"Uchiha kid, who taught you Medical Ninjutsu?"
Standing atop Kage Rock, Tsunade cut a striking figure in the wind. It was as if all her earlier negative feelings had never existed.
"Well, Yakushi Big Sister taught me," Houka answered honestly. "Yakushi Nonō from Konoha Hospital!"
"Oh, her. She's a very gentle person!" Tsunade nodded to show she knew who he meant, but her suspicious gaze swept back and forth over Houka. "It's just that, you..."
"What about me?" Houka was nearly sweating bullets.
"You seem nervous!" Tsunade took a light step and began circling Houka, her right hand resting on her chin as she spoke slowly. "Uchiha Houka, I've seen your file. In your first year at the Ninja Academy, your grades were near the bottom of the class. You challenged Kakashi when he graduated, only to get kicked unconscious and become a laughingstock. Then, during the break, you seemed like a different person and began training hard. You not only learned Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, but also brought your Hand Seals up to Genin standards. After that, there was the report that you'd passed out from Taijutsu training and ended up at Konoha Hospital."
Houka hadn't expected to catch Tsunade's attention so early. He couldn't help feeling nervous. Besides Tsunade, had the Third Hokage or Danzo been keeping an eye on him too?
Danzo was the head of Root, the hidden side of Konoha. Houka didn't want to cross paths with him this early!
"I imagine it was after that that you asked Yakushi Nonō to teach you Medical Ninjutsu?" Tsunade deduced.
"Yes. I don't want to go to the hospital every time I get hurt, and I don't have any money!" Houka admitted readily, taking deep breaths to suppress his nerves.
Tsunade continued, "You train in Taijutsu, train in ninjutsu, and then train in Medical Ninjutsu. Add your clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan, and... hehe. Kid, you've got big ambitions!"
Houka's heart skipped a beat. He gave a strained laugh. "I-I'm just a six-year-old kid. What kind of ambitions could I have?"
"Well, who knows?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and smiled. Her short blond hair fluttered in the wind, making her look just like a golden fox atop a mountain peak. "But you do seem a little different from the other Uchiha. Hehe, I'll be keeping an eye on you, kid!"
With that, Tsunade leaped off Kage Rock.
She jumped down. She really jumped down!
Houka felt his whole world collapse.
"Hey! Hey! You crazy woman, take me back with you!!!!"
Standing on Tsunade's great-uncle's head, Houka stared blankly at the whole village of Konoha below. From up here, he couldn't tell one place from another. The problem was, Tsunade could jump straight down, but he couldn't. He'd have to take the long way around!
"This is a nightmare!"
Heartbroken, Houka stepped off the statue of Tsunade's great-uncle and started around the back.
A lush, dense forest stretched as far as the eye could see. The occasional roar of a beast echoed through the trees, sending a shiver down his spine.
"It's not the Forest of Death, so there shouldn't be any powerful beasts, right?"
As he thought this, a terrifying series of impacts suddenly sounded ahead.
It was as if a sharp piece of wood were charging furiously at someone's backside.
Smack, smack, smack, smack...
Houka clenched his buttocks.
Smack, smack, smack, smack...
His lower body went cold.
Smack, smack, smack, smack...
Finally unable to bear the agony, Houka turned and ran without a word.
BAM!!!
A tremendous crash rang out, followed by a series of heavy thuds as things hit the ground.
"Who's there?" A young man appeared in front of Houka with a whoosh. He carried himself with three parts seriousness, seven parts liveliness, and a hundred parts youthful enthusiasm.
Still in a running pose, Houka looked at the familiar outfit and familiar vibe before him. He almost sighed, When Aunt Flo comes, there's no stopping her— No, wait. When luck comes, there's no stopping it!
Thick eyebrows!
A dazzling set of white teeth!
And that signature dark green, skintight jumpsuit!
Wasn't this Konoha's Eternal Genin, Might Duy?
"Hm? Kid, what are you doing here? Where are your parents?" Seeing that he was just a six-year-old child, Might Duy let down his guard.
"Hello. I'm Uchiha Houka, and I'm an orphan. I came here to train!" Houka could proudly tell anyone that he never needed to rehearse a lie.
"An orphan? From the Uchiha Clan?" Might Duy furrowed his brow. "The Uchiha Clan's compound is quite far from here."
Houka hurried to smooth things over. "Well, I'm training in Taijutsu right now, and I ran here without realizing it. I've just finished resting and was about to run back!"
"Oh, but the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan is very powerful. Why did you choose to train in Taijutsu?" Might Duy asked curiously.
"Because I think Taijutsu is strong, and no worse than the Sharingan!" Houka said earnestly, clenching both fists with an excited, spirited expression. He was doing all this to appeal to Might Duy and win his favor. Otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to ask him out of the blue to teach him Taijutsu.
As expected, Houka had made the right move!
As an Eternal Genin, Might Duy had practically no talent for ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Taijutsu was all he had. Naturally, he was delighted to hear an Uchiha kid say Taijutsu was no worse than the Sharingan.
"Kid, you've got a good eye! Hahaha!" Might Duy laughed, hands on his hips.
"Uncle, can I train in Taijutsu with you?" Houka finally revealed his true intentions.
"What? You want to learn Taijutsu from me? Do you even know who I am?" Might Duy looked at him oddly.
"I don't know who you are, Uncle, but I believe your Taijutsu must be amazing. I want to train with you!" Houka said earnestly.
Might Duy seemed tempted, but his good nature still made him refuse. "Kid, the Taijutsu I practice is grueling and puts a tremendous strain on the body. You're too young. I recommend you go to the Hyuga House. Their Gentle Fist doesn't do much harm to the body. You're from the Uchiha Clan, one of Konoha's great clans. The Hyuga House should teach you a thing or two."
"No! The Hyuga House's Gentle Fist looks like something a woman would do. I don't want to learn from them!" Houka blurted out, his voice urgent, cold sweat streaming down his face.
Houka swore that the sweat was genuine. If those words ever reached the ears of the Hyuga House... any day next year could become the anniversary of his death.
Might Duy stared at Houka in shock, too.
At the time, the Hyuga House's Gentle Fist still reigned supreme among Konoha's Taijutsu styles. Other Taijutsu schools had no room to develop. As for Might Duy's style, it was essentially passed down from father to son. Who else would have been interested in learning it?
"Kid—no, Uchiha Houka, do you really want to learn Taijutsu from me?" Might Duy felt a stirring in his heart, a fire starting to burn. As a devoted supporter of the Go-style Taijutsu, he publicly praised the Hyuga House's Gentle Fist, but his true feelings were obvious.
Houka nodded solemnly. "I want to learn!"
"Good. Then I'll teach you!" Might Duy nodded firmly.
Houka was fired up, too. He shouted in his heart, The Eight Inner Gates, here I come!!! (To be continued)
Before you continue