Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Although he felt looked down upon, Kirito didn't mind because the other party had given him something in return.

He thought to himself, "I was too hasty. It seems that the Uchiha people are quite good. Although they are arrogant, they will give real benefits. I like this kind of behavior that doesn't take advantage of others."

However, despite his thoughts, Kirito had no intention of losing to Uchiha Chizuru. Since the Uchiha people looked down on him, he would use the benefits they offered to prove them wrong.

Kirito, carrying two scrolls, rushed towards the orphanage.

……

The following day, in the morning, in the basement of the orphanage.

The orphanage originally didn't have a basement, but it was added after Kirito revealed his talent.

Kirito started this project himself with the old dean's permission, his purpose being to prevent the secret of his cultivation of natural energy from being leaked; he didn't want to become someone's experimental subject.

Today, this basement has become Kirito's private room.

At the same time, this place has become where Kirito usually studies and teaches.

At this moment, Kirito is explaining chakra training methods to the pharmacist Nono and two boys.

Kirito learned the chakra training method recorded on the scroll given to him by Uchiha Kari after reading it once and trying it once. The training difficulty was much lower than that of natural energy.

He hadn't been able to train before because he didn't have the correct method for chakra training. Now that he has the correct method, it's a natural progression.

After learning it, he decisively summoned Yakushi Nono and the other two and taught them the chakra training method.

There aren't many people with ninja talent in the orphanage; including himself, there are only four at the moment.

"Chakra is a power formed by the fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy. Therefore, to extract it, one must fuse physical energy and spiritual energy. However, this fusion is not a one-to-one ratio. The optimal ratio is 2.5 to 1, with 2.5 for physical energy and 1 for spiritual energy. The order of fusion is spiritual energy first, then physical energy..."

Kirito carefully explained the process of chakra training to the three of them, and advised them to be calm and focused during training.

Yakushi Nonou is indeed a talented ninja. Kirito explained it to her once, and she successfully extracted chakra after a few tries.

As for the other two boys, they failed to succeed for a long time due to a lack of concentration.

The two boys are named Yamazaki Heizo and Noda Taiga. The former is 8 years old and the latter is 9 years old. Both of them are of average talent, but they both come from poor families. They are precocious and very persevering. Even if Kirito does not actively whip them, they train very hard.

"That's enough for now. Both of you are already in a state of confusion. Go out for a meal first, calm yourselves down, and then you can continue your cultivation."

Kirito checked the time and realized it was almost lunchtime, so he decisively told Yamazaki Heizo and Noda Taiga to stop their training.

"Yes, Kirito-nii."

Upon hearing this, Yamazaki Heizo and Noda Taiga, though unwilling, immediately obeyed Kirito's orders.

Class exists everywhere, even in orphanages.

Kirito is now undoubtedly the strongest person in the orphanage. He has ensured that the orphans are well-fed, learn to read and write, and have precious pocket money, giving them hope for the future. Naturally, he has won the support of the orphans and has been automatically elected as their leader.

In the eyes of orphans, a leader is someone who takes the lead.

After the two left, Kirito said to the remaining Yakushi Nonou, "Are you really not planning to go to the Ninja Academy?"

He had raised enough money for Yakushi Nonou, Yamazaki Heizo, and Noda Taiga to attend the Ninja Academy, but to his surprise, Yakushi Nonou refused to go.

“If we all go to school, what will happen here? Someone has to stay home to protect the younger siblings. Besides, if I don’t go, we can save 10 yen. We can use that money to start a small business. We can’t let you shoulder everything alone.”

Yakushi Nonou gently shook her head.

She had seen all the efforts Kirito had made for the orphanage these days and was sincerely grateful to him.

However, she didn't want to be the one who always received favors, nor did she want to be a burden to Kirito. She wanted to be an asset to Kirito and help him manage the household.

That's so mature.

She's so mature it's almost heartbreaking.

I'm only 8 years old myself.

After hearing the reason why Yakushi Nonou refused, Kirito sighed inwardly and tacitly approved of her decision.

After spending some time together, Kirito knew Nonou Yakushi's personality: once she made a decision, she would resolutely carry it out and be extremely proactive.

Unsurprisingly, she already had a concrete plan in mind when she said those words.

What small business are you planning to start?

Kirito asked curiously.

"I made some of the dishes you taught me to make before and sold them in the village. They were a big hit!"

Yakushi Nonou said with a smile.

Her eyes shone as she spoke.

Owning her own restaurant was Pharmacist Nono's biggest dream when she was starving in the orphanage.

At the same time, Kirito's mind flashed through images of dumplings, wontons, spring rolls, and glutinous rice balls—foods he had made himself because he was craving them.

Chapter 11: First Encounter with Mito Uzumaki

A month passed quickly, and thanks to the many Konoha warriors who were carrying heavy burdens on the battlefield, the Konoha village continued to enjoy peace.

Kirito filled his days with activities during this peaceful period.

Cultivating natural energy, chakra, chakra control, the Three Body Technique, the Flying Stone Technique, and taijutsu are all daily tasks that he must complete. Considering his physical development, he only spends six hours a day on these things, and he uses the rest of his time to relax and read.

Even so, Kirito's strength has increased significantly compared to a month ago, and he has successfully mastered the Three Bodies Technique.

Furthermore, with the excellent chakra training method, his chakra quantity increased by leaps and bounds. Because of the increase in chakra quantity, he had more time to resist the erosion of external natural energy, which indirectly improved his efficiency in cultivating natural energy and accelerated the improvement of his physical fitness.

His attribute panel now looks like this:

忍1、体0、幻0、贤3、力3、速3、精2、印0

(Ninjutsu: mastery and proficiency in ninjutsu; Taijutsu: mastery and proficiency in taijutsu; Genjutsu: mastery and proficiency in genjutsu; Wisdom: breadth of knowledge and IQ; Strength: muscle strength throughout the body, such as wrist and leg strength; Speed: agility of movement and reaction; Chakra: amount of chakra; Hand seals: mastery and proficiency in hand seals.)

Physique: Immortal Transformation

Chakra Affinity: Lightning, Yin, Yang

查克拉性质：风0、火0、水0、土0、雷0、阴0、阳0

Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique 1, Transformation Technique 1, Clone Technique 1

Enhancement Points: 0

Although the strength and speed on the attribute panel remained unchanged, Kirito's strength and speed had actually been increasing. In addition, the amount of natural energy he could use had increased. When combined with natural energy, he could instantly unleash twice the strength and speed of a month ago. With this, he successfully killed the big tiger and the big bear in the forest with his bare hands.

Not long ago, when he dragged a large tiger and a wild bear into the village, it shocked many people.

Furthermore, he used this power to successfully defeat Uchiha Chizuru again yesterday.

Chizuru Uchiha challenged him to a rematch in a month, and yesterday marked exactly one month.

In just one month, Chizuru had changed a lot, but her progress was clearly not as fast as his, who could absorb natural energy to enhance his physical abilities.

In the early stages, physical strength often determines a ninja's strength. The Uchiha clan members are mostly ninjutsu or genjutsu-type ninjas, so they were at a disadvantage against taijutsu-type ninjas like Kirito in the early stages.

Today is the first day of the Ninja Academy.

Kirito, along with his two underlings, Yamazaki Heizo and Noda Taiga, arrived early at the entrance of the Ninja Academy and then found an inconspicuous spot to stand.

"Yo, good morning, Kirito."

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from nearby.

Kirito looked in the direction of the sound and saw Nawaki running towards him.

During his free time, he spent his days playing ninja games with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Nawaki and the others, and causing mischief everywhere. Because of his strength and generosity, he had already become familiar with Nawaki and the others.

"Good morning, Nawaki. Did you come alone?"

Kirito noticed that Nawaki had come alone and asked in confusion.

Most of the new students come with their parents or other family members, but only orphans like him, who have no one to rely on, come alone.

As far as he knew, Rope Tree still had relatives.

This was thanks to Rope Tree's frequent complaints to him about his grandmother forcing him to learn sealing techniques that he couldn't master.

"No, I came with my grandma, but she walks too slowly, so I came ahead of her."

Rope Tree rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger and said with a grin.

"Walking too slowly?"

Kirito was immediately puzzled.

Although Mito Uzumaki is quite old, she is a master of the Yin Seal ninjutsu. As long as she is not dead or her chakra is exhausted, the power of the Yin Seal will allow her to maintain her youth and keep her physical functions at their peak.

The Yin Seal is a really good thing.

Therefore, he didn't quite understand what Rope Tree meant.

Is Mito Uzumaki already an old woman who can barely walk?

Impossible. Women are creatures who love beauty, and they would never give up on staying young and beautiful until the very last moment.

He quickly understood what that meant.

"Mito-sama."

"Lord Mito, it's been a long time."

"Lord Mito, it's so good to see you safe and sound."

……

Voices filled with respect and admiration came from the direction of the entrance. Surrounded by the crowd, a red-haired beauty with two buns slowly entered the ninja academy. She greeted the people around her warmly and accurately said their names.

Many elderly people were moved to tears when she called their names.

"No wonder they're moving slowly; Mito Uzumaki's popularity and prestige among the villagers of Konoha are just too high."

Kirito watched in amazement as Mito Uzumaki was treated like a star by everyone.

Then, he displayed the superb acting skills he had developed from playing a child all day long, widening his eyes and saying to Rope Tree with a look of surprise, "Rope Tree, is this young and beautiful older sister really your grandmother? You're not lying to me, are you?"

The next second, Nawaki Chaoyong said, "It's fake. Although she looks young, she's actually an eighty-year-old woman. She just likes to pretend to be young."

The moment those words were spoken, a bone-chilling coldness instantly arose.

This sent a chill down the spine of Rope Tree and everyone present, and the scene fell silent instantly.