Aiko continued to chat beside me, but my mind wandered elsewhere, drawn back to my progress. Genjutsu was my biggest strength, but I didn't neglect the other fields.
No, if anything, I understood more than anyone that a shinobi who relied too much on a single specialty was a walking corpse.
And so, Taijutsu.
If chakra was the foundation of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Fuinjutsu, then it was just as crucial in Taijutsu. But while Genjutsu relied on the spiritual energy aspect of chakra, Taijutsu leaned on the physical—what I preferred to call Vital Energy.
It wasn't just something to keep my body in shape, but excavating the potential of the body.
And as my control over chakra grew, so did my physical capabilities. Stronger muscles. Greater stamina. Sharper reflexes.
The orphanage brats had unknowingly been my test dummies after the training dummy I commissioned failed to give the satisfaction I craved, not that they ever noticed.
We'd spar, they'd lose, and I'd refine my movements further. Efficiency over flair. Power over wasted motion. A single well-placed strike could end a fight faster than a dozen flashy ones.
And speaking of training dummy, it was a wing chun dummy,
It is primarily used in Wing Chun and other Chinese martial arts so I was surprised how it ended up here but it was just that. Surprise.
The dummy consists of a wooden post with rotating arms and leg. The arms and leg work to simulate all my limbs as I strike, block, and counter while training reflexes, precision, and structure.
I wasn't delusional—I wasn't going to be Gai or Lee, but I didn't need to be. I just needed to be fast and precise enough to capitalize on Genjutsu openings.
That was where the real danger came in.
Most shinobi trained to react to Genjutsu with Kai or sheer willpower. But what if, by the time they realized they were trapped, I was already behind them?
A single chop to the throat, a kunai to the side, a well-placed strike to their spine—fight over.
"You're smiling again, Mura-chi. Should I be concerned?" Aiko gave me a knowing look.
I smirked. "Only if you plan on fighting me."
"Pass." She huffed, kicking a small rock as we walked. "You get too scary when you start thinking about combat."
I wasn't about to deny it. My style wasn't built for dragging fights out—I didn't have the raw reserves for it. So I made up for that with efficiency.
I glanced at my hand, flexing my fingers.
Right now, I could barely keep up with a proper Genin in terms of experience, but the moment my Celestial Demon Technique matured…?
The thought made my smirk widen.
"Seriously, you need to stop looking like you're plotting world domination," Aiko sighed, shaking her head.
"Just planning ahead," I said as we finally reached the classroom.
The classroom was already half-filled when we stepped inside, my eyes flickered through the room, scanning faces both old and new.
A few I recognized from my previous classee, some forgettable, others mildly interesting. There was Akashi, the smug idiot who always acted like he was leagues ahead of everyone else in Taijutsu. Still, he had skill, and I had to give him that.
Then there was Isamu, the quiet type who preferred to stay out of trouble but had a surprising sharpness in his movements during spars.
As for the new faces… one kid had an odd, twitchy energy, his fingers drumming against his desk like he couldn't sit still. Another had silver streaks in his otherwise dark hair, his narrowed eyes assessing everyone just as I had been doing.
Hmm. Probably from the Hatake clan. I guess it wasn't just Sakumo and Kakashi like the anime made us believe.
Tsk. Fucking animation.
Interesting—but ultimately irrelevant.
He'll probably be dead before Sakumo even makes a name for himself.
I took my seat near the back, my thoughts shifting away from my surroundings and back to something far more important—the Celestial Demon Technique.
It was still an idea, a concept waiting to be refined, but I knew the direction I wanted to take it.
If Chakra was the fusion of Spiritual and Vital energy, then enhancing both simultaneously should yield exponential growth.
Most techniques only strengthened one aspect at a time—Taijutsu leaned on the physical, Genjutsu on the spiritual, and Ninjutsu was the bridge between the two. But what if I could amplify both at once?
No, not just amplify. Refine.
The Celestial Demon Technique wasn't just about boosting raw power—it was about perfecting the synergy of mind and body. A state where Vital Energy and Chakra worked in absolute harmony, pushing the body beyond its natural limitations.
At its peak, it could grant a threefold or even fivefold increase in overall ability. Strength, speed, reaction time—everything would sharpen to an absurd degree.
But that was just the beginning. If I mastered Sage Mode in the future and combined it with this, the results would be… terrifying.
A slow grin crept onto my lips.
Because if I could perfect this technique, then there wouldn't be a single bloodline or natural talent that could overshadow me.
Well, there was still the Eight Inner Gates but that one would lead to an excruciating death.
Definitely a no.
Though I'd love to study it as a reference for this technique.
If a mere Genin could use it to close the gap between themselves and a Chunin, then someone who already stood at the pinnacle of power would reach monstrous heights.
A Kage already had insane reserves, honed skill, and battle experience beyond anything a normal shinobi could dream of.
But what if they could triple or quintuple their abilities for even a few minutes?
The thought alone sent a shiver down my spine.
A shinobi like the Third Raikage, who could battle an army alone, would become an unstoppable force.
And if someone like Madara or Hashirama had access to this?
No. That was a ridiculous thought. They were already monsters. This technique might not even be necessary for people like them.
But for me?
It was the answer.
A true equalizer.
No more looking at Uchiha with their Sharingan or the Senju with their monstrous vitality and feeling like fate had handed me a bad deck. No more needing some ancient bloodline to justify my power.
Just me, my mind, and my own perfected technique.
Of course, this was all theoretical. The strain on the body would be immense. The Eight Gates granted power by forcibly breaking the body's natural limits.
But that was reckless—it burned the user out like a candle in a storm.
The Celestial Demon Technique, on the other hand, was about refinement, not destruction. It needed to enhance Vital Energy without tearing the body apart. It had to be sustainable.
And if I could figure out a way to make it last for longer durations instead of short bursts?
Then even those with bloodlines wouldn't be able to keep up.
I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms as a slow smirk tugged at my lips.
I had a long way to go.
But one day, this technique would rewrite the very definition of power.
It was only a matter of time.
As I mulled over my next steps, Aiko suddenly nudged me with her elbow. "Oi, Mura-chi, what are you planning to do after graduation?"
I blinked, pulled from my thoughts. "What?"
She huffed, rolling her eyes. "You know, which department do you want to serve in? The war's still going, and not everyone gets to be a frontline fighter. We've got logistics, medical, information gathering, hell, even barrier teams. Or are you just gonna let luck decide?"
I smirked. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Aiko groaned dramatically. "Ugh, you're impossible. You think too much, but when it comes to actual life choices, you're just winging it?"
I shrugged. "More like keeping my options open."
She huffed but didn't push further, shifting her attention to another student. Aiko had a way of chatting with just about anyone, seamlessly bouncing between topics with her usual energy.
While she laughed and gossiped about who crushed on who, I let my mind wander.
Because, honestly? She had a point.
The anime focused so much on battles, but being here, I realized how much the war extended beyond that. Logistics kept supplies moving. Information specialists deciphered enemy plans. Barrier teams reinforced outposts and villages.
And then there was Fuinjutsu.
Most people overlooked it, but the more I studied, the more I understood its value. Seals weren't just about storage or traps—they were the foundation of many advanced techniques.
Barrier ninjutsu, transportation jutsu, even the Flying Thunder God relied on Fuinjutsu.
If I wanted to refine my skill, I needed access to higher-level scrolls and knowledge.
Of course, I could buy them but unlike Ninjutsu scrolls, Fuinjutsu scrolls were astronomical in price from the C-Rank and above, ranging from 10,000,000 Ryo.
So other than the basic ones provided by the academy, I hadn't delved much into it outside of the ones I've learnt and upgraded like the storage seal, compact seal, restriction seal and chakra Suppression seal.
To understand how valuable a B-Rank Seal is, Orochimaru and Jiraiya used a chakra Suppression seal on Naruto and we're able to seal away the leaking Nine-Tail chakra.
Did one imagine such a seal to be lying around in the market place waiting for just anyone to go buy them?
Please. There was a reason the Uzumaki clan are feared and a reason they're the richest clan in the world currently. Not even the Senju Clan with all their land and wealth can match up.
And you have to understand that this village as a whole is the Senju clan land.
So…I was stuck at C-Rank Fuinjutsu.
Advancing to B-Rank required precision beyond simple memorization—it demanded control, the ability to mold chakra directly into the seals as I wrote them.
It was a skill that separated casual users from true practitioners.
And I wasn't keen on staying stuck.
The thought of joining a department that specialized in Fuinjutsu and transportation crossed my mind. If I could work under someone skilled in those areas, I could accelerate my growth.
The question was—would I even be assigned there?
No, that wasn't the right mindset.
I'd make sure I was assigned there.
I glanced at my hands, flexing my fingers.
Transportation jutsu had always intrigued me.
The ability to cut travel time, set up instant reinforcements, and manipulate space—it was an ability that could change battles entirely.
But it wasn't just about the battlefield. Imagine sealing entire supply lines into scrolls, moving them instantly to troops without the risk of interception.
Fuinjutsu was a field that could change the entire war, and no one seemed to realize it.
I smirked.
Maybe I'd let luck decide where I ended up.
Or maybe I'd start making my own luck.
***
(A/N: Alright. That settles it for Murakami's arc. The next few chapters will be in normal POV and will cover a wide range and will shed light on the current war situation. And if you think Murakami is stretching himself wide…Don't. If you've been reading in-between the lines, you'd realise what I mean. I'm not gonna explain.