Chapter 7: Genius

After Iruka finished speaking, Natsuro immediately began extracting chakra in front of him. This time, he extracted all of his chakra at once and released it without any reservations, resulting in his entire body being enveloped in a layer of blue chakra.

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Natsuro, unable to believe the sheer amount of chakra Natsuro had extracted in one go. It made him wonder just how terrifying Natsuro's chakra reserves must be.

However, the next moment, Natsuro and Iruka locked eyes.

Natsuro stared at Iruka.

"Uh…" Iruka let out in confusion.

"Natsuro, why aren't you continuing to extract? To compare chakra levels, you need to extract all your chakra" Iruka reminded him.

"I've already extracted all of it" he said, frowning slightly as he observed Iruka's reaction. "Iruka-sensei, is my chakra amount really that low?"

If it was indeed too low, it would be problematic, as many ninjutsu techniques depend on having a substantial amount of chakra.

"Low? No, no, not at all. I just didn't expect you to extract all of your chakra at once" Iruka quickly clarified upon seeing his concerned expression.

"So, Iruka-sensei, what is my current chakra level? How does it compare to a genins'?" he asked, his gaze fixed on Iruka. This was crucial to the results of his efforts over the past years.

"Well, let me think" Iruka said, examining Natsuro before continuing, "Currently, your chakra amount is approximately half of the lowest level of a freshly graduated genin. On average, it's about twice that amount"

"Is there such a big difference?" Natsuro frowned again.

"No, no, Natsuro, your chakra amount is already quite significant. After all, you're still growing, and your chakra level will increase as your body develops. In fact, at this stage, the chakra produced naturally by your growing body is more than what you could gain through training" Iruka explained.

Iruka took another look at the chakra surrounding Natsuro, marveling before adding, "So, if you continue to grow normally until graduation, your chakra amount should be well above average"

"Oh, I see." as he finally relaxed. It seemed his hard work had paid off and was indeed impressive, surpassing the average level.

Suddenly, he realized something was not quite right. There was also Naruto Uzumaki in his year, whose chakra amount was extraordinarily high due to being the host of the Nine-Tails and having the Ashura reincarnation and Uzumaki lineage. Even without the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's was formidable.

Considering Naruto, he thought he might not even reach the average level, but he smiled, thinking he shouldn't compare himself to such freaks of nature.

Seeing Natsuro's smile, Iruka also breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost discouraged him, and if a genius like Natsuro was demoralized, especially as his own student, Iruka would never forgive himself.

Indeed, in Iruka's eyes, Natsuro had already become a genius. Being able to learn chakra extraction so quickly and performing it with good proficiency, along with a chakra amount equivalent to a third-year student's at the start of the school year, was undoubtedly the mark of a genius.

"There's one more thing, Natsuro" Iruka said with a smile, happy for his talented student.

"Hm?" Natsuro looked at Iruka with curiosity.

"Natsuro, your ability to extract chakra at once surpasses that of most genin and is comparable to some chunin. This is very impressive" Iruka added, admitting that he was initially shocked by the large amount of chakra he had extracted.

"Oh" he didn't pay much attention to this, as the amount of chakra extracted at once related to mental strength, and he was confident in that area.

"By the way, Iruka-sensei, can I learn the basic techniques ahead of time?" Natsuro finally brought up his second request. The two goals were interconnected; showing exceptional performance for his year could lead to learning these techniques.

"Well, technically, the basic techniques are taught in the second year, but your current level does exceed that of a second-year student. So, it's fine for you to learn them now" Iruka agreed after some thought.

Since it was something that would be taught eventually, there was no rule against teaching it earlier. Even moving the teaching of these techniques to the first year wasn't impossible, but not every student was like Natsuro. Most needed to start from the basics, so Iruka decided against it.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." he thanked him sincerely. He had approached Iruka because he knew from the original story that Iruka's character was supportive. If it were Mizuki, he wouldn't have sought him out. Even though he was fairly certain Iruka would agree, gratitude was still important since Iruka didn't owe him anything.

"Oh, it's no trouble. Besides, the teacher believes you've earned these techniques through your own hard work" Iruka said with a laugh, pleased to be thanked by his student.

Iruka then handed Natsuro three scrolls, saying, "These are the basic techniques. They include some of my insights. Read through them first, and if you have any questions later, come back to me. But remember to return the scrolls"

"Got it" He took the scrolls and noticed they were marked with many annotations. These were likely prepared by Iruka for future teaching, with notes on explanations. If he couldn't learn from these, he might as well bang his head against a wall.

"Is there anything else, Natsuro?" Iruka asked.

"Since you've helped me so much, I'd like to treat you to a meal" he said.

"Ha ha, it's my job to help students. Besides, I have things to do…" Iruka began to refuse.

"Ichiraku Ramen" he added.

Iruka hesitated. He liked Ichiraku Ramen, but he didn't need students to treat him. As a chunin, he could afford it himself. However, seeing Natsuro's earnest expression and considering that a meal at Ichiraku wasn't very expensive for Natsuro's family, he decided to accept.

"Alright, then. I'll be busy, so you go ahead and head home. I'll meet you in front of Ichiraku Ramen at six in the evening" he said, not giving Iruka a chance to refuse, and left.

Iruka watched Natsuro's departing figure, slightly stunned. He felt that Natsuro seemed older than his actual age. Reflecting on Natsuro's family situation, he sighed.

Indeed, children from poor families mature early. It was impressive that Natsuro knew his preference for Ichiraku Ramen. Though Iruka had mentioned it before, he doubted most students would remember. It made him happy!