"Alright, stop."
Yayoi stopped what she was doing.
"Mm."
Rin nodded, her expression still blank.
The two of them stopped what they were doing, and Rin couldn't help asking curiously,
"Is this a new jutsu?"
"Sort of. It's a Wind Release jutsu."
Yayoi nodded and answered vaguely.
"Mm."
Rin nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
"Give me the sword back for now. I'll make you two swords someday. Just one wouldn't really suit you."
"Okay."
Rin obediently handed the sword to Yayoi.
Yayoi took Prototype No. 1 and was very pleased with Rin—in every way.
Unlike Yan, Rin was extremely obedient. As long as he told her to do something, she would do it, never even asking why.
Even Yan couldn't compare to Rin in that regard.
But the two of them were different, and even so, Yayoi had begun to think about luring Rin away.
He couldn't say that outright, though. He'd have to test the waters gradually and change her views little by little.
Besides, he might not even leave Konoha in the future.
If he managed to become Hokage, who would want to work themselves to the bone starting a business somewhere else?
Still, given his ties to the Uchiha Clan, Yayoi thought his chances were pretty slim.
Even if Tsunade didn't care, the Third Hokage did, and so did the other Konoha leadership.
His chances of becoming Hokage were extremely low. It would only happen if there were no other options.
But Konoha had plenty of talent right now: the Sannin, White Fang, and a new generation of promising young people still waiting to grow up.
Yayoi figured he probably didn't stand a chance. Not because he couldn't beat them, but because the Uchiha Clan had dragged him too deep into their mess.
Still, Yayoi had no regrets.
Since Yan was his "good" friend, Yayoi wouldn't regret it.
But back to the point.
Even if he stayed in Konoha, Rin could still be his assistant or subordinate.
As he'd said, Rin was far too obedient.
At first, Yayoi had thought she might simply be too reserved, keeping everything bottled up. But after testing the waters, he realized that Rin genuinely didn't want to express herself right now.
It seemed the pressure of the Caged Bird had weighed so heavily on her that she'd shut herself off emotionally.
Yet she was very friendly toward him. That friendliness was also why she would do anything he asked of her.
I need to break the Caged Bird as soon as possible. With a debt like this, Rin will probably have to work for me for ten years.
Thinking this, Yayoi said goodbye to Rin and prepared to head back.
"We're close to the Hyuga Clan Territory, so I'll leave you here."
Yayoi waved and went on his way.
After watching him walk off, Rin silently headed home.
Just then, she suddenly bumped into someone.
She instinctively took a defensive stance, but when she saw the person's face, she relaxed and lowered her head.
"Uncle."
"Rin."
The Hyuga Elder, whom she called Uncle, looked at the silent Rin and gently patted her head.
"Is something on your mind?"
"No."
"Was that boy just now your friend?"
The Hyuga Elder noticed the usually taciturn Rin looking down the road Yayoi had taken.
"Mm. A former classmate."
"Silly girl. Come home with me."
The Hyuga Elder said nothing more. He just shook his head, took Rin's hand, and led her slowly into the Hyuga Clan Territory, the two of them walking side by side.
After testing Rin Sword Dance, Yayoi's interest in the Hyuga Clan's bloodline had shot up.
But with no samples available, the feeling of having meat right at his lips and being unable to eat it was unbearable.
He'd even started thinking about going to the battlefield early, but the thought flashed through his mind only for an instant before he stamped it out.
Go to the battlefield early, and there'll be three feet of grass growing over my grave.
He wouldn't set foot in that mess early, even if they beat him to death.
Fortunately, Yayoi was good at keeping himself in check.
Experimenting on the Hyuga Clan wasn't part of his plan. He set aside only one hour each day for research.
Once he'd regained his composure, Yayoi focused his attention on analyzing Dragon Script again.
Early morning.
Yayoi got up bright and early, washed up, and went with Yan to the Dango Shop in the village for a skewer of Tricolor Dango.
On the way, the two of them discussed the swordsmanship insights and ninjutsu experience they'd learned from Uchiha Enichi.
Yayoi shamelessly picked up a few tips, then Yan went to school. Sometimes Yayoi went along, too.
Noon.
After having lunch with Yan, Yayoi continued his studies—or skipped class to check in at the hospital.
In the afternoon, Yan went home for ninjutsu and swordsmanship lessons from her Second Grandfather.
That was when Yayoi would invite Rin out.
They followed a road that wound around the Uchiha Clan and led to its outskirts. Few people used it, so they wouldn't run into any Uchiha.
A little way down that road was a basement.
He'd heard that a family had once built it as a shelter. It was quite spacious, and ever since Yayoi had spotted it the year before, he'd taken an instant liking to it.
He'd invite Rin to undergo a physical examination, record the experimental data, and take her out for a meal before they parted.
Then he'd see her back to the entrance of the Hyuga Clan Territory.
At night, he analyzed Dragon Script until he was completely exhausted, then fell into a deep sleep.
And so, another plain and simple day came to an end.
Another day, packed full of things to do.
"Alchemy circuits from my previous life are still pretty useful."
Looking at the "brick" in his hand, silver radiance flowing across its surface, Yayoi couldn't help smiling with satisfaction.
It was a piece of equipment with an Alchemical Circuit etched into the metal.
Yayoi himself didn't know what the circuit he'd engraved did.
The only Dragon Scripts he knew so far were the Wind King Eye from his previous life and the Mirror Eye in this one.
As for the other Dragon Script circuits that needed to be engraved on Alchemical Weapons, he knew nothing about them.
Still, he had come across fragments of Dragon Script in the literature a few times.
On a whim, Yayoi tried analyzing those incomplete Dragon Scripts with his Mirror Eye—and actually succeeded.
Perhaps his Word Spirit had grown stronger, or perhaps the Word Spirit was simply too incomplete.
It had taken him only two days to fully analyze the incomplete Word Spirit.
Perhaps his bloodline had been gradually strengthened by Blood Rage, making the Mirror Eye more and more powerful.
After all, the Dragon Clan placed supreme importance on bloodline.
For a dragon, no matter whether it was Word Spirits, strength, or Alchemy, a sufficiently superior bloodline could almost guarantee an overwhelming advantage over dragons with lower bloodlines.
The contrast was stark, a ruthless display of the Dragon Clan's cruelty.
And by some coincidence, Yayoi, who possessed two bloodlines, had managed to keep them in balance.
The two bloodlines could restrain each other and even promote each other's growth. Unless one suddenly fell behind, they could remain balanced for a long time.
With the two bloodlines building on each other, even Yayoi couldn't predict what would happen to his Word Spirit.
Of course, it might just be that this fragment of Dragon Script was very simple.
After all, his future might be bright, but that didn't mean he could suddenly explode with power for no reason.
With the Dragon Script Analysis Plan, if he temporarily set aside the Gene Completion Plan, he could analyze these two Dragon Scripts in as little as a year.
But the Gene Completion Plan was his foundation. He couldn't give it up.
So the Dragon Script plan would have to be put off. Fortunately, he still had plenty of time.
Before you continue