50 50. A Training Test
Fifteen minutes later,
Everyone gathers in the training ground.
"Seems like everyone is here!" Koga glances at the students to confirm their number.
"Now for the training!"
Koga makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu,"
White smoke covers the ground, and multiple rabbits jump out of the smoke.
"Why did you summon us?" One of the rabbits in the lead asks Koga.
"The rabbit can speak!" the sight of a speaking rabbit surprises the rest of the students.
This isn't Yuji's first time seeing a talking animal. Back when he was training with Tsunade, Tsunade summoned a slug that can also talk. He was shocked beyond comprehension to see a talking slug since it wasn't scientifically possible for a slug to speak as they don't have proper vocal cords to produce the syllable required for communication.
When he asked the little slug about it can speak, the slug only gave him one answer.
"Chakra!"
He was speechless for a second since this was the answer he expected but didn't seek for. Later, Tsunade explained to him that the little slug uses a tiny bit of wind chakra in its throat to produce that voice.
'No wonder! It's the reason these summons sound like artificial intelligence. Their voice is so distorted and sound out of the place. Even this rabbit has a peculiar voice. Though its voice is a bit more distorted than that little slug.'
Tsunade did tell him that slug is a very high-level summon and that little slug is a very small portion of it.
'Perhaps it has something to do with their chakra control. Someone with greater chakra control can perform more precise tasks.' He recalls the almost perfect chakra control of Tsunade.
'If only I can reach that level of fine control, then perhaps I can replicate that feat that I performed during that life-and-death moment.'
Yuji recalls his feat of splitting his chakra into fine threads and wrapping them around his blood vessels and nerves. That technique effectively bolstered his strength and defenses by almost tenfold. Though it also had serious repercussions on his mind and body as it almost forced him into a vegetative state. If not for the power of his inheritance, he was doomed to die there.
"I have a task for you all!" Koga's words pull him out of his thoughts.
Koga explains the situation to the rabbits and assigns them a bell.
The rabbit takes the bell and dashes into the forest while leaving behind a trail of footsteps.
A few seconds later,
Koga turns to his students.
"Divide yourself into groups!"
The students quickly pair with each other, leaving only Yuji, the fat Akimichi kid, a burly teenager, and the Uchiha clan kid alone. The Uchiha clan kid is alone because he refused other's requests to pair with him.
"Hmm… since you are the only people left, then all of you will form a group." Koga decides for them.
"Sensei, I want to work alone." The Uchiha kid remarks.
Anger appears on Koga's face at the Uchiha Kid's remark.
"Listen brat! I can withstand your later arrival in the class since you are a bit of a prodigy and skipped a few classes to enter this class. However, if you continue to behave in such a manner, then I will request the principal to send you back to your previous class." Koga angrily harrumphs at him.
"Now then!"
He turns his attention to the rest of the students.
"Everyone listen, my summoned rabbits have hidden four bells within the forest. I asked them to leave lots of trails to point toward the hiding spot. There are false tracks mixed within, too. Your task is to track the trails and find the bells."
He scrutinizes every student.
"Now the groups who can find the trail will be exempted from the miscellaneous community work next week." He adds.
"Yeah!" The gloomy expression of the student turns vibrant at the announcement.
"Miscellaneous community work?!" Yuji is slightly confused.
'What sort of training task is that?' He wonders.
The fat Akimichi clan kid notices his expression.
"You don't know about the miscellaneous community task?"
Yuji shakes his head.
"Miscellaneous community tasks are a series of tasks like cleaning public toilets, cleaning parks, cleaning Hokage monument, and other such tasks. Starting from the fourth year, every class is assigned a specific weekly task. This continues till our graduation. This is for students to gain experience as well as serve the village at the same time. The next week's task is to clean public toilets." The fat Akimichi kid explains to him.
"If some of us are exempted from the task, then the rest of the students have to clean their portion as well. That's why everyone wants to avoid this task." He explains.
'Friendly... aren't these two being way too friendly?' Yuji has a skeptical look on his face.
"By the way, I am Chomu Akimichi." Chomu introduces himself.
"I am Yuji Kura," Yuji replies in courtesy.
"I am Haru Yuino!" The burly teen introduces himself to Yuji.
All of them turn towards the Uchiha kid, but the latter snorts and turns away.
"Let's work together to search for that bell. I don't want to clean those smelly toilets again!" Chomu pinches his nose in disgust.
Yuji and Haru stare at Chomu with a weird expression. A walking cesspit like him is talking shit about the foul smell of public toilets. Does this guy even have self-awareness?
Chomu's face turn red in embarrassment at the peculiar gaze of Yuji and Haru.
"It's not like that. Despite being an Akimichi clan member known for their ability to digest almost anything, I suffer from ingestion because of a certain chakra disease I was born with." Chomu attempts to explain his situation.
"You had it rough buddy!" Haru pats his shoulder.
"Hmph… life, you are any better." Chomu retorts.
"I believe you have spent three extra years in the academy and you are yet to graduate." He adds.
"Well… I have some confidence in my physical strength." Haru flexes his well-built muscles.
"But my chakra control is poor to the point that I can't even perform a basic transformation jutsu. So, yeah, this is my final year at the academy. If I didn't graduate this time, then I have to drop from the academy. I will help my father with his business." Haru also explains his situation.
"Oh, I forgot to mention my father is a blacksmith and we run Yuino smithery." Haru promotes his shop.
"Also, that arrogant kid is Akio Uchiha. He is a prodigy of the Uchiha clan who skipped two grades from third year to fifth year." Chomu introduces the Uchiha clan kid.
Both of them turn toward Yuji.
"But Yuji is something else. You skipped three grades and directly jumped to the fifth year from second grade. That Uchiha kid must be fuming right now." Both of them chuckle.
'Well, the kid in question is listening to both of your words.' Yuji makes a helpless face and glances in Akio's direction.
"Don't get in my way!" Akio harrumphs and ignores them.
After the students familiarize themselves with each other, Koga waves his hand to mark the start of the training.
Whoosh…
With a burst of speed, the students disappear from this previous position using the body flicker technique. The body Flicker technique is a part of the curriculum taught during the fourth year. It comes under advanced movement techniques and is essentially taught to every student seeking to become a shinobi.
Some are fast, while some are slow. Their speed depends on their mastery of the body Flicker technique. Akio Uchiha is the fastest among them all, with a relatively high mastery of the technique compared to the rest of his classmates.
Yuji also keeps up with his teammates while using the bare minimum required chakra. He mastered the technique to a very high level and can approach the speed of sound for an instant. However, his body is too weak to handle the strain of the technique.
'Looks like that Uchiha kid has higher endurance than me. But there is someone else who amazes me more than that Uchiha kid!'
Yuji glances sideways at his burly teammate Haru Yuino. The latter can move toe to toe with them without using any movement technique.
'On top of his high physical strength, his stamina and endurance are also far greater than anybody else in the classroom. I am sure he can go even faster if not for his teammates.'
He turns towards Chomu, who is breathing heavily while running. The latter is barely able to use the body flicker technique to maintain a minimum speed. As a result, those three are the slowest among the group of all students.
Koga glances at the group of students as his rabbit summons and returns to his side. He takes out a basket of carrots and feeds them to the rabbits.
One of the rabbits stands on his hinds and munches on a carrot as it speaks.
"There are a bunch of misfits in this new class of yours."
"They sure are." Koga also gnaws on a carrot as he mutters.
"It's part of the reason I am looking forward to their performance. Perhaps they might give me a surprise." He utters these words while glancing at Yuji's back.
"Oh!" The rabbit turns towards him.
"My money is on that black-haired brat with an arrogant look on his face." The rabbit remarks. He notices Koga's gaze on Yuji.
"You are interested in that chibi's performance?" The rabbit chuckles since Yuji is the shortest among his classmates.
"Perhaps we might see a surprise," Koga remarks.
'That glance! That expression on his face. I have only seen it on the faces of those people who are confident in their abilities or those who overestimate themselves. I wonder which one is he!'
