Another ten-odd days passed.
Today was Saturday, and tomorrow was a holiday.
Seiryū was in a great mood—no student disliked holidays, and he was no exception.
Thanks to the high-intensity training with the Might father and son duo these past few days, along with the medicinal bath packets that aided his recovery, Seiryū's abnormal physique allowed him to adapt to the rhythm quickly.
Just over ten days of training had matched several months' worth of effort from Guy.
There was no helping it—he was cheating, after all. He couldn't be measured by normal standards.
Of course, the medicinal bath packets had been purchased by Seiryū himself from Might Duy.
He wasn't the type to take advantage. The Might family's financial situation was genuinely poor, and he wasn't shameless enough to freeload.
Initially, Duy had refused the money—how could he charge his own child's friend? But he only relented when Seiryū insisted, "If you don't accept the money, I won't train with you."
Duy had been moved to tears, repeatedly shouting things like, "Now this is youth!"
However, he didn't overcharge, only asking for the cost of the raw materials. From this alone, it was clear Duy was truly a warm-hearted person.
Seiryū felt a bit guilty.
But since the man wouldn't take more, he had no choice. He planned to repay him later. His previous intentions wouldn't change.
A powerhouse like Duy shouldn't remain unknown and looked down upon!
It was worth mentioning.
After hearing that Seiryū, Guy, and Kakashi were training together, Obito and Asuma had also joined out of curiosity.
But after trying it once… there was no second time. They all claimed that Taijutsu didn't suit them and that they were better at Ninjutsu!
Kakashi, however, actually stuck with it.
His intensity wasn't as high, though—he adjusted the training based on his own condition.
During this time, Kakashi asked Seiryū how he'd managed to punch through the Great Fireball Technique.
Seiryū gave a general explanation: precise Chakra control.
He also shared Chakra control training methods like Tree Climbing and Water Walking. Sakumo hadn't taught Kakashi these yet.
Maybe because he hadn't graduated from the Ninja Academy?
After all, Tree Climbing and Water Walking were usually taught by the team's Jōnin leader after becoming a Genin.
Because of this, Seiryū took the opportunity to bring up that he wanted to learn Kenjutsu—or rather, Tōjutsu—and asked for guidance.
He needed to take it step by step.
But there was no other way. Seiryū truly didn't know any shinobi proficient in Kenjutsu or Tōjutsu. For now, it was just the Hatake father and son, so he went with the proximity principle.
The library had basic Konoha-Style Kenjutsu training methods, but studying on your own couldn't compare to having someone guide you in person.
This was the most efficient method!
Kakashi didn't refuse Seiryū's request, agreeing that Seiryū could ask him anything he didn't understand. If he couldn't answer, he'd ask his father. It was essentially an exchange of knowledge and experience.
Seiryū taught Kakashi Chakra control, and Kakashi taught Seiryū basic Tōjutsu.
Progressing together!
…School was dismissed.
Kurenai, who had already packed up and slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, asked, "Seiryū, are you going to train today?"
Seiryū shook his head. "Not today. Isn't Uncle Shinku going to guide you in Genjutsu training? I want to listen in too."
Kurenai tilted her head. "You want to learn Genjutsu too? Aren't you studying too many things?"
As far as she knew, Seiryū had been learning a lot lately.
Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Sealing Techniques, and he was even planning to develop a new Lightning Release Ninjutsu—wasn't it that Lightning Release: Kirin he mentioned before?
He was also working on creating a new Body Flicker Technique. He was learning far too many things, and now he wanted to learn Genjutsu too.
Although Seiryū was a genius, could he really handle all of it?
Seiryū replied, "I just want to listen in. If I have talent in that area, I might give it a try."
Genjutsu was a valuable tool—it couldn't be underestimated.
Naturally, Seiryū was interested. If the opportunity, time, and talent were there, he wouldn't mind learning it.
In truth, for Seiryū, there wasn't much need to learn standard Ninjutsu. A Kidō with only one seal was far easier to use than a Ninjutsu that required multiple hand seals.
Spending time on that wasn't as practical as figuring out how to grind missions for more rewards.
There weren't many Ninjutsu that truly deserved Seiryū's attention.
The Rasengan, a Ninjutsu that didn't require hand seals, barely made the cut. It had a high ceiling, numerous variations, and most importantly, could be combined with various Chakra natures to derive new techniques.
It was a highly practical technique, which was why Seiryū was accelerating its development.
He was more interested in learning high-utility Forbidden Jutsu and Secret Techniques, like the Flying Thunder God, Sage Mode, Edo Tensei, and Yin Seal… but it wasn't time to access those yet.
Kurenai sighed like a little adult. "Trying everything… you're living way too intensely! You're putting pressure on the rest of us!"
Seiryū couldn't help but laugh. "Is that my fault? I don't want to either."
After saying goodbye to a few friends, the two left the Ninja Academy and headed home.
"Want to eat some dango?"
"I'll eat if you're paying!"
"You're not shy, huh?"
"I'm the little sister!"
This girl was getting better and better at leveraging her status as the "little sister." Seiryū just smiled. "Alright, alright, you're the little sister. Even though you wanted to be the older sister before."
Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Weren't you the one who insisted on arguing with me? Regretting it now?"
"Of course not. You can only ever be the little sister."
"No way!"
Kurenai huffed twice. She wasn't going to be the little sister forever!
Seiryū raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Planning to flip the roles? You won't get the chance."
Kurenai lowered her head, blushing slightly, and huffed softly. "Anyway, I won't be the little sister forever!"
"Then I'll wait."
"That day will come."
The two chatted as they walked toward the dango shop.
But as they passed through a deserted area near Training Ground One, a youth wearing clothes with the Uchiha clan crest and a Konoha forehead protector suddenly blocked their path. "So you're Seiryū?"
A standard villain opening line. The boy looked about twelve or thirteen, fairly handsome, but with slightly sinister eyes… He narrowed his gaze, sizing Seiryū up, and a meaningful sneer formed on his lips. "I heard you're a genius, and you even boasted that no Genin in Konoha is your match?"
"…?"
Staring at this sudden appearance from an Uchiha and hearing his provocative words, Seiryū's heart trembled, and his pupils shook violently!
Th-th-this… he was actually ambushed on his way home from school!
What a huge reward package—wait, no—what a familiar plot trope. He was really experiencing this kind of scene now.
And that familiar face, those sinister eyes—yep, that was definitely a grown-up "Ryota"!!
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)