One week later.
Lying on his bed, Shinichi's gaze rested quietly on the new line of green text that had appeared on his personal panel:
[Ninjutsu Proficiency (Green): Your speed in learning and mastering ninjutsu is increased. Your perception and application of chakra shape transformation and nature transformation are significantly enhanced, allowing you to learn and stably perform ninjutsu of corresponding attributes faster.]
The effect of the trait was undoubtedly strong, and it would be a huge help for his future cultivation.
However, while Shinichi's face remained calm and expressionless, he could not hide the disappointment in his heart.
It wasn't blue; it was only green.
Why? Was the sensation he caused not enough?
Or was it that the time was too short, and the degree of cognitive fermentation was insufficient?
He quickly dismissed both ideas.
Although after the event, the Konoha higher-ups had controlled the spread of specific information regarding the opening ceremony to some extent for protection and secrecy.
Even so, the intensity and breadth of the sensation caused by the event itself were definitely no less than the battle where he defeated Kakashi and established his name as a genius years ago.
So, where was the problem?
As Shinichi's thoughts flowed, his gaze inadvertently swept over the words [Ninja Academy Student] in the profession column. An almost forgotten detail suddenly flashed through his mind—it was the prompt that had appeared on the panel when the two profession traits, [Ninja Academy Student] and [Apprentice Swordsmanship], were first generated:
[Based on the [Swordsman] profession being unlocked, from now on, the cognitive conversion efficiency of others' perceptions of your related talents is determined by your profession level. When the profession level reaches the maximum...]
[The profession level determines the conversion efficiency of others' perceptions of your related talents...]
Shinichi had a sudden realization.
That's right. Unlike [Genius], which was a general-domain trait not limited to a profession, [Ninjutsu Proficiency] was a trait that clearly belonged to the category of ninja talent.
And what was his current corresponding ninja profession level?
It was [Ninja Academy Student], the most basic and entry-level student rank in the ninja system.
This profession level limited the conversion efficiency of perceptions regarding related talents.
Even if the outside world developed a strong perception of him being a ninjutsu genius, limited by his current professional platform, this massive cognitive effect could not be efficiently converted into a higher-tier blue trait, ultimately condensing only into green.
This also explained why [Basic Taijutsu (White)] had been slow to upgrade, because taijutsu also belonged to the realm of ninja talent.
As for the battle with Kakashi, the focus of the outside world's attention was also on the second match of swordsmanship. Thus, [Basic Swordsmanship (White)], which belonged to the swordsman profession's talent, was also in the apprentice stage.
However, because of that frontal collision with the Hatake Swordsmanship, he had used the legendary stepping stone of "Hatake Swordsmanship." The quality of the perception obtained was completely different, allowing it to break through to green in one go.
"It seems I'll have to pay more attention in the future."
A faint sigh of emotion drifted through Shinichi's heart.
But even if he had known about this limitation beforehand, would he have changed his choice?
No.
Shinichi's gaze became calm once more. For him, the power he could grasp in his hands first was the best power.
The substantive improvement brought by the green trait [Ninjutsu Proficiency] was immediate, which was far more valuable than an ethereal blue trait that might not even be generated due to insufficient conditions.
Moreover, realistically speaking, even if he waited until graduation for [Ninja Academy Student] to upgrade to [Genin] and for the professional conversion efficiency to increase, he might not encounter another perfect cognitive explosion point like the opening ceremony in the future, which gathered the eyes of the entire school's teachers and students, and even the Konoha higher-ups.
By then, trying to trigger a cognitive sensation of the same scale would likely be even more difficult, and the harvest might not be greater than this time.
There are gains and losses; although this plan did not achieve the most ideal goal, the substantive benefits obtained, as well as the important understanding of the system's rules, were already precious.
Not to mention, the fact that he created the Rasengan at the age of nine was already set in stone. This matter would continue to spread, continuously bringing him corresponding perception.
When the time was right, his comprehensive ninjutsu trait would eventually upgrade to blue rank.
He closed the panel and shut his eyes.
'Green it is, then.'
'The next step was to advance the graduation process.'
---
Three days later, Shinichi officially submitted an application for early graduation to the Ninja Academy.
After this news spread, the reaction was quite subtle—hardly anyone was surprised. Instead, there was a sense of "that's only right" and "it should have been this way long ago." Many people even muttered privately: Why did he only apply now?
This general mindset was easy to understand. In the eyes of most people, Higashino Shinichi should have graduated long ago.
The "genius who defeated Kakashi"—this title had been ringing out since over two years ago.
And now, that former defeated opponent, Kakashi Hatake, had already been promoted to Chunin and had been active on missions for nearly three years.
In contrast, Shinichi had been staying quietly in school, which actually seemed somewhat unreasonable.
Not to mention the Rasengan he independently developed, which shocked the entire venue at the opening ceremony a few days ago.
An A-rank hand-seal-less ninjutsu, with potential even touching the threshold of S-rank... Achievements of this level had long since far exceeded the scope of what a Ninja Academy student should have.
In everyone's eyes, for such a monster who continuously created miracles and whose talent and strength were beyond doubt to continue staying in the Ninja Academy and following the rules to learn the basics was simply a waste of time and talent.
His application for early graduation was not news; the fact that he waited until now to apply was instead a small mystery.
Thus, when the application was officially submitted, everything seemed natural and calm, as if this was just making something happen that should have happened long ago.
---
But when this application was officially submitted and placed on the Hokage's desk, one person felt a bit troubled by it—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had no doubt whether Shinichi could pass the graduation exam; that didn't even need to be considered.
His original plan was focused on long-term bond cultivation. He had observed that Shinichi had a harmonious relationship with his classmates, especially his seatmates Shizune and Ishizuka Takashi.
He had planned to wait until their class graduated normally to arrange these children into the same squad, letting the friendship formed during their youth further deepen and solidify during missions. This aligned with his long-held philosophy of valuing "comrades."
He hadn't expected Shinichi to actively apply for early graduation. Seeing him stay quietly in the Ninja Academy for the past two years, he thought he would complete his studies step by step... This suddenly disrupted the Third Hokage's preliminary plan.
"What kind of teammates should I arrange for him?"
The Third Hokage tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, falling into thought.
'Kakashi?'
This name flashed through his mind, but it was immediately rejected.
For Kakashi, he had other arrangements. Moreover, that child now looked like a mission machine with a closed-off heart and almost no emotion.
Letting him team up with Shinichi would likely not only fail to establish a bond but might instead affect or even contaminate this seedling he thought highly of, whose temperament was sunny.
Their teaming up might have to wait until the more distant future, after Kakashi had changed somewhat.
After a moment of contemplation, the Third Hokage made a decision: as long as Shinichi hadn't become a Jonin by then, and his peers or those of a similar age also graduated smoothly, he would find a way to reassign them to the same squad and personally designate a reliable Jonin to serve as their instructor.
Before that, he would first find a senior for this child who had spread his wings too early—someone with strong political thinking, high awareness, the ability to stabilize a situation, and the ability to lead the way.
Since he couldn't rely on peer bonds for the time being, he would use mentor guidance to make up for it.
The Third Hokage scanned the names in his mind, and finally, his gaze fixed on one name.