I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 23: Ninjas Aren't About Fighting and Killing, They're About Hosting Dinner Parties

Class is a thing that exists in reality, even if it doesn't exist on the surface, let alone in a world where class distinctions do exist.

People born with a silver spoon in their mouths cannot understand the feeling of poor children having to wait a whole year for a hamburger, until their birthday, before being taken to that glamorous "fast food restaurant".

Chenma wasn't a wealthy kid in his previous life; he was barely even middle-class. However, he had a rich guy in his dorm when he was in college.

Once, he overheard Fu Ge's roommate saying he had no money for food. Chen Ma thought it was true, so he planned to lend Fu Ge 300 yuan to get through this difficult time. But when he asked, he found out...

When Rich's roommate said he had no money for food, it meant he only had 3,000 yuan left in some app.

The rich roommate had also asked Chenma to treat him to a meal before, and he even took Chenma to a luxurious all-you-can-eat steakhouse that Chenma had never been to before.

Chenma felt that eighty yuan a meal was too expensive. While eating, he kept thinking about how much money he could spend each day after deducting one hundred and sixty yuan from his living expenses, which resulted in him not tasting the steak much during his first meal.

When it came time to pay the bill, Fu paid right away, not giving Chenma a chance at all. It wasn't until after he started working and gradually saved up that Chenma realized that sometimes asking others to treat him to meals was just an excuse to get together.

However, it depends on the person; some people simply want to freeload or take advantage of others.

Chenma has used this excuse more than once to talk to other colleagues or new recruits about career planning, personal planning, or to remind new recruits what to do. Sometimes it's just a simple get-together.

Of course, he would never let others pay for him. The reason he would ask others to treat him in advance was simply to see if he was worth the other person's money.

Therefore, when Shikaku asked to treat everyone, Tatsuma knew what they were up to. No, or rather, he knew Shikaku's intentions; Choza just really wanted to eat.

Tatsuma left the first opportunity to speak to Minato, since if Minato felt it wasn't worthwhile or was in financial straits, he could take over the conversation at any time, preventing the atmosphere from falling apart.

Even if Minato is incredibly intelligent and precocious, he wouldn't understand these life lessons without experiencing them firsthand, and Tatsuma wouldn't mind pointing them out to him.

Arriving at the bottom of Minato's building, Tatsuma patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much about it. From today onwards, we can officially call ourselves friends with Shikaku and the others."

Do you want to go back and rest? Or are you going straight to the training ground?

Minato thought for a moment and said, "I'll cook tomorrow's meals first. I'm afraid that if we train too late, cooking might disturb others."

"As expected of you, Minato, so considerate of others' feelings. I'll go back and cook first, then we'll head straight to the third training ground to assemble? Let's see who gets there faster!"

Sakamoto, never missing an opportunity to get something for nothing, and Tatsuma, instantly praised him and unilaterally challenged him to a match. Minato, never one to refuse a match from Tatsuma, nodded and said:

"Yes, no problem."

The next day, instead of going for their morning exercise, the two went to the ninja tool shop recommended by the ninja academy to purchase the teaching supplies needed for the semester.

After arriving at school with a large pile of things, Chenma fell silent as he looked at the medicine that resembled liniment for bruises. Not only were the outer packaging and liquid colors similar, but even the smell was very familiar to Chenma.

He suddenly had a bad feeling. Could it be that learning the art of breaking free was really just about enduring hardship?

Tatsuma originally thought that the so-called medicine would be something like a medicine that could soften bones and joints in a short time, allowing students to get used to the feeling of joint dislocation, and then gradually reduce the dosage.

But smelling the medicine, Tatsuma always felt that the teacher would forcibly dislocate and restore their joints, and then the medicine would be used to treat their injuries.

Subsequent instruction proved Tatsuma's concerns to be correct. In the early stages of learning the art of breaking free, Sarutobi Akiura repeatedly dislocated their joints, making them experience the powerlessness and weakness that comes with dislocation.

Then the joint is reset, and it is maintained with medicine and chakra to prevent it from developing into habitual dislocation, that is, recurrent dislocation, which is a very uncomfortable process.

However, to Tatsuma's surprise, the pain during this process was still quite bearable. After all, first-year students are generally around six years old. Minato had just turned six, and Tatsuma hadn't even celebrated his birthday yet, so he was only five and a half.

Tatsuma guessed that it was because his body was not fully developed, or in layman's terms, his bones were still soft. In addition, Sarutobi Awaura's technique was quite skilled, so it would not cause any organic damage.

However, if they get a little older and practice more, they might experience significantly more pain.

Because of their skillful technique, combined with the potion and miraculous chakra, it took about a month for the whole class to get used to the feeling of dislocated joints in their shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers, and they no longer suddenly lost all their strength.

For the next month, the teaching of the art of breaking free involved dislocating one's own joints. During the first lesson of this stage, Tatsuma found it very difficult to accept.

Until he saw Minato, without batting an eye, simply pull his left hand off his shoulder after Sarutobi Awaura announced the start, Tatsuma gritted his teeth and followed suit.

Because everyone had been dislocated by Sarutobi Akiura for over a month, they were familiar with the techniques of dislocating joints, so they learned very quickly. Within half a month, most people were able to dislocate their joints freely.

Next came joint reduction, which was more difficult and took a month for Chenma and others to master the essentials and various methods of joint reduction.

Going a step further, it involves practicing joint dislocation and reduction within a limited space after being restrained. The difficulty lies not only in the limited space, but also, and most importantly, in the fact that it is not about being comfortable.

Previously, joint dislocation and reduction exercises were performed with the body relaxed. However, when the body is restrained by ropes, tied behind the back, or even suspended, the risks and difficulties of dislocation and reduction will greatly increase.

It not only tests the joints, but also teaches how to sew thin steel cables into the sleeves to find ways to untie the ropes when bound, except for joint dislocation.

It took the same month for the students in the class to barely learn it, but they were still far from mastering it and applying it effectively. Some students even had no plans to practice it after the semester ended.

The last two weeks of the semester are dedicated to learning various rope tying methods, different knots for different scenarios, binding methods for different people, and techniques that can greatly increase the difficulty of breaking free.

The invisibility technique taught concurrently this semester is quite simple, just as Tatsuma thought, it's part of handicrafts class, and perhaps art class as well.

The course covered the making, preservation, and laying of "rainbows," and also taught some basic breath-holding techniques.

Because the types of raincoats ranged from walls, rocks, trees, and so on, the class also taught techniques for mixing colors. During this process, they discovered that there was a colorblind student in the class, who was unfortunately advised to leave the class.

Chenma clearly watched as that classmate went to the office, transforming from a lively child into a walking corpse, as if life had lost its meaning and his beliefs had suddenly collapsed.

In other classes, it would be fine, but in Tatsuma's class, apart from Tatsuma and Minato, everyone else's fathers were either important members of the ninja clan or high-ranking officials in the village.

Their children, it seemed, were expected to naturally become powerful ninjas like them, and that was the education they received from childhood. Then, suddenly, they were told they couldn't be ninjas anymore.

Compared to the smooth and harmonious first semester, the events of the second semester made Tatsuma finally realize the cruelty of being a ninja and the hardships of the ninja path. However, he still ended his first year of ninja school life with a lot of gains.

(End of this chapter)