Faced with Kyuushin's idea of wanting to raise a cat, Mito naturally didn't object, only reminding him to properly thank the person for their kindness. After settling the cat, Kyuushin returned to the Academy.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye. Kyuushin and Kushina went from the second grade to the fourth. The curriculum for the fourth grade had undergone significant changes. Cultural classes shifted from simple history and humanities to highly specialized ninja courses like cipher analysis and trap setting. The number of practical combat classes also increased significantly. In addition to ninja tool throwing, students were now taught the Three Basic Ninja Techniques, escape jutsu, and other E-Rank ninjutsu. By now, combat and wilderness survival had been added, guiding students towards becoming proper ninja.
For Kyuushin, however, these were not difficult. Even in cultural classes like cipher analysis, which he had never encountered before, his adult comprehension allowed him to consistently score first in every exam. Sometimes, he would tie for first place with Minato, as both of them achieved perfect scores. His prowess in practical combat classes was even more self-evident.
For more than two years, Kyuushin had practiced almost every day, rain or shine. His ninja tool throwing, initially a weakness, was now quite good, placing him in the first tier for assessments. As for actual combat, with his current physique, he didn't even need to use ninjutsu to easily defeat his classmates, securing a steady first place in his grade.
Besides Kyuushin, Kushina, Minato, and members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans were in the second tier. Kushina's strength was a given. Minato also often trained with him during holidays. With his comprehension and combat intelligence, only Kushina could truly spar with him. Whenever it was their turn to fight, Minato would typically exchange a dozen or so moves with Kushina before voluntarily admitting defeat, much to Kushina's frustration. Some things, it seemed, even Kyuushin's butterfly effect couldn't change, such as the budding connection between Minato and Kushina. As of now, it was still a one-sided affection from Minato. Kushina still felt that Minato was too gentle and lacked a certain masculinity.
As for the clans, after more than two years, the Uzumaki had completely integrated into Konoha. With the support of the Third Hokage and other high-ranking officials, there had been no major issues. In the lower grades of the Ninja Academy, there were now other Uzumaki members enrolled.
Regarding the situation in the wider ninja world, the peace brought by Mito's deterrent action two years ago was beginning to fray. Various countries had started to become restless again. This time, it wasn't just friction between the major powers; even smaller countries were getting involved. Affected by this, the streets of Konoha had become much quieter, and merchant caravans were fewer than before, though for now, it was still relatively peaceful.
These past two years had been a rare period of calm for Kyuushin, and he hadn't wasted it. With Mito's guidance, he had fully entered the realm of sealing jutsu and could already use various auxiliary seals. In terms of ninjutsu, besides the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Tsunade's Monstrous Strength Fist, and the Body Flicker Technique, he had learned various other general ninjutsu but had not yet officially started learning Nature Transformation. Mito clearly wanted him to focus on sealing jutsu for now, believing that getting distracted by Nature Transformation would slow the progress of both. Kyuushin had no objections.
But even with just these general ninjutsu, combined with his physique, he far surpassed an average Chunin. In Tsunade's words, if not for his relatively singular methods, the gap between him and a Special Jonin wouldn't be large.
But these were only superficial strengths. Kyuushin's biggest advantage, the Gene Lock, had also seen significant progress. After two years of adaptation, he could now basically activate the first stage for several tens of minutes, with the only side effect being a feeling of weakness afterward. At this point, the first stage was at its limit.
However, he still had no clue about the second stage, though this was within his expectations. Each new stage of the Gene Lock required facing life-threatening danger. Only by unearthing one's potential in the face of death was it possible to break through. In these two years, let alone the fear of death, he rarely even suffered injuries. In such circumstances, reaching the second stage was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
He wasn't in a hurry, though. The Second Stage Gene Lock primarily liberated physical strength, and he was only nine years old now. His muscles hadn't even fully developed. Opening it too early would likely prevent him from exerting its full effect
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