Naruto : Crimson wood

To Renji Takahashi, those so-called "special abilities" seemed laughably crude.

Calling that a proper illusion? It was more like a cheap clone trick.

As for the Puppet Users, the school-issued puppets looked ugly and weak—barely on par with a first-level beast.

A true puppet master's strength depended entirely on the puppet itself. The stronger and more compatible the puppet, the stronger the user. But these kids were just tossing around glorified toys.

And the Object Controllers? Flying around swords and sabers like party tricks. What was the point?

The elemental types weren't much better. Fire types threw basketball-sized fireballs. Water types summoned dinky water chains. Wind types conjured wind blades barely sharp enough to shave with. Earth types built walls no bigger than a door. Thunder types flashed some light but didn't pack much punch.

All flash, no substance.

Renji didn't even bother using his Sharingan to copy them. Waste of his spiritual energy.

Simply put: their powers couldn't hold a candle to his Wood Release and Sharingan.

Special Class 3's Training Continues

The last training group stepped onto the field: Shun Hayashi, Mei Shimizu, and a Fire Element boy named Riku Tanaka.

Mei and Riku made a pretty decent team. She controlled opponents with her water powers; he burned them down with fire.

Only Shun Hayashi, standing there awkwardly with nothing but a wooden stick, seemed totally lost.

Unlike Renji, Hayashi's Wood abilities couldn't fight. All he could do was grow some harmless plants. No offense. No defense.

The other students started jeering.

"See? Wood element is trash! What's it good for?"

"D-Class wood type? Might as well stay home and grow flowers."

Hayashi trembled as the laughter washed over him.

Renji's face darkened. He glared at them coldly and snapped, "What, you got a problem with the Wood Element?"

The crowd fell silent. No one dared speak.

Wood was useless? Then how had Renji just blown away a two-headed fire ant? Even some teachers had been shocked when he unleashed his Wood Release.

Clearly, Renji's Wood Element had crushed everyone's outdated ideas.

His Wood Barrier from earlier had taken a direct hit from a fireball and held up as well as any Earth user's wall.

This wasn't the Wood Element they thought they knew.

Renji's sharp eyes swept over the crowd. "Some of you couldn't even stand when your turn came. Your legs turned to jelly before you even saw the monster. And now you think you're qualified to laugh at someone else?"

He paused on one guy in particular—Raiden Kobayashi, a loudmouth Thunder Element user who'd bragged endlessly before the fight. But the moment a two-headed lion roared at him, the guy collapsed in fear.

And now he was laughing at Hayashi?

At least Hayashi had stayed standing.

Renji despised cowards who mocked others to cover up their own weakness.

Raiden turned pale as a sheet and slunk away in shame, unable to refute him.

In the end, Mei Shimizu and Riku Tanaka took down the beast.

Shun Hayashi stood there the whole time, unable to contribute—but he didn't run away.

The teacher didn't criticize him. For a D-Class Wood user, even standing his ground was enough. He'd completed the goal of gaining experience and facing fear head-on.

When they rejoined the group, Shun walked up to Renji with his head down. "Renji... am I useless?"

"How could you be? You're braver than most. You just haven't found the right way to use your powers yet," Renji said sincerely.

He saw himself in Shun—a shadow of the weak, self-doubting person he used to be.

Now that Renji had grown stronger, he wanted to help others find their strength too.

"Renji… why is your Wood ability so different from mine?" Shun looked up with pleading eyes.

"How did you do it? Can you teach me?"

If he could learn Renji's Wood Release, maybe he wouldn't be useless anymore.

Renji hesitated. Technically, his was Wood Release, while Shun's was just a basic Wood affinity. He didn't know if his methods would work for someone else.

But seeing the hope in Shun's eyes, Renji couldn't bring himself to say no.

"I'm not sure if my way will work for you. But we can give it a shot."

Shun's face lit up. "That's all I need! I'll try!"

Even the smallest glimmer of hope was enough to light up his dark world.

[Ding! New Mission Triggered: Teach Shun Hayashi a New Wood Skill.]

[Reward: 100 energy points.]

Another mission?

But this one made Renji think.

"Teach him a new Wood ability... so my Wood Release can help others?"

"Or maybe my Wood Release techniques could rewrite the whole understanding of the Wood Element in this world?"

He didn't know for sure, but if the system gave him this mission, there must be a way.

Renji's guess: the reason the Wood Element was considered trash wasn't because it was inherently weak. It was because no one had developed it properly.

So far, the world had only explored two uses for the Wood Element: plant growth and simple healing.

But what if you expanded beyond that?

What if the Wood Element could be developed for both offense and defense, like his Wood Release?

Maybe he wouldn't become a legendary Wood user like Senju Hashirama... but even being a Yamato-level wood master would be enough to change the world's perception.

Thinking of this, Renji's heart filled with determination.

Wrapping Up Training

The combat training lasted the whole day before finally ending.

"Great job, everyone. Today's monster combat drill is complete. Let's head back." Professor Shizuka Sumiya gave a rare smile, letting the tension melt from the students' faces.

Under the teachers' guidance, the group made their way back to Azure City.

[Ding! Mission Complete: Finish the First Monster Combat Training.]

[Reward: 100 energy points. Mystic Shop Unlocked.]

As soon as they returned to the city, the familiar system voice rang in Renji's mind.

Another 100 energy points earned.

And now... a mystic shop? That sounded promising.

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