Hatake Swordsmanship

"Of course. But it's getting late, so how about this?"

Shuomo readily agreed, but it was already noon.

The sun hung overhead like a blazing fireball, making it hard to muster any enthusiasm.

"To celebrate the founding of Team 10, I'll treat you all to a barbecue. I can teach you tomorrow when we go on a mission."

"Yay!"

Yayoi enthusiastically raised both hands at the offer of a free meal.

"Sensei, I recommend the place in the village center—the Akimichi Family's restaurant. Great food at a great price."

Yan made the recommendation to Shuomo.

Rin remained silent, but a glint appeared in her eyes.

After the Gene Fluid filled in her Hyuga genes, her appetite seemed to have grown.

Oh, well. It's the teacher's treat, anyway.

"Sure. Let's go with your suggestion."

The barbecue was delicious. Really delicious.

Since Yayoi was a Senju, he ate a little more than the others.

Yan was an Uchiha, so her appetite was slightly smaller. She was full after eating twice as much as an average person.

As for Rin, she was suddenly a little different today.

She ate with elegant poise and perfect manners, but she never stopped.

Rin had always been a good eater, but she'd only eaten a little more than Yan—not nearly as much as him.

But how had she suddenly surpassed him today, even if it was only in the amount she ate?

Yayoi suddenly remembered something.

The Gene Fluid. Right, Rin's genes had been filled in last night.

Her physical abilities and her Byakugan had both been enhanced.

But her body couldn't create energy out of nowhere.

So, unfortunately, it seemed Sensei Shuomo was footing the bill today.

"Does she usually eat like this?"

Shuomo's hands seemed to be trembling, and his usual calm, confident expression had vanished.

He couldn't imagine how a little girl not even fully grown could fit so much meat inside her.

Did she have a Sealing Scroll hidden in her stomach?

"This is a one-off. Rin doesn't usually eat much,"

Yayoi hurriedly explained.

"But—"

Shuomo pointed at Rin.

Faced with such irrefutable evidence, there was nothing Yayoi could say to explain it.

Besides, he didn't know how to explain it, either.

In the end, all he could do was sigh.

Yayoi fell silent, and Yan gave him an innocent look. Shuomo finally gave up.

He could only wait for the restaurant staff to deliver their verdict.

"Thank you for the meal."

Rin dabbed at her mouth gracefully and thanked him politely.

That was all right. I'm about eighty percent full.

It was the first time in her life she'd ever eaten so much.

Before, she could never have finished that much food. But after last night, it was as if the Gene Fluid had released Rin from her shackles.

She absorbed an endless stream of energy, waiting for it to enhance her Byakugan and her body.

"That'll be two hundred thousand ryo."

"Ahem. I only have a hundred and seventy thousand. Yayoi, do you have any money? Just think of it as a loan to your teacher."

"It's fine, Sensei. You don't have to pay me back."

Yayoi took out thirty thousand ryo and handed it to Shuomo.

It wasn't because he'd suddenly grown a conscience. Rin had simply eaten too much.

Even a flexible moral compass couldn't withstand such a sudden breakthrough.

"Rin, how come you ate so much today?"

While Shuomo and Yayoi were pooling their money, Yan quietly leaned over to Rin and asked.

"I don't know. I just suddenly wanted to eat, and then it turned out like this."

Rin didn't want to tell her that Yayoi had prepared the Gene Fluid for her.

Some instinct told her not to let Yan know.

And Rin played her poker-faced role perfectly.

Even after studying Rin for a long time, Yan couldn't detect the slightest hint of emotion on her face.

To thank Yayoi for helping him out, Shuomo took a day off specifically to teach the three of them his swordsmanship and share some of his experience.

Shuomo was a good man. Just judging by how dedicated he was, Yayoi would call him a true inheritor of the Will of Fire.

He wondered what had happened to Shuomo in the original story.

It seemed he'd never appeared, though maybe he'd shown up in a flashback.

He might have died in the war against Sunagakure. Yayoi couldn't quite remember which Ninja World War it had been.

But with their help, perhaps Shuomo wouldn't have to die.

Without further ado, Shuomo drew up a training plan for them based on the previous day's fight.

"Rin, you'd do well to learn my style. When it comes to swordsmanship, watch and learn, then work it into your own technique however you see fit."

Shuomo sat beneath the shade of a tree and laid out a training plan for the three little ones before him.

"Yan, you should focus mainly on ninjutsu and Genjutsu. A short blade suits you for assassination, but learning some Hatake Swordsmanship would be good, too."

"As for you, Yayoi, my swordsmanship doesn't suit you. But you're a medical ninja, so you don't need to charge into battle in the first place.

"Of course, if you want to learn, I can teach you."

"I can give it a try."

Yayoi raised his hand to speak.

"Good. Watch closely. I'll demonstrate it once for you."

Shuomo performed a quick demonstration of Hatake Swordsmanship.

The three watched every move he made without looking away.

Rin activated her Byakugan to observe the flow of Shuomo's chakra.

Yan activated her two-tomoe Sharingan, carefully observing and copying Shuomo's movements.

Yayoi placed Mirror on his knees and quietly activated his Mirror Eye.

Perhaps it was because his Dragon Blood had nourished it, or perhaps because a trace of the spirit Yayoi had imbued in it as its forger had taken hold. Either way, carrying Mirror with him strengthened his Mirror Eye to a certain extent.

Now he activated his Mirror Eye to its fullest, determined to memorize Shuomo's Hatake Swordsmanship.

The grass and trees quivered in the wake of his blade. A breeze swept through, and every blade of grass was sliced cleanly in two. Shuomo sheathed his short sword and quietly waited for them to absorb what they'd seen.

Without chakra, the White Fang was incomplete.

Without chakra, swordsmanship might be nothing more than a set of techniques. Shuomo hadn't used any chakra; he'd only demonstrated his family's inherited swordsmanship.

"How much did you remember?"

Shuomo asked.

For now, he only wanted these kids to learn the outward forms of Hatake Swordsmanship.

As for the secrets beneath the surface—the control and flow of chakra—he'd only consider teaching them once they met his expectations.

"I remember it."

Yan closed her eyes after Shuomo finished teaching. She opened them and answered only when he asked.

"Me, too."

Yayoi answered as well.

"I got seventy percent."

Rin seemed to choke on her words. After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"Not bad. No wonder you're little geniuses with the strength of Special Jonin at your age."

"Then it's decided. Tomorrow, we'll take an A-rank Mission and put you to the test. It'll toughen you up and let you see blood."

Shuomo was pleased with their progress.

It had taken him a whole month to learn it.

He hadn't expected these kids to remember so much after just one demonstration.

Bloodline limits really were useful.

"Sensei Shuomo, how's the war going lately?"

Yayoi asked.

After all, it was wartime. Learning more about the situation at the front might help them prepare.

"The front?"

"Sunagakure has been fighting Konoha for two years now. We're probably entering the late stages of a war of attrition."

"Unless something unexpected happens, victory for the village is all but certain."

Shuomo answered.

As a ninja who often went to the front lines, he could make a pretty good guess.

"I hope victory comes soon."

"Don't worry. It will."

At the mention of the village's victory, Shuomo smiled, hope filling his expression.