"Not every sensei's as open-handed as Guy." "Back in school, I hounded mid-rankers too. All of 'em: 'Graduate first, redeem with points.'"
"That's not right. My teachers were eager—basic jutsu? No hoarding if they knew it."
"We're… different." Ayato's tone flattened.
He'd chalked it up to rules at first. Then he watched them coach others. Nah—someone whispered in their ears. Even Naruto—demon spawn—got pointers. Him? Crickets.
He wasn't dense. No troublemaker. Gave face where due. Outside jutsu? Teachers liked him fine.
Reality sank in: someone wanted him weak. Taijutsu? Niche pre-Otsutsuki. Guy was the outlier; everyone else? Cannon fodder in a pinch.
Era mindset: jutsu = strength. Cloud brutes aside, villages sidelined body arts.
Pin his learning—cut off Cloud methods—and he'd lag his peers. Missions for points? Basics only. Waste of time. Better grind body.
Tsunade back? Raid Senju vaults, binge-scroll.
But basics? Child's play. Shape, squeeze—done. Nightly secret sessions now.
"My family's got entry-level scrolls. Borrow 'em?" Tenten ventured, piecing it. Offended a teacher?
"Nah." Smile. Can't drag her in. Low-tier stuff? Harmless to most. Handouts to him? Red flag. They wouldn't kill her—but crap missions? Guaranteed.
Besides, he'd reverse-engineered the lot. Rasengan, Chidori—seal-less chakra blasts, control hogs. He drilled them slow.
Others? Self-harm risk. Him? Senju heal + Kaguya bone = unkillable.
Chidori + Rasengan? Ninjutsu baseline.
"Doubling down on taijutsu? Guy and Lee style?"
Nod, grin.
He drained the flattened bottle, stood. "Getting late. Big mission tomorrow—pack and crash early."
Tenten looked up, words caught. Finally: nod. "Train together when I'm back."
"Deal."
Wave goodbye. Gate clicked.
Who's pulling strings? Danzo? Hiruzen? Fake teams, shipping Guy squad out long-term.
Frown deepened, homeward trek.
Unsafe window wide open. Bolt now?Street unsold.
Danger spikes on first out-village gig. That chunin trio? Pushy on escorts.
Shadow clone decoy? Basics fooled most—no attack, but passable. Special clones? Combat-ready, fragile.
Power up anyway. Jonin tier? Untouchable.
Brainstorming paths, home hit. Experiment mode.
"Rasengan, Chidori—easy form, brutal control. Amp via volume or nature shift."
Tried: fire-wind Rasengan. Boom. Explode.
No hurt—annoying. Hour in: zero progress. Pivot to Yin-Yang drills. Jutsu hacks? Epiphany bait. Time-box it.
Smart allocation = fastest gains.
Next Morning
No send-off for Tenten—didn't want eyes on them. Post-morning grind: his street.
"Hashimoto-uncle." Grin at the oden vendor.
"Ayato? Rent day's not till next week."
"Not collecting." Pointed at the sale sign.
"Oh. No bites yet. Wait longer?"
"Nah—you buy. Years here—feels like home. New owner? Hunt spots again?"
"Heh, attached, yeah. But pricey. Wife spends wild, kid's a handful."
"Discount for you." Wink.
"How much?" Head close, whisper. Hooked.
"Nine off. Flip it, profit. Houses don't dip like that." Dramatic sigh.
Hashimoto paused mid-stir, ladled mixed oden. "Here—on me. Gotta chat with the wife."
"Take your time. I'll canvas." Ayato popped a skewer—lunch sorted.
Hashimoto ducked inside. Wife prepped in back—big spender was BS. Rent covered twenty years.
But discounted? Tempting. Naruto buys = land. Demo, rebuild—save on reno. Steal.
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