Chapter 2: An Unconventional Genius
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Chapter 2: An Unorthodox Genius
What was a genius?
In Guy’s eyes, the Uchiha were not truly geniuses. They simply had better origins and superior learning environments. Compared with them, it was far more difficult for an ordinary person to become a genius ninja.
That was why he admired Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage so much.
And now—
“Lord Third, although that child can’t learn nature transformation or genjutsu, he came up with a ninjutsu resembling the Rasengan entirely on his own.”
“He’s an unorthodox genius!”
In the office, Guy excitedly reported to the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage held an information sheet in his hand, took a puff of his pipe, and asked, “How is his taijutsu?”
“His control over his muscles and strength, as well as his innate talent, are even greater than Rock Lee’s.”
Guy described what he had observed. “I originally planned to accept him into my team after graduation, but now that I think about it, having him follow me would be a waste of his talents.”
The Third Hokage fell silent.
The information sheet contained the academy’s assessment.
Yagyu Chiba.
Outstanding chakra control.
First in academic performance.
First in taijutsu.
First in kunai throwing.
Yet when it came to ninjutsu, he could not even learn the Three Basic Techniques. He could dispel genjutsu with ease, but he could not learn a single genjutsu himself.
And yet—
The fact that he had conceived of the Rasengan on his own clearly demonstrated extraordinary creativity.
Without a doubt—
Chiba was a true genius.
“Lord Third!”
“I’ll meet him first, then decide.”
After thinking for a long while, the Third Hokage still reached no conclusion.
He wanted to meet this unorthodox genius.
……
“In today’s throwing examination, Chiba and Tenten tied for first place. The rest of you need to work harder!”
“Yes.”
The others answered listlessly.
Tenten clenched her fists, but could only let out a helpless sigh.
Ever since this fellow’s grades had begun improving by leaps and bounds a year ago, she had gradually gone from being “first in throwing” to “tied for first.” By now, she had slowly grown accustomed to it.
But—
Kunai throwing was not the only thing at which he excelled.
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Aside from ninjutsu and genjutsu, he was practically an all-rounder. Whenever the academy’s teachers mentioned him, they would give an admiring thumbs-up before letting out a long sigh.
She felt sorry for Chiba too, but the fellow himself seemed never to care.
“Chiba, would you like to practice throwing together?”
“Sure. Ah, sorry, you may have to wait a little.”
Chiba had just been about to practice with Tenten when he saw a teacher waving to him in the distance, apparently needing him for something. He had no choice but to say goodbye to Tenten and jog over.
His teacher was Mizuki.
Setting aside what happened later, Mizuki’s teaching ability in kunai throwing and basic ninjutsu was fairly good. As for his overall strength, well, it was nothing remarkable.
“Teacher Mizuki, did you need me?”
“It wasn’t me. The Hokage is here for an inspection today, and he specifically asked to meet you. Go to the conference room.”
“Yes!”
Chiba’s eyes lit up.
It worked!
Thank you so much, Teacher Guy!
He was incredibly excited—
It had to be Guy’s influence.
In the blink of an eye, Chiba had vanished from the spot.
“I’m jealous.”
“As expected of Chiba. Even Lord Third wants to meet him.”
“Ah, that’s a genius for you.”
“A genius? He still can’t learn ninjutsu.”
“……”
Rock Lee glanced over the group, shook his head lightly, and got up to go running.
A genius?
These people had no idea how much effort Chiba had put in. They saw only the dazzling surface, then erased all his sweat and toil with the two words “genius.”
Outside the conference room, Chiba gently knocked on the door.
“Lord Hokage.”
“Cough. The door isn’t locked. Come in.”
“Yes!”
He entered the room. The Third Hokage was holding a stack of documents and studying them with great interest.
Only after Chiba came in did he smile and say, “I looked over your records. During the past two years, aside from exercising, you’ve often gone to the library to read?”
“Yes. I have no talent for ninjutsu, so I wanted to create a technique that could be used without nature transformation. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that developing ninjutsu required an extremely broad foundation of knowledge.”
“Indeed. No technique can be created overnight.”
The Third Hokage nodded approvingly.
Chiba’s overall grades had begun improving precisely during that period.
He knew that—
There were many children at the academy who believed academic studies were unimportant. That was exactly why someone like Chiba was even more precious.
What a pity……
How could such a fine child be unable to learn nature transformation?
He shook his head and sighed before saying, “I heard from Guy that you created a technique of your own?”
“Ah, I wouldn’t say I created it myself. It seems to overlap with the Fourth Hokage’s technique. Besides, I only came up with the spiral-style enhancement at first. I hadn’t thought of the multiple turbulence effect.”
As he spoke, Chiba demonstrated the technique step by step, just as he had for Might Guy the day before.
The Third Hokage observed from the side and said with a smile, “Your approach and process are not quite the same as Minato’s. You had no prior knowledge of this technique, so what else could it be but your own creation? Don’t be modest. For today, just treat me as a teacher.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any other ideas?”
“I think chakra shape transformation and density compression also have great potential for development. Compared with conventional ninjutsu, they have the advantage of requiring no hand seals. Combined with taijutsu, their power would not be insignificant either.”
Chiba spoke with confidence.
This was an interview. Whether he succeeded or not would be decided right now.
The Third Hokage nodded in approval, but soon smiled and said, “Our predecessors also developed techniques of this kind, but gradually, no one continued studying them. The reason is simple. Compared with techniques without elemental attributes, adding nature transformation is clearly more powerful.”
“……”
Chiba fell silent.
He could not refute that.
Even the Rasengan itself was an incomplete technique. According to Minato’s original conception, its ultimate form should have incorporated nature transformation.
“People like you and Rock Lee are actually in the minority. For most people, ninjutsu is the most convenient and simplest path.”
“That is true. I simply happen to be unable to learn it.”
Chiba did not deny it.
“Exactly. You happen to be unable to learn it. Otherwise, you would never have thought of these things. Many techniques are born only when someone is driven into a difficult situation.”
The Third Hokage chuckled several times, then narrowed his eyes. “Guy is not skilled at ninjutsu. When you demonstrated the Rasengan before him, you must have had some request in mind, didn’t you?”
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“I’ve learned nearly everything the academy can teach me. I want to graduate early, then go to the Medical Department to study medical knowledge.”
Chiba spoke earnestly.
“You want to learn medical ninjutsu?”
“No. I simply want to gain a better understanding of the human body. The Medical Department and the hospital are the best places for that. Of course, if possible, I would also like to study the chakra scalpel.”
Chiba did not conceal his intentions.
There was no need. As a student of the Konoha Ninja Academy, he could simply state his request openly. Hiding it would only make him appear suspicious.
“Early graduation was abolished many years ago. You don’t need to graduate early merely to study at the Medical Department. You only need to apply for special study arrangements.”
The Third Hokage pondered for a moment. “How about this? I’ll arrange a comprehensive examination covering everything except ninjutsu. If you pass, I’ll agree.”
“Thank you very much!”
Chiba rose and bowed.
Although he would have to take an examination, he trusted in his own abilities. What he feared was encountering teachers as rigid as those at the academy, teachers who would refuse to give him any opportunity.
End of Chapter