Chapter 2

Hattori soon found out that his son wasn't a genius only in smithing. Kenji was amazing in every single thing he did. All it took were a few tries and his son would become proficient in his task.

Hattori's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at his son practicing bukijutsu with the finesse of a seasoned shinobi. Kenji's arm blurred as he threw the kunai at the target, hitting the bullseye from a distance of 30 yards.

What was preplexing was the rapid increase in the force with which he threw the kunai. Hattori felt like he was looking at the second coming of Hatake Kakashi.

Meanwhile, Kenji was having a blast. The 5000% boost had made him a machine. All it took was forging a single kunai for his bladesmithing skill to shoot directly to 43% intermediate from 1% beginner.

After throwing the kunai for a few times, his shurikenjutsu skill was unlocked and had increased to 3% expert. The increase in his strength and dexterity was off the charts.

He also learnt the way to increase his power. It wasn't quests. The system did no give him any quests at all. Instead, he gained power by increasing his skill proficiency. Every 1% mastery increased his base damage of a weapon or jutsu by 0.2.

'How many skill levels can I have?'

[Skill levels:

Beginner >> Intermediate >> Expert >> Adept >> Master >> Grandmaster >> Legendary >> Mythic >> Heroic >> Godly]

'So godly is the highest. I'm guessing it's going to be very tough to level up to that even with the 5000% boost.'

[WIS +2]

'Makes sense. Given this massive ass skill tree under the skills.'

Bukijutsu was further divided into: Shurikenjutsu (kunai and shuriken), kenjutsu (swords), tantojutsu (knives), bo-jutsu (Quarterstaff), kyujutsu (bow and arrow), kusarigamajutsu (kusarigama), kyoketsu-shogejutsu (chain-knife), tessenjutsu (war fan), kugutsujutsu (puppets), yarijutsu (spear), kayakujutsu (explosives), saijutsu (sai), kamajutsu (kama), tonfajutsu (tonfa), onojutsu (axe), and lastly otsuchijutsu (hammer).

The sub types of bladesmithing were as many as the types of weapons.

'That 5000% boost was more of a respite than a blessing. Damn! I'd have lost my mind given the sheer amount of skills here. Just weapons and smithing have so many sub skills. And I'm not even going to look at lifestyle skills. This will take me a lifetime.'

Kenji threw the kunai again which got embedded into the target with a loud thunk. Looking at the sorry state of the target and the sun setting in the sky, he decided to stop for the day.

[Name: Mimura Kenji

Age: 5

HP: 300

CP: 275

C-CTRL: 17%

STR: 15

DEX: 19

VIT: 15

INT: 23

WIS: 17

LUC: 40/40]

———————————————————–

Kenji made forging and then training with the forged weapon his daily routine. It was the fastest way to increase is skills. He also practiced chakra control as it was going to be the deciding factor in the extent of his abilities.

His father limited him to forging kunai, shuriken, and tanto as they were small is size and easier to handle than a katana or a spear. Instead, Kenji was allowed to use wooden replicas to train with the bigger weapons.

He was content with his improvement. There was no need to fight death battles to increase his power. Instead, he could simply train and become stronger. He'd rather be alive and die as someone's grandfather than die before he even reached puberty.

Over the next few months, he kept his performance average. Playing possom was the way to survival. Suffice to say that he was overlooked when it came to pushing 6 year old kids to become genin.

The taijutsu taught at the academy was quite basic and Kenji became an expert in it within a few hours of practice. He knew that the style was average at best, but it wasn't the style that made a fighter, it was the individual's skill.

In a single year, Kenji gained expertise in every single bukijutsu. Hattori even allowed him to forge the weapons once Kenji was deemed skilled enough to be able to safely handle the weapons.

A shinobi's true ability relied in their skill. Raw power, while necessary, wasn't the deciding factor in a battle.

Uchiha Madara was a powerful shinobi. But it was his skill that put him above the rest. Even Naruto could handle the likes of Momoshiki because of his amazing taijutsu and battle IQ despite of being weakened.

Ninjutsu was an aspect that helped in times when facing multiple enemies or when there was a need to maintain distance or for destruction. But, in the end, it was bukijutsu and taijutsu which decided the outcome of a fight.

Kenji had become proficient enough to graduate and become a genin. But it was mutually decided between the father and son that he would only graduate when he was at least 10 years old. Only then Hattori deemed that Kenji would he mature enough to think for himself and survive.

"Mimura Kenji!"

"Yes!"

"Aaaand Uchiha Shisui."

It was time for the weekly taijutsu evaluation.

Kenji was annoyed by the screeching fangirls of Shisui. But they were not going to deter him from his goal, appear as average as possible to avoid graduation.

Shisui was a genius of the clan. His skill was mesmerizing and all everyone had for him were praises.

Kenji stood his ground, deciding to stay on the defensive as Shisui dashed towards him, intent on finishing the fight quickly. The boy was fast, but still slow for Kenji who had reached adept level in the academy taijutsu.

He redirected the first kick to go above his head, and grabbed the leg before throwing Shisui away. The Uchiha did not land outside the ring, but was caught by surprise.

Kenji did not chase and waited for Shisui the attack again even though following up with the throw made better sense.

Shisui attacked again with a feint, followed by a punch. Kenji did not fall for it. Instead, he pushed the oncoming fist away and replied with a counter, staggering his opponent with a punch to his jaw.

Then, Kenji proceeded to hold him in an arm bar. Shisui screamed in pain, but did not give up. He picked Kenji up with his arm trapped in the hold and was about to slam him back on the ground.

Kenji released the hold before that could happen and did a hurricanrana which dropped Shisui on his back. He then attemped to hold the targetted arm into an arm bar once again.

Shisui did not allow the hold to be completed and repeatedly punched Kenji in the face to make him free the arm. In the end, Kenji was forced to release the hold.

Shisui was downright serious. No one had ever managed to best him like Kenji, not even the Uchiha adults. He pulled a kunai out of his bag and slashed at Kenji, who replied with a kunai slash of his own.

Sparks flew as the blades struck, but none yielded to the other. They attacked again and again, but none got the upper hand. Kenji was smiling and having fun. It was like playing. Shisui was getting frustrated. The grin on his opponent's face told him that Kwnji wasn't serious. Yet, he was trying everything to win the fight.

Ultimately, Kenji deliberately fell for a feint and allowed Shisui to place the kunai against his throat. Still, the grin did not leave his face.

'That. Was. Exhilarating!!!'

"Winner, Uchiha Shisui!!"

Cheers and applause resounded around the field. Everyone had been mesmerized by the fight. Even the chunin were stunned by the high octane fight.

'Ah, I may have overdone it a lil' bit.'

Later that day, Kenji was asked if he wanted to take the graduation exam as his sensei was willing to nominate him for it.

"Sensei, I'm greatful that you feel I'm worthy. But, after losing to Shisui, I feel inept. I want to learn more before I step into the shoes of my seniors. I feel that I've learned of my limits today. It was the hardest I'd ever fought in a taijutsu battle. Yet, I fell short."

The chunin was quick to fall for Kenji's hogwash. He smiled and said, "Alright, I will not give your name in for the exam. But I do feel that you could learn more in a higher grade. Your fight today with Shisui was thrilling. It's a testament of your skill that you could fight toe to toe against someone like him. Shisui is shoe-in for graduation. You should be proud that you could push him to that extent."

Kenji exhaled in relief as he returned home. He avoided being sent to the frontlines. The chunin truly knew how to honey their worlds.

'No wonder so many brats want to become genin. Getting praised like that would make anyone eager to prove themselves. Motherfucker, he almost had me! I'm not going to join the war until I'm strong enough to best a fucking jonin, damn it!! I want to live long and have a hot wife! Oh goddess of luck, please protect my goals. I'll finish your shrine in this year.'

[WIS +5

INT +5

DEX and STR have reached 80. VIT has reached 85.

You have reached level Master in Academy taijutsu.

You have unlocked heroic taijutsu 'Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist', the ultimate defensive taijutsu style created by 'Bang' Silver Fang, one of the greatest fighters in fiction.

Name: Mimura Kenji

Age: 5

HP: 1700

CP: 1435

C-CTRL: 67%

STR: 80

DEX: 80

VIT: 85

INT: 98

WIS: 104

LUC: 40/40]

'PRAISE TO THE GODDESS OF LUCK!!!'