Chapter 321: The Taijutsu Ranking Tournament Approved, Let Youth Burn; Hikari and Izumi Establish Konoha's Ninja Enlightenment Class [HN]

Inside the Hokage’s office.

Chiya carefully read the proposal for the Taijutsu Ranking Tournament submitted by Might Duy. The handwriting was somewhat sloppy, but every word was filled with passion.

Tsunade sat on the sofa nearby and could not help speaking when she saw how focused Chiya was.

“Well? Do you think this proposal is too unrealistic? Having a group of taijutsu specialists compete for rankings like in the Chunin Exams?”

Chiya raised his head, but there was no hint of rejection in his eyes. Instead, there was a trace of approval.

“No. Quite the opposite. I think this is an excellent proposal.”

He picked up the application and walked to the window, looking down at the lively Konoha below.

“Taijutsu training is tedious and difficult. Unlike ninjutsu and genjutsu, it does not produce flashy results that can be seen immediately. It requires constant practice and refinement over a long period of time.”

“Establishing a ranking tournament gives every ninja who specializes in or practices taijutsu a clear goal, a stage on which to demonstrate their results, and an honor they have truly earned.”

“It will greatly stimulate their enthusiasm for training and allow more people to see and recognize the value of taijutsu.”

Tsunade’s eyes moved slightly.

A Konoha like this was becoming even better.

After finishing, Chiya turned around, his gaze firm.

“Taijutsu should never merely be an accessory to ninjutsu and genjutsu.”

“It is one of the foundations of the shinobi system, and it deserves the same level of attention.”

“Duy’s idea fits perfectly with my original intention in establishing the taijutsu class.”

Hearing this, Tsunade understood Chiya’s intentions as well. She crossed her arms and smiled.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind to support it. Fine. Let those old fossils who have nothing but ‘ninjutsu above all’ in their heads see that strength forged through sweat is just as formidable.”

Chiya nodded.

He returned to his desk, picked up a pen, and solemnly wrote Approved on the proposal, along with his instructions.

“The proposal is excellent and is approved for implementation.”

“The first Taijutsu Ranking Tournament will be held three months from now. After that, it will be held once every six months, with no restrictions on participants.”

“Prepare actively and showcase the excellence of taijutsu.”

He handed the approved document to the ANBU member standing nearby.

“Deliver it to Advisor Might Duy immediately.”

“Yes!”

The ANBU ninja accepted the document and disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique.

When Might Duy received the proposal bearing the Hokage’s official approval from the ANBU, the passionate middle-aged man burst into tears once again. He hugged his son Guy and wailed loudly on the training ground.

“Guy! Did you see that?! The Hokage… The Hokage has recognized our youth! He has recognized the value of taijutsu!”

“Father! This is the highest praise for youth!”

“We must hold the grandest, most passionate, and most spectacular ranking tournament ever!”

“…”

The father and son embraced each other and cried bitterly while waving their arms and dancing around.

The news of the Taijutsu Ranking Tournament spread through the entire taijutsu class like it had grown wings, and then quickly spread throughout Konoha.

Everyone now knew that three months later, Konoha would welcome an unprecedented event dedicated entirely to taijutsu practitioners.

After the approval was issued, the training enthusiasm within the taijutsu class reached an unprecedented level, as though every molecule in the air had been ignited.

Once everyone had a clear goal, all their sweat finally had somewhere to go.

Might Guy was undoubtedly the craziest trainer of them all.

Not only did he complete all the basic training assigned by his father, but he also increased the intensity on his own, strapping heavy weights to his legs and arms as he carried out extreme training far beyond the normal limits.

His slogan echoed across the training ground.

“Burn, my youth! For the sake of protecting Konoha and earning the name of the Mighty Beast of Might, I will become the first ninth dan in the Taijutsu Ranking Tournament!”

His seemingly endless energy infected everyone around him.

Many students would collapse from exhaustion, but when they saw Guy still running and throwing punches, they would grit their teeth, get back up, and continue training.

Hatake Kakashi, meanwhile, had entered a more precise and dangerous stage of training.

His Lightning Release: Living Body Enhancement was still only in its early stages, so he needed extensive practice to stabilize and control it.

The faint crackle of electricity could often be heard from the corner of the training ground, along with the occasional brief paralysis and fall caused by Kakashi losing control.

Yet his usually lazy, dead fish eyes now shone with concentration and determination.

He no longer relied solely on Make-Out Paradise to pass the time during his breaks. More often, he would write and draw on paper, working out the optimal routes and intensity for chakra to circulate through his meridians.

“Hey, Kakashi, what are you secretly practicing over here? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of losing to me in the ranking tournament?”

Uchiha Obito approached Kakashi during one of their breaks and tried to peek at his notes.

Kakashi quickly closed his notebook and lazily glanced at him.

“Dead Last, instead of worrying about me, you should think about how to avoid being eliminated in the first round of the ranking tournament.”

“What did you say?! Damn you, Kakashi!”

Obito instantly exploded.

“I’m not the same as I used to be! With my Sharingan and the taijutsu I’ve been training so hard in, I’ll definitely make you see me in a different light!”

“Just wait until you get beaten by me in the arena!”

“Oh? Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kakashi’s tone remained calm, but there was less of his usual indifference in his eyes and more genuine anticipation.

Although Obito was loud and reckless, his progress was indeed visible to the naked eye. His Sharingan’s dynamic vision combined with taijutsu had formed a unique fighting style.

Among everyone, however, the greatest change might have been seen in Koyuki Kazahana.

Her physical strength, endurance, and power had all improved greatly.

Although she was still the weakest person in the class, the flame of revenge and the desire to reclaim her homeland burning in her eyes supported her as she broke through her limits again and again.

Shizune and Guy paid particular attention to her. Shizune prepared ointments to relieve her muscle fatigue and carefully taught her techniques for exerting force while avoiding injury.

Guy, meanwhile, encouraged her in his own passionate way.

“Koyuki! Hang in there! Your youth is shining brightly! Look, the strength of this punch is already a little stronger than yesterday!”

Whenever Koyuki became so exhausted that she was almost completely drained, she would look toward the Hokage Rock and silently repeat in her heart,

‘Hokage-sama, the Land of Snow… I will definitely return!’

Then she would summon her courage once again and throw herself into the next round of training.

Her perseverance also earned the respect and encouragement of the other students.

The entire taijutsu class was filled with an atmosphere of healthy competition and mutual encouragement.

Sweat poured down as shouts shook the sky.

Everyone was burning their youth with all their strength for the stage that awaited them three months later.

The seed of taijutsu had already been planted in Konoha’s educational soil.

Sunlight fell across the training ground, illuminating the figures of the taijutsu students sweating through their training, as well as the young but serious faces of the ninjutsu class.

Konoha’s vitality was flourishing through sweat and the thirst for knowledge.

Everyone looked forward to the Taijutsu Ranking Tournament three months later. It would be the moment to test their results and display their brilliance, as well as the declaration that Konoha’s taijutsu flame had officially begun to spread.

This taijutsu craze also quietly influenced the Uchiha Clan.

With Uchiha Hikari’s proposal and Chiya’s tacit approval, the instructional classes originally limited to young ninja within the clan were officially upgraded into a Ninja Basic Education Class for children from a much wider range of backgrounds.

Taijutsu was also made a separate subject.

The classes were still held at the training ground within the Uchiha Clan compound, but they were no longer limited to Uchiha children.

After the news spread, not only did the children within the clan eagerly sign up, but children from several small clans friendly with the Uchiha, as well as a small number of talented civilian children, also came with curiosity and anticipation.

Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Izumi stood before a group of children of different ages, all of whose eyes were filled with a desire to learn. Both of them felt nervous and excited.

“Hello, everyone. Starting today, Izumi and I will be responsible for teaching you the basics of being a ninja.”

Hikari’s voice was clear and steady. After emerging from her period of confusion, she now possessed a calm and reliable presence.

“There are no strict clan boundaries here. There is only our love for and pursuit of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.”

“We will begin with the basics, such as shuriken throwing, chakra extraction, and chakra control.”

Izumi smiled and added,

“I hope everyone will study seriously, help one another, and improve together.”

The first lesson focused mainly on how to hold a shuriken and the most basic throwing posture.

Hikari and Izumi patiently corrected every child’s movements, carefully explaining everything from their stance to how they exerted force.

A young boy from a civilian family was so nervous that his shuriken kept missing the target. He even nearly injured himself and was so anxious that he was about to cry.

Hikari walked over without reprimanding him. Instead, she crouched down and personally guided his hands.

“Relax your wrist, keep your eyes on the target, and don’t panic. Yes, that’s it. Try again.”

With her encouragement, the boy finally managed to stick his shuriken into the edge of the target.

Although it was still far from the center, a bright smile immediately blossomed across his face.

Nearby, a young Uchiha girl was showing Izumi her precise throwing technique, a trace of Uchiha pride on her face.

Izumi smiled and praised her before guiding her further.

“Very good. But try to see if you can maintain that level of accuracy while moving. In a real battle, the enemy won’t just stand still.”

The atmosphere of the class was serious yet lively.

The Uchiha children strengthened their own foundations while teaching others and also learned how to share.

The non Uchiha children, meanwhile, gained an opportunity to receive excellent basic ninja education and broaden their horizons.

During a break, Hikari and Izumi looked at the children practicing hard on the training ground and smiled at each other.

“Big Sister Hikari, seeing them like this feels really nice.”

“Mm.”

Hikari nodded, her gaze gentle.

“Being able to contribute to Konoha’s future and watch these new sprouts grow strong… it feels very fulfilling.”

She remembered what Chiya had once said. Konoha was a whole.

Breaking down the barriers between clans and eventually establishing the village had allowed everyone to protect the village together. The integration and exchange between ninja from the various clans was precisely one of the reasons Konoha was now filled with such vitality.

And she, Uchiha Hikari, was also using her own way to participate in and protect this hard won peace and prosperity.

The actions of the two girls foreshadowed that Konoha’s new generation would grow up in a more open and diverse environment.

The boundaries between clans would gradually become blurred through shared learning and progress, while Konoha’s cohesion would quietly grow stronger through these small but meaningful changes.