"First place goes to Yukawa."
Eiichiro couldn't help but praise, "Yukawa's progress since enrolling has been remarkable. Everyone should learn from him."
Hatake Kakashi instinctively clenched his fist.
Even though it was just a trivial physical training exercise, a hint of frustration lingered. After all, he had always been the top student in the class, excelling in every aspect.
"Ah!"
Might Guy clutched his head in frustration. If not for the sudden illness that struck him near the finish line, he might have won.
But it wasn't a big deal. Physical training was nothing to him; what truly excited him was discovering a new rival.
"Kakashi actually lost?"
Uchiha Obito felt worse than if he had been killed. "Damn it! Kakashi can only lose to me!"
Nohara Rin gazed at the handsome boy, even drenched in sweat, and blinked curiously. She wondered, "How can a ninja from an ordinary background be so strong?"
After defeating Sarutobi Asuma, and now outrunning Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, could their class be producing a commoner genius?
Nohara Rin thought of Namikaze Minato, who had been taken as a disciple by Jiraiya.
"It's just physical training," Sarutobi Asuma said through gritted teeth.
The next moment, the petite figure in his vision stood up.
He suddenly longed to go home, mentally exhausted.
"Yukawa, you're amazing!" Yuhi Kurenai jogged over to Yukawa and sat down beside him.
Catching her breath, she brushed sweat-dampened strands of hair behind her ear, revealing her clear forehead.
Yukawa nodded weakly.
He had pushed himself to the limit in that final burst to overtake Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, leaving him mentally drained.
Yet inwardly, he was thrilled.
Two skill points and a month of hard work had already given him the potential to catch up to them. This cheat was truly powerful.
Of course, this only applied to running.
He certainly couldn't beat them in a fight.
Physical training ended, and it was time for school to let out.
Yukawa sent Yuhi Kurenai home and headed north.
Having trained extensively at the Fourth Training Ground, he was familiar with the surrounding area.
North of the Fourth Training Ground lay the renowned Death Forest, a marvel created by the First Hokage Hashirama Senju using his Wood Release.
After walking for a while, Yukawa heard footsteps behind him.
He turned to see Hatake Kakashi.
"Going to train?" Yukawa asked.
Kakashi nodded slightly. He was planning to do some extra training today, having lost the physical training session.
"Are you going to train too?" Kakashi countered.
"Sort of," Yukawa replied after a moment's thought.
A normal ninja wouldn't waste time training with Exploding Tags.
Admitting to such a thing would only make you look foolish and wasteful.
But Yukawa had a system panel and needed to fill progress bars.
Reaching the Fourth Training Ground, Yukawa continued walking northward.
Kakashi glanced at him, curious but silent.
After a moment's contemplation, he began to run.
"Sorry, I had a mission today and was delayed."
Half an hour later, Hatake Sakumo arrived.
Hatake Kakashi shook his head, indicating it was fine.
"Why are you running today?" Hatake Sakumo asked, surprised.
"Warming up," Hatake Kakashi replied calmly.
For some reason, he didn't want to tell Hatake Sakumo about losing his physical training competition to Yukawa.
But now he had to admit his father's judgment was remarkably accurate.
Yukawa's rapid progress made him feel a slight pressure.
Of course, he still believed he would ultimately prevail.
Forest of Death.
Dense branches blocked out most of the sunlight, creating an oppressive darkness even in broad daylight.
Suddenly, Yukawa's eyes lit up. He accelerated forward, and his vision expanded to reveal a wide riverbank.
Seeing this, Yukawa pulled out an Exploding Tag and casually tossed it down.
Boom!
A shallow crater erupted in the ground, the soil charred black.
You get what you pay for, Yukawa thought.
The problem wasn't the Exploding Tag itself, but his own expectations.
Yukawa felt that the 300-ryo Exploding Tag was weaker than even the most basic Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
With a thought, he opened his status panel and checked the progress bar.
It had increased by 1%, confirming that the Exploding Tag counted as a ninja tool and had some effect.
Yukawa resumed his training.
He felt like he was a child again, playing with firecrackers during the New Year.
It was a shame that later, when he had money, he never had the chance to play like that anymore.
Before long, the ground became pockmarked with craters, and an invisible wave of heat rose from the scorched earth.
"Which bastard did this?!"
A furious roar echoed from the distance, growing louder as it approached.
Yukawa followed the sound and spotted a young woman with fiery red hair.
"Did you do this?" she asked, her expression softening slightly when she saw him.
"I was practicing with Exploding Tags," Yukawa replied, blinking innocently.
"Exploding Tags?" The red-haired woman pursed her lips. "No wonder I couldn't catch a single fish."
Since he was just a child, she refrained from losing her temper.
"Fish?" Yukawa realized. "Wait here."
He hurried to the riverbank, where the fish had scattered in terror from his earlier explosions. He felt a pang of embarrassment.
Moving upstream, he quickly located a school of fish and casually tossed an Exploding Tag into the water.
With a loud blast, stunned fish floated to the surface.
"Come quick!" Yukawa waved her over.
"Using Exploding Tags to fish? Only you would think of that," the red-haired woman said, glancing at the scene and chuckling. The entire catch was probably worth less than a single Exploding Tag.
With a flick of her wrist, she formed a net of Chakra and hauled the fish ashore.
Yukawa's lips twitched slightly.
Incredible Chakra control.
He had a good idea who this was. After all, red hair held special significance in the Shinobi World.
"Hey kid, what's your name?" the red-haired young woman asked, tossing the fish into a bucket she carried casually.
"I'm Yukawa," he replied.
"Uzumaki Kushina."
Kushina shook the bucket, extending an invitation. "There's more fish than two people could eat. Want to join us?"
Two people? Namikaze Minato?
As a fan of the original series, Yukawa couldn't pass up this opportunity.
He nodded.
"Follow me."
Kushina hoisted the bucket and strode off.
A few minutes later, Yukawa spotted a blond young man busily preparing food.
"Minato! Look!" Kushina exclaimed, her face beaming. "I'd guess it's three or four pounds!"
Who asked you?! The thought flashed through Yukawa's mind.
Back in his previous life, his neighbor, an old man, had been an avid fisherman. Every time Yukawa passed his house, the man would deliberately slow down, eager to boast about his latest catch. Once, after catching a seven- or eight-pound fish, he paraded it around the neighborhood three times.
"The scent of Exploding Tags," Minato remarked, sniffing the air.
"An expert!" Kushina laughed. "He caught them with Exploding Tags."
Minato took the bucket aside and began cleaning the fish.
Kushina pulled Yukawa into idle chatter. As if she hadn't spoken in ages, she talked non-stop, incredibly loquacious. Yukawa couldn't get a word in edgewise.