Chapter 71: Inoshita Rino
Five-thirty in the afternoon.
After briefly settling into his new home, Kael headed to the Ninja Academy. At this time of day, the school gate was already crowded with parents waiting to pick up their children—mostly young women in their twenties, but also some grandparents in their forties and fifties.
They all stared at Kael with fear in their eyes, parting to form a wide path for him. It wasn't that Kael himself looked frightening, but the dog beside him was taller than the school gate.
"Y-y-you... what are you doing here? Parents are not allowed inside the school!" the school security guard stammered, forcing himself to leave the safety of his booth to confront Kael.
Having survived one dangerous battle after another, the fourteen-year-old Kael had lost his childish features. His aura had matured, giving him a sharp edge. It wasn't entirely unreasonable for him to be mistaken for a parent.
"Old Man Shimoda, you don't recognize me already?" Kael smiled and greeted the guard.
When he was a student here, his older age and taller stature had made him a familiar face to the teachers and staff. Hearing Kael's voice, the guard, Mr. Shimoda, looked startled. He peered at Kael's face, and it took him a long moment to place him.
"It's you, Kael, you brat!" he exclaimed in surprise. "You've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize you! I thought you were one of the kids' parents, so young..." His amazed eyes scanned Kael up and down. He was curious about this young genius who had just recently left the school.
"Didn't you graduate early to become a ninja? Aren't you out on a mission? What are you doing back at the school?"
Kael smiled. "I'm about to get busy in a few days, so I thought I'd come and visit Rino-sensei."
"Well..." Mr. Shimoda hesitated, looking nervously at Goldie.
"This is my Summoning Beast. He looks a little intimidating, but don't let his appearance fool you. He's actually a huge coward."
Goldie nudged Kael with his massive head in protest.
"You wait here. Don't run off. I'll be right out," Kael said, patting Goldie's head when he saw the guard's predicament. He then turned to Mr. Shimoda with a smile.
"Alright, fine. I'll open the gate for you," Mr. Shimoda said, unlocking the gate. Kael strolled inside.
Mr. Shimoda quickly relocked the gate, stopping a group of parents who had tried to follow Kael in. This immediately drew complaints.
"Hey, old man! That's blatant favoritism!"
"Yeah! Why does he get to go in?"
"Is it because he has connections? My husband is a Chunin in this village, you know! Believe me, I can call him over here!"
"That's not right!"
Listening to the barrage of complaints, the wrinkles on Mr. Shimoda's face deepened.
"All of you, quiet down! You don't know what you're talking about!" He saw these parents every day and was familiar with them, so he didn't bother being polite.
"That kid is a genius who graduated early from this very academy. He hasn't even been graduated for three months, and he's already been promoted to Chunin by Lord Leader! You probably don't know, but I've heard a rumor... he's about to be appointed as the captain of some new department! Do you know how high a rank that is? That's the most powerful person in the village besides Lord Leader himself! If you ask me, given his age and talent, he'll probably be the next Village Leader!"
Mr. Shimoda puffed out his chest, as if personally opening the gate for the future leader was a great honor.
"What! You're saying that young man just graduated? How old is he?" one of the parents asked in disbelief.
"Tch! Believe it or not, that's your problem. Why else do you think I let him in?" Mr. Shimoda scoffed.
"He must be telling the truth! That old man is a real stickler for the rules. He'd never let anyone but a student in!"
"No way! The next Village Leader! That kid is really going places..."
"And look at his pet, tsk tsk... so majestic. You can only imagine how strong the owner is. No wonder he gets special treatment."
The Hidden Hot Water Ninja Academy wasn't large. It consisted of two buildings: a three-story classroom building and a two-story faculty building. The first floor of the faculty building also served as the student cafeteria. There were no dorms.
Kael walked up to the second floor of the classroom building.
The fourth-year classroom.
He could hear voices from inside.
"Although the Substitution Jutsu is only an E-rank technique, it is an extremely practical basic ninjutsu. The principle is simple: at the moment of an attack, you instantly replace your body with another object. To put it plainly, it's an advanced form of misdirection."
The speaker cleared his throat and continued, "This jutsu is actually the most difficult of the Three Academy Jutsu to truly master. Why is that? Does any student know?"
"Sensei, I know."
"Oh? Rei, why don't you tell us?"
"Compared to the Clone Jutsu and the Transformation Jutsu, the Substitution Jutsu requires extremely precise timing. It demands a high level of combat intelligence from the ninja. It's not easy to pull off in a real, intense battle. But if used well, it can momentarily confuse the opponent and even create a precious opportunity to strike!"
"Excellent! A very good summary, Rei. Everyone, let's give her a round of applause."
A smattering of earnest applause rang out.
The teacher then continued, "Now, let's go over the conditions for performing this jutsu. Everyone, take notes. First, you must detect the enemy's attack in time. Second, you must be able to react to that attack. Third, you need a physical object, either nearby or in your hand, to use as a substitute. You swap yourself with the object and must immediately hide yourself again. Only then can you successfully confuse the enemy!"
Listening from the window, Kael couldn't help but nod. Inoshita Rino's teaching method was incredibly detailed. As long as you weren't an idiot, you could grasp the key points of the jutsu.
But then he shook his head slightly. The main prerequisite for this jutsu is that you must already be able to dodge the attack anyway. Then you use the object to misdirect them. This level of misdirection only works on Genin. Any experienced ninja would see right through it. To them, this jutsu is a joke.
Kael thought about how his own Substitution Jutsu had been completely useless against Minato. He felt that the truly practical substitution techniques were the more unconventional ones, like Orochimaru's snake substitution or Sasuke's Amenotejikara—though that was a different category altogether, a space-time ninjutsu tied to his Rinnegan.
As he was lost in thought, another, younger voice piped up in the classroom.
"Rino-sensei, we already get the Substitution Jutsu! You don't have to keep going on about it!"
"Murakami Rin, you're asking for it again, aren't you? You raised your hand. What don't you understand?"
"Rino-sensei, is it true you were a really powerful ninja when you were young?"
"Oh? You... you've seen me in my prime?"
Kael snorted with laughter. Rino was posturing in front of his students again.
The students didn't hear him, but Inoshita Rino did. He froze, startled, and quickly turned his head toward the back door of the classroom, where Kael was standing.
When he saw who it was, his face lit up. "Alright, everyone, study on your own. No talking, and no leaving your seats! Rei, you're in charge."
"Oh..."
"Yes, sir!"