When Hanfu got home, Keiko had already left for work at the hospital. His little brother was the only one there, swinging a wooden sword at a wooden post in the backyard with all his might.
Watching him train so hard, Hanfu thought of how, in the future, he would cough several times after saying even a single sentence. He couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
"Hayate, take a ten-minute break!"
Hanfu walked over, his expression stern.
"Big brother, you're back."
Hayate had already been training for over half an hour. He was drenched in sweat, but still refused to rest.
"Big brother, I can keep going!"
Hanfu's eyes shifted as he threatened, "Don't you want to practice throwing kunai?"
At once, Hayate lowered the wooden sword in his hands and nodded eagerly. "I do! Big brother, will you teach me now?"
"That's why I told you to rest for ten minutes first," Hanfu said.
"I understand."
Hayate excitedly ran into the house, gulped down a big glass of water, then found a bag of wooden kunai and hurried back to Hanfu, eager to get started. "Big brother, I'm rested!"
Hanfu stared at him, at a loss for words, then said irritably, "Sit down. We can start once I say you're rested."
"Oh." Hayate obediently sat beside Hanfu.
Hanfu casually found a topic to chat about with Hayate. They talked about tomorrow's lunchbox, which would have a mix of Nori Sesame Sushi and Nori Sesame Rice Balls, then the Ninja Academy, and then how an important person would soon visit Konoha Hospital to offer guidance...
"Uh... wait!"
Hanfu was dumbfounded. "An important person is going to Konoha Hospital? How do you know?"
"Aunt Keiko told me over dinner," Hayate said. "She also told me lots of things about the hospital."
Hanfu's face went blank. "You win."
No wonder he was someone else's kid. His own mother had never talked about the hospital when he was home.
Never mind. He wasn't her biological son anyway.
But...
An important person?
Just how important?
Hanfu asked, "What's that person's name?"
"Hmm..." Hayate thought for a moment. "Shennong."
"Shennong?"
The one who tasted all the herbs?
Hanfu's first thought was that his little brother had gotten the name wrong, but then he suddenly remembered that there really was a character by that name in Naruto.
Hanfu closed his eyes and searched his memory.
Ten minutes later.
"Big brother, your ten-minute break is over," Hayate reminded him.
"Wait. Two more minutes," Hanfu said, eyes still closed.
By now, he had recalled a few things about Shennong.
On the surface, Shennong was a doctor, but in truth, he was the leader of the Sky Ninja Village, which Konoha had destroyed. He was a powerful taijutsu ninja, skilled in Forbidden Jutsu like Body Activation—techniques even Orochimaru coveted.
As for the rest, Hanfu only remembered that Shennong had created Zero-Tails and then led the Sky Ninja in an attack on Konoha. He truly couldn't recall the finer details.
Shennong's story appeared in a movie, and in his previous life, Hanfu had watched it at fast-forward speed. He was lucky he even remembered Shennong's name, let alone the specific events.
Still, what Hanfu remembered was more than enough!
A Forbidden Jutsu for Body Activation that even Orochimaru coveted...
If Hanfu didn't collect it, he'd be letting his Golden Finger go to waste!
But collecting it wouldn't be easy!
Hanfu frowned and pondered.
There was no doubt that Shennong harbored immense hostility and malice toward Konoha!
Given that, Shennong's decision to make a grand visit to Konoha meant he had an ulterior motive!
Hanfu couldn't guess what that motive was, but he was certain that after entering Konoha, Shennong would be extremely cautious to avoid exposing his identity as a ninja. He wouldn't easily trust anyone from Konoha, not even a child.
So even if Hanfu could get close to Shennong through Keiko, there was no way he could make Shennong open up and let him collect from him.
Even so, Hanfu had no intention of giving up.
First, with Big Fat Sheep right in front of him, he couldn't resist the temptation.
Second, since Shennong needed to conceal his identity as a ninja, he wouldn't use a single ninjutsu. So what difference was there between a tiger with its claws and fangs put away and a cat?
Hanfu wasn't a cat owner. He had nothing to fear.
"Big brother, big brother!"
Seeing Hanfu lost in thought, Hayate stamped his feet and shouted, "Two minutes are up! Hurry up and teach me how to throw kunai."
"Oh, right."
Hanfu snapped out of it and stood with a smile. "Then we'll start with the most basic throwing stance!"
The next day.
At the Ninja Academy.
Class 8's morning lesson was still theory, but a different teacher was teaching. The topic was tracking and Anti-Tracking.
Hanfu had Shennong on his mind, and he couldn't focus on the lesson at all.
When break time came, quite a few classmates even came over to butter him up.
"Hanfu, you're so good at throwing ninja tools. Please give me some pointers sometime."
"I hate to admit it, but you, Gekko Hayate, really are qualified to be friends with a top student like me!"
"Gekko Hayate, I'll tutor you in theory, and you teach me to throw ninja tools. We'll each teach the other. How about it?"
Most of these eager admirers had written Hanfu little notes before, but after yesterday afternoon's practical training, they'd all been won over by his skills!
But Hanfu was a man of principles. He always remembered that he was one of the Six-Man Group, and no matter what, he wouldn't betray the group so easily.
After spending the morning like that, Hanfu had lunch with Anko and the others. Not long afterward, those eager admirers came back to fawn over him. As they say, competitors are enemies, and seeing them made Hanfu angry!
To avoid them, Hanfu thought for a moment and decided to go to the office to find Kashima Isamu.
After collecting Ninja Tool Throwing from Kashima Isamu last time, Hanfu hadn't collected from him again, so there were still two chances left.
When Kashima Isamu saw Hanfu, his expression turned a little strange.
"Hanfu, Teacher Hiramatsu told me how you did in yesterday's practical training. I never would've guessed you were so good at throwing ninja tools!"
Kashima Isamu kept sizing Hanfu up. It was the same person, but somehow he seemed a little different. Kashima Isamu just couldn't put his finger on what had changed.
"Teacher, I came to ask you about some details of Chakra refinement," Hanfu said bluntly.
"Chakra refinement..."
Kashima Isamu nodded. "Of course. But... didn't you ask Teacher Hiramatsu about it yesterday?"
Hanfu gave an embarrassed smile. "There are still a lot of things I don't understand."
Now that a student had asked, what else could Kashima Isamu do? He had to help, even if he had to make things difficult for himself.
Hanfu listened carefully to Kashima Isamu's explanation. After about half an hour, he began to collect.
The Green Light Orb in his mind surged and churned, then quickly shot out a pale Blue Light Orb. Just as Hanfu had expected, it was the Chakra Refinement Technique!
Hanfu waited for the Light Spot to merge with him, then continued asking Kashima Isamu about Chakra refinement.
Kashima Isamu was clearly more patient with Hanfu than Hiramatsu Daishi had been. Hanfu was his own student, after all, so he simply went through the explanation again.
Hanfu collected again. The Green Light Orb shot out another pale Blue Light Orb, and it was still the Chakra Refinement Technique!
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher!"
Hanfu bowed solemnly in thanks.
"As your teacher, this is what I'm supposed to do."
Kashima Isamu spoke earnestly. "Hanfu, I was wrong about you before. I hope you won't hold it against me. From now on, I'll be stricter with you, especially when it comes to theory. You mustn't neglect any subject!"
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher."
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