After Iruka finished speaking, Haruto Kamiya immediately began extracting chakra right in front of him. This time, he pulled out every bit of chakra in his body at once, releasing it without hesitation. A layer of blue chakra spread across his entire body, wrapping him in a faint glow.
Iruka's eyes widened. He stared at Haruto in disbelief. To extract that much in a single attempt… just how terrifying was this kid's total chakra capacity?
A moment later, Haruto and Iruka found themselves staring at each other.
Haruto: stare… Iruka: uh…
"Haruto, why did you stop?" Iruka asked carefully. "If we're checking your chakra reserves, you need to extract all of it."
"I already did extract all of it," Haruto replied, frowning slightly. He looked at Iruka and asked, "Iruka-sensei… is my chakra amount actually very low?"
If it really was too small, that would be a disaster. Many jutsu required large amounts of chakra to use properly.
"Low? No, no, certainly not!" Iruka waved his hands quickly, realizing Haruto had misunderstood. "I was just surprised you could extract all your chakra in one go."
Haruto relaxed a little but pressed on, "Then, Iruka-sensei… what level would you say my chakra reserves are at? Compared to a newly graduated genin, for example? This is the result of years of hard work." He stared intensely at Iruka.
Iruka thought it over. "Currently, your chakra reserves are only about half of the lowest baseline for a freshly graduated genin. Compared to the average genin, you're about one-third."
"That far off?" Haruto frowned again.
"Not at all, Haruto!" Iruka quickly corrected. "You're still growing. Chakra naturally increases with physical development. In fact, during these years, natural growth contributes more to chakra capacity than training does."
Iruka glanced at Haruto's chakra again and couldn't help but sigh with admiration. "By the time you graduate, if you continue growing normally, your reserves will far exceed the average level."
"I see…" Haruto finally let out a small breath. It seemed his hard work was paying off—far above average, huh.
Then he remembered something unsettling. His class had one Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto's chakra, even without counting the Nine-Tails, was monstrous thanks to his Uzumaki lineage and being Asura's reincarnation.
Comparing himself to that was unreasonable. With that thought, Haruto smiled.
Seeing Haruto smile, Iruka nearly melted with relief. For a moment he'd almost crushed the confidence of a prodigy. If he accidentally broke the spirit of such a gifted student, he'd never forgive himself.
That's right—Iruka already saw Haruto as a genius. After all, this kid had learned to extract chakra in just a few days with high proficiency, and his total chakra was already comparable to a third-year student. Combined, that absolutely made him a prodigy.
"There's one more thing, Haruto," Iruka added with a proud grin.
"Yes?" Haruto tilted his head.
"Your ability to extract so much chakra at once surpasses most genin. It even matches some chūnin. That's extremely impressive." Iruka admitted that Haruto's display earlier had nearly given him a heart attack.
"Oh." Haruto didn't look particularly impressed with himself. This was simply thanks to his strong spiritual power, after all.
"By the way, Iruka-sensei, may I start learning the Three Basic Techniques early?" Haruto finally asked, revealing his second purpose in coming today. But the two goals were connected—he needed to demonstrate ability far beyond a first-year student to earn access.
Iruka considered it briefly. "Normally, the Three Basic Techniques are taught in the second year. But given your current skill level… yes, I believe you're more than qualified to start early."
There was no rule against it anyway.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Haruto said sincerely. He'd chosen to come to Iruka precisely because he understood the man's nature from the original story. If it were Mizuki, he wouldn't have come within ten meters. Even knowing Iruka would likely agree, he still genuinely felt grateful.
"Ahaha, no problem at all!" Iruka said, scratching his head with a big smile. Being thanked by a student felt pretty good.
He then handed Haruto three scrolls. "These contain the Three Basic Techniques, along with some of my personal notes. Read through them first. If you have questions, come find me. But remember to return the scrolls later."
"Of course." Haruto examined the scrolls, noticing Iruka had filled them with markings and teaching notes. If he couldn't learn from these… he might as well find a wall and headbutt it.
"Is there anything else, Haruto?" Iruka asked.
"You've helped me so much today, sensei. I'd like to treat you to a meal." Haruto said.
"Haha, teachers helping students is normal! Besides, I still have things to—" Iruka began to decline.
"Ichiraku Ramen," Haruto added calmly.
Iruka froze. He did love Ichiraku… and it wasn't expensive. Haruto's family wouldn't suffer from it.
Seeing Haruto's earnest expression, Iruka's resistance weakened.
"Well then, Iruka-sensei, I won't keep you any longer. I'll head home first. I'll wait for you outside Ichiraku at six." Haruto said before Iruka could object again, then walked away.
Iruka watched Haruto's back and sighed. This child felt far older than his age. Thinking about Haruto's family situation, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
A child from a struggling household grew up too fast.
Still… the kid remembered his favorite ramen. Most students wouldn't even bother. Iruka couldn't stop himself from smiling.