Chapter 51 — Becoming a Genin, Reward: Armament Haki
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone was in high spirits. At that moment, Uchiha Sōichi entered the room.
"Grandpa."
When the group saw the kindly old man, they quickly stood and greeted him. "Hello, sir."
"No need to be so formal. My humble home is rather modest, so please forgive any shortcomings in the hospitality."
The corner of Kinoshita Hikaru's mouth twitched. Modest? Was this really modest? Wasn't this just humblebragging?
"You're too modest."
Uchiha Sōichi smiled. "Seeing you all reminds me of my younger days. You share a deep friendship—make sure to cherish it."
"Of course. Mikoto-chan is our companion. We'll protect her," Kinoshita Hikaru said.
"Good. A man should have that kind of responsibility. Then this old man can rest easy. Enjoy yourselves. The Uchiha will always welcome you."
Uchiha Sōichi had only come to show his face and offer a few words of encouragement before getting up to leave.
But everyone present was quick-witted, and all of them understood the meaning behind his appearance.
Kinoshita Hikaru watched his back and thought to himself, "The Uchiha will always welcome us… Even though I'm Orochimaru's disciple, I'm still just a civilian. Those words were probably meant for the major clans. Heh, so this is them sending a signal. Looks like they're trying to show goodwill. Is this paving the way for him?"
He glanced at Uchiha Shigeru but said nothing.
"Why are you looking at me?" Uchiha Shigeru asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking—we've known each other this long, and I've never been to your house. Isn't that a bit rude?"
"What's there to see at my house? I'm just an ordinary member of the Uchiha clan. But if you want, I can take you there later."
"Alright."
...…
The next day.
At the Ninja Academy, it was time for the elite class to graduate.
Inside the classroom.
Kinoshita Muraichi stood at the podium, calling the students up one by one.
"Next, Kinoshita Hikaru. Transformation Technique."
The genin exam was very simple. One of the Three Basic Techniques was selected at random, and as long as the student could perform it, they would become a genin.
For the elite class, this was nothing more than a formality. Before long, everyone had passed.
The next step was receiving their ninja forehead protectors.
Bang!
A puff of white smoke appeared, and Hiruzen Sarutobi materialized before them, wearing the Hokage's hat and robes.
"Stand!" Kinoshita Muraichi shouted.
Everyone: "Third Hokage-sama!"
Their movements were perfectly synchronized—it was obvious they had rehearsed this beforehand. This was one of the privileges of the elite class: the Hokage personally awarding them their ninja forehead protectors.
In Konoha, the Hokage was the supreme figure.
To have the Hokage personally present you with a forehead protector was an honor in itself.
"Wherever the leaves dance, fire burns. The shadow of the fire illuminates the village and causes new leaves to sprout. When one wishes to protect those precious to them… that is when a ninja's true strength emerges."
Starting with indoctrination right off the bat.
As expected of you, Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then launched into a speech that lasted a full two hours. Everyone was fired up, so stirred they looked ready to shed blood for Konoha on the spot and devote themselves entirely.
Although Kinoshita Hikaru was inwardly unimpressed, on the surface he was the most excited one of all.
As the Third Hokage's grand-disciple, he was naturally supposed to stand behind him. Otherwise, if he got labeled as some ungrateful deadweight who didn't respect his elders and couldn't comprehend the Will of Fire, he could end up becoming cannon fodder in no time.
Was Konoha bright and just?
Compared to the rest of the shinobi world, yes—it was bright, prosperous, and far superior. The happiness index of ordinary civilians was the highest here.
But darkness also existed. Bullying existed. Discrimination existed. All of it was there.
Kinoshita Hikaru himself had never come into contact with those things, and that was all thanks to his parents and his older brother. They were the ones who had given him the chance to live in the light.
Although Hikaru was, in every sense, a proper Konoha native, if there hadn't been people before him planting the trees, then when he deliberately approached the major clans, he might very well have been seized and interrogated.
One should never underestimate the dominance and decisiveness of those clans.
Hikaru understood all of this.
But there was a saying: if you want to defeat your enemy, you must first join them—and then dismantle them from within.
This was the path Kinoshita Hikaru had chosen after deep consideration.
At that moment—
It was his turn to go up on stage.
His face was flushed red with excitement.
"Third Hokage-sama!"
"Hikaru, from today onward, you are an honorable genin of Konoha. I hope you never forget your original heart and always protect your comrades."
"I'll press forward without wavering, and my word is my bond—that is my ninja way!" Kinoshita Hikaru's gaze was as steadfast as rock as he looked directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, utterly sincere.
Hiruzen smiled happily, very satisfied with this grand-disciple of his. Every time he saw him, it was like seeing his younger self—someone with firm conviction and the determination to protect his comrades.
"Very good."
He personally placed the ninja forehead protector on Hikaru's head and said, "From this moment on, you are a genin of Konoha. You may step down."
"Mm!"
Kinoshita Hikaru walked down the stage in a daze, almost dizzy from happiness.
Because at the very moment Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the forehead protector on his head, the system's voice rang out.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on becoming a Konoha genin. Reward: Armament Haki!]
At once, a flood of memories surged into his mind, pouring forcefully into his brain and flowing rapidly through it.
Kinoshita Hikaru instantly mastered the skill.
Armament Haki was divided into: Hardening, Imbuement, Emission, and Internal Destruction.
Armament Haki!
Hikaru was beyond excited. This was an all-purpose offensive and defensive ability. With this skill, his margin for error on the battlefield would increase dramatically. It was also the key to Fourth Gear.
"If there's Armament Haki, then there'll definitely also be Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki. Becoming a genin rewarded me with Haki… looks like I need to raise my ninja rank as quickly as possible." Hikaru thought.
He opened his status panel.
Name: Kinoshita Hikaru
Age: 8
Abilities: Intermediate Rubber Fruit (257/1000)
Haki: Beginner Armament Haki (1/1000)
Techniques: Intermediate Chakra Extraction Technique (4219/10000)
Taijutsu: Intermediate Strong Fist (6234/10000)
Skills: Advanced Kunai Throwing (5885/10000), Advanced Hand Seals (8258/10000)
Ninjutsu: Advanced Rasengan, Advanced Super Strength Technique, Advanced Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, Master-level Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Master-level Wind Release: Gale Palm, Advanced Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, Advanced Water Release: Water Formation Wall, Perfected Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Technique, Advanced Genjutsu: Narakumi no Jutsu, Master-level Kanashibari no Jutsu, Advanced Shadow Clone Technique, …
[P.S.: Only one technique is shown for each of the five elemental releases.]
Kinoshita Hikaru found it rather regrettable that the current Orochimaru had yet to develop the Hidden Shadow Snake Hand-style substitution technique—or perhaps he simply didn't want to teach it to him and was holding something back.
As for ninjutsu, Orochimaru hadn't taught him that many. After learning that Hikaru had all chakra natures, he had chosen to teach him one technique from each attribute, worried that Hikaru would bite off more than he could chew.
Hikaru could only sigh.
He really wanted to say to Orochimaru:
You know nothing about what a cheat user is.
Then there was his chakra.
After a year of grueling training, Hikaru's chakra had skyrocketed. As for exactly how much? It was probably more than Kakashi's—around two Kakashis' worth.
At that moment,
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already left. As Hokage, he was extremely busy. The war had already begun, and while large-scale clashes had yet to erupt, ninja were already being mobilized and stationed in the Land of Rain.