Naruto: Becoming the Soul King

Seiryū once again began complaining about the Ninja Academy’s inhumane practices.

It was Saturday, and there were still classes.

Wasn’t this abusing students?

Elementary school students, well, little brats had no human rights. If there were any kind of agency, Seiryū would have wanted to report the Ninja Academy for child abuse.

With no other choice, he still had to go to school on Saturday. This was even more miserable than being a senior student preparing for graduation.

Seiryū declared that if he ever became the principal of the Ninja Academy, he would definitely cancel even Sunday holidays and give only one day off per month.

Those who had been soaked by the rain wanted to tear away other people’s umbrellas. This was human nature, not narrow mindedness.

Kurenai carried her small backpack and pouted so hard that an oil bottle could probably hang from her lips. Her words sounded sour, with a hint of despair. ”Seiryū, why is your brain so good? How can you learn such complicated things after seeing them only once?”

She had been frustrated again yesterday.

That pervert Seiryū had watched her father demonstrate basic taijutsu only once and was already able to replicate it perfectly.

She, on the other hand, had watched it several times and still only remembered part of it.

They both had brains, so why was the difference so huge?

Seiryū found it hard to explain. He was cheating, so how could a cheater be compared to an ordinary person? He could only shrug. ”Is there a possibility that you’re just too slow?”

This time, Kurenai did not argue back. She simply sighed softly, with the faint feeling of having seen through the world. ”Sigh.”

Compared to Seiryū, she really did seem a bit slow.

”Kurenai, this kind of attitude won’t do,” Seiryū said seriously. He felt this was unacceptable. How could a six year old be so dejected?

He completely forgot that he was the one who had caused her frustration.

Seiryū decisively launched into a motivational speech. ”No matter what difficulties you face, don’t be afraid. Face them with a smile. The best way to eliminate fear is to confront it. Persistence is victory.”

”…”

”If you don’t respond, it’ll be very awkward, okay? I even cheered you on,” Seiryū said helplessly. Being met with silence was really uncomfortable.

Kurenai pursed her lips. ”Seiryū, should we find some time to see a doctor? Let’s see if we can cure this bad habit of yours.”

Seiryū glanced sideways at her and pouted. ”What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not sick. Why would I see a doctor?”

”You are.”

”No, I’m not.”

While bickering, the two of them quickly arrived at the Ninja Academy.

They were not late.

But someone else was. Uchiha Obito, the king of tardiness who was late seven or eight times a week, once again used the same excuse. He had been helping an old lady cross the road.

At this point, it could basically be confirmed.

That old lady was probably White Zetsu in disguise, who had already set his sights on Obito. Uchiha Madara’s planning was truly far reaching.

Today was still a theory class, focused on the mathematical knowledge behind shuriken projectile trajectories.

Some students scratched their heads with pale expressions, while others looked calm and composed.

From this alone, the difference between poor students and excellent students was clear.

The class passed quickly.

The crisp ringing of the dismissal bell echoed through the classroom.

Obito immediately scrambled over from his seat to Seiryū, his face full of relief, as if he had finally found salvation.

With a customer arriving, Seiryū greeted him warmly, smiling brightly. ”Cash on delivery. Don’t worry, there are no tricks here.”

”Here, for you.” Obito pulled a handful of coins from his small wallet and placed them on Seiryū’s desk, his tone full of excitement. ”Hurry up, let me see what these so called grinding questions are.”

This drew frequent sidelong glances from Kurenai nearby. Her gaze was strange, as she thought that Obito was truly a brave warrior.

Seiryū was in no rush. His tone became serious. ”Let me make this clear first. I don’t accept returns or refunds. Refunds alone are even more impossible. Once the money and goods are exchanged, the deal is final. If you agree, we proceed.”

Obito listened, thought for a moment, and asked, ”Can grinding questions really improve my written test scores?”

Seiryū nodded. ”Of course. I wouldn’t lie to a classmate.”

”Alright then. Here’s the money.”

”Boss is generous.”

After collecting the money, Seiryū took out the notebook he had prepared from his backpack and handed it over, smiling. ”Looking forward to our next cooperation.”

”If it’s useful…” Obito muttered as he casually flipped through the small notebook.

The moment he looked, he froze.

This, this, this… what was this?

Familiar numbers, familiar words, but when combined together, they became completely incomprehensible.

Known wind speed, weight of the senbon, distance between the person and the target, the person’s strength, the speed at which the senbon was thrown. In the end, it asked what angle and how much force were required to hit the bullseye with the senbon.

This one he could barely understand, but after that, it felt like reading a heavenly script.

And what were those symbols?

Were they some kind of ninjutsu runes?

Obito looked at Seiryū suspiciously. ”This is what you call grinding questions? What is this? It looks a lot like the theory Oda sensei taught us, but it also seems different. Is this really useful?”

”Of course it’s similar. They’re basically the same type of questions. Otherwise, why would they be called grinding questions?” Seiryū said calmly, pinching his thumb and forefinger together. ”They’re just a little harder, and they get progressively more difficult.”

”As for those symbols, there’s an explanation on the last page. You can figure them out yourself. There are about a hundred questions in total, more content for the same price.”

”Oh, and I operate with integrity. If you don’t understand something, you can ask. You get two after sales services.”

Seiryū patted his chest confidently. ”Believe me. As long as you finish these questions, no, even if you only complete part of them, as long as you understand the underlying principles, your grades will definitely improve.”

In his previous life, six or seven year old kids could barely recognize all the characters, but in this world, they were already learning mathematical theories related to parabolas.

They had not even finished basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, yet they were already tackling much harder problems.

Students in this world were truly miserable.

Well, it was not him who was miserable, so it did not matter.

The questions Oda gave were too shallow, elementary level. He could solve them at a glance without even thinking.

As for whether Obito could understand these, he probably could.

Although Kurenai would shout things like, ”What kind of crappy questions are these,” she could actually solve some of the simpler ones.

”Actually, it’s not that hard once you understand the approach. Obito, I have high hopes for you,” Kurenai added, feeling secretly pleased that someone else was suffering alongside her.

She could not be the only one enduring the torment of grinding questions.

”Then… then alright. I’ll give it a try,” Obito said. After hearing Kurenai’s words, his desire to improve his grades and impress Nohara Rin ultimately won out.

Grind, then grind.

He had to improve his written test scores and make Rin look at him differently.

Then…

Then he went numb.

For the first time in his life, he experienced the pain of grinding questions.

At the beginning, it was not too hard. They were almost identical to the teacher’s questions, just worded differently, and he could barely solve them.

But as he reached the later ones, he felt more and more mentally exhausted. No matter how hard he wracked his brain, he could not solve them. He could not find the answers.

The expression of pain returned to his face, and regret crept in. Had spending money on this really just been paying to suffer?

But he had already agreed that returns and refunds were not allowed. He could not go back on his word, could he?

Rin had also heard what he said earlier, so no matter how painful it was, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Finally…

Obito completely broke down.

”Ahhh, what kind of crappy questions are these!”

(To be continued.)

◇◇◇◇

◇ I’ll be dropping two bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.

◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.

◇ If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review, it helps a lot!

◇ Don’t forget to add the book to your library.