Teaching Again

Life at the Ninja Academy was meaningless.

At least, that was how Uchiha Jin saw it.

He had long since memorized the Ninja Academy's lessons, tossed the Will of Fire into the trash, and even when it came to combat experience—

He believed more in gaining experience through actual combat.

The surrounding clamor woke Jin up. He raised his head as the sunset's golden light fell across his face.

He also saw Satoru Inoue's dark expression.

It was best to ignore him.

Minato Namikaze, who had just been about to wake Jin, awkwardly withdrew his hand.

Jin had woken up at exactly the right time.

He had not needed to be called at all.

"We're going out for barbecue. Jin, do you want to come?"

Jin glanced at Kushina, who was waiting beside them with her ears perked up, then at Minato Namikaze's sunny smile. Although the two were still in that innocent stage of secret crushes, he had no desire to watch them flaunt their affection.

Still.

"Are you paying?"

If someone else was treating, that was another matter.

Minato Namikaze looked rather embarrassed. If he had to pay, he probably could not afford it. He came from an ordinary civilian family, and he was the only one in his household to become a ninja.

"I'll pay!"

Kushina Uzumaki slapped the desk. After all, she only had these two underlings.

Without realizing it, Jin had also become one of Kushina's underlings.

But the moment Kushina said she would pay—

Jin had already vanished from his seat.

"Huh!?"

Where had he gone?

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" Jin, now standing at the classroom door, waved at them. "Come on, let's go eat barbecue."

If you were not enthusiastic about eating, there was something wrong with your mindset.

Especially when someone else was paying.

Minato Namikaze: ...

Kushina Uzumaki: ...

Why were you so practiced at this... and so fast!

"Wait!" Kiyoshi Hyuga walked up to Minato Namikaze with a dark expression.

"I'm coming too."

Kiyoshi Hyuga had long been curious about why Minato Namikaze's strength was growing so quickly. This time, he intended to uncover the secret.

"I'm not paying for you." Kushina Uzumaki turned her head away. She was not familiar with Kiyoshi Hyuga.

To be precise, aside from Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Jin, no one in the entire class ever took the initiative to approach her.

She was not about to be taken advantage of.

Kiyoshi Hyuga looked at Kushina and sneered, then waved a hand grandly.

"I'll treat all of you."

The Hyuga clan was wealthy and powerful. Even though he was from the Branch Family, he could still afford one barbecue meal.

"What a rich boss."

Jin patted Kiyoshi Hyuga on the shoulder, startling him so badly that he nearly struck with the Gentle Fist.

Hadn't this guy been at the door? When had he come over? How did he move around like a ghost?

No.

Kiyoshi Hyuga stared deeply at Jin, who was impatient to go eat barbecue.

This guy was not simple.

Satoru Inoue watched with a dark expression as these students completely ignored him and walked out of the classroom.

He fell into deep doubt.

"Am I... really suited to teaching students?"

Jin truly was not simple.

And Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were not ordinary people either.

Inside the barbecue restaurant, Kiyoshi Hyuga looked at the plates stacked as high as a small mountain.

His heart ached faintly.

An ordinary person really couldn't manage that kind of appetite. He could practically hear his wallet wailing.

"Sorry, wallet. I can't save you." Kiyoshi Hyuga silently observed a moment of mourning for his wallet.

A Hyuga Clan member's word was as good as a nail driven into wood. Once they promised something, they never went back on it.

Especially not in front of those detestable Uchiha.

The Hyuga Clan was number one in Konoha!! (voice cracking)

"Boss, another serving." Jin raised a hand and called out.

Kiyoshi Hyuga's face fell. There was really no need to be this stubborn.

Jin and Kushina began fighting over the grilled meat on the barbecue tray.

The two locked eyes, as though arcs of electricity were colliding between them.

This was a formidable opponent.

Their chopsticks simultaneously began frantically snatching up slices of meat. The two pairs of chopsticks were like blades on a battlefield, rapidly harvesting the grilled meat.

Minato Namikaze shot Kiyoshi Hyuga an apologetic look before hurriedly picking up a slice of meat amid the aftershocks of the battle between the two.

Ever since he began cultivating Basic Inner Cultivation, both his appetite and strength had steadily increased.

Though he could not compare to the two fighting over food, he was still a potential big eater himself.

Kiyoshi Hyuga watched the plates with heartache. Every one of them represented a portion of his savings.

But he had completely failed to understand.

The dining table was a battlefield.

He had just picked up a slice of meat and was about to put it in his mouth when he bit down on empty air.

"Where's my meat?!"

The three of them looked away, their cheeks puffed out as they continuously chewed and swallowed the meat in their mouths. Worst of all, none of them showed any intention of stopping to explain.

Fine. So that was how they wanted to play it.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Kiyoshi Hyuga requested to join the battle, his chopsticks forcefully thrusting into the battlefield with the techniques of the Gentle Fist.

He now understood what warfare at the dining table meant.

Those who could not snatch any meat only deserved to eat plain rice.

By the time Jin had eaten his fill and was picking his teeth—

Kushina glared furiously at Kiyoshi Hyuga.

"You cheated!"

Who used a Bloodline Limit and taijutsu just to eat?

There was no way anyone did that!!!

Kiyoshi Hyuga looked at the mountain of stacked plates, then turned back toward Kushina, his face already streaked with tears.

"You got a problem with that?"

After spending so much money, he could not possibly go without eating a single bite.

Kushina gave an awkward smile and turned her head away.

"I have a little money here."

Minato Namikaze took out the small amount of allowance he had.

Kiyoshi Hyuga looked at the hundred ryo in Minato Namikaze's hand, tears of gratitude welling in his eyes.

As expected of Minato Namikaze, number one on the popularity rankings.

He had extended a helping hand at Kiyoshi Hyuga's most difficult moment.

Just as he reached out with trembling hands to take the money, his expression suddenly changed.

Minato Namikaze was his lifelong rival. How could he let himself be bought off so easily?!

"I will never fall into your trap."

Kiyoshi Hyuga refused with difficulty.

"Huh?" Minato Namikaze scratched his head, unable to understand what Kiyoshi Hyuga meant.

"Hurry up, it's time to pay the bill."

The utterly shameless Jin was still urging them on as he picked his teeth with a toothpick.

"Then come to the training ground. I'll teach you something."

He had a new trump card now. He could pass on the Four Forms.

The Four Forms also had further directions for cultivation.

Unfortunately, he was restricted by his Golden Finger.

Kiyoshi Hyuga looked utterly confused, but he still went to settle the bill.

Under the barbecue restaurant owner's barely suppressed amusement, Kiyoshi Hyuga emptied his wallet.

One look at the restaurant owner's mouth, whose upturned corners could not be suppressed even with ninjutsu, was enough to tell how much Kiyoshi Hyuga had spent.

Holding the few one-ryō coins left in his wallet, he felt exhausted in both body and mind.

"I wonder if my cousin can take me in for a few months."

That had been several months' worth of living expenses, gone in a single meal.

Just what kind of bottomless pits were these three?

As he stepped outside and saw the three of them discussing something, he silently clenched his fists.

He felt like a complete sucker. As he approached them, he heard Uchiha Jin sigh.

"There are fewer and fewer people on the streets."

This was clearly a commercial street, yet there were only a handful of people in sight. Including the four of them, there were not even enough people to count on two hands.

Kiyoshi Hyuga had heard the clan's ninjas discussing it before, so he spoke up.

"I heard that ninjas from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind are trying to invade the Land of Fire. The village's ninjas have all gone out to scout and defend."

Minato Namikaze sighed as well. "The villagers are afraid that ninjas from other countries will break in, so they don't dare go outside."

Kushina Uzumaki remained silent. Of the four present, only she knew the cruelty of war. Her home had been destroyed by it.

They could all smell war in the air.

"Get stronger while we still have time. By the year we graduate, we might already be heading to the battlefield."

Jin said it vaguely, but in his heart, he was certain that they would inevitably be dragged into the war.

"So, what exactly are you going to teach us?" Kiyoshi Hyuga asked Jin curiously.

Jin glanced at him, then rested his head against his stacked hands.

"Just follow me and you'll find out."

Seeing that Minato Namikaze and Kushina showed no suspicion, Kiyoshi Hyuga followed Jin forward with only a vague understanding.

They crossed several streets, heading farther and farther into more secluded areas.

They even entered the forest.

"Why did we come somewhere this remote?"

Minato Namikaze was the one who asked.

Last time, they had been by a stream. Why had they come to the forest this time?

Jin chuckled. "I found a secret base. We can train there from now on—just the few of us."

As he said "just the few of us," his eyes swept over the bushes.

Both Kushina and Minato noticed Jin's small gesture.

The two fell silent.

Ever since they began cultivating Basic Inner Cultivation, their senses had gradually sharpened. The Anbu who had been following Kushina all this time had long since been noticed by both of them.

Kushina understood what was going on and could only pretend not to know. Though Minato did not understand, he knew this was not something a Ninja Academy Student like him could interfere with.

Deep in the forest was a dilapidated training ground.

Minato Namikaze and the other two sat on the ground while Jin stood atop a tree stump with his hands behind his back.

"Starting today, I'll teach you four taijutsu techniques."

"Taijutsu?" Kiyoshi Hyuga scoffed upon hearing that. He had thought it would be something special.

"You don't seem convinced. Want to give it a try?"

Jin smiled at Kiyoshi Hyuga.

Kiyoshi Hyuga was someone who did not even acknowledge Minato Namikaze's strength. He immediately stood up and assumed a stance.

"You asked for—"

Before he could finish, Jin was already standing face-to-face with him, the smile on his face looking exceptionally irritating.

"One of the Four Techniques: Soru."

Kiyoshi Hyuga's hands did not stop moving as he immediately unleashed the Gentle Fist.

His hands danced rapidly, even leaving afterimages behind.

Yet Jin swayed left and right within his Gentle Fist, moving like paper. Kiyoshi Hyuga could not hit him at all.

The more he failed to land a hit, the more agitated Kiyoshi Hyuga became, and the faster his attacks grew.

"This is one of the Four Techniques: Kami-e."

After demonstrating Kami-e, Jin suddenly stopped and straightened his body, giving Kiyoshi Hyuga an opening. Using both hands and feet, Kiyoshi Hyuga rapidly struck the acupoints across Jin's body.

Every strike landed on the Chakra meridians in his body, yet Jin remained standing, without so much as a scratch on him.

He even winked at him.

This guy was even more infuriating than Minato Namikaze!!

Still.

Kiyoshi Hyuga stopped and took two steps back, both hands hidden behind his back, already red and swollen.

Why was this guy so hard?

Jin's calm voice rang out.

"One of the Four Forms: Tekkai."

After saying that, he raised a hand and poked a finger into a nearby tree branch. When he withdrew it, a deep finger hole had appeared in the wood.

"One of the Four Forms: Shigan."

"These are the Four Forms of taijutsu I'm going to teach you."