[Ding! NIN +10, INT +10. Pick up?]
"Pick up!"
Three days later, Tatsuma watched Minato, who was sporting a look of helpless resignation while scratching his temple. Tatsuma offered a sympathetic grin. "Minato, you were right on the cusp of it, really. I think I just wanted this win a little bit more than you did."
Minato had lost. Twice, in fact.
The first contest was to see who could successfully manifest the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique first. Minato had a significant lead in the early stages, but he eventually lost due to a lack of chakra reserves.
While Tatsuma's chakra pool wasn't exactly vast, his months on the battlefield had been spent funneling every available attribute point into Physique. Combined with the constant Taijutsu-heavy combat and the effects of Combat Transcendence, his physical stamina and energy had seen a massive spike.
Consequently, the lead Minato had previously established in chakra volume had been erased. Tatsuma had caught up and surpassed him once more. With that extra tank of gas, Tatsuma was able to squeeze in significantly more practice sessions within the same timeframe, allowing him to master the manifestation faster.
Under normal circumstances, the rivalry might have ended there. However, Tatsuma had successfully cultivated a healthy sense of competitiveness in Minato over the years. They immediately set a second goal: the first one to perfectly control ten shuriken clones would be the winner.
This time, Minato lost decisively.
Tatsuma made it sound like a close race, but the reality was that Minato could currently only handle three clones with precision. Any more, and his control became sloppy.
Tatsuma, however, was cheating. With the Ninja Tool Projection talent he had "harvested" from Minato earlier, his baseline proficiency with projectiles was already at 100%. After a few practice runs, ten clones were nowhere near his limit.
The chakra cost of a shuriken clone was a fraction of a standard Shadow Clone. Against an average enemy, a dozen or so shuriken were enough to be lethal, making this a highly efficient addition to Tatsuma's regular arsenal.
By his own estimation, his current reserves were enough to manifest over three hundred shuriken clones—enough to create a literal wall of lead. This was precisely why he had chosen this jutsu; he knew he wouldn't need to sink much time into the fundamentals to make it a viable combat option.
Moreover, the ceiling for this technique was incredibly high. Tatsuma could already see three distinct paths for advancement:
The Hiruzen Style: Combining it with the Giant Shuriken Jutsu to create a hail of massive, crushing blades.
The Minato Style: Infusing the shuriken with chakra to increase their lethality and piercing power—the "Laser Rain" effect.
The Sasuke Style: Merging it with Manipulating Shuriken to guide hundreds of blades simultaneously through wire-work or chakra strings, a feat he recalled Sasuke performing in the future.
The first path wasn't for him yet; the chakra cost was too high, and he didn't actually know the Giant Shuriken jutsu. But he was very interested in the latter two. He might not be able to pull off Minato's "Laser Rain" yet, but he could certainly manage to coat a few key blades with Wind Style chakra.
Once he mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone, Tatsuma didn't immediately move on to the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. Hiruzen was perpetually busy, and Sakumo… well, Sakumo had barely shown his face.
Tatsuma remembered Sakumo's recent appearances vividly, mostly because the man's behavior was so bizarre. He would arrive looking absolutely radiant and "dreamy," only to leave looking like he was in a panicked rush to catch a train.
Calculating the timeline, Tatsuma had a pretty good guess as to why. By the end of this year at the latest, he, Minato, and their respective teachers would likely have to prepare "gifts" for the arrival of new life.
Tatsuma wasn't in a hurry. He spent his time coaching Minato, using "Minato's future experiences" to guide Minato's current training. It worked remarkably well; within two days, Minato reached the ten-clone threshold.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi… he was still buried in paperwork. Left with free time, the two boys returned to their old routine: training with Nawaki and Kushina in the morning, studying Sealing Arts with Uzumaki Mito in the afternoon, and individual training in the evening.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shuriken whistled through the air of the training ground, colliding and vanishing into smoke as another round of practice ended. Minato held up a hand. Tatsuma understood the signal instantly; Minato was tapped out of chakra and needed a break.
Nearby, Might Duy was finishing up his daily fifty laps—performed entirely on his hands—with Nawaki trailing behind him. As they began their post-run stretching, Tatsuma noticed something odd.
Tsunade and Orochimaru were currently swamped with the Iwa investigation, which had given Nawaki the chance to resume his "youthful" training with Duy. Nawaki had actually grown quite clever; he now carried two sets of clothes. He'd arrive at the field in normal gear, switch to the green jumpsuit to train, and change back before going home. He called it "the necessary compromise of youth."
Tatsuma's eyes fixed on Might Duy. The man's smile was… blinding. Even for Duy, whose white teeth were a constant fixture, this grin was particularly unrestrained.
It was a look Tatsuma recognized. It was that same "dreamy" expression he'd seen on Hatake Sakumo lately.
Tatsuma suddenly remembered: in the original timeline, Might Guy was born on January 1st of next year. That meant… if the math checked out… Duy was about to be a father.
"Duy-gege," Tatsuma asked curiously, "are you expecting a child?"
Duy, who was mid-stretch, suddenly slipped into a full split. His face turned a shade of red that rivaled a tomato. He looked around frantically, his eyes refusing to meet Tatsuma's. "How… how did you know?!"
"What?! Duy-gege, you're pregnant?!"
Nawaki jumped up from his stretch, his exclamation making everyone in the vicinity freeze. Tatsuma doubled over, laughing so hard he thought he might see his lunch again. Even Minato, who usually prided himself on his impeccable manners, couldn't stop himself from howling with laughter.
Nawaki realized his blunder almost immediately, his face turning beet-red. "No, wait! I mean… I mean, Duy-gege, your wife is going to be a father?! I mean… wait, when did you even get a wife?! How did I miss that?!"
Nawaki's frantic questioning was a mess, but Duy didn't take offense. After all, "youth is a journey of trial and error!"
He scratched his head, looking uncharacteristically shy. "We're… not married yet. I'm currently saving up. I want to buy a house first, and then have the wedding."
As a perennial Genin—and one at the bottom of the social ladder—Duy's income was incredibly limited. The village didn't exactly assign him S-rank missions. His specialty was catching lost cats, a task Hiruzen had jokingly labeled him an "expert" in. But cats didn't pay the bills, and sometimes the medical costs from cat bites ate up the entire reward. Duy hadn't managed to save much over the years.
Tatsuma's laughter died down, replaced by a pang of sympathy. He wanted to help, but he realized he was broke, too—he'd spent all his war merits on high-level Ninjutsu scrolls. Besides, knowing Duy, the man would never accept a handout.
Trying to lighten the mood, Tatsuma asked, "Is the lucky lady Sister Koharu, the one you used to go shopping with?"
Duy gave a bashful nod. Tatsuma's curiosity wasn't satiated. "When did you two… you know? When I left for the front, weren't you guys still just…"
"Cough… well…" Duy stammered for a while before finally gathering his courage. "It was the night you marched out. She was worried I'd be depressed because I couldn't go to the front and serve the village, so she… she came over to comfort me."
Bullseye on the first try?
Tatsuma did the math. Mid-March departure… January 1st birth… the timing was almost poetic.
"What are you all whispering about?"
A silver-haired figure appeared in their midst. Seeing Hatake Sakumo, Tatsuma didn't miss a beat. "Oh, we were just discussing people who can't go to the war zone, so they stay in the village and pass the time by making babies."
Minato and Nawaki didn't have much of a reaction, but Sakumo's face went from pale to a deep crimson in less than a second. Steam practically puffed from his ears.
"How… how did you find out?!" Sakumo asked, sounding utterly mortified.
"Eh?" "Huh?!" "WHOA!!"
Four people, three different reactions. Nawaki and Duy were just confused. Minato's eyes widened as the realization hit him. Tatsuma, meanwhile, realized he'd just stumbled into another "bullseye." Sakumo clearly thought they were talking about him.
Seeing their varied expressions, Sakumo quickly regained his Anbu-level composure. He coughed awkwardly. "Wait… who were you talking about?"
Nawaki pointed at Duy. Duy pointed at himself. Minato kept his hands to himself, but Tatsuma pointed at both Duy and Sakumo.
"We were talking about Duy-gege," Tatsuma smirked. "But now you've officially entered the chat. Hehe. Sakumo-sama, you aren't even married yet, are you? Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Looking at Tatsuma's incredibly punchable grin, Sakumo covered his face with his hand. His reputation as the "Unblemished White Fang" was effectively in ruins. To be caught out like this by a group of kids… it was a career low.
Minato, ever the diplomat, decided to save the legendary ninja further embarrassment. He coughed and changed the subject. "Sakumo-sama, did you come here for a reason?"
Sakumo nodded vigorously, grateful for the out. "Right! Yes! I'm here to notify you that the Bringer-of-Darkness training session with the Third Hokage has to be postponed."
"I see. If the Hokage is too busy, then it can't be helped," Tatsuma said, dropping the previous topic.
Sakumo nodded again, his expression turning serious. "The Third is swamped. Jiraiya found concrete evidence of Iwa activity at the border of Rain and Earth. And there's more trouble with Suna—Danzo's unit accidentally crossed into the Land of Rain during a skirmish, and now Hanzo has issued a formal protest. The Hokage has to handle the diplomatic fallout for all of it. He doesn't even have time to take Biwako-sama to her prenatal checkups; she's been going to the hospital alone."
"Ahem!"
Tatsuma coughed loudly, cutting him off. "Sakumo-sama… are you sure you should be telling us all that?"
"Eh? Haha… right. Sorry. I've been in the Anbu too long; I guess I just lose my filter when I finally find someone I can actually talk to."
Sakumo scratched his head, looking sheepish. Might Duy tilted his head, his bowl cut swaying.
"Anbu?"
"Crap! I said too much again."