Konoha's Hextech Ninja

Yagami Yoruichi noticed the obvious hostility in Sarutobi Asuma's gaze and felt a strange sensation in her heart.

"Is it because of Kurenai? Asuma was only five or six years old at that time, wasn't he? Children in the ninja world mature too early, this is way too early..."

Yagami Yoruichi thought to himself, "Being seated next to Kurenai wasn't my choice; she clearly sat down next to me on her own."

However, Yoruichi Yagami was not too worried about the upcoming battle.

As an orphan with no family heritage, Yagami Yoruichi couldn't receive systematic training from a young age like Sarutobi Asuma, a "second-generation fire spirit".

But Yagami Yoruichi was unlucky enough to be cheated on.

Although there is only one [Tears of the Goddess] in the equipment bar, since Yagami Yoruichi successfully extracted chakra three years ago, she has already filled up the Tears of the Goddess, which can increase the chakra limit by a full 600 points.

In addition to the passive skill [Arcane Mastery] and the Hextech [Mind Over Matter] bonus, Yoruichi Yagami's physique has already surpassed most Chunin, and her chakra reserves have reached the Jonin level.

Even without being proficient in taijutsu, the power of their bare fists and feet far surpasses that of the newly enrolled children at the ninja academy.

Yoruichi Yagami had just observed that among this year's students, only Kakashi and Might Guy had a higher level of physical skills than him.

As for the others, in terms of pure skill, Yagami Yoruichi is definitely no match for ninjas from clans like Sarutobi Asuma and Uchiha Tekka. But as the saying goes, strength can move mountains, and when the difference in physical attributes is large enough, skill alone cannot make up for it.

"Form the seal of opposition!" Nobuyuki Imai's voice rang out.

Yagami Yoruichi and Sarutobi Asuma formed opposing hand seals, preparing for battle.

"I'll teach you a lesson today!" Sarutobi Asuma lowered his voice, speaking to Yagami Yoru in a volume only the two of them could hear: "Stay away from Kurenai! Otherwise, you'll face the consequences!"

As he spoke, Sarutobi Asuma rushed forward and threw a straight punch at Yagami Yoruichi's face.

As the son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Asuma already had a Jonin-level tutor guiding his training before he even started school.

He has even learned a Wind Release ninjutsu!

Although this sparring session only allowed the use of Konoha-style taijutsu, all other methods were strictly prohibited.

But Sarutobi Asuma was still confident that he could teach this commoner boy who had appeared out of nowhere a lesson, and let him know that the 'upper class' from the ninja clan were not people like him who had the right to associate with them!

However, the next moment.

A fist appeared in Sarutobi Asuma's field of vision first, and quickly grew larger.

boom!

Yagami Yoruichi's fist slammed into Sarutobi Asuma's face. The immense force sent Sarutobi Asuma flying several meters backward before crashing heavily to the ground.

"The winner is Yagami Yoruichi!" Imai Nobuyuki showed a hint of surprise, but without the slightest hesitation, he immediately announced the result of the match.

Sarutobi Asuma lay on the ground, unable to even crawl. His bones felt like they were falling apart, and his head was spinning. He stared at Yagami Yoruichi in disbelief: "You, how can you be so strong?!"

Yagami Yoruichi did not explain. Following Imai Nobuyuki's request, he formed a 'reconciliation seal' and returned to the group.

In the original work, Sarutobi Asuma is a rather mature and responsible man.

But at this point, Sarutobi Asuma, based on this brief encounter, is completely a spoiled brat.

Since the other party was hostile towards her, Yagami Yoruichi was too lazy to try and win their favor.

Sarutobi Asuma at this point is far from reaching the future '35 million ryo', so defeating his opponent wouldn't bring him much of a sense of accomplishment.

"Yoruichi-kun, you're amazing!" Kurenai Yuhi exclaimed excitedly, "That's the Hokage's son! You actually won, and won so decisively?!"

"My physique is better, so I have an advantage in practicing physical techniques," Yagami Yoruichi smiled, without any smugness.

Yagami Yoruichi was very confident in her potential. With the system's cheat code, she was not only invincible in the ninja world, but she could also surpass the Otsutsuki clan in the universe, given enough time, and even the so-called 'Otsutsuki God'.

But potential is just potential; it's nothing until it's realized as real strength.

Even now, Yagami Yoruichi wouldn't dare say she's the strongest among the new students at the Ninja Academy, let alone compare to the truly strong ones.

The combat training continued, with Yagami Yoruichi chatting with Yuhi Kurenai while observing the performance of the others.

Based on Yagami Yoruichi's understanding of the plot, this class of freshmen is considered to be of extremely high quality throughout the entire Naruto timeline, probably second only to the class of future protagonists Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

However, the distinction between strong and weak is still very obvious.

Judging solely from his physical skills, Kakashi Hatake is undoubtedly the 'top genius'. Even Yoruichi Yagami believes that if the two of them were to fight, even if they only competed in physical skills, which Yoruichi Yagami excels at, she would not be a match for Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi Hatake's physique is indeed inferior to Yoruichi Yagami's, who is blessed with a cheat code, but the gap is not so large as to be despairing.

Furthermore, Kakashi Hatake's fighting skills are clearly far superior to Yoruichi Yagami's, so if they were to face off, Yoruichi Yagami would most likely lose.

Another person who posed a threat to Yoruichi Yagami was Metacritic.

The opponent's physique was visibly not much worse than that of Yagami Yoruichi. Although his proficiency in taijutsu was not as good as that of Hatake Kakashi, he had obviously trained in advance and was much stronger than Yagami Yoruichi, a newcomer who had just begun to learn Konoha-style taijutsu.

All things considered, Mitek's physical skills are also superior to Yoruichi Yagami's.

Yoruichi Yagami was mentally prepared for this, after all, it was Kai who almost kicked the final chapter, and even in his 'childhood form', his physical talent was definitely not bad.

However, apart from Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy, in terms of taijutsu alone, Yoruichi Yagami did not feel threatened.

There's no way around it, Yoruichi Yagami's physique is just too strong.

This year's freshmen also do not include members of bloodline families known for their strong physiques, such as the Senju or Uzumaki families.

Aside from Yoruichi Yagami, the person with the best physical abilities was surprisingly Mite Kai, a commoner, followed by Kakashi Hatake. Both of them had reached the Chunin level in terms of physical abilities.

Without the burden of the Sharingan, Kakashi Hatake's physical abilities are indeed much stronger than those of ordinary people; otherwise, he would not have been able to set the record of being the youngest Jonin in Konoha's history.

“However, this is just taijutsu. But ninjas are not just about taijutsu.” A thought popped into Yagami Yoruichi’s mind: “I don’t intend to become a taijutsu-type ninja like Kai. With the template of Emperor Rui, ninjutsu-type ninjas are the most suitable for me, at least in the early stages.”

Chapter 5 Planning for the Future

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.

Every day, there's a theory class in the morning and a practical class in the afternoon, without fail.

Yoruichi Yagami gradually became familiar with his classmates and, through observation in practical lessons, gained a clear understanding of the skill level of most of them.

Overall, in terms of both strength and talent, Kakashi Hatake and others who had a significant role in the original work were much stronger than other ordinary students.

Even Mizuki, who was the most minor character, was far inferior to Kakashi Hatake and others, and could not be compared at all. However, compared to other students in his class who had no role in the original work, he could still be considered an excellent ordinary student.

Of course, there is still a considerable gap between him and the standard of a 'genius'.

If compared to the past graduating classes of the Ninja Academy, Mizuki's potential ceiling is only Chunin if he doesn't have any major opportunities.

During this time, in addition to absorbing knowledge from the Ninja Academy professors, Yagami Yoruichi was also thinking about her future path.

The ninjas in this world have many sub-fields, but according to the simplest division, they can be divided into three main directions.

Ninjutsu, physical techniques, and illusion techniques.

Any path, taken to its extreme, has an extremely high ceiling.

Of course, the best solution is to pursue all three paths simultaneously without any weaknesses.

However, people have limited energy, so focusing on one direction at the beginning is the fastest way to improve.

The best option is to wait until you have a certain level of expertise before considering studying other areas to make up for your weaknesses.

As for Yagami Yoruichi himself, he has the 'Emperor of the Sacred Heart template', and the path with the highest compatibility is undoubtedly 'ninjutsu', followed by taijutsu.

With such a massive amount of chakra, even the weakest D-rank ninjutsu could be quite destructive in the hands of Yagami Yoruichi.

Furthermore, as her equipment matures and her chakra reserves increase, Yoruichi Yagami's ninjutsu power will become increasingly astonishing. Following the path of a ninjutsu-type ninja will allow her to maximize her advantages.

Furthermore, with the blessing of the Hextech synergy of "Mind and Matter," Yoruichi Yagami's chakra limit can also be converted into physical attributes, and her physical attack limit will not be low either.

As for illusion techniques, although Yagami Yoruichi was born as a human twice and has extremely high innate mental strength, it is only comparable to that of an ordinary ninja.

Compared to true top illusion geniuses, Yoruichi Yagami's advantage in mental strength is nothing; pursuing the path of illusion is the most unsuitable choice for her.

However, knowing which direction suits you doesn't mean that Yoruichi Yagami can easily choose her future path.

In this ninja world where everyone cherishes their own skills, the threshold for learning ninjutsu is quite high.

The ninja academy only teaches the most basic taijutsu and the three-body technique; there are no offensive or defensive ninjutsu techniques to learn.

Theoretically, there are only three ways for a ninja to learn ninjutsu.

It is passed down through families, from master to apprentice, and can be redeemed from the village after one has made meritorious contributions.

As for developing one's own ninjutsu, not everyone has the talent for it. Even if someone does have the talent, they still need to learn enough ninjutsu and build a solid foundation before they can proceed.

From the original work, Yagami Yoruichi knew a lot about the hand seals for ninjutsu, but simply knowing the hand seals was not enough to learn them.

The only technique that Yagami Yoruichi mastered was the 'Rasengan,' which showcased the complete training process in the original work.

However, because of its 'unknown origin', Yagami Yoruichi could not use this ninjutsu openly.

As for other ninjutsu, he tried many times but failed to perform them.

If one cannot even learn a ninjutsu with a known hand seal sequence, then developing a new ninjutsu from scratch is naturally wishful thinking.

Yagami Yoruichi was an orphan, so there was no need to consider his family's ninjutsu.

As for earning merit in exchange for it, that's out of the question until you graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a full-fledged ninja.

Even after becoming a formal ninja, it's not an easy thing to exchange merits for ninjutsu.

The only way is to find a suitable teacher.

but……

Yoruichi Yagami searched his mind for Konoha ninjas of this era, pondering which ninjas would be suitable for him.

First, there are some ninjas who shone brightly in the Second Shinobi World War.

Among the legendary Sannin of Konoha, Tsunade is a medical ninja with taijutsu skills, but she is not proficient in ninjutsu other than medical ninjutsu.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru are both skilled in various ninjutsu, but Jiraiya is obsessed with finding a savior and is rarely in Konoha.

As for Orochimaru, if you hire him as a teacher, you might end up being used as a guinea pig.

Besides the legendary Sannin, others who gained fame during the Second Shinobi World War included Dan Kato, Fugaku Uchiha, and Sakumo Hatake.

However, Kato Dan is dead, and Hatake Sakumo is skilled in swordsmanship rather than ninjutsu. Uchiha Fugaku would be a suitable candidate, but as an Uchiha, he would naturally be viewed with suspicion by the higher-ups of Konoha. The risk of contacting him would be no less than that of contacting Orochimaru.

Aside from those who rose to fame during the Second Shinobi World War, the rest were some of Konoha's veteran powerhouses.

The current Konoha leadership, led by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Yoruichi Yagami doesn't know what Koharu Tsutomu and Haru Mitokado are good at.

Akimichi Torifu is clearly skilled in the Akimichi clan's secret techniques and taijutsu. Such clan ninjas rarely come into contact with anything outside of their clan's secret techniques.

It is suspected that Uchiha Kagami has already passed away. At least, in the few years since Yagami Yoruichi came to this world, no one has ever mentioned his name.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, they were both skilled in ninjutsu.

Among them, Hiruzen Sarutobi is a rare all-attribute ninja.

However, the same problem remains: setting aside the risks, the difficulty of becoming an apprentice of these two masters is exceptionally high.

Even if they truly demonstrate extraordinary talent, if Danzo takes a liking to them, he will most likely bring them into Root for brainwashing and control with cursed seals, rather than accepting them as disciples.

Even if Hiruzen takes a liking to someone, he will most likely pass them on to his disciples or subordinates for training, rather than having Hiruzen personally take them in as his disciple.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi is not young anymore, and given his status as Hokage, it's unlikely he would personally take on disciples.

Aside from the people mentioned above, there are no other promising new generation ninjas who will shine in the future, such as Kakashi Hatake, who are either not yet grown up or not even born yet, so there's no need to consider them.

Those who already possess considerable strength but have not yet become famous, the only ones Yagami Yoruichi can think of right now are the future Fourth Hokage and his wife Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Might Guy's father Might Dai, and Kosuke Maruboshi, the 'perennial genin' of Konoha.

However, at this time, Minato and his wife had just graduated, and regardless of their strength, they were not yet qualified enough to take on apprentices.

Moreover, as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki would be quite risky to make contact with her rashly.

Yagami Yoruichi looked at the names written in her notebook and circled the names Mighty and Maruboshi Kosuke.

Maruboshi Kosuke's Water Release technique is said to have been learned from the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. In the present era of Konoha, he is undoubtedly the number one Water Release ninja. In addition, he is also a master swordsman.

The only drawback is that Kosuke Maruboshi has a single attribute; he is only good at water escaping and not good at other escaping techniques.

As for Matt Dae...

If you can't find a suitable Ninjutsu teacher, the next best option is to learn Taijutsu from Matt Dai and find ways to increase your strength first.

As Matt Damon's classmate, and given Matt Damon's simple personality, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to learn martial arts from him.

The only thing to put up with is the somewhat eccentric personalities of this father and son.

"First, test the attributes. If there is a water attribute, then try to contact Maruboshi Kosuke first. If there is no water attribute or you cannot contact Maruboshi Kosuke, then go to Matt Dai to learn physical techniques."

Yagami Yoruichi made a decision, tore the page from the notebook, lit a lighter, and burned the paper to ashes.