Сhapter 23

The fourth year of the Shinobi Academy did not meet me very friendly… In the literal sense of the word. My new classmates were not very happy with the replenishment in my person. And if in my last class I had some problems with the team mainly because of the prejudices of the older generation of the village and my own, not the best, reputation, then in the new class I was almost immediately disliked because of the very fact of my transfer to the fourth year.

Geniuses, as it turned out, are not really loved. Although, this applies mainly to the male half of my class. The girls in the new class were a little more friendly to me, showing some interest in my direction. Although, in the new class there was already a "fatal prince" of the type already familiar to me Sasuke Uchiha. That's only if he attracted girls mainly with his surname, which is rare nowadays, and the aura of such a depressive teenager… Which looked pretty cool for the kids. Then Neji Hugo really could boast of some abilities…

However, this did not compensate for his shitty character in any way. Faced for the first time with this arrogant and lying boy, I almost immediately wanted to slap him a couple of good, paternal slaps on the back of the head. Otherwise, I haven't seen such a concentration of arrogance and rage raging inside for a long time… However, the first successful opportunity to kick the kid failed miserably, because, alas, I myself got nuts.

And yes, all this mess was happening under the eyes of dozens of my new classmates, because we ran into this Hugo right in combat training classes. During the first, so to speak demonstrative, sparring sessions this year, our couple was put against each other. And even though I still managed to show myself well, energizing and strengthening my body with chakra, as well as using the standard combat style of the leaf, but it turned out to be too little against Hugo…

Not only did he know how to use the chakra well himself, but his fighting style in many ways surpassed my attempts to swing my fists... the movements of the boy were too smooth, but at the same time sharp and consistent. And his blows with his fingers could even penetrate me, despite the fact that in a normal fight I could almost freely take other people's blows on my face and body. Under the pressure of adrenaline, the slight pain from bruises and abrasions somehow was not felt by me, and then all the equals very, very quickly faded away…

This time it was a little different. Neji's blows were very, very painful, the guy knew where to hit, so that it would not only hurt, but the damage to the body at the same time was not weak… So, after our first sparring, I had to go to the hospital, because this little slap really hit me in the adam's apple... Which was painful to tears and very traumatic. Well, after that blow, my legs literally gave way, and I hardly tried to take at least one extra breath.

The unrestrained contraction of the muscles of the throat and larynx simply did not allow me to breathe properly… And the lack of air in general is very difficult to tolerate by the body... up to panic attacks and fainting, yes. Fortunately, it still didn't come to this in my case, but I couldn't continue the fight anyway. Yes, and in the first-aid post, consider that my new classmates dragged me, not forgetting to properly go through my self-esteem… Well, or so they thought.

I was not interested in their angry words, I tried to understand where such a reaction of the body came from at all. What kind of nerve node was touched by my recent rival that I was so covered… I didn't get to anything intelligible, however, I didn't get to the end, but I did have a new reason to visit the library. And I decided to train my combat skills properly, especially since Iruka was not even against this at all…

Although, I doubt that I will be able to outgrow the skills of an arrogant boy from the Hugo clan so quickly. He, obviously, has been trained in the clan for a long time, and he himself, as far as I remembered that story from a previous life, was a genius of his generation in the clan, even though he was a member of the "side branch"… I could only do my physical development and train in the style of a sheet with Iruka.

Yeah, not the best conditions, but the current me is certainly a sin to complain. A few months ago... well, maybe a year ago, I could only count on myself and my amazing body in every sense. By the way, it still recovered quickly after the damage received during sparring. And Neji rolled me nicely, yet our "battle" dragged on long enough. I kept trying to get used to the movements of my opponent, while enduring quite long and very methodical beatings.

Although, I was able to hurt the boy several times in the end, which earned me a fairly high rating from the teacher, but my defeat was still more than obvious… Yeah, still, I'm somewhat fixated on this event. Losing a fight to a young turkey with an inflated self-esteem was very, very unpleasant. But I already had enough new experiences in my life. Still, the transition to the fourth year was more than the right decision…

New subjects, a variety of classes, one way or another implying practical work with the chakra and hand seals, as well as an abundance of various training in combat and physical training, in which we were now taught not only Toijutsu and Kenjutsu, but also more applied Shinobi arts, instilling the ability to set and detect the same traps… Yes, a lot of useful things began to be taught in the fourth year, to be honest.

And let it be felt so far that the very basics were being presented to us, but even so I absorbed the knowledge like a sponge. Moreover, among the theoretical subjects, quite interesting classes on strategy and tactics have also appeared… We were even trained to work in a team, forcing us to practice some of the acquired knowledge. And all this at the very beginning of the year, which really inspired me.

Although, I already knew the schedule for the fourth and fifth courses. Iruka-sensei was not going to let me stop there, and therefore, almost every evening, he devoted a little of his time to my training. And with some theoretical subjects, he also did not hesitate to help me, allowing me to start breaking away from the program I already knew…

Crazy loads, to be honest. Very intensive training at the Shinobi academy, my own training, studying the scrolls given to me by my curator and preparing for the exams for the fourth year already this half-year… I was just starting to get tired of listing all this, and after all, among other things, I also had to give my best in training with Iruka-sensei, and no one canceled household chores…

Fortunately, things have been somewhat easier with the latter lately. Iruka often treated me to not the most expensive eateries, allowing me not to worry so much about cooking. And my slightly increased scholarship, and it was increased by almost thirty percent for me as a successful student, allowed me to be a little more picky in choosing products. What is also important, nevertheless, with my current loads, I needed to eat well ... Although sometimes it seemed to me that I had a real nuclear reactor in my chest, and instead of a heart, a completely mechanical motor.

Perhaps such a sharp feeling arose because of heart problems in my past world, which did not contribute to my physical health in general, but the fact is that despite the enormous, as for my age, loads, I not only coped with them, I also managed to tolerate them well. I think this was possible only due to the volume of my chakra, which was not exhausted even at the end of the most exhausting training with this chakra. As a rule, mental fatigue just piled on me, which is why I lost control of the chakra, but there was still plenty of chakra in me…

Yeah, I think if it wasn't for her, I would definitely have started to slowly bend from the current pace of training and learning… Well, it's okay, I've been doing pretty well so far. I even had some kind of enthusiasm burning in me, and the inspiration from my own successes has not yet thought of going to naught… If it hadn't been for that defeat from little Hugo, everything would have been fine in general.