, Riku? Every villain meets their match! A stuck-up guy like Kakashi is completely shut down by the new kid, Guy! Hahaha!"
He was so loud that even Mr. Oshima on the lecture platform glanced over at him repeatedly.
"Yes, I saw, Comrade Loudspeaker. But if you're going to slap a thigh, why not slap your own? Why mine?"
With that, Riku gave Obito a light smack on the head.
"Pay attention in class and train properly. Just look at what's become of your grades!"
Hearing this, Obito lowered his head, but his expression remained unconcerned.
"This great one is just biding his time. Once I awaken my eyes, I'll catch up to you all in minutes."
Seeing that Obito was still unrepentant, Riku couldn't be bothered to say any more. In contrast, Aota, sitting beside Obito, was as serious and focused as ever.
And so, a month passed.
During that month, Riku didn't stop his training. In fact, he, Kakashi, and Guy began training with double the intensity.
Kakashi had shown them the Hatake clan's body conditioning method, passed down by Sakumo, but Riku and Guy discovered as soon as they tried it that it conflicted with their Strong Fist style of training.
In other words, only Kakashi could achieve twice the results with half the effort. For Riku and Guy, it was twice the effort for half the results.
But the two were not discouraged. As their physical fitness improved, their training volume grew, and the weights they carried became heavier.
Riku once again became a frequent customer at the Uchiha Ninja Tool Shop that month, often purchasing training supplies.
The rewards, however, were gratifying. Riku could clearly sense that his body had grown significantly stronger, and his chakra reserves had increased severalfold compared to before.
What pleased Riku most were the extra gains from the system. Over the past month, through a combination of coaxing, tricking, threatening, and cajoling, he had managed to touch the heads of most of his classmates.
A large portion of them only yielded "10,000 to 50,000 Ryo." Little by little, it added up, and Riku used this huge sum for training and daily expenses. The rest was stored in the system's space for emergencies.
The more well-known students, however, dropped some excellent items.
Touching Ebisu's head yielded "Basic Knowledge Mastery."
Touching Shiranui Genma's head yielded "Senbon Throwing Method."
Touching Sarutobi Asuma's head yielded "Minor Physical Enhancement."
Touching Yamanaka Inobun's head yielded "Yamanaka Secret Technique: Perception."
Riku dared to choose the Yamanaka secret technique because it was extremely powerful and its use wouldn't draw the attention of others.
The effect of "Perception" was: By closing one's eyes and releasing chakra, one could sense the enemy's position, number, and characteristics. With enough proficiency, one could even grasp the enemy's speed in great detail.
Riku was ecstatic when he saw this technique.
"This is a rare sensory ninjutsu. Although it can't compare to the Uzumaki clan's 'Mind's Eye of the Kagura,' it's more than enough for scouting enemies."
"And it won't expose my identity when I use it, so I don't have to worry about being tracked." Thus, Riku chose "Perception" without a moment's hesitation.
"System, open my personal panel."
Host: Uchiha Riku
Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Great Waterfall Technique, Headhunter Jutsu, Earth-Style Wall, Shadow Clone Technique, Telescope Technique, Shadow Shuriken Technique, Water Formation Wall, Perception (Too many jutsu. To avoid padding the word count, some will be omitted from now on.)
Taijutsu: Konoha's Strong Fist, Senbon Throwing Method
Genjutsu: None
Chakra: One percent of a Kaka (One percent of the chakra reserves of elite jonin Kakashi Hatake. While you can't unleash ninjutsu freely, casting five or six won't leave you exhausted.)
Strength: Elite Genin
Many other enhancements, such as "Physical Boost" and "Kage-Level Hand Seal Speed," while not displayed on the panel, had tangibly become part of Riku's strength.
Looking at his accomplishments over the past month, it would be a lie to say Riku wasn't happy. But for some reason, he had recently been feeling a vague, persistent sense of crisis, as if someone was lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.
And then there was Uchiha Aota. He was no longer just watching from the shadows. For the past month, Riku could constantly feel Aota's improvement, and the fighting spirit in his eyes grew ever more intense.
To increase his strength and prepare for the impending crisis, Riku decided to initiate a plan he had long dreamed of--mastering the Rasengan!
There were three reasons. First, the issue of precedence. At this point, Minato was likely still a jonin, practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique. The Rasengan was a jutsu Minato developed *after* mastering that technique to increase his offensive power. If Riku learned it now, he could potentially develop it even before Minato.
Second, the difficulty. The Rasengan was an A-rank ninjutsu, yet the training method was fully demonstrated in the anime through Jiraiya, which greatly reduced the difficulty of learning it.
Third, its practicality. As a ninjutsu that requires no hand seals, its fast execution and high power are obvious advantages. Not only that, but it could be infused with wind-nature chakra to form the Rasenshuriken, giving it extremely high growth potential.
In conclusion, the Rasengan was the perfect choice for Riku to learn.
According to Jiraiya's method, mastering the Rasengan required three steps.
One, mastering rotation. Use chakra to burst a water balloon.
Two, increasing power. Use chakra to burst a rubber ball.
Three, maintaining form. Combine the first two steps and create a shell around the chakra. Only then is the Rasengan truly learned.
Anyone who has watched Naruto would be familiar with this training method. Back then, Naruto trained tirelessly for a month to finally master the Rasengan.
Having made his decision, Riku would naturally give it his all. While Guy and Kakashi practiced their taijutsu and swordplay, Riku began his training with the Rasengan.
Riku understood that it took Naruto a month just to master the trick of using a shadow clone to help form the sphere.
But with his "Kage-Level Chakra Control," he could achieve the necessary shape transformation with much greater ease. Therefore, he could achieve a truly instantaneous Rasengan--a zero-frame startup!
To increase his training time, Riku even created two shadow clones--one to attend morning classes, the other to practice the Rasengan with him.
Soon, half a month had passed.
Looking at the high-speed, light blue chakra sphere spinning in his hand, Riku's eyes filled with satisfaction.
He gently pushed it against a tree trunk.
The bark instantly shattered, and then the trunk itself splintered and broke apart under the immense rotational force!
*THUD!* The heavy trunk crashed to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
"I did it!"
Hearing the loud crash, Guy and Kakashi rushed over.
"Riku, did you finally succeed?"
"Yes! Let me show you!"
Riku held out his right hand. A light blue sphere instantly formed, spinning at an incredible speed and radiating a dangerous aura!
"I've never seen this jutsu before," Kakashi said. "What's it called?"
"I call it the Rasengan."
"Huh? Even Kakashi has never seen it! Is this a jutsu you created yourself, Riku?!" Guy exclaimed.
"That's right! Want to learn it? I can teach you." And so, Riku taught the two of them the training method for the Rasengan. After all, they would both become elite jonin in the future and would have plenty of opportunities to learn A-rank ninjutsu, so it made no difference whether he taught them now or later.
Just as Riku was explaining how to train the Rasengan, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out, filling him with excitement.
*DING!*
*Host has been detected successfully self-training an A-rank ninjutsu. Strength has advanced to Chunin. The novice period has ended. Distributing graduation gift pack now!*
***