A Pause in the Training

Mimi got beaten up again while holding a sword.

That brought the second day of training to an end.

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

Ever since the Third Hokage had summoned her last time, there had been no further word. Mimi had no idea what he was planning.

During that time, Mimi had continued training in taijutsu with Old Man Shiki. Her swordsmanship had already begun to look convincing in actual combat.

Her Wind Release Nintaijutsu had also progressed. She had no trouble using the technique called Wind Step proficiently, while Old Man Shiki told her to figure out the more advanced techniques herself.

Mimi seriously suspected that Old Man Shiki had run out of tricks.

Old Man Shiki's taijutsu itself was not especially sophisticated. His strength and other physical qualities were unremarkable; on the contrary, his endurance and similar attributes were rather poor.

After all, he was an old man. That was perfectly normal.

But fundamentally, Old Man Shiki's taijutsu relied on the lethality of his nano venom insects, and that had absolutely no effect on Mimi, who possessed the same insects.

As a result, the test of defeating Old Man Shiki was not particularly difficult.

It was roughly equivalent to defeating a Chunin who used taijutsu.

And her training was nearing its end.

That premonition was soon confirmed.

Mimi graduated from under the three old men the moment she placed her sword against Old Man Shiki's throat.

"In every respect, you are now a qualified Genin, Insect Princess."

That day, Old Man Shion, who had not shown himself in a long time, wore a stern expression.

"As for the family's secret techniques, there is nothing more we can teach you."

"And in terms of taijutsu training, we never expected you to progress so quickly."

"We originally thought it would take at least one or two years, but Shiki says you have already learned everything there is to learn. All that remains is to accumulate experience."

Because it was a plain, highly personal style of taijutsu, there was nothing like the horse stances or stance training Mimi remembered. Aside from some of Old Man Shiki's personal insights, there were only ordinary, even rudimentary basic moves.

There were none of the intricate, flashy boxing forms and techniques like Ip Man's.

Old Man Shiki had once said that what Mimi lacked at present was experience—experience fighting other people. Sparring with him could teach her the fundamentals of combat, but it was difficult to learn much more than that in practice.

Every ninja was different, and so was their fighting style.

Thus, every fight would be a different fight, and she could learn different things from each one.

As long as she did not lose her life, she would naturally grow.

If she only fought Old Man Shiki, every match would be more or less a repeat of the last—dull and boring. It would make a person stupid.

She might even lose her instinct.

"As for Ninjutsu, the family is powerless to help, but we will still do what we can."

"From now on, Insect Princess, you only need to keep training and improving."

"Do not disappoint our expectations."

"Yes." Mimi nodded her little head.

Old Man Shiki immediately let out a sigh of relief. At his age, it had not been easy. After every half-day session, his entire body felt as though it had fallen apart.

As time passed, Mimi had naturally become harder and harder to deal with, and his exhaustion had doubled accordingly.

She was nothing like an energetic child such as Mimi, who could sleep and wake up as if nothing had happened.

If this continued, he might die several years early. He had no desire to die alongside his big brother and keep suffering under him in the next world.

He only wanted to live a few peaceful years after his big brother was gone.

After that, the four of them fell silent for a while. No one said anything sentimental.

After a long moment, Old Man Shion suddenly shouted.

"Dismissed!"

Almost instantly, with the battle-honed coordination of many years, the three old men vanished from before Mimi's eyes.

Ninjas, and Aburame at that.

They certainly had style.

Just as they had suddenly arrived, they suddenly left.

Mimi looked up at the sky, feeling somewhat lost.

When a few people disappeared from one's life, it always felt a little strange.

Old Man Shion could leave even his own daughter behind for years without coming to see her once. Mimi did not think he would make a special trip to check on how she was doing.

What should she do next?

It was still early.

Mimi first practiced her swordsmanship for a while, but soon found it uninteresting, so she switched to practicing Ninjutsu.

By the time her usual training would have ended, Mimi was walking home with her sword in hand.

The sky had yet to darken, and the setting sun still burned red. Crows cawed noisily from the utility poles by the roadside.

As she passed the park, she ran into Chiri, as unexpectedly as ever.

She was alone, idly swinging on a swing set.

With her head lowered, she looked dejected, as though lost in thought.

Then, the instant she looked up and saw Mimi...

Her usual smile rose to her face, and she waved naturally at Mimi.

This girl...

Was terrifying.

If she were a man, there would be no explaining it other than stalking creep!

They walked home together every day after school, and she even waited at the place where they parted for so long.

Some said the Uchiha were a cursed clan.

Some believed the Uchiha were a clan of love.

Some believed the Uchiha were an arrogant, conceited clan.

Some believed the Uchiha were a mad clan.

But there was no denying that everyone considered them an exceptionally powerful clan.

Yet at this moment, Mimi thought they were a fragile clan—a clan with fragile hearts.

Uchiha Madara was. Obito was. Shisui was. Itachi was. Sasuke was too.

And, of course, Chiri was as well.

Without stopping to wait for Chiri, Mimi turned her head away and kept walking.

Chiri was unsurprised. In just a few steps, she used Body Flicker to catch up with Mimi and asked curiously, "You're not training?"

"I'm done," Mimi said.

Mimi had no idea how this girl did it, but over the past two months, she felt that Chiri had been growing stronger constantly. She had never seemed any slower than Mimi herself.

Even though this girl loafed around all day.

Meanwhile, Mimi was exhausted to death every day.

It really made her teeth itch.

"Oh, you're quite early today," Chiri said, accidentally revealing something.

"I mean, my training is completely over," Mimi repeated.

Reminding Chiri not to keep waiting around like an idiot.

"Ohh~" Chiri caught on and smiled. "You're so kind, Mimi."

Mimi could not be bothered to answer.

Mimi never answered things she found uninteresting.

That was just how the Aburame clan was; Chiri knew that.

And she had more or less figured out a pattern.

The trick to chatting with Mimi.

Seeing that Mimi did not answer, Chiri did not mind. She was always the one talking anyway; it was still better than talking to herself.

"Do you have time to go have some fun today?" she asked.

"No. I'm going home to eat," Mimi said.

"What? We already agreed on it! You've put it off for two months already, and school's practically about to let out!"

Chiri sounded a little huffy.

"Once vacation starts, won't we have plenty of time to play?" Mimi said.

"That's true." Chiri said, "I've already saved up a huge amount of money. I'm just waiting to make a big splash."

This girl! She was far too self-aware!

Beneath her mask, the corner of Mimi's mouth twitched.

In Mimi's previous life, this girl would have been a cash machine for scumbags.

"Don't you need money to eat?" Mimi asked.

Chiri nodded. "That's right. Everyone nearby is very kind. They see how pitiful I am and give me food."

"The old lady next door worries that I'm not eating well, so she brings me meals every day."

"Honestly..." Mimi said. "How long are you planning to keep freeloading?"

"Huh? I'm not allowed to eat it? They worked hard to make it. Refusing would be too rude," Chiri said.

Uh, Mimi realized what felt strange.

This girl had absolutely no awareness that she was pitiful.

Which meant she had no feelings of inferiority, either.

Generally speaking, people with strong pride and insecurity would reject this kind of charity-tainted goodwill.

She was so strong and optimistic that it was almost intimidating.

"You can eat. Eat as much as you want," Mimi said.

"Mm, this'll save me a lot of money," Chiri said happily.

"Want to come eat at my place?" Mimi asked.

"Can I?" Chiri paused, then asked.

"Forget it if you don't want to," Mimi said.

"Then I won't hold back!" Chiri said with a grin.

Under the setting sun, the two walked together.