School life was interesting for mentally childish children.
School life was boring for the psychologically precocious Uchiha Itachi.
The former didn't have many thoughts; they just wanted to make more friends and play with more people.
The latter found the former extremely childish. His mature mindset made it impossible for Uchiha Itachi to integrate with his peers. He appeared reticent and bad at communication. Although he was pursued by girls who liked the cool and handsome type, he was simultaneously isolated by all the boys in the class.
In comparison, Yagyu became a popular figure loved by both boys and girls in the class.
Like Aizen, he hid his true personality and was shaping the image of a model student.
Facing the pestering of boys and girls, Yagyu responded with extreme patience. He even wasted time catering to them, which made Sarutobi Hiruzen, who observed him from time to time using the Telescope Technique, very satisfied. He truly believed that Yagyu had integrated into the group of his peers. Gradually, he relaxed his guard and reduced the frequency of his observations.
After getting familiar with his classmates and realizing that Sarutobi Hiruzen was no longer spying on him, Yagyu slowly distanced himself from the group.
While at school, he still got along well with them, but Yagyu refused all invitations from classmates after school using various reasons. The sincere apology on his face made the boys very understanding.
With the negotiation skills honed in society during his previous life, handling a bunch of kids was simply too easy for Yagyu.
After successfully detaching himself from the children's circle, Yagyu arranged for a Wood Clone to attend classes while his main body farmed proficiency in Wood Release and ninjutsu all day long.
Unknowingly, half a year passed.
During this period, the fact that Yagyu sent a Wood Clone to class while he sneaked off to the training ground to cultivate was discovered by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, Yagyu didn't panic at all. Since he dared to do this, he naturally had a prepared excuse.
Because the curriculum taught history, the first chapter was the Origin of Konoha, and the concept of the Will of Fire began to be popularized.
"Cultivating to protect the village and guard everyone's smiles"—this excuse was simply too perfect!
Those clear eyes that hadn't been defiled by the ninja world, that tender, cute, and serious little face, along with his determined words, made Sarutobi Hiruzen ecstatic.
Although he verbally scolded Yagyu lightly and required him to visit the school personally every few days, Sarutobi Hiruzen tacitly approved of his behavior and secretly gave him a few powerful ninjutsu as rewards.
Half a year of hard cultivation allowed Yagyu's data to slowly improve, accumulating over time.
[Name: Yagyu]
[Age: 8]
[Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release]
[Chakra Attributes: Yin, Yang, Five Elements]
[Wood Release: Level 3 (Proficiency: 92%)]
[Yin: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Yang: Level 3 (Proficiency: 2%)]
[Fire: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Water: Level 6 (Proficiency: 35%)]
[Earth: Level 6 (Proficiency: 3%)]
[Lightning: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Wind: Level 0 (Proficiency: 0%)]
[Bloodline Ninjutsu: Wood Release...]
[Ninjutsu: Water Release...]
[Experience Points: 0]
Level 3 was a watershed.
Yagyu was certain of this.
Not only did proficiency increase slower, but the amplification brought by breaking through was also unreasonably strong.
For the Kekkei Genkai, it was decent; the level increase only made the trees grow faster and the range of the jutsu larger.
But the improvement in Yang Release directly gave Yagyu a comprehensive boost.
Especially in terms of chakra volume and vitality. As his Yang Release level broke through to Level 3, Yagyu could finally generate green trees instead of lifeless withered wood.
Although there weren't many, adding a bit of green to the Deep Forest Emergence made it look less ugly.
"No, it should be said... every level of Yang Release is a watershed."
Yagyu said in a deep voice, "Yang Release represents the power of the physical body. If an ordinary person got the system, leveling up wouldn't improve them much. But I am different. I have Hashirama cells in my body, and they are perfectly assimilated, equivalent to having an incomplete Sage Body. So, my Yang Release leveling up is evolving my body toward a complete Sage Body."
"The Sage Body possesses the strongest vitality and physical energy in the ninja world. That is why every time I level up, my chakra and Wood Release get such a terrifying boost. Because Wood Release uses chakra as the source of life; the stronger the vitality contained in the chakra, the stronger the Wood Release power."
"Due to the Hashirama cells, my Yang Release is distinct from Yin and the Five Elements. It not only represents chakra nature transformation but also represents my constitution."
After this realization, Yagyu couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the comprehension conditions for Wood Release ninjutsu have such low requirements for the Yang Release level."
"As expected of the God of Shinobi. A portion of his cells combined with the system has granted me infinite possibilities."
Standing up and patting the dust off his body, Yagyu looked up at the sky, which was now fully daylight, and left the training ground to go home and shower.
After eating breakfast, Yagyu went to school in his main body for once.
Because today was a major exam.
Similar to the important midterms and monthly exams in his previous life, it was to test the students' growth and ranking.
"Yo, Yagyu, good morning!"
"You're late today. You're usually very early. Did you oversleep?"
"Yagyu, if you draw me for the Taijutsu exam, remember to go easy on me!"
"..."
In the classroom, the students were basically all present.
On the way to his seat, Yagyu wore a smile, raising his hand to respond to his classmates' greetings, looking very gentle and kind.
At the same time, Yagyu glanced at Uchiha Itachi out of the corner of his eye.
The isolated boy was reading a book quietly.
Seemingly sensing Yagyu's gaze, Uchiha Itachi looked up and met Yagyu's eyes. The two nodded at each other with tacit understanding, greeting each other politely.
Although in the past half-year, the two hadn't spoken a single word.
However, in various quizzes and theory exams, first and second place were dominated by Yagyu and Uchiha Itachi.
In terms of Shurikenjutsu, Uchiha Itachi was unmatched.
In terms of Taijutsu, Yagyu thrashed the whole class.
Theory and the Three Body Technique saw wins and losses for both sides.
The two were also the most handsome in the class, leading them to become famous figures in the whole school.
Yagyu had the best popularity, but Uchiha Itachi had the greatest fame.
It couldn't be helped; the gap between a commoner and the strongest clan in the ninja world was just that large.