A week had passed since Nonō Yakushi accepted the private teaching contract.
Under the bright morning sun in Akira's spacious backyard, dust kicked up into the air as three figures moved in a rapid blur of high-speed combat.
Akira lunged forward, his Byakugan flared as his palms struck out in a classic Gentle Fist sequence. Right beside him, Snowy pounced in perfect synchronization, her icy-white claws slashing sideways. Facing them both, Nonō dodged with liquid grace, slipping past Akira's strikes and ducking beneath Snowy's swipe.
Throughout the week, Akira had relied strictly on Gentle Fist taijutsu, body flickering, and standard ninjutsu, keeping his Ice Release completely hidden out of caution.
As she parried another incoming palm, Nonō's expression remained intensely serious. Over the last seven days, Akira's learning speed had genuinely stunned her. He had mastered precise Medical Chakra Control, progressed to Chakra Diagnosis, and already executed Basic Healing Techniques flawlessly. His chakra control and studious attitude were unlike anything she had ever seen in a student his age.
Putting those thoughts aside, Nonō brought chakra to her hands, forming blue glowing blades—the Mystical Palm: Chakra Scalpel.
She sliced clean through Snowy's icy path, darted past the fox, and quickly wove a hand sign. "Genjutsu: Sight Disruption!"
Snowy let out a startled bark as her vision turned completely dark, immobilizing the white fox on the spot.
Without pausing, Nonō flipped backward and flicked three senbon needles directly at Akira's chest.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!" Akira called out, spinning rapidly as a dome of blue chakra expanded around him, effortlessly deflecting the flying needles.
However, the moment Akira's Rotation slowed down, Nonō slammed her palm onto the grass. "Earth Style: Mud River!"
The ground beneath Akira instantly liquefied into slick, churning mud, breaking his balance just as he completed his rotation. Before he could recover, Nonō appeared behind him, a long senbon resting lightly against the side of his neck.
"Pay attention to your footfall after a Rotation, Akira," Nonō said with a victorious smile.
Akira tried to push off his back leg to dodge, but his knee suddenly buckled. A strange, numb sensation spread rapidly from his lower calf through his entire body.
He blinked, glancing down to see a tiny, microscopic scratch on his leg from a single stray needle.
Realizing he was completely caught, Akira lowered his head respectfully and raised both hands. "I surrender, Teacher Nonō. You caught me fair and square."
Recognizing the match was over, Snowy shook off the illusion and trotted back to Akira's side, letting out a low whine.
Nonō shook her head with a faint smile, placing her hand over Akira's leg. Concentrating her chakra, she executed a Chakra Diagnostic and Poison Extraction Technique, drawing out a tiny drop of dark green paralytic fluid from his skin.
Once the numbness faded, Nonō sat down on the grass, gesturing for Akira to do the same. "Your raw chakra reserves and control are easily at the level of an elite Chunin, but your battle flow is still too predictable. You rely heavily on your Byakugan to see attacks coming, but you don't anticipate how an opponent will manipulate the environment after you block."
Akira listened attentively, bowing his head slightly in sincere respect. He knew his biggest weakness wasn't power or chakra—it was sheer combat experience. Nonō's battle instinct, honed through years of covert operations, provided lessons no textbook or Academy class could ever offer.
"Thank you for the guidance, Teacher Nonō," Akira said with genuine reverence. "I will work on adjusting my footwork immediately."
Checking the sun, Nonō stood up and dusted off her pants. "That's two hours for the morning session. I need to head back to the orphanage now."
Akira walked her toward the gate, grabbing a large cloth bag packed to the brim with fresh vegetables, rice, and fresh fruits from the kitchen. He offered it to her with both hands. "Please take this for the children at the orphanage, Teacher."
Nonō held up her hands, shaking her head politely. "Akira, this really isn't necessary. The million ryo payment is already more than enough—"
"Consider it a token of my respect for your time and lessons, Teacher Nonō," Akira replied softly but firmly, holding the bag out until she accepted it.
Nonō looked at her young student, touched by his manners, and took the heavy bag with a warm smile. "Thank you, Akira. I'll see you this evening."
After taking a quick, refreshing shower and dressing in his usual simple black shirt, Akira ate a quick breakfast prepared by Sister Ren. He assigned Po his daily reading homework and set out a training routine for Snowy before leaving a Shadow Clone behind in his study to handle advanced fuinjutsu theory.
Walking into Class 3-A at the Ninja Academy, Akira took his seat near the back window.
The morning quickly dissolved into a hopelessly boring lecture on supply lines and squad formations. As Chunin Daikoku droned on at the front of the room, Akira rested his chin on his palm, staring quietly down at his desk.
Sliding his hands under the wooden desk out of sight, Akira began manipulating his chakra.
Instead of building or shaping chakra into a jutsu, he attempted something far more delicate: Chakra Dismantling.
It was a theoretical, largely unheard-of technique—taking an active string of dense chakra and meticulously unweaving its elemental bonds and structural flow mid-air without causing a burst or explosion. It was like untying a complex knot in total silence while under tension.
Just as the glowing blue chakra thread between his fingers began to split into paper-thin filaments, the delicate structural balance broke. The compressed energy destabilized, dispersing with a surprisingly sharp, echoing POP! that sounded like a small firecracker going off under his desk.
The entire classroom fell dead silent.
Instantly, dozens of heads snapped toward the back row. Up at the lectern, Chunin Daikoku stopped mid-sentence, his chalk snapping in half as he glared over his spectacles directly at Akira.
Ami turned around in her seat with wide, startled eyes, while several of his classmates sneered and whispered among themselves.
Faced with the room's undivided attention, Akira slowly withdrew his hands from beneath the desk. He offered a polite, slightly awkward bow of his head toward the front of the room.
"Sorry about that, Daikoku-sensei," Akira said smoothly, keeping his tone calm and respectful. "I made a small mistake while adjusting my chakra control."
Daikoku let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples before tapping his wooden pointer against the chalkboard. "Pay attention to the historical battle formations, Akira. Save your chakra exercises for the training field. Now, as I was saying..."
As the teacher resumed his lecture and the eyes of his classmates drifted away, Akira leaned back in his chair with a soft, quiet chuckle, quietly resetting his focus for another attempt.