Civilian ninjas had no cultivation resources.
Basically, without a teacher, there was no way to learn ninjutsu.
"Ah! I wonder when we'll get to learn it!"
"I really want to learn ninjutsu!"
Listening to these discussions, Saiki's mind became active.
'Time to plant some seeds.'
"As for ninjutsu, it requires chakra to release. We should wait until we have more chakra reserves to learn that stuff."
He paused.
"But if we could learn taijutsu now? That would actually be pretty useful."
"Taijutsu?"
Saiki's words made the surrounding friends look over.
"Yeah."
After nodding, he continued.
"Ninjutsu burns through chakra fast. If we run out mid-fight, having solid taijutsu as a backup could save our lives."
"When you put it that way... it actually makes sense!"
The surrounding friends nodded one by one.
They didn't fully understand.
But they were greatly impressed.
Also, because of the excellent talent Saiki had displayed, they figured whatever he said must be right.
'Ah, the power of reputation.'
"Then let's ask Iruka-sensei during class!"
"Yeah! Great idea!"
Listening to his friends' discussion, Saiki didn't say much.
Just sat there quietly.
'All according to plan.'
"That guy..."
A boy with a pineapple hairstyle and a seemingly lazy posture slightly narrowed his eyes.
He looked in Saiki's direction.
"Did you notice something, Shikamaru?"
The chubby boy eating snacks next to him looked over curiously.
"No."
Nara Shikamaru shook his head slightly.
"Might be my imagination. I just feel like Saiki isn't as simple as he looks on the surface."
As a genius with an IQ over two hundred, Shikamaru had always acted lazy.
But his observation skills were the sharpest in the class.
"Is that so?"
Akimichi Choji, still munching on snacks, looked curiously in Saiki's direction.
But unable to see anything unusual, he honestly went back to eating.
"Anyway, whatever Shikamaru says is probably right!"
"This guy..."
Choji's unconditional trust made Shikamaru smile helplessly.
'Truly my best friend.'
[Later That Day]
Sure enough, as Saiki expected, Iruka agreed to teach basic taijutsu.
Although he was surprised that students wanted to learn it this early, he still taught them.
[Detected that the host has learned Taijutsu.]
[Do you wish to simplify it?]
After seeing the system's prompt, Saiki smiled slightly.
'Got it.'
After school, Saiki was the first to leave the academy.
His friends didn't invite him to play the ninja game either.
Not because of any rift between them.
In their eyes, since Saiki always went home early, he must be training hard.
It would be rude to disturb him.
'If only they knew I was just throwing rocks and punching air.'
[That Evening]
"System! Begin simplification!"
After returning to his courtyard, Saiki immediately chose to simplify taijutsu.
[Beginning Simplification: Taijutsu...]
[Simplification Complete: Punching!]
'...'
'Punching?'
'Just by punching, I can improve my strength?'
Only one way to find out.
Saiki stood up and made a punching motion.
No power behind it.
Light and floaty.
But even so, after throwing a few consecutive punches, he could feel it.
An extra layer of comprehension regarding taijutsu appeared in his body.
The strength in his hands and feet—including his entire physique—was constantly improving.
[Status Panel]
Host: Saiki
Nin: 9
Tai: 4
Gen: 0
Simplified Abilities:
Chakra Cultivation Method (LV: 21) Shuriken Throwing Technique (LV: 16) Hand Seals (LV: 9) Taijutsu (LV: 2)
Taijutsu leveled up faster than expected.
In just a short moment, it had leveled up twice.
'Nice.'
With this in mind, Saiki sped up his punching motions.
Didn't need power.
Just the act of punching was enough.
'Shadow boxing has never been more productive.'
[Two Years Later]
Seasons changed.
Time passed.
For two whole years, after Taijutsu, Saiki didn't simplify any other skills.
The gap between civilian ninjas and clan ninjas was... significant.
Cultivation resources for civilians were far too scarce.
Over the past two years, only one major event happened.
The Uchiha massacre.
With the clan's extermination, the atmosphere in the village became noticeably heavier.
Of course, none of this affected Saiki.
For two years, he continued to maintain his persona.
Making up for lack of talent with hard work.
Accumulating strength for a sudden breakthrough.
His power steadily improved.
Unknowingly, he had become the top student in the class.
Aside from the former Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, no other civilian ninja had ever become top student of their class.
But because of the "hard work" Saiki had always displayed?
No one felt his position was undeserved.
It was all earned through effort.
'Well. "Effort."'
'If they only knew that my "effort" consisted of breathing, throwing rocks, waving my wrists, and punching air.'
'The simplification system really is broken.'
[Status Panel]
Host: Saiki
Nin: 41
Tai: 37
Gen: 0
Simplified Abilities:
Chakra Cultivation Method (LV: 49) Shuriken Throwing Technique (LV: 43) Hand Seals (LV: 44) Taijutsu (LV: 48)
In two years, Saiki had raised all his simplified skills to over level forty.
Solidly in Chunin territory now.
But there was one problem.
'There's no way to learn Genjutsu.'
During these two years, Saiki had noticed this issue.
Inside his courtyard.
Over two years, Saiki had grown much taller.
His originally clean and handsome face now carried a bit more maturity.
'The Ninja Academy's teaching on Genjutsu only covers how to dispel it.'
Merely coming into contact with Genjutsu couldn't trigger the system's simplification function.
'To simplify Genjutsu, I'm missing the most important element.'
Spiritual power.
Saiki's gaze narrowed.
As everyone knows, Ninjutsu strength is determined by chakra.
Genjutsu strength, however, depends on the caster's spiritual power.
The stronger the spiritual power, the more powerful the Genjutsu.
In Konoha, it wasn't that there were no places with spiritual power cultivation methods.
But the only one he had a realistic chance of accessing was...
"Uchiha Sasuke."
The Uchiha clan excelled in Genjutsu.
They definitely had a spiritual power cultivation method.
'Now... how do I get my hands on it?'
His eyes were deep in thought.
Schemes began to form.