"8th place. Well done Shoji." Sensei called out.

Dexterity: 10 → 11

Quest Complete: Place top 10 in races.

+ 2 Dexterity

+ 2 Levels in [Parkour]

Dexterity: 11 → 13

Skill:[Parkour Lvl. 3] → [Parkour Lvl. 5]

[Parkour Lvl. 5]

Increase jumping power.

Increase running speed.

Increase rolling proficiency.

Increases flipping proficiency.

Jesus! Fricking finally!

I've had that quest for ages. Good to get it finished off. I mean, in a class of 30, 8th place puts me above the average, but as far as everyone else is concerned, that doesn't mean much in a class of civilians.

Except for Gai's team, or to-be-Gai's team. Since we're still in the academy.

Though, I'd like to think my skills are still impressive, considering I was just a random guy from planet Earth.

Speaking of…Status

Name: Imada Shoji Title: None

Health:120 Stamina:180 Chakra:0/150

Strength:10

Vitality:12

Dexterity:13

Intelligence:19

Skills: 3

Perks: 0

Skills[

Parkour Lvl. 5(Active)

Increase jumping power

Increase running speed

Increase rolling proficiency

Increase flipping proficiency

Taijutsu - - - - [

Basic Konoha Style Lvl. 3

The basic style taught to all Leaf Shinobi. A good style but very rigid and basic.

Enhances punches with the 'Will of Fire'.

Physical stat increase when fighting for the Village Hidden in the Leaves

Meditation Lvl. 9 (Active No Stamina Required)

Increases focus and allows one to look deep within themselves.

Chakra Recovery increased by 50%

Cannot be used while in combat.

Cannot be used while moving.

]

I frowned at that, Taijutsu still at level 3? I made a mental note to either train at home some more or ask Lee for help, considering that he'd become almost top of the class in Taijutsu in just over a month, second only to Neji.

Or…maybe not. Taijutsu is a pain. Even during our sparring my forearms hurt like hell, I think I'd rather be a ninjutsu or genjutsu specialist and just avoid getting up close and personal.

And maybe I'm trying to avoid getting roped into some kinda Saitama training regime by Lee.

Though I could need it. I started off the bottom of everything physically related in this class. Probably their anime super-bodies or something.

Shaking my head I made my way over to the drinking fountain, mouth feeling dry after running as fast as an arrow, and this was only academy level. I know this is Naruto and all but c'mon man! Power creeps a bitch.

Though, it was quite exhilarating, like going on a roller coaster. Coming from Earth.

Coming from Earth to here was definitely a roller coaster…

-In the Past-

A sudden jolt of…feeling hit him at once.

Touch, taste, smell, hearing…hell, consciousness.

He revelled in the feelings.

He had died.

In death, there is nothing, he didn't even realize he was dead. He wasn't seeing black, he wasn't seeing anything at all, he couldn't think about his lack of senses.

He's alive again. Clothes on his back, the brightness of his surroundings.

He keeps moving his arms, his legs, eyes, everything.

Because

Only dead things don't move

And he's not dead.

Oof. Yea, tough experience.

He'd been in an orphanage(really? You couldn't be any more generic than Leaf Village and orphanage) and…hadn't already been in the academy.(woohoo, some points for originality)

The moment he decided to join though…suddenly everything, and everyone. did a 180 for him.

Better clothing, separate rooms, increased allowance, 'discounts' at every store.

Also, the manager of the orphanage was suddenly all bright smiles around me and polite words.

I mean, some of the worst dictatorships on Earth seem like a kid's birthday party compared to here.

Everything is suggesting to these kids to go and fight for their country, to go on a glorious conquest for honour and glory.

Poor civvies.

Then after you get in, the system(education, not the Game system) is clearly rigged in favour of those with good connections and parents.

Cough clan kids Cough.

Also, this place was AU as fuck.

Which was a good and bad thing.

Hopefully the power creep got fixed.

But also what use is my future knowledge then really?

So AU stuff.

First thing.

There are two kinds of Genin, Special Genin, and Genin.

Unlike how Special Jounin is below Jounin, Special Genin is above Genin. They are the guys that are trained under Jounin-sensei in teams of 3. There are at most 50 teams of Special Genin.

Whereas regular Genin are just soldiers that are trained and separated into army units to specialize in range, front line, deskwork, etc.

Honestly, kinda like a normal army back home would be. Bunch of foot soldiers, separated into different units under commanders.

Second thing, there's just way more nationalism and imperialism, and the whole place is a lot more of a shitshow than it seemed in canon.

The true antagonist of the Naruto world, shitty government.

To be real, I probably want to be a regular Genin. Fewer eyes on me and much easier to avoid the Nationalism and Imperialism clusterfuck that is a Ninja Village.

Uhghh, but dumpster-fire that is canon.

Or maybe it will be better with the AU-changes maybe-not-changes that just weren't in detail.

Please God, I just want a balanced power system.

Though I'm not sure how much that will happen.

For one, Naruto just exists and people still hate him. That pretty much destroys my hopes for a balanced power system since he has the Kyuubi.

Ehh, he could be nerfed.

Or not.

Too hard to tell.

It's times like these I wish I had some sort of 'Appraisal' or 'Observe' skill.

No?

Nothing?

Damn.

As I walk back into the classroom I see everyone lining up to go outside.

Ah, fuck me. We got sparring.

Just hope I don't get paired with Neji or Lee. Anyone else I stand a chance to not die a miserable death.

"Shoji? Come with me, I have something to discuss with you." Our teacher said. I think his name was…Narukami? Mune Narukami, yea, that sounds right. He guided me outside the classroom, giving a nod to some kid who organizes the stuff when he's not around. I guess he'd be like the class rep or something?

Also, this is giving me ominous vibes. Is the plot starting or something? Aren't we a year early?

I continued to follow him to the teacher's lounge. Jeez, way to make a man feel stressed.

There was nobody in there when we went in, an empty, spacious break room. A couple of couches, a table and coffee machine. Nothing much else.

Then, suddenly, a man was in front of us. Wrapped in black and blue, I think? His silhouette shifted constantly and my gaze refused to stick to him. Genjutsu? Or seals maybe. I don't know how bullshit seals can be.

He doesn't...look like ANBU. Maybe some kind of branch of ANBU? or maybe he's a named character so he gets a unique design.

I tried going through the ninja I knew in my head, but none of them had a design quite like his. I guess it's kinda similar to Kurenai's...bandage-dress thingy.

Sensei clears his throat.

Oops, I was zoning out again thinking of useless shit while they were talking. Gotta stop that.

The (maybe ANBU) guy looked at me, I think, and...I felt a sort of shift in the air.

...

Just kidding.

I felt jack shit.

Clearly, he did something, since he nodded towards sensei.

"It seems you were correct, Mune." He…spoke in a completely clear voice. Which was surprising since he was covered head to toe, I would've thought his voice would come out muffled.

Normally in fanfics, the OC would be like - "The air shifted", or "I felt a feeling in my gut", or "I felt the atmosphere" kinda stuff.

Guess I'm just not built to be the main character.

Or...maybe some random guy from Earth can't feel shifts in air pressure! (wow.)

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

Uhhh. That was a bit brash honestly.

Both their gazes snapped to me as if they forgot I was here, despite being the subject of their conversation…I think? Wasn't paying attention.

Damn ninja, can't you make any sense?

In another blink, the man was gone.

Not even a goodbye?

Sensei cleared his throat as he turned toward me.

Oh ok, we're just taking it in our stride I guess.

"Shoji, That man was a sensor, and I simply wanted him to confirm something for me."

Oooh boy.

What is it?

Are my chakra pathways damaged?

I'm gonna have to pull a Maito Guy?

I already feel the youth flowing through me.

Or…I've got a chakra disease that kills me before I reach my teens.

That's very youthful. My whole life is gonna be in my youth.

"No need to panic, nothing that serious, it might even be good for you." he chuckled. Amused at my plight.

Eh? Am I that easy to read? Also does that—

"It's just your body is not automatically cycling chakra through it."

"Most people automatically cycle chakra through their pathways without thinking, it enhances their bodily functions." He elaborated at my confused look.

"While there are techniques such as Tsunade's legendary strength, and using an inferior technique, Jounin and Chunin, which enhance chakra past the natural amount. Everyone naturally has chakra flowing through them, it's why, despite it not being extremely tied into muscles, most people will feel like they've been doing intense exercise for days when they are out of chakra, they are so used to having chakra flow through their muscles without it they cannot function normally."

"You've been exceeding most of the class in physical examinations such as running and parkour exercises, despite not utilizing chakra, that is incredibly impressive. Shinobi intentionally seal off their chakra to train their muscles to the strength and speed it would be without, to greatly improve their physical capabilities."

Uhhh.

I still don't quite get it?

"Ha! Sorry, I forget I'm speaking to a child sometimes." My eye twitched at that. "Shameful for me as a teacher. Essentially, your strength is much higher than others in your class, since they are utilizing chakra and you are not."

"However, don't try to flow chakra through your body. It is a very delicate process that I am hesitant to train a child in, lest you blow yourself up, or permanently disfigure your muscles."

Ahh. Course it's not that easy. Well, that's fucking terrifying, how am I supposed to have any peace of mind while doing anything like that now?

"You didn't think it would be that easy would you?" He retorted to my annoyed face, jeez, it's like this guy can read my mind, "There's a reason strength like Tsuande's is so rare, it takes very fine and precise control to enhance your strength even a little bit, and the difficulty is exponential the more chakra you have and attempt to use to strengthen your body."

"If I'm, to be honest, however, you should be fine in the Academy, this was just to inform you for the future, any jutsu you do should be fine, and as long as you train your body—like your classmate Lee, you can keep up with the other chakra-enhanced children, though you will have to train much harder, if you do consciously unlock your chakra and spread it through your body you will be head and shoulders above everyone else."

"Ah, well, ok." Was my lame response.

He raised his eyebrow at me, before sighing. "Well, do try to hurry along back to class, you do have sparring to do."

Ah, shizers.

I'm not sure exactly how to process that, but I'll just take my mind off of it with some, hopefully, fair sparring.

I entered back into the training grounds, to see our class doing 2 on 1 spars.

Why cruel world!

Ouch-AH FUCK!

Dexterity:13 → 14

Strength: 10 → 11

Vitality: 12 → 14

Ugh. Don't give me motivation to spar longer. Everything hurts!

Fucking Lee! How are you so fast!

Wha-! Not in the fac—

Vitality:14→15

Skill[Basic Konoha Style Lvl. 3] → [Basic Konoha Style Lvl. 4]

Now is not the time…

Mercifully, sensei stopped sparring for today. Turns out, getting beaten up by other people is a great way to raise Vitality. Go figure.

I just can't keep track of two people at once, twice the punches and kicks.

Proficiency acquired. Skill unlocked:[Pain Tolerance Lvl. 1]

My eye twitched again.

I think I'm starting to develop a habit.

Really! You give this to me after getting beat up! Jeez.

On the bright side, my bruises feel a bit better, but I don't feel like it's actually reduced.

Pain Tolerance Lvl. 1 (Passive)

Increase ability to deal with pain

So. It doesn't reduce pain. I can just deal with it without being a baby. I guess that's the best option, pain exists for a reason, and it would be bad to go completely without it, especially since this is a passive skill, so I can't deactivate it.

On the bright side, passive skills don't use any stamina either.

We all trudged back into class, and by we, I mean all of us civilian kids and Tenten, who just got beat black and blue in multiple sparring. Lee and Neji looked fucking flawless.

Once we were back in our seats, sensei clapped his hands," Alright, we're going to do another session of meditation, for those of you who have unlocked your chakra, go straight to the leaf sticking exercise!"

This got tedious a whole two months ago after meditation got to level 9, and it took 6 months to get it to that in the first place. It hasn't gone anywhere since. I shot a glance to my right and shared a sufferable look with Kitagawa who also hadn't made any progress. Is this even how you unlock chakra?

Cmoooonnn, feel every bit of energy flowing through my body, chakra circulation! Why is this so hard to do?

Gather 9 chakras or something, and empty thou mind.

Ok. Ok. I'll do this for real.

Fuck this man.

Skill:[Meditation Lvl. 9] → [Meditation Lvl. 10]

Fucking Fi-na-lly! But where's the—

Perk [Chakra] created from [Meditation Lvl. 10]

[Chakra Control Lvl 1] created from [Chakra]

[Elemental Manipulation Lvl 1] created from [Chakra]

[Chakra Recovery Lvl 1] created from [Chakra]

[Meditation Lvl. 10] integrated into [Chakra Recovery Lvl. 1]

Chakra restored to 100%.

Holy Jesus man. That's a lot of stuff.

Uhhhh…Ok. First, let's just look over new stuff.

[Chakra]

Grants usage of Chakra, rewards the user with skills [Chakra Control Lvl 1], [Elemental Manipulation Lvl 1], [Chakra Recovery Lvl 1.

Simple perk, pretty self-explanatory as well I guess.

[Chakra Control Lvl 1]

Proficiency in control of chakra.

Also self-explanatory I suppose.

[Elemental Manipulation Lvl 1]

Proficiency in control of elemental chakra and elemental jutsu.

Increase chakra efficiency with earth jutsu.

Increased power of earth jutsu by 50%.

Learn earth jutsu 50% faster.

[Chakra Recovery Lvl 1]

Recovers chakra at a rate of 5 chakra per minute.

When using [Meditation], Chakra regenerates 100% faster.

[Meditation] cannot be used while in combat or moving.

Uses no stamina.

Earth? That's my affinity?

But thats like…the lame one.

Really?

Water, Wind, Fire, Lightning

And I got Earth?

I guess it's more practical than water, but water's just cooler.

"You ok there?"

Huh?

Ohhh.

I've been spaced out while sensei has been trying to get my attention.

I paint a sheepish grin on my face, "Hehe…Sorry."

He just shrugs,"Don't worry about it, it's a wonderful feeling to be aware of all the chakra in your body…though considering your condition I don't know how it feels for you."

Right!

I unlocked my chakra, yet here I was checking over my skills and whatnot instead of doing the most important thing.

What chakra feels like!

I'm sure it's a question every Naruto fan wondered about.

Focusing into myself slightly, I caught the presence of something warm and comforty.

Not really a good description, but it was more of an emotion than a limb or sense, though moving it around was definitely more reminiscent of...a feeling of heat.

Chakra makes no sense!

Just chalk it up to anime logic and move on I guess.

Sensei showed me how to mold it and move it around. It was honestly pretty easy and stuck out to me since I didn't have any access to it before. My environment was also a lot louder, including the people around me. Is that their chakra?

Since I never had any chakra through my body I suppose I'm a lot more sensitive to it.

As for the results of that.

See for yourself.

[Chakra Control Lvl. 1] →[Chakra Control Lvl. 5]

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 1] →[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 2]

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 2]

Recovers chakra at a rate of 7 chakra per minute.

When using [Meditation], Chakra regenerates 100% faster.

[Meditation] cannot be used while in combat or moving.

Uses no stamina.

I also increased my chakra a bit.

Chakra:2/167

Look at that! 'm a natural talent at chakra control!

5 Levels in 2 hours! That's insane! It's my highest level skill already!

Hm?

People with smaller chakra reserves have better chakra control?

Pff. Nah, I'm just a prodigy.

The leaf sticking exercise was way easier than I thought it'd be, just direct chakra to the place I need it to go and then focus it a bit.

Leaf-cutting was a bit harder, not being able to see exactly where the chakra was going made it easy to overload the damn thing and rip it to shreds, I got it down with a bit of work though.

The others who did the exercises seemed dead on their feet.

"We don't normally advocate doing exercises until you're completely out of chakra, though I suppose for you it doesn't matter," Sensei commented as we all went back to our seats.

I grinned. "I'm just awesome like that."

Kitagawa glared at me as he walked back to his desk. Seems like he's a bit miffed that I got my chakra first. Hehe.

"Where was your 'awesomeness' during sparring eh?" He shot at me.

That took the wind outta my sails. Rude.

"Didn't see you do any better." I glared.

Kitagawa hmphd! and turned away, grabbing his book out.

Oh right, we got history class now.

History's boring so I just messed around with my sensing abilities, trying to see if I could turn it off, focus on one person, how it looked while I had my eyes closed - almost got told off for sleeping then. Stuff like that.

I mean, I already know everything important, it's not like this is an AU or anything.

Yea, if that isn't tempting fate, I don't know what is.

Well, besides that I finally got some results for my hard work.

Skill Unlocked:[Aura Detection Lvl. 1]

Aura Detection Lvl. 1

Sense the presence of chakra in objects.

Objects? So not just people.

I haven't tried sensing objects yet, but wouldn't that be akin to nature chakra?

Requirements met.

Title[Sensory Ninja] created from [Aura Detection Lvl. 1]

Skill[Aura Suppression Lvl. 1] created from [Sensory Ninja]

PerkNinja created from [Sensory Ninja]

Skill[Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 1] created from [Ninja]

Skill[Parkour Lv. 3] created from [Ninja]

[Parkour Lvl. 3] integrated into [Parkour Lvl. 5]

[Parkour Lvl. 5] → [Parkour Lvl. 6]

That's a lot to take in.

I can pretty much guess what Aura Suppression does so no need to check that.

What about the Ninja and Sensory Ninja perk?

Ninja

5% more damage with jutsu.

Chakra efficiency increased by 5%.

Chakra reserves increase by 20 for every 100 chakra.

Chakra: 73/187

Title:[Sensory Ninja]

10% more damage against opponents you are actively using [Aura Detection] on.

[Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 1]

An inferior form of chakra circulation than that used by Ninja, that is present in all things and infuses chakra into a person's muscles to enhance their capabilities.

Increases Strength, Dexterity and Vitality by 2 points

Uses 10 chakra per minute.

Uses no stamina.

System Information Revealed: Most civilians have [Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 5]

That…is surprisingly helpful information.

Very out of character for the system.

I can ponder about the oddity of that later but…

LEVEL 5!?

FUCKING WHAT!?

You mean to tell me everyone else has had a 10, or at least 6 depending on how the stat raised, stat lead on me! Probably more since these are academy children

No wonder I sucked ass when I started!

And!

I'm realizing a bit of what sensei was saying earlier.

But his explanation was still crap.

If I get this to Lvl. 5, I would destroy everyone, and have a chance against even Neji! Him!

He may be insanely good but he isn't so out of my league that 10 extra stat points do nothing against him.

Since the game has just handed this to me on a silver platter, I don't have to go through that risky 'blow up muscles' shtick. Which would've probably taken a whole training arc.

Woohoo! Less training means less effort for me!

I don't wanna use it during class since sensei might sense something…wait, don't I have that Aura Suppression skill?

I didn't actually check what it does exactly, but I have a vague idea.

[Aura Suppression Lvl. 1]

Conceal the use and presence of chakra in your body.

Does not use chakra or stamina.

Ayo.

No chakra or stamina cost?

That's kinda broken.

I can just keep it active 24/7 and grind levels.

Which…is what I'm gonna do. Starting now.

No need to procrastinate on it.

Ok!

Aura Suppression!

[Aura Suppression Lvl. 1] activated.

Woaaaaaaahhh…

Nothing feels different.

Well, that's just great ain't it?

Hmmm…

I closed my eyes and focused on my chakra.

It feels the same.

I mean, since my chakra is already pretty unnoticeable, maybe it isn't high enough to suppress it more. If that makes sense?

Or maybe I need to be using chakra for the skill to take effect.

I looked at sensei, he was just speaking to the class, he isn't a sensor and only chunin, so he shouldn't notice…hopefully?

Ah, screw it.

[Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 1] activated.

Status.

Name: Imada Shoji Title: None

Health:120 Stamina:180 Chakra:151/187

Strength:13(11 + 2)

Vitality:17 (15 + 2)

Dexterity:16 (14 + 2)

Intelligence:19

Skills: 4

Perks: 2

I can't say there was a noticeable difference, but turning it on and off, I can feel a slightly weighted feel to my body disappearing and reappearing.

It doesn't seem like sensei noticed, I checked my chakra again, trying to compare it to how it was during the leaf exercise

Eh, still can't really tell if Aura Suppression is doing anything.

I turned it off the rest of the day just to be safe. Though as I headed home I kept it active the entire time to grind it while taking some breaks to recover my chakra. I also tried to tree hop with Chakra Circulation active and using parkour. No skill for tree hopping, though I suppose Parkour pretty much encompasses that already.

Chakra circulation didn't level up, though Chakra Recovery did.

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 2] → [Chakra Recovery Lvl. 3]

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 3]

Recovers chakra at a rate of 10 chakra per minute.

When using [Meditation], Chakra regenerates 100% faster.

[Meditation] cannot be used while in combat or moving.

Uses no stamina.

It went from 7 chakra to 10, which is a bit strange considering it raised from 5 to 7 before. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but not being able to predict how the System will function is annoying, and I know it's gonna bite me in the ass in the future.

Also, while the skill says it increases per minute, my chakra slowly recovers, rather than in minute bursts.

Since my chakra regeneration was equal to the consumption, I just kept it active and parkoured around the village to increase its level.

Then I ate.

And started grinding it again.

Then I ate again.

And started grinding it again again.

Stamina only recovers when I eat food and takes around 1 hour for a full meal to be transferred into stamina points. One meal normally translates to about 300 stamina points, it normally just disappears into oblivion if I don't do any exercise right after. Which is kind of a waste.

But alternating between eating and training was efficient. I don't think I'll be able to do this with any other chakra consumption skills, since I know for a fact my chakra reserves and regen is shit. This skill is something everyone else uses 24/7, along with jutsu and whatnot. But I'm only able to break even on my chakra.

After I levelled it up, I encountered a bit of a problem.

[Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 1] → [Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 2]

[Lesser Chakra Circulation Lvl. 2]

An inferior form of chakra circulation than that used by Ninja, that is present in all things and infuses chakra into a person's muscles to enhance their capabilities.

Increases Strength, Dexterity and Vitality by 4 points

Uses 15 chakra per minute.

Uses no stamina.

Uses 15 chakra per minute.

BRUH.

I guess it makes sense that, if I'm using more chakra to reinforce my body, the consumption rate would be higher.

But!

My chakra recovery isn't up to par yet!

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 3] → [Chakra Recovery Lvl. 4]

Oh.

Well, I take that back I guess.

Hopefully

[Chakra Recovery Lvl. 4]

Recovers chakra at a rate of 20 chakra per minute.

When using [Meditation], Chakra regenerates 100% faster.

[Meditation] cannot be used while in combat or moving.

Uses no stamina.

Phew

The recovery rate increased irregularly again, but I was just relieved that it would outlast Chakra Circulation. I could keep it active 24/7, which would increase Chakra Recovery, Chakra Circulation, and… my Chakra reserves.

I haven't checked my chakra reserves since I started levelling Chakra Circulation.

Chakra: 76/199

Oh!

With my Ninja perk, if I increase it by one more, I should get 20 more chakra.

I'll train it until I get to 200, which will increase to 220, then probably head home, eat some dinner for real and get some sleep.

I kept chakra circulation active and tried to see if sensei would notice anything…I don't think he did, but he's a ninja. I don't think I can tell.

Ugh. If worst comes to worst I'll just try and say that my chakra has been automatically circulated or something, which isn't technically a lie since the system does it automatically for me.

I don't know how well I can lie to a ninja but I think I can bullshit using half-truths.

I only just sat down as sensei clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Final Exams are gonna be in 5 months, everyone! I know it seems ages away, but a couple of you haven't unlocked your chakra and most of you don't even know a single jutsu so if you don't get serious now, you won't get a single jutsu down by the exam date. Train hard…and get out your physics textbooks." Narukami-sensei announced at the front.

Welp.

Time to train even more.

Really?

No Lesser Chakra Circulation has levelled up?

That would be a great way to end this.

Damn.

Still nothing.