Childhood Companion

In the training ground's forest, Higashino Shinichi threw a kunai to cut a steel wire, triggering a trap that immediately shot seven or eight shuriken from multiple angles.

Higashino Shinichi dodged left and right, but still got hit twice—though the shuriken were blunted.

Trap-setting was a basic knowledge required of ninja, so of course he knew it. These traps here had been set up earlier to train his reaction speed.

He'd already adapted to the number of traps and planned to double them, but today, after putting on weighted gear, it affected his movement speed, and he got hit twice.

It seemed he'd have to wait until he got used to the weight before increasing the number of trap shuriken.

From now on, once he adapted to the number of shuriken in the traps, he'd increase the weight, and vice versa.

Higashino Shinichi set a plan in his mind, reset the traps, and continued his neural reflex training.

To make the shuriken and kunai match the speed of an average ninja's throw, Higashino Shinichi didn't reduce the traps' launching force. Though all the weapons were blunted, after a short while, his body was covered in bruises and welts.

But that wasn't a big deal—this kind of superficial injury was easy to fix. Having a medical ninja for a mother meant he could be that willful.

Afterward, enduring the pain from his injuries, Higashino Shinichi continued his usual training exercises in his weighted clothing.

If this were a 4-year-old from his previous life, doing this would land them in the ICU, but this was the Shinobi World, where everyone being half-plant was no joke.

Why half-plant?

Because above them was a true plant, Hashirama Senju, and above him were the Digimon-like Otsutsuki Clan, who could compress themselves into a package—a "Karma."

Unnoticed, over a month had passed since that day's Yakiniku Q gathering.

It was now early summer, and Konoha, located in the southern part of the continent, was getting warmer.

During the last few days of his vacation, Higashino Jiro trained Higashino Makoto's combat skills every day, but after the holiday ended, he went back to work.

This time, though, he was carrying out routine missions for the village—leaving early and returning late, like clocking in for work. Still, he had time to teach his son in sparring sessions.

When his next rotation came for border garrison duty, he'd be away from home for a long stretch.

Higashino Makoto also returned to his daily training and study.

Ever since he'd made chakra extraction a bodily instinct, Higashino Makoto had begun training in fine control.

One day, after breakfast, Higashino Makoto was at home as usual, studying the prerequisite knowledge for medical ninjutsu.

A long-unheard knock suddenly sounded at the door.

With a slight perception, he knew who it was.

At that moment, Higashino Makoto was upside down, feet on the ceiling, using chakra to adhere to the thick wooden surface while reading a book.

Hearing the sound, he couldn't be bothered to climb down. He simply walked across the ceiling to the wall above the door, bent over, and opened it.

The whole process was smooth and effortless, like walking on flat ground, showcasing impressive chakra control and body balance.

The visitors were Uzuki Yugao and Hayate Gekko.

The two little ones didn't see anyone at the door when it opened. Tilting their heads, they spotted Higashino Makoto standing on the wall beside them.

The purple-haired little bun, Uzuki Yugao, was startled and plopped onto the ground, shrieking, "Makoto, who stuck you on the wall?"

Hayate Gekko was also surprised: "This is training chakra control, right? I've heard my father talk about it. Makoto, you bastard, I didn't think you were already this good."

"Yeah, with so much time every day, it'd be a waste not to train. Anyway, what do you two want with me?"

Uzuki Yugao stood up, patted the nonexistent dust off her butt, and sighed in relief: "Oh my, oh my, that was scary. I thought you'd seen a ghost, Makoto.

As for us, of course we came to play! We finally have some free time, so we had to get out and breathe."

"Speaking of which, after that last gathering, didn't you say you'd come find me when you had time? Why'd you disappear for so long? What were you up to?"

At that, Uzuki Yugao got annoyed, her little face puffing up like a pufferfish washed ashore: "It's all your fault."

"Oh, it involves me?"

Hayate Gekko explained: "Ever since Uncle Yuwa found out about you, he went back and decided with my father to give us special training. We've been stuck at home lately."

"Oh, training—that's a good thing. We're all going to be ninja someday, right? Without strength, we won't cut it. Gekko, you don't want to see Yugao in danger someday and be powerless to save her, do you?"

Hayate Gekko glanced at his comrade beside him and nodded seriously: "Yeah, you're right, Makoto. You need to be strong to protect your sister."

Their families had been old family friends for generations, with a great relationship. At this point, Hayate Gekko always treated Uzuki Yugao like his little sister.

As for how they'd later develop into lovers—childhood sweethearts, you know how it goes. As long as no sudden blond rival shows up, it's basically unbeatable.

Uzuki Yugao got flustered: "Hey, Hayate Brother, didn't we say we'd come out to play with Makoto? You're not going back on your word, are you?"

"Ah, well..." Hayate Gekko was torn. He wanted to play, but seeing Higashino Makoto's hard work, he also wanted to train.

After all, he was still just a 5-year-old kid, not yet the future special jonin.

Higashino Makoto didn't mind occasionally going out to relax. Life wasn't just about training: "Going out for a walk is fine, but I'm not playing any of your stupid ninja games."

Hayate Gekko quickly waved his hand and patted the backpack behind him: "No, no, I don't like those either. Today we planned to go to the river to catch fish and have a picnic. I brought the tools and seasonings."

"That's a good idea."

Konoha's Central District remained bustling as ever, surrounded by dense forests, with several rivers flowing through the village's outskirts.

The largest among them was the Naka River, said to have the Uchiha shrine situated along its banks.

But that river's terrain was too treacherous, its currents extremely swift, with a long stretch running through deep ravines—unsuitable for play, though fitting for training.

Of course, if you didn't want to live anymore, it was also a good place to jump and drown yourself. Once your body hit the water, it'd be swept away without a trace, and after two days of feeding the fish, not even a hair would be found.

Higashino Makoto was living well now, with no one gouging out his eyeballs, so he had no thoughts of jumping.

They headed to a river near the Naka River, one of its tributaries.

After leaving the house, the three of them passed through the Residential Area, setting off toward their destination at a leisurely pace, chatting and taking in Konoha's scenery along the way.

Though Higashino Makoto had been reborn in Konoha for several years and knew the village's layout like the back of his hand, when it came to sightseeing, as long as you changed your perspective, even the same place could always offer different pleasures.

Arriving at the riverbank, Higashino Makoto asked, "What was your original plan for catching fish? Did you bring a Portable Net? Or were you going to wade in and scoop them up?"

"Let me be clear: wading in is very dangerous. Where this river joins the Naka River, there's a huge drop—a waterfall. If you get swept down, you're dead."

"Don't worry, Makoto, I came prepared. Father said this is a good way to train patience." Hayate Gekko said, then took off his Backpack and pulled out several collapsible Fishing Rods and bait.

Higashino Makoto was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected they'd become Fishermen, but was this suitable for a four- or five-year-old Little Brat?

Sure enough, the Three Little Ones each took a rod and sat quietly by the river, waiting for their planned lunch to bite on its own.

But before half an hour had passed, Uzuki Yugao couldn't take it anymore.

"There aren't any fish here. What a waste of time."

The Little Girl tossed her rod aside and ran off on her own to pick Wildflowers behind them, occasionally coming back to stick a few into their hair while checking on whether lunch had shown up.

Hayate Gekko was still competing with Higashino Makoto, as if seeing who would break under the boredom first.

Each had a mess of Wildflowers stuck haphazardly in their hair, making them look like flower baskets.