In the blink of an eye, the morning had already passed.
At the Ninja Academy, classes were generally structured with theoretical lessons in the morning and practical training in the afternoon.
Thanks to an adult's mindset and the memory of his predecessor, Qingming had just barely managed to keep up with the morning's theory lessons.
As for the practical classes in the afternoon—
As long as they didn't test the Three Basic Techniques, he could muddle through without being exposed.
And the Three Basic Techniques—
According to the predecessor's memories, they were tested about once a week. The rest of the time was spent teaching combat skills and the use of ninja tools.
The last evaluation was three days ago, so for now, there was no need to worry about being found out.
As for the next one...
Four days was enough time for him to grind and get a basic grasp of the Clone Technique.
With that as a foundation, he wouldn't have to worry about the assessment anymore.
Time quickly slipped into the afternoon.
On the training field—
Sugi Kiichiro looked down at the thirty-some students and said sternly,
"Next, I will divide you into groups. Then, you will fight each other. Until I call for a stop, you are not allowed to quit. Even if you are defeated, you must get back up and continue fighting. Do you understand?"
At his words, the students below immediately broke into a noisy chatter.
The reason?
In the past, their sparring sessions were done group by group, with Sugi Kiichiro supervising closely and offering commentary and analysis.
Now, not only were they being made to fight all at once, but retreating wasn't even allowed—something that had never happened before.
Qingming didn't know what the others thought, but he saw urgency in it.
That's right—urgency.
Normally, this kind of combat training wouldn't take place until at least the fifth or even sixth year. Having them do it now clearly meant the curriculum was being accelerated.
Combined with the current situation in the ninja world, it wasn't hard to guess—the academy was planning to have them graduate early.
Still, that was understandable.
In times of peace, the six-year system made sense. But in times of war, when the front lines were desperate for manpower, naturally the schooling period would be shortened.
"If 'I' remember correctly, Konoha's annual graduation exams take place from October 7th to 10th."
Afterward, the results would be submitted to the higher-ups over the next three days, and upon the Hokage's personal approval, the formal enrollment into the ninja registry would happen on October 15th.
And today was September 3rd!
In other words, he'd be forced to graduate in just over a month at the earliest.
This filled Qingming with a growing sense of urgency.
"Quiet!"
Sugi Kiichiro's voice rang out from above, instantly silencing the crowd below.
"Next, the names I call will step forward. Hanada Sundō."
At his words, a burly student stepped out.
"Hirai Matsu."
Another student stepped forward.
Sugi Kiichiro looked at the two of them and said, "You two will be a group."
"Yes, sensei!"
Hanada Sundō and Hirai Matsu stood side by side and responded in unison.
"Good."
Sugi Kiichiro nodded and continued calling out names, "Yamanaka Hana, Aoki Ryūko."
As his voice rang out name after name, the entire class was quickly divided into a dozen or so groups.
Qingming was no exception. He was grouped with a civilian ninja named Moriki Tetsu. Despite his background, Moriki had decent talent and was roughly on par with Qingming's predecessor in terms of strength.
But that was the predecessor—Qingming now had no confidence in beating him.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the opponent was just a ten-year-old brat—when it came to combat experience, Qingming couldn't come close, no matter how hard he tried.
After all, the schools in his past life didn't exactly teach people how to fight.
Fortunately, his adult mental resilience helped him stay calm.
Soon, Sugi Kiichiro's voice rang out again:
"Remember—no weapons allowed in the upcoming matches."
Hearing that, Qingming quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though the training kunai weren't sharpened, getting hit in a vital spot still wouldn't be pleasant.
Good. He needed to gain experience, and the less he suffered while doing that, the better—he wasn't some kind of masochist, after all.
That's right—Qingming was already prepared to take a beating.
"I just hope this beating won't be for nothing..."
With that thought in mind, Qingming opened his panel for a quick glance. If his guess was correct, after today, he'd be unlocking a new skill.
"Get ready—form the Seal of Confrontation!"
Sugi Kiichiro's voice came again.
Qingming and Moriki Tetsu simultaneously raised their right hands and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
"Begin!"
As soon as Sugi Kiichiro's voice fell, Moriki Tetsu lunged forward, his right fist smashing straight toward Qingming's face.
Faced with such a swift and forceful blow—even though Qingming had mentally prepared himself—he was still caught off guard.
However, whether due to the influence of his predecessor's memories or his body's muscle memory, in that critical moment, he actually managed to react—turning his body to narrowly dodge the punch.
Not only that—almost at the same instant he dodged, he instinctively countered, throwing a punch toward Moriki Tetsu's cheek.
Thud—
Moriki Tetsu raised his right arm and blocked the strike.
As the two passed by each other, Moriki Tetsu pivoted on his left foot, twisting his waist and core sharply, rotating his body ninety degrees, and swept his right leg toward Qingming's head.
"Damn—this little brat hits hard!"
Feeling the gust of wind rush past his ear, Qingming couldn't help but curse in his heart.
But he also understood—this was what it meant to fight as a ninja. You had to be ruthless not just to your enemies, but also to yourself. Every battle was like dancing on the edge of a blade.
Right now, this was only the adaptation phase. Once Sugi Kiichiro allowed them to use weapons, the danger would multiply.
If he wanted to survive in this chaotic world, he had to adapt to all of this as quickly as possible. Otherwise, even with his skill panel, he'd still end up a worthless failure.
With that realization, Qingming stopped overthinking and focused all his attention on the memories in his mind and the battle in front of him—absorbing the experience left behind by his predecessor as quickly as he could.
Time ticked by, second by second. The battles on the training field never ceased, and from time to time, someone would cry out in pain from an injury.
However, no matter how miserable their screams were, Sugi Kiichiro never once called for a stop.
During this time, Qingming was also knocked down multiple times.
Although he had his predecessor's memories and could deal with Moriki Tetsu for a short while, his movements were too stiff and mechanical—his flaws were quickly exploited.
And so, he suffered.
Whether Moriki Tetsu had a grudge against his predecessor or not was unclear, but he certainly didn't hold back. By the time school ended, Qingming's body was already covered in bruises.
"Hiss—"
Rubbing his blackened eye as he walked down the street, Qingming didn't feel much resentment—in fact, he almost felt grateful.
Why?
Because at that moment, a new skill had appeared on his panel—Basic Taijutsu.
"Panel!"
With a thought, Qingming opened his panel.
Immediately, a faint blue screen appeared in his field of vision:
[Name: Uchiha Qingming]
Age: 10
Constitution: 5
Spirit: 7
Chakra: 6 (127)
Bloodline: Sharingan · Not Awakened (51/100)
Skills:
Chakra Refinement Technique: lv0 (2/100)
Clone Technique: lv0 (19/100)
Basic Taijutsu: lv0 (35/100)
As you could see, from just a single fight, his "Basic Taijutsu" had already reached lv0 (35/100)—surpassing the Clone Technique and becoming his fastest-progressing skill so far.
According to Qingming's estimation, his predecessor's proficiency in this skill was just at the early lv1 level.
In other words, with just two or three more battles like this, he'd be able to fully integrate all of his predecessor's knowledge and experience in this skill.
And the only reason he progressed this quickly was because of how ruthlessly Moriki Tetsu had attacked him—forcing him to respond with everything he had.
Given that, how could he possibly resent the guy?