The Summer Vacation, Friends

Konoha, Year 30, August

The first term at the Ninja Academy had ended, and every student had welcomed their first summer vacation.

Almost every child was happily playing at home. Few made any effort to train themselves.

"Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu!"

Dappled sunlight filtered through the rustling leaves. A flash of purple appeared, and shuriken flew at Yayoi from every direction.

"Not good!"

Yayoi held a short sword across his body and glanced at the shuriken flying toward him from all angles.

His gaze sharpened. Sparks burst in a blinding flare as he slashed his short sword through the air, swinging it rapidly without pause.

The shuriken were all knocked to the ground, scattered across the area. The surroundings were a mess; some trees had even been stripped of every branch, and earthworms on the ground had been chopped in half by shuriken.

Then a petite figure emerged from the woods. Her purple ponytail stood out brightly in the sunlight.

The moment Yayoi saw the girl, he tensed up.

The girl leaped high into the air like a beam of light. The dazzling sunlight shone straight into Yayoi's eyes, and, unaccustomed to the sudden brightness, he instinctively tried to look away.

"Damn it!"

Yayoi cried out in alarm. On the battlefield, he had to keep his opponent in sight at all times—even if only for an instant.

Yayoi had the support of two bloodlines. Though he was still weak, their basic enhancements made him no weaker than an ordinary adult Genin. With his strength, he could even recover from minor mistakes.

In that brief instant, Yayoi quickly retreated and adjusted his position.

Bathed in sunlight, the girl drew a Kunai. Its sharp blade cut through the Wind Flow.

Under Yan's control, three shuriken clashed with one another and struck the shuriken embedded in the trees. They then flew toward Yayoi from three different directions.

As a Senju, Yayoi naturally had better physical abilities than an Uchiha.

He tossed a Kunai to block the one coming from the side, then drew his short sword. Dazzling sparks flew as he parried each Kunai, no matter how tricky its angle.

But at that very moment, a sudden chill ran through his waist.

A cold blade flashed past. His instincts screamed a warning, and Yayoi reflexively activated his Mirror Eye and mimicked the Dragon Script. The air around him instantly grew still.

A glimmer of gold flashed in Yayoi's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it on purpose.

After combining the two bloodlines, Yayoi had found a way to conceal the Golden Eye that appeared when he used Word Spirit.

Perhaps it was because of his mixed heritage, but concentrating was enough to keep the Golden Eye from lighting up.

Of course, it still shone when he unleashed his full power.

It was as if a tornado had appeared out of nowhere. Yan's attack was thrown aside, and, seeing her suddenly appear, Yayoi instinctively caught her.

This was the first time Yayoi had faced real danger. He hadn't expected it to come from this Uchiha girl.

I still have too little combat experience.

Yayoi couldn't help thinking.

At first, he hadn't understood how Yan had appeared behind him. But when he saw the crimson in the girl's eyes in his arms, he understood.

She had activated her Sharingan, and he'd fallen for it because he'd let his guard down. No wonder he'd sensed something was off.

"Ah, I was caught in a Genjutsu."

She had used Transformation Jutsu to disguise herself as a Kunai, then subtly interfered with his senses. Just as expected of an Uchiha.

"That was an amazing technique. You're incredible, Miyoshi-kun."

The tornado lasted only an instant before vanishing.

Held in Yayoi's arms, Yan blushed. Her hair tie had come loose during the fight, and her silky purple hair drifted in the breeze. She spoke gently.

"You're amazing too, Yan. At your age, you're the most impressive person I've ever met."

Yayoi didn't hold back on the praise, and quietly let go of Yan.

He meant it, too. He wasn't lying.

The devastation around them showed just how intense their clash had been. They were far beyond their peers; even some Chunin couldn't cause this much damage.

But neither of them had used ninjutsu. Yayoi had just used Word Spirit reflexively, which could be considered a little unfair.

Yan came from the Uchiha Clan and was well versed in the clan's Uchiha-style taijutsu, swordsmanship, and shurikenjutsu. He was probably good at some ninjutsu as well.

"Did you awaken your Sharingan recently?"

"Mm. Because of things happening in the clan."

To Yayoi, Yan's loose purple hair made him want to protect her.

And unlike her practical ponytail, her hair down gave her an almost unreal charm.

She looked as if she'd stepped out of a painting, like a play of light and shadow.

It was almost like a Genjutsu.

Yayoi wasn't sure why a little kid would wear a ponytail, anyway. Her hair had grown so fast.

"Miyoshi-kun, do you like long hair?"

Seeing Yayoi looking at him, Yan wasn't embarrassed. Instead, he asked openly.

Yayoi felt a little awkward, but quickly set the feeling aside and answered honestly.

"Yeah. You look even prettier like this."

Yan brushed back the hair over his forehead, smiling with an innocent, pure sweetness.

The two practiced swordsmanship some more and traded thoughts on taijutsu.

"Let's rest for a bit. Here's a towel, and some dango you like, though they've gone a little cold."

Yayoi sat beneath a relatively undamaged tree, and Yan sat beside him.

Beads of sweat slid from his forehead. His cheeks were flushed from the intense exercise, and his neck was pink.

His long hair fell loose, and the fine strands that brushed against his back made his skin tingle.

Tired, he leaned against the tree and accepted the towel and dango Yayoi offered.

Mindful of a girl's modesty and appearance, Yan quickly took the towel.

A cool breeze stirred the leaves, but it couldn't quench the fluttering in the girl's heart or the smile tugging at her lips.

Her rosy cheeks weren't soothed by the towel; the more she wiped, the redder they became.

At last, Yayoi witnessed a curious sight.

Yan held the towel over his face, shielding himself as he nibbled at the dango.

"Tasty."

Yayoi leaned against the tree trunk beside Yan. The steady beat of his heart sounded softly.

Looking at the strange girl beside him, Yayoi couldn't help thinking back to how things had been.

Over the past year, their relationship had grown by leaps and bounds.

At first, they'd been classmates, chatting and sharing ideas. Then they'd become friends, exchanging thoughts on taijutsu and ninjutsu.

Now they were even closer. Yayoi liked practicing ninjutsu and taijutsu with Yan.

On top of that, he could ask Yan to teach him Uchiha taijutsu and ninjutsu, and help correct his mistakes.

That was what it meant to have both a good teacher and a good friend.

"Yan, want to go out for a late-night snack? It's my treat."

Yayoi suddenly spoke as an idea came to him.

Since the vacation began, Yayoi had learned a lot of Uchiha-style taijutsu, but he didn't think he'd taught Yan anything in return.

He felt a little bad about letting Yan do all the giving, so treating her to a big meal out of his own pocket seemed only fair.

"Mm."

Yan took a deep breath and lowered the towel, his cheeks rosy.

The blazing sun shone overhead. The noonday light was so bright it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

After parting from Yan, Yayoi went home.

Walking through the living room, he reached a bedroom crammed with all kinds of precision instruments, so thoroughly modified that it was almost unrecognizable.

Having taught himself the medical knowledge unique to the Ninja World, and drawing on what he'd learned in his previous life, Yayoi felt he could begin studying the secrets of Dragon Blood and the Ten-Tails bloodline.