Testing

Sensing Shiraishi Yoshijo's tension, Takemoto Shuichi raised his hand and rapped him on the head.

"Little guy, I've seen every single secret ninjutsu technique your clan possesses. Why do you think Eizawa asked me to be your teacher?"

Secret techniques, all of them?

Shiraishi Yoshijo blinked, staring at his uncle. This was completely different from what he'd been told about secret techniques never being allowed to leak out.

"Alright, Uncle Shuichi is not an outsider. He is the most suitable person to be your teacher."

Shiraishi Eizawa finally spoke up.

After carefully reading through the scroll, Takemoto Shuichi laughed. "Lightning-Water affinity. Eizawa, you really know how to pick them."

"In the entire clan, you are the only one capable of being Yoshijo's teacher."

Clan. Hearing that word, Shiraishi Yoshijo was stunned.

Wasn't there only the two of them left? Could this old man also be from the Shide Clan?

Seeing the shock on Shiraishi Yoshijo's face, Takemoto Shuichi was the one who paused, turning to ask, "Eizawa, you didn't tell him anything?"

"I only mentioned some old matters. I didn't tell him about the clan's affairs."

Takemoto Shuichi fell silent, only asking after a long while, "Yoshijo, do you accept that those Ninja Butterflies are your kin?"

Without waiting for Shiraishi Yoshijo to answer, the old man said with visible agitation, "I, for one, will never accept the nonsense that Ninja Butterflies are family. Humans cannot turn into butterflies."

Shiraishi Yoshijo was a bit bewildered and could only rub his nose with an awkward smile.

He couldn't exactly voice his agreement in front of his uncle, even though that was exactly what he thought.

But who exactly was this Takemoto Shuichi? To know about things like this...

Shiraishi Eizawa spoke up, "Uncle Shuichi, let's not bring up the past. Since the branch was split, we are two separate clans."

Having said that, he turned to Shiraishi Yoshijo, "Long before Konoha was founded, your grandfather split the clan because of the suicides among our people. Anyone whose family had experienced such suicides became part of the branch family."

Takemoto Shuichi chimed in, "Your grandfather was a man of great resolve. None of the previous clan heads dared to do such a thing. I know he didn't accept the Ninja Butterflies either, but he was the clan head. It's a pity."

"So, Uncle Shuichi's family is actually the same clan as us?"

"We are two clans now. They have lost the inheritance of the secret techniques, though in terms of bloodline, we are still kin. This is something no other ninja clan knows."

Takemoto Shuichi nodded and said, "Actually, some of your kin were taken in by our branch. No matter how brutal the First Shinobi World War was, it couldn't wipe out a large clan entirely. This was also your grandfather's arrangement."

"Uncle Shuichi, say no more. You should look at how he ought to train."

Takemoto Shuichi frowned and glanced at Shiraishi Eizawa. "He needs to know these things. In the future, these clans will rely on him to fight for a voice in the village. Otherwise..."

"I know, he is still young." Shiraishi Eizawa interrupted Takemoto Shuichi quite rudely.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was lost in thought; the sheer volume of information contained in these few words was immense.

It seemed the days ahead would not be easy. After a moment of reflection, Shiraishi Yoshijo decided to test the waters.

"Grandpa Shuichi, I plan to go to the hospital after I graduate."

"The hospital?"

Takemoto Shuichi's expression turned ugly. "Eizawa, you didn't tell me about this. This isn't what his father said. You wouldn't happen to be..."

"Uncle Shuichi, can we not talk about this? He really is still too young. Please."

Shiraishi Eizawa interrupted Takemoto Shuichi once again, bowing his head with a look of entreaty in his eyes.

Shiraishi Yoshijo curled his lip. They really did treat him like a child. Just from this, he had already pieced together quite a lot.

The current Shide Clan definitely consisted of more than just him and his uncle; they were all hiding in the shadows, preparing to use him as a tool in the future.

He didn't know what kind of twisted schemes that wicked grandfather of his had arranged for him. People who lead a clan to survive in chaotic times don't let others rest easy, even after they are dead.

Much like Uchiha Madara.

In the end, Takemoto Shuichi compromised with Shiraishi Eizawa.

"Fine. Yoshijo, you've already completed the tree-climbing and water-walking training. Now, try to condense chakra on the surface of your body, just like this."

As Takemoto Shuichi spoke, sparks of electricity began to flicker across his body.

Is this the nature transformation of Lightning?

Shiraishi Yoshijo followed suit, and soon, sparks of electricity began to flicker across his own body as well.

"Maintain this state. Let's see how long you can hold it."

Merely maintaining this state was incredibly chakra-intensive. Half a minute later, the electricity on Shiraishi Yoshijo's body vanished.

Takemoto Shuichi was stunned. "You can't hold it any longer than that?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo answered honestly, "I'm out of chakra."

Takemoto Shuichi: "..."

"With that amount of chakra, you're barely at the level of a genin. You want to graduate early? Fine, let me see your taijutsu. Come and attack me."

Taijutsu—this was Shiraishi Yoshijo's greatest hurdle.

Shiraishi Yoshijo swung his fist and charged forward, but to his surprise, Takemoto Shuichi didn't even dodge, standing there and letting him land a punch.

Takemoto Shuichi: "Did you not eat? Use some strength!"

It was true that he hadn't eaten, so Shiraishi Yoshijo punched the old man again.

Takemoto Shuichi remained expressionless: "Step back a few paces, take a running start, and put your entire body's strength into it."

Are you a human punching bag?

Shiraishi Yoshijo complained wildly in his heart, stepped back a bit further, and then put every ounce of his strength into a strike against Takemoto Shuichi.

Takemoto Shuichi didn't even sway, though his expression turned ugly.

"What ninjutsu do you know right now?"

"Only the Three Basic Techniques."

Takemoto Shuichi began to take deep breaths, then looked at Shiraishi Eizawa, his eyes filled with silent questioning.

To be honest, Shiraishi Eizawa couldn't bear to look at Shiraishi Yoshijo's abysmal performance.

He could only stammer: "I didn't know he was this bad. He said he wanted to graduate early today, and I thought..."

Takemoto Shuichi was an elder after all, so he didn't just flick his sleeves and walk away.

"I will teach you a Lightning Release ninjutsu now. Watch closely."

Takemoto Shuichi began to form hand seals, intentionally moving slowly so Shiraishi Yoshijo could see every seal clearly.

"Lightning Release, Scattered Needle Technique."

Lightning Senbon shot out from his hands one after another, passing straight through a large tree and disappearing into the ground.

"This is considered a relatively simple C-rank Lightning Release ninjutsu. You give it a try."

He had memorized the seals, but he had already exhausted his chakra earlier; how was he supposed to release a ninjutsu now?

Shiraishi Eizawa reached out his hand, and Shiraishi Yoshijo blinked, not understanding what he meant.

"Have you forgotten?"

"What?"

Shiraishi Eizawa's expression turned sour: "I told you two years ago that we have the ability to absorb chakra. Have I been too good to you, causing you to forget everything I taught you?"

As soon as Shiraishi Eizawa mentioned it, Shiraishi Yoshijo quickly grabbed his hand and began to absorb chakra.

Honestly, he used to think this kind of minor skill was useless and had long since pushed it to the back of his mind.

But now it seemed that if used for training, it might have some merit.

After replenishing his chakra, he began to form the seals.

"Lightning Release, Scattered Needle Technique!"

A few Lightning Senbon shot from his hands and stuck into the tree.

The scale of the ninjutsu he released certainly couldn't compare to Takemoto Shuichi's; Takemoto Shuichi had fired at least hundreds of Lightning Senbon, while he hadn't even managed ten.

Seeing Shiraishi Yoshijo successfully perform the ninjutsu, Takemoto Shuichi finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Not bad. Learning this ninjutsu on your first try counts as passing."

Passing.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's expression was grim. Even though he had long known his talent was lacking, facing the reality of it was still deeply disappointing.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the flow of chakra within his body, and then formed the seals again.

"Lightning Release, Scattered Needle Technique!"

The scale this time was much larger than the first, with dozens of senbon shooting into the tree and disappearing.

Takemoto Shuichi looked at him in astonishment, his face showing a hint of pleasant surprise.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was still unsatisfied. The Scattered Needle Technique originally required eight seals, and he felt he might be able to reduce it by three.

"Lightning Release, Scattered Needle Technique!"

The Scattered Needle Technique, performed with only five seals, was even larger in scale, with nearly a hundred Lightning Senbon densely firing toward the tree trunk.

Because Shiraishi Yoshijo had deliberately controlled them, these hundred Lightning Senbon struck almost the exact same spot, actually punching a hole through the tree trunk.

After using the ninjutsu this time, Shiraishi Yoshijo felt that not a drop of chakra remained in his body; his head spun, and his legs felt unsteady as he walked.

"Oh no, chakra overdraft."

Upon hearing these words, Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

After Shiraishi Eizawa carried him back to his room and returned, he saw Takemoto Shuichi still hunched over, peering intently at the hole made by the Lightning Senbon.

"Uncle Shuichi, what is it?"

"Look at this hole. That child Yoshijo fired almost all the Lightning Senbon into the exact same spot. Do you know what this means?"

Shiraishi Eizawa replied: "At least jonin-level chakra control."

"Exactly. It's shocking. The child isn't much to look at in other areas, but this level of chakra control is unimaginable for a kid who has only just learned how to walk on water and climb trees."

Takemoto Shuichi finished speaking, a look of regret appearing on his face: "With that kind of chakra control, he is absolutely a genius at ninjutsu, it's just..."

"His chakra is too scarce."

Shiraishi Eizawa stated Shiraishi Yoshijo's biggest problem in one breath.

Takemoto Shuichi nodded; although an eight-year-old child wouldn't have much chakra to begin with, it shouldn't be to this extent.

In that body-discharging test, a normal genin could last at least two minutes, and certainly wouldn't faint after casting two C-rank ninjutsu.

Although Shiraishi Yoshijo had used three, the first one actually hadn't consumed much chakra at all.

Thinking of this, Takemoto Shuichi seemed to recall something and asked: "Eizawa, you haven't already let Yoshijo start raising Butterfly Seed, have you?"

Shiraishi Eizawa rubbed his nose, his guilty gaze shifting everywhere.

Seeing him look like this, how could Takemoto Shuichi not understand? He was instantly furious: "It was always ten years old before, he's only eight now, are you hoping for him to die?"

"Actually, he started raising them two years ago..."

"What!"

Takemoto Shuichi's pupils constricted, and he pointed at Shiraishi Eizawa, unable to speak, looking at him as if he were a monster.

For a moment, neither of them knew what to say.