A sharp, violent cough broke the rhythm of their training.
If it were anyone else, Souma might have wondered whether someone was jealous that he and Kasumi were getting along too well.
But here, in the Moonlight household, there was no need to overthink.
Because—
This man was actually frail.
Souma looked closely and felt genuine shock.
Good grief… With a body like this, the fact he's still active as a shinobi is a miracle of the ninja world.
Even Tsunade might frown at this level of constitution.
"Uncle, these are my new teammates. This is Yagyu Souma, and this is Tenten. I brought them to practice swordsmanship."
Kasumi beamed proudly.
Moonlight Hayate nodded lightly, his pale face showing a gentle smile.
"Train well. Don't waste the swordsmanship others share with you."
"Yes!"
Kasumi straightened immediately.
Hayate turned his gaze toward Souma.
"I have something for you. Do you have a moment?"
"Uh… yes."
"Come with me. Cough… Kasumi, Tenten—you two keep training."
He turned and walked off, coughing as he went.
Souma followed.
After they'd walked some distance, Hayate finally spoke:
"The Third Hokage asked me to deliver something to you—one of Nidaime-sama's notebooks. I was planning to visit you later, but it seems today saves me a trip."
"Second Hokage's notebook?"
"A swordsmanship notebook. You likely won't need the actual techniques."
Hayate's voice was weak, his breath short.
"And… Thank you for helping Kasumi with her swordsmanship."
"Just mutual help," Souma replied.
Hayate handed him the notebook, then added:
"If you have questions, you can come ask me."
"Thank you. Also, you might find what I mentioned earlier useful as well."
Hayate blinked.
…Right.
That technique for generating power—his body could use the help.
Souma continued:
"But I recommend you stop taking missions for now. Your condition is already extremely poor. If you avoid missions, you might… live a bit longer."
"And what would I do with that extra life?"
Hayate smiled, calm and open-hearted.
If he wanted longevity, he wouldn't have become a shinobi at all.
His body had always been weak.
Choosing this path meant accepting the consequences.
"I'll prepare some medicine for you to try. It won't cure the root of it, but it should ease the symptoms. And when Lady Tsunade returns someday… maybe she can help."
Souma left it at that.
Of course, he knew the truth—Hayate's illness was vicious.
Even Tsunade might struggle to cure it.
And in the present timeline, Tsunade was still crippled by her hemophobia and incapable of top-level treatment.
But at least it was hope.
Besides…
It'd be a shame for such a beautiful wife to end up widowed.
"…Thank you."
Medicine—Hayate couldn't refuse that kindness.
But before he could think of how to repay this favor, Souma had already opened the notebook and begun reading, nodding thoughtfully as he flipped pages.
He read for a long while.
Nidaime's swordsmanship philosophy was straightforward:
Unpredictable. Fast. Precise.
Use illusions and clones to deceive.
Close in instantly.
Strike accurately at openings.
Souma couldn't use genjutsu, but the tactical ideas and mechanical details were incredibly useful.
After pondering for a long time, he settled on the direction he wanted to develop:
Iaido + dual-wielding.
And the second "blade" didn't need to be a real sword—
It could be a chakra blade, a chakra needle—something to fill in the "deception" component that he lacked.
However…
This kind of sword style probably isn't teachable to others.
Souma shook his head.
Teachability wasn't the point.
He was learning to become stronger, not to create commercial products.
High-difficulty techniques suited him best.
He stepped outside to begin sword drills.
Hayate was about to leave and handle his own matters, but…
He found himself unexpectedly curious.
The Third Hokage said complete sword styles would be meaningless to this boy.
So—
What kind of swordsmanship would he invent on his own?
Hayate watched quietly.
At first, he could tell Souma was practicing Iaido.
But the longer he watched… the less it resembled anything he recognized.
This swordsmanship…
"Uncle, what's he doing? Why does it look so strange?"
Kasumi whispered, baffled.
She had already given up trying to compare herself with Souma.
That boy wasn't normal.
Trying to keep up was just self-inflicted suffering.
Hayate studied Souma's movements for two full seconds.
"…Looks like dual-wielding."
"Dual-wielding?"
Kasumi blinked.
She focused again—
Hey… it was true.
His slashes were all directed toward one side, while the other hand seemed to be conducting some kind of coordination.
But ordinarily, dual-wielding meant one offense, one defense.
Souma's version…
It was weird.
"Do you understand it?" she asked.
"Hmm."
"…Uncle?"
"It seems like he's pairing it with some kind of assassination style."
Then suddenly Hayate straightened.
"Right. The Hokage is expecting me. Entertain your teammates."
He fled.
Kasumi stared at his retreating figure.
Uncle really couldn't read it, huh?
And he ran away to save face.
Coward.
She rolled her eyes and returned to training.
Seeing Tenten, she finally felt relieved.
Fortunately, not everyone in this team was an inhuman monster.
With another normal person around, she didn't feel completely incompetent.
They trained the entire day.
The next morning, Souma requested another full-day training session.
Tenten and Kasumi came with expressions full of despair.
Training with Souma was emotionally destructive.
But he didn't train nonstop—he paused often to point out their weaknesses, especially regarding their "limit state" muscle technique.
So…
They suffered.
But they suffered happily.
Three days later—
"Well well, training pretty hard, aren't we?"
Kakashi squatted on a branch, reading Icha Icha Paradise as usual.
"Of course we are! Unlike a certain teacher who hasn't shown up for days. At this rate Souma might as well be our instructor."
Tenten barked back.
"Hahaha, capable people get extra work. Anyway—want to take a mission?"
"MIS—SION?!"
Kasumi's eyes sparkled.
"Yes! Of course yes!" she nodded wildly.
Souma didn't care either way.
Early missions were basically chores—fetch water, chop firewood, or, at best, chase runaway cats for wealthy housewives.
Nothing challenging.
But—
"If you want higher-ranked missions later, you need a résumé," Souma thought.
A genin team receiving a C-rank mission right away meant someone up top opened a convenient door for them.
He wasn't complaining.
"Heh. Starting with a C-rank. Any pressure?"
Kakashi teased.
"None!" ×3
Souma's eyes gleamed faintly.
Finally, something worth doing.
"Then—meet at the Hokage's office."
"Yes, sir!"
Swish!
Four figures vanished toward the Hokage Tower.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614