Naruto: From Novice to Grave

"You know your mother's temper. When you're away on missions, your mother worries about you every day at home."

"Hahaha!" Higashino Jiro scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

After thinking for a moment, Higashino Shin explained, "Well, it might be different from what you think, Father. This perception ability isn't something I inherited from my bloodline. It's an unexpected effect that comes with a special training method I use. I'll tell you about it later. I hope you can understand."

"Of course I understand, my son is starting to have his own little secrets too."

Higashino Jiro smiled and nodded in agreement, then solemnly said, "Shin, you did the right thing. Battles between ninjas are intelligence wars."

It's right for ninjas to keep their methods strictly secret. It's extremely dangerous for someone to know your important ninjutsu secrets; I hope you understand that.

"I've always understood."

"Very good, then I'll ask you a question next. In a ninja's battle... no, including samurai, and even ordinary people, or rather, in a battle between people, what is the most important thing?"

Is it ninjutsu? taijutsu? genjutsu? Or a special secret technique, or a powerful weapon?

Higashino thought about it for a moment, and it seemed that they were all important, but obviously his father's question had a different answer. In the end, he shook his head: "I don't know."

"It is courage—the courage to overcome fear, timidity, and escapism at the psychological level, to face life and death head-on, and to dare to fight."

Find it, take control of it, ignite your passion, and at the same time keep a clear head. No matter how difficult the situation, never give up looking for any chance to win.

Courage is not impulsiveness; a clear mind is more important than any means.

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Father."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Jiro stopped speaking and suddenly threw a straight punch at Higashino Makoto's forehead. The attack was not very fast.

Higashino's body instinctively wanted to lean back and avoid it, but he quickly realized that this was a natural reaction from his previous life as an ordinary person.

But now, he is a quasi-ninja with the supernatural power of chakra. Even though he is only four years old, his reaction speed and strength are far superior to his body in his thirties in his previous life, thanks to the amplification of chakra.

He instantly suppressed the urge to lean back, and instead used his short stature to his advantage, lowering his head and bending over, using his legs to push forward instead of retreating, dodging the attack while simultaneously throwing a punch straight at Higashino Jiro's abdomen in retaliation.

Higashino Jiro didn't dodge at all. His advantage was his height and build. He bent his knee and raised his leg to strike Higashino Makoto's face with his knee, attacking back against attack.

Even if he only had half a leg, it would be longer than his son's entire arm, and he would hit the other person first.

The two were almost entangled, too close to change their moves. Higashino Makoto had no choice but to withdraw his fist and defend, quickly crossing his arms in front of him, only to be sent flying by his father's knee.

Higashino felt as if he had been hit by a truck. The immense force sent him tumbling through the air several times. All he could do was try his best to maintain his balance and land on his feet.

Upon landing, he imbued his right hand with chakra and bent over, gripping the ground tightly.

Even so, the force still made him slide for two or three meters, leaving three straight tracks of churning mud on the ground.

Throughout this process, his eyes were wide open, fixed intently on his father's next move.

Sure enough, the other party rushed over, but disappeared from Higashino Makoto's sight with a simple teleportation technique as they got close.

"Behind you."

Although Higashino Makoto is blind, he still has his senses and naturally noticed it. He immediately turned halfway and kicked to the side, his foot colliding with Higashino Jiro's fist.

The difference in strength between the two sides was obvious, and he was thrown away again.

Higashino Jiro gave him no chance to catch his breath, charging forward again at incredible speed, launching a series of attacks on Higashino Makoto with a perfect balance of speed and power, using both hands and feet.

Higashino Makoto, whether dodging or blocking, was like a sapling being battered by a storm, always at risk of breaking.

But he kept his father's teachings in mind, tried to stay clear-headed, and looked for an opportunity to fight back.

He quickly turned his short stature into an advantage, dodging left and right while his fists and feet never left his father's waist and groin.

This is the vital area he can currently attack quickly.

After all, even the most powerful ninja cannot withstand the pain of having their testicles exploded.

I hope Higashino Megumi won't kill him if she finds out.

As a top-tier ninja among the Chunin, Higashino Jiro was naturally not going to be hit in a vital spot by a kid who had just learned to fight.

He parried and slapped away the evil little hands that were attacking his lower body, while gradually increasing the speed and power of his counterattacks, forcing his son to quickly adapt to the fight.

The two sides exchanged blows in the small training field, their figures moving swiftly as they engaged in a fierce offensive and defensive battle.

Higashino knew that his father was helping him adapt to battle, and he was also rapidly transforming. The habits he had as an ordinary person in his previous life were slowly disappearing, and he was gradually integrating into the battle rhythm of the Naruto world. At the same time, his brain was becoming uncontrollably excited, and he began to enjoy the fun of fighting.

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A moment later, Higashino Makoto collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. His stamina, which he could usually maintain for a long time through training, was quickly exhausted in the battle.

But he was unusually excited, and the surge of adrenaline made his face flush red and his body tremble slightly.

Higashino Jiro stood beside him, a satisfied look on his face: "Very good. I didn't expect you to find the feeling so quickly and overcome your body's instinctive reaction so fast."

This is somewhat unexpected. As expected of my son, perhaps you truly do possess talent comparable to Kakashi's.

"But I didn't win, did I? Father, you didn't use your swordsmanship, which you are good at, or even your ninjutsu. You also kept your strength and speed within my tolerance range."

"Fool, how old are you? How many years have you been training? To achieve this level in your first battle is already quite remarkable."

"But I heard that Kakashi defeated two Chunin when he was only 5 years old."

"Who told you that? I don't know anything about it."

"I heard people in the village say that before."

Whether anyone in the village had mentioned it or not, Higashino didn't know. His information came from an anime he had watched in his previous life, where Kakashi easily dealt with two Chunin who were beating up Might Guy.

"Well, maybe so. After all, he is that person's child. But son, genin, chunin, jonin and kage are just class distinctions. You must not use them as a standard to judge the strength of a ninja."

Even among the genin, there are those whose strength rivals that of the jonin. The difference in strength between the chunin in the village is also enormous. After all, the number of jonin in the village is controlled by the higher-ups within a certain range; you can't be promoted just because you have the strength.

Jonin are the powerful class in the village. They have the power to vote in the Jonin squad to decide the Hokage and influence village policies. Furthermore, the ratio of Jonin to commoner ninjas determines the balance between clan ninjas and civilian ninjas. Do you understand what I'm saying?

"I understand. Who gets promoted to Jonin isn't just a matter of strength, but also involves political considerations."

Higashino Jiro raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"You're quite perceptive, kid. You understand things very quickly. Your father only figured it out after you were born."

"You've made it so obvious, what's there to misunderstand? By the way, Father, why don't you apply for promotion to Special Jonin?"

"That kind of thing is just a consolation prize, it doesn't mean anything to me. Let's not talk about that, let's talk about something more meaningful. Seriously, have you been feeling too relaxed while training lately?"

"Yes, Father, even without refining chakra, I can easily complete those projects using only my physical strength."

But increasing my training time will affect my study progress. Does Father have any good ideas?

"After a period of time, a ninja's physique will be greatly enhanced. This is a normal phenomenon, so that's why I'm here today."

After finishing his sentence, Higashino Jiro went to the place where he had been hiding, retrieved a backpack, and returned with it. It looked quite heavy.

When Higashino opened it, he found it was a special set of equipment. He immediately picked it up and put it on, also putting it on his hands and feet.

"Weight-bearing equipment is also a good method."

"This is something I prepared especially for you. The weight should be suitable for your current physique. Most of the slots are empty. You can insert metal blocks with sealing techniques as your body grows. I've put them in the study."

"Thank you, Father!"

"Alright, continue your training. Be mindful of your body's limits and don't blindly increase the weight. Damaging your body's foundation will prevent even Lady Tsunade from helping you recover."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I believe in you; after all, you've never let us down."