There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

While Keiko was in a meeting at the hospital, Hanfu was lying comfortably on the tatami mat, squinting his eyes as he counted his 'stars'.

Chakra Refinement Technique, Three Body Technique, Great Fireball Technique, Ninja Tool Throwing (kunai, shuriken, senbon), and on top of that, Tōton. Floating near the green orb of light in his mind were six pale blue specks of light and one red stardust!

How beautiful!

As Hanfu marveled at them, he suddenly noticed something was off.

It seemed... one was missing.

Right, what about the incomplete Kunai Throwing Technique he had collected from that girl, Anko?

Did it disappear?

Or did it merge with the Ninja Tool Throwing technique?

When he collected Tōton a few days ago, Hanfu had already learned that the Collection Technique possessed a fusion function, capable of merging identical Kekkei Genkai. Now it seemed it could do the same for identical ninjutsu!

Hanfu's imagination instantly ran wild: If I collected a hundred Great Fireball Techniques and merged them, would the power of my Great Fireball be even stronger than Uchiha Madara's Great Fire Annihilation?

Hanfu felt a bit restless, but unfortunately, he could only use the Collection Technique three times a day, and he could only collect from the same person three times!

Therefore, at this stage, Hanfu needed to collect as much and as widely as possible to 'enrich' himself, and only later would he pick a few practical ninjutsu to collect repeatedly and specialize in.

In a word: build high walls, store grain everywhere, and claim the throne slowly!

After counting his stars, Hanfu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Helpless, he had to crawl off the tatami mat.

Coming to the backyard, Hanfu saw his little brother holding a wooden sword, struggling against a wooden post. The soft moonlight poured down, stretching his little brother's shadow out long.

Hanfu walked off the veranda. A night breeze blew, causing the grass in the backyard to sway and lightly brush against his ankles, which felt a bit itchy.

"Brother."

Gekko Hayate turned his head, saw Hanfu, and called out while panting slightly. Then, he turned back and continued to hack away at the wooden post.

Hanfu circled the wooden post, feeling a bit bored, but truthfully, his hands were itching.

After all, he had collected the Ninja Tool Throwing technique. As the saying goes, being rich without returning home is like wearing fine clothes in the dark. Hanfu tried to hold back, but he couldn't, so he went into the house and dug out a Ninja Tool Pouch.

This was one Gekko Hoshino used to use. It was a bit old, and inside were some discarded kunai and shuriken; they were either covered in cracks or rusted at the edges.

Hanfu strapped the Ninja Tool Pouch to his thigh. After thinking for a moment, to prevent accidentally hurting his little brother, he climbed over the wall into the neighbor's backyard and started to show off.

Hanfu pulled out a kunai and, without even looking, threw it toward the wall.

Clang!

The kunai turned into a dark shadow in the air, struck the wall sharply, and then bounced off, landing in the grass.

Throwing at a wall provides absolutely no satisfaction.

Hanfu ran over to pick up the Kunai, then began drawing circles on the wall to create a target. He drew large circles containing smaller ones, with even smaller ones inside those, totaling nine in all. The innermost circle was tiny, no larger than a thumb.

Hanfu then retreated ten paces with a solemn expression. After a moment of thought, he stepped forward five paces.

"Well then, I shall—ptui!"

Hanfu spat a glob of phlegm onto the ground. Damn it, is chuunibyou contagious?

Hanfu shook his head, then pulled out his Kunai and Shuriken, unleashing them in a rapid, sharp flurry of motion.

In two or three seconds, accompanied by a clattering sound, Hanfu had emptied his entire Ninja Tool Pouch.

However...

If one ignored the target, Hanfu's throwing form was textbook perfect. From the balance of his limbs to the minute details of his wrists and fingers, not a single flaw could be found!

But Hanfu knew that more than half of the Kunai and Shuriken he had thrown had landed outside the target. Furthermore, while throwing, he had clearly felt a stiffness in his body, as if his movements were being "hosted" by the system, forcing him into the throwing posture.

Hanfu frowned as he walked over to retrieve the tools scattered on the grass. He glanced at the wall, and sure enough, most of the marks left by the impacts of the Kunai and Shuriken were outside the outermost circle. The results were abysmal!

"This accuracy is just ridiculous."

If he were to encounter an enemy like this, he would surely die of frustration.

Hanfu pushed those thoughts aside and continued to practice.

As the number of throws increased, the feeling of being "hosted" within his body gradually faded, just as expected. The stiffness in his limbs slowly vanished, replaced by a sense of familiarity that felt innate. The scattered marks left on the wall by the Kunai and Shuriken began to converge toward the tiny circle at the very center of the target!

One hour later.

Ding!

Ding, ding, ding, ding!

Hanfu fired with both hands, launching five Kunai in rapid succession. Without exception, every single one struck the tiny circle at the center!

"So that's how it is!"

Hanfu realized the truth. Although he had mastered Ninja Tool Throwing directly through harvesting, he still needed to spend an hour practicing to fully integrate the skill and achieve perfect accuracy!

There really is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

Hanfu sighed with emotion.

At this moment, Hanfu toyed with a Kunai in his hand, his fingers rubbing against the cracks and rust on the blade. He could feel the Kunai breathing, shouting, and listening to his intent, as if this piece of metal had become an extension of his own body.

Hanfu savored this strange sense of familiarity, and then, he gently flicked it out.

The moment the kunai left his hand, Hanfu's fingers gave it a slight flick, adjusting its trajectory. Cling! The kunai traced a graceful arc and nailed itself directly into the very top of the target, exactly where he had intended—not a hair's breadth off!

Following this, Hanfu continued his practice, retreating from five paces away to ten, then to fifteen. In just half an hour, Hanfu was once again hitting exactly where he aimed!

This feeling was exhilarating; this was the taste of success!

Hanfu finally revealed a smile he couldn't hide.

It was no exaggeration to say that with his current Ninja Tool Throwing, he had completely crushed every student at the Ninja Academy, and perhaps even... Uchiha Shisui?

Uchiha Shisui's talent was indeed high, but without the tempering of war, his Kunai Throwing Technique likely hadn't reached the level of his prime.

So...

"I am the sharpest kid in the Ninja Academy!"

Hanfu rubbed his sore, swollen arms. If not for the training Gekko Hoshino had put him through over the past year, Hanfu wouldn't have been able to persist for over two hours of ninja tool throwing. But now, all the effort had paid off.

Silently, he collected all the ninja tools from the grass. After a moment's thought, he used a kunai to scrape away all the marks on the wall.

Once everything was finished, Hanfu climbed over the wall back to his home like a dog.

His little brother was still there striking the wooden stake, his face covered in sweat, yet his eyes remained incredibly firm and pure.

On a whim, Hanfu pulled out a kunai and threw it toward him.

Whoosh!

The kunai cut through the air, flying straight toward the blade of the wooden sword in Gekko Hayate's hand.

Hearing the sound of the air being pierced, Gekko Hayate turned instinctively, using the momentum of his waist and abdomen to swing his wooden sword in a horizontal strike.

Duang!

The kunai landed precisely on the edge of the wooden sword, then bounced off and hit the ground.

Gekko Hayate was jolted back half a step. Looking down, he saw a jagged crack had appeared on the blade of his wooden sword.

"Brother..."

Gekko Hayate stared blankly at the wooden sword in his hand. After a long moment, he finally realized what had just happened and couldn't help but shout excitedly, "Amazing! Brother, you're so amazing! How did you do that just now? Amazing!!"

Hanfu sighed and couldn't help but put on airs: "Little brother, everything has a pattern to follow. You can't just rely on brute force, you know? You have to look past the surface to see the essence, be good at discovering and observing, and above all, pay attention to efficiency!"

Gekko Hayate nodded as if he understood, then shook his head.

"You wouldn't get it even if I explained it. I'm going to go wash up." Hanfu waved his hand and walked away with a flourish.

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