Konoha's Hextech Ninja

However, there's no need for Kakashi Hatake to know about this.

"Kakashi, come practice your swordsmanship. Today is a long-awaited father-son duel. Let me see how much you've grown!" Sakumo Hatake drew his short sword.

Chapter 10 Eight Thousand Taels Per Month

Bang~!

Bang~!

Bang~!

On the training field, two dark figures clashed repeatedly, producing a series of collision sounds.

However, most people cannot see the two people's movements clearly; they can only see two afterimages flying back and forth.

With the aid of chakra, ninjas possess strength and speed far exceeding the limits of ordinary people.

This is why ninjas hold such a special place in the world.

Even a low-ranking ninja could easily take down a large group of burly men wielding weapons and wearing armor.

Compared to their first encounter, Yoruichi Yagami's mastery of Konoha-ryu taijutsu, as well as his grasp of timing in battle, has improved by more than one level.

Even when restricted to using only taijutsu, he was able to hold his own against Ikkaku Umino, a senior Chunin.

However, it was only barely passable.

After exchanging blows for over a hundred rounds, Umino Ikkaku finally seized an opportunity, knocking the wooden kunai from Yoruichi Yagami's hand, grabbing Yoruichi's arm with one hand, and holding the kunai across Yoruichi's neck with the other.

"I lost again." Yagami Yoruichi didn't show much emotion.

Over three weekends, in countless 'sparring' sessions, Yagami Yoruichi never won a single time, and had long since gotten used to it.

However, through her battle with Ikkaku Umino, Yoruichi Yagami was also able to clearly feel her own growth.

"You're already very good." Umino Ikkaku encouraged him, "In terms of taijutsu alone, most Chunin are no match for you. To be able to do this at this age, even the White Fang back then was no better than this."

"I must thank you again for your guidance, senior." Yagami Yoruichi.

If it weren't for Ikkaku Umino's meticulous guidance on every detail that Yoruichi Yagami needed to pay attention to during her sparring sessions, and the creation of a detailed training plan tailored specifically for her, Yoruichi Yagami's improvement speed would never have been so fast.

With a reward of just over 30,000 taels, and the village taking a cut, Umino Ikkaku's actions far exceeded the scope of a typical employment task.

"I'm glad it was of some help to you." Umino Ikkaku smiled and said, "You mentioned before that tomorrow is the monthly exam, right? Let's call it a day, get some rest, and recharge your energy. I wish you good grades."

"This is the mission confirmation form." Yagami Yoruichi took out the mission confirmation form that had already been signed and handed it to Umino Ikkaku. She bowed respectfully and said, "Senpai, thank you very much for your help during this time."

As long as Ikkaku Umino has this mission confirmation letter, he can confirm that he has completed the mission and receive the reward that Yoruichi Yagami had stored in the mission hall in advance.

Of course, the village also takes a certain percentage, and only the remainder belongs to Umino.

"Although the mission is over, you can come to me for training anytime during my vacation."

Unno Ikkaku accepted the mission confirmation and said with a smile, "Besides Konoha-ryu taijutsu, I also have some knowledge of shurikenjutsu. It's an honor for me to be able to help a genius."

After spending this time together, Umino Ikkaku had long regarded Yagami Yoruichi as a genius on the same level as Hatake Sakumo and the Sannin.

The reason he went to such lengths for Yagami Yoruichi was not only because of his own personality, but also because he wanted to 'invest' in her.

"Ikkaku!" A voice called out from afar, belonging to three ninjas wearing green vests.

"My teammates are here." Umino Ikkaku glanced at them and said to Yagami Yoichi, "We have a mission tomorrow, so we have to leave today. I'll take my leave now. I hope you get a satisfactory result on your exam tomorrow."

"Goodbye, senpai." Yagami Yoruichi watched Umino Ichiro leave.

Of the three ninjas, one of the women reminded Yagami Yoruichi somewhat; she resembled the female ninja in the scene where Iruka reminisces about his parents' deaths in the original story, and was very likely Iruka's mother.

Her name seems to be 'Umino Koharu'?

Yagami Yoruichi speculated that she changed her surname to her husband's after marrying Umino Ikkaku.

The culture of the ninja world is very similar to that of the small country of my previous life, and some families still retain this tradition.

By this time, the two should have been married.

Judging by her age, Iruka should have been born within the last two years, right?

(Note: There is a significant inconsistency in Iruka's age in the official guidebook. There are two versions, one based on the guidebook and the other on flashbacks: one stating he was born in Konoha year 36, in the same year as Kakashi and Mizuki; the other stating he was born in Konoha year 41, in the same year as Anko and Hayate Gekko. Considering Iruka hadn't graduated from the Ninja Academy during the Nine-Tails' attack, the latter version is used here. More reasonable versions will be adopted for other inconsistencies in the future.)

Shaking his head, Yagami Yoruichi didn't think much of it.

After glancing at Kakashi Hatake and Sakumo Hatake practicing swordsmanship in another corner of the training ground, Yoruichi Yagami packed up her things and left the training ground.

When Yagami Yoruichi returned home and entered the apartment, the building manager stopped her.

"This is from the village." The administrator handed Yagami Yoruichi an envelope: "Your living expenses for next month have been deposited."

"Thank you, Uncle." Yagami Yoruichi thanked him sincerely, took the envelope, opened it, and counted out the money inside in front of him.

A total of eight thousand taels.

There was also a bill inside the envelope, which was for this month's water, electricity, and gas expenses.

The apartments in Konoha Village do not charge any rent for 'hero orphans' like Yoruichi Yagami, but expenses such as water and electricity still need to be paid.

This month's bill is over five hundred taels, which is no different from usual.

Yagami Yoruichi took out a few bills and handed them to the administrator: "Uncle, this is this month's water and electricity bill."

"No problem with the money, here's the receipt." The manager counted the money, gave Yagami Yoruichi a receipt, and said with a smile, "You have an exam at the Ninja Academy tomorrow? Good luck!"

The apartment is home to many orphans of ninjas, some of whom have entered ninja academies.

The school administrator had been paying close attention to these children for a long time, so he naturally knew something about what was happening at the school.

"Thank you, Uncle." Yagami Yoruichi smiled, greeted the manager, and returned home.

"Another 30,000 taels, but that amount of money can last a long time for daily life. However, to maintain high-intensity training, the expenses will increase significantly..."

Yagami Yoruichi looked somewhat worried.

After several weeks of testing, it has been found that following the high-intensity training plan developed by Umino Ikkaku will significantly increase food and drink expenses simply by supplementing the intake of high-quality protein, costing an extra two to three thousand taels each month.

This further exacerbated Yoruichi Yagami's already precarious financial situation.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about these things. I have enough money to last a while. I'll think about it after the exams." Yagami Yoruichi forced herself not to let her mind wander.

After a simple dinner and preparing tomorrow's lunchbox in advance, I went to bed early.

Chapter 11, the monthly exam, gave the Will of Fire a small shock.

"The theory exam will last three hours. Cheating is strictly prohibited. If caught, your score will be disqualified!"

While distributing the exam papers, Nobuyuki Imai emphasized the rules of the exam.

Although it's only first grade, the world's environment forces all children to mature early, and there's a lot to learn.

The theoretical exam in the first monthly test alone covered multiple subjects, including ninja history, chakra knowledge, physics, mathematics, traps, and first aid for external injuries.

Of course, content related to "The Will of Fire" is always indispensable.

Although Yoruichi Yagami was completely uninterested in the "Will of Fire" course, he studied the other theory courses diligently and had no problem passing the exams.

It took more than an hour to finish most of the questions on the exam paper.

Yagami Yoruichi looked at the last question, which accounted for a full 30% of the marks.

[Please explain your understanding of 'Naruto' by combining the themes of "The Will of Fire" and the deeds of the Third Hokage.]

After a moment's thought, Yagami Yoruichi picked up her pen and wrote: "The Third Hokage is like the sun, illuminating the entire Hidden Leaf Village. We can never repay the debt of gratitude we owe the Hokage..."

A mere immature 'Will of Fire' can brainwash so many people.

If we directly adopted the rhetoric used by that small neighboring country in my previous life to flatter their fat leader, wouldn't that have turned Hiruzen Sarutobi into an embryo?

This wave is going to be a sure thing!

"This is disgustingly written," Yagami Yoruichi muttered to himself. "It's all for the sake of slow development and avoiding hardship. Once my Divine Armor is fully formed, I won't eat beef anymore! For now, I'll just have to survive."

Suppressing her embarrassment, Yagami Yoruichi finished writing a piece of 'golden script' and checked the exam paper one last time. After confirming that there were no errors, she directly submitted the paper.

But Yoruichi Yagami wasn't the first to hand in her paper.

The first to hand in his paper was Kakashi Hatake.

He was not only a genius in ninja techniques, but also quite skilled in theory.

Although it wasn't mentioned much in the original work, being able to graduate from ninja school after only one year and become a Chunin the second year after graduation, it's impossible for him to have any shortcomings in theory.

After all, ninja promotion is never just a test of strength.

A significant portion of the ability to cope with various situations falls within the scope of theoretical knowledge.

Carrying the bento box to the rooftop, I found that Kakashi Hatake had already finished eating and was about to go downstairs.

Kakashi Hatake was slightly taken aback when he saw Yoruichi Yagami, clearly not expecting that Yoruichi, who often slept in class, would hand in her paper early.

"The practical test this afternoon." As Kakashi Hatake brushed past Yoruichi Yagami, he suddenly spoke up: "I'm going to challenge you, is that alright?"

"Challenge me?" Yagami Yoruichi was surprised.

He had no idea what Sakumo Hatake had said to Kakashi Hatake, and wondered why Kakashi Hatake considered him an opponent.

However, facing the challenge from her opponent, Yagami Yoruichi, who is determined to be number one, will naturally not back down.

If they were to fight each other, and based solely on their combat performance, Yoruichi Yagami wouldn't dare say she could definitely outperform Kakashi Hatake.

However, if he were to defeat Kakashi Hatake head-on, the outcome would be quite obvious.

"The practical test this afternoon consists of three rounds," Yagami Yoruichi said. "If we don't meet in the first two rounds, let's have a spar in the third round."

“Then it’s settled.” Kakashi Hatake nodded and said, “I look forward to fighting you.”

Before Yagami Yoruichi could ask anything else, Hatake Kakashi had already quickly left.

"Strange fellow."

Yagami Yoruichi was puzzled, but didn't think much of it. She went to a corner of the rooftop, opened her bento box, and started eating.

Eating lunch early ensures that the food is digested by the time the afternoon's practical test begins, guaranteeing that the body is in the best condition for combat.

This is also a little 'trick' that Ikkaku Umino taught Yoruichi Yagami.

During ninja missions, if you can roughly determine when a battle will occur, you can adjust your eating schedule to keep yourself in peak condition as much as possible.

Although this impact may not seem significant, sometimes, such a slight difference can mean the difference between life and death in a formal ninja mission.

……

in the afternoon.

"The practical assessment consists of three rounds. Only the Konoha-ryu taijutsu taught at school is allowed, and you are permitted to fight with your bare hands or use wooden kunai. Don't worry about being defeated by a strong opponent. The scoring criteria are based on your performance in the battle, not just on winning or losing."

Nobuyuki Imai drew two slips of paper from the lottery box and read out the names on them: "Tobitake Dragonfly, Matsuiyama".

The first round of assessment clearly distinguished between the strong and the weak.

Strong characters like Yoruichi Yagami, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi were all facing weaker extras, making the battles completely one-sided.

Clearly, this was not entirely a random draw.

Although it appears to be a lottery, given Imai Shin's strength as a chunin, it would be incredibly easy for him to tamper with the lottery process.

"Round 2: Yoruichi Yagami and Mizuki."

Nobuyuki Imai called out Yoruichi Yagami's name.

A boy with short white hair stood in front of Yagami Yoruichi, a fake smile on his face. He formed the hand seal of opposition and said, "Yagami Yoruichi, nice to meet you."

Mizuki, the first villain in the original work, made the whole process of stealing the Book of Seals seem incredibly childish, making one wonder if Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately gave Naruto Uzumaki a ninjutsu.

At this age, has SMTH already become so hypocritical?

A series of thoughts flashed through Yagami Yoruichi's mind, but he remained outwardly calm, forming opposing hand seals and standing still without choosing to launch an attack.

Seeing this, Mizuki didn't hesitate and took the initiative to attack.

After being classmates for a month and taking practical classes together every day, we naturally understood each other's abilities.

Mizuki knew he was no match for Yagami Yoruichi, and only wanted to perform as well as possible and get a high score.

He wielded a wooden kunai and charged forward swiftly, the tip of the kunai aimed at Yoruichi Yagami's chest. His movements were quick and fierce.

Of course, this is judged by the standards of a first-year student at a regular ninja academy.