Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Chapter 34: Victory!

April 16th, Konoha Year 39.

Shūichi Hoshita woke up early.

After washing up and putting on his black training uniform, he jogged out the door.

First up, a 10-kilometer run around the village!

With a light step, Shūichi disappeared into the morning light.

Ten minutes later, a familiar voice reached his ears.

It was Might Guy!

Sure enough, Shūichi soon saw Guy approaching from around a corner, moving towards him on his hands.

Guy lifted his head and spotted Shūichi as well, flipping upright with a joyful shout, "Shūichi, you're back!"

Shūichi stopped in his tracks and smiled, "Yeah, I returned to the village last night."

"So, Guy, how about a little competition?"

Guy, eager as ever, immediately agreed, "That's exactly what I was going to suggest."

"If I don't win, as punishment, I'll do another lap around the village this afternoon—on frog jumps!"

Shūichi added, "And if I don't win, I'll have a taijutsu match with Kakashi as my punishment!"

"Then let's get started!"

With passion surging through him, Guy flipped back into his handstand, and Shūichi quickly followed suit. The two of them moved in sync, racing on their hands.

They ran around the village, their sweat glistening in the morning light, creating a striking scene.

Twenty minutes later, they both returned to the starting point, leaning against the wooden fence and panting heavily.

Shūichi had lost!

But he clearly felt that his stamina had significantly improved.

The Double Physical Enhancement was really paying off!

As he dug deeper into its benefits, he realized that his chakra might not double, but increasing it by two-thirds wouldn't be out of reach.

While resting, Shūichi chatted casually with Guy. Ten minutes later, Guy left for academy, and Shūichi headed home for breakfast.

After breakfast, he went to his usual training spot to continue his regimen.

He walked across the river while carrying a large rock.

He climbed the cliff while holding that same large rock.

This was both a physical training exercise and a chakra control exercise.

After his morning training, Shūichi returned to the village's shopping district for a big meal—he needed a lot of energy.

At 2 PM, when he returned to his training spot, he saw Kakashi hanging from the cliff with one hand.

A smile immediately spread across Shūichi's face.

The Taijutsu Expert tag would require Kakashi!

So, when Kakashi climbed to the top of the cliff, he was greeted by Shūichi's smiling invitation, "Kakashi, how about a taijutsu match? Let's see if you've been slacking off in your training."

Kakashi responded with a hint of reluctance, "I'd be happy to, but at least let me rest first, okay?"

"Of course!"

Shūichi smiled and tossed a bottle of lightly salted water from his bag to Kakashi.

Kakashi accepted it without hesitation, taking large gulps.

The two sat side by side on the edge of the cliff, and Shūichi casually asked, "Learned any new jutsu recently?"

Kakashi replied, "Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation."

Shūichi was slightly surprised. "So, you've already completed your Earth Release nature transformation training?"

Kakashi nodded casually, "Yeah."

Shūichi gave him a thumbs up.

Kakashi was naturally gifted with two chakra natures: Earth and Lightning Release.

This meant that when training in Earth and Lightning Release jutsu, he didn't need to go through the specific chakra nature transformation training to use the corresponding jutsu.

For example, Kakashi had mastered the Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall jutsu early on and had used it many times in the practical classes at the Ninja Academy.

However, the same jutsu would have different power levels depending on the person using it.

The two main factors that influenced this were chakra amount and chakra nature transformation.

For instance, the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken is a prime example of the extreme combination of wind chakra nature transformation and shape transformation.

This is also why Shūichi hadn't specifically trained in Fire Release chakra nature transformation but was still able to train in Fire Release jutsu.

Because he was naturally gifted with Fire Release.

Of course, after training in five Fire Release jutsu, Shūichi had actually completed his Fire Release chakra nature transformation training in the process.

However, he hadn't started on Wind Release yet.

...

After resting for half an hour, Shūichi Hoshita and Kakashi squared off, ready to begin their taijutsu duel.

Dust flew and sweat splattered as the two clashed.

They fought from the top of the cliff to the ground, and then moved to the river's surface.

The more they fought, the more astonished Kakashi became.

He was being completely overpowered!

Though Kakashi primarily focused on ninjutsu, he had never neglected his taijutsu training.

He was confident that he had made considerable progress recently, especially with Guy, that overly enthusiastic guy, pushing him, and Shūichi, this overly disciplined guy, as his rival.

"It's his reaction speed..."

"Shūichi's reaction speed has increased again!"

Kakashi quickly realized the key difference. He intensified the weight of his strikes and increased the frequency of his attacks.

But Shūichi countered everything with relative ease.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi collapsed onto the grass, utterly exhausted.

He had no strength left, not a drop.

Meanwhile, though Shūichi was also drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, he remained standing.

Victory!

This was his first time winning a taijutsu duel against Kakashi, and it marked a significant step forward toward unlocking the Taijutsu Expert tag.

...

In the evening, after a long day, Shūichi relaxed in his bath, soaking in the warm water with his eyes closed as he pondered his next training plan.

He had already unlocked the Ninja Tools Expert tag, but the Taijutsu Expert tag required winning 50 taijutsu duels against Kakashi. Today was just the first victory, so there was still a long way to go.

Moreover, after today, Kakashi would likely train even harder, and Shūichi couldn't afford to slack off either.

So, which direction should he focus on next?

Which tag should he aim to unlock?

Medical Expert?

Wind Release Expert?

Clone Expert?

Body Flicker Expert?

Shūichi's eyes roamed over the gray, unactivated tags on his Tag Tree.

For most of the ninjutsu-related tags, the activation conditions were tied to the number of jutsu learned.

If Shūichi had come from a ninja clan, he would have had more access to ninjutsu resources.

His previous Fire Release techniques—two came from his father, one he learned from Uchiha Obito, and the remaining two were from Tenka.

As for the clone jutsu, Shūichi currently knew the basic Clone Technique and the Shadow Clone Technique. He still needed to learn three more clone techniques.

He naturally possessed Fire and Wind Release, which meant he would need to develop another chakra nature transformation to train in the corresponding clone techniques.

The situation with the Body Flicker Technique was similar.

"Ninjutsu resources..."

Shūichi sighed.

"In that case, I'll focus on Medical Expert first, and then Wind Release Expert."

Shūichi had made up his mind.

The resources for medical ninjutsu were available through Nonō Yakushi, while the resources for Wind Release ninjutsu could be obtained from his sensei, Minato Namikaze.

Besides, his role in the team was that of a medical ninja—he couldn't let that character setting fall apart.

With a splash, Shūichi finished his bath, dressed, and headed out to the orphanage.

Tonight, he planned to stay with Director Nonō Yakushi and study medical ninjutsu.

(End of Chapter)

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