The Teachings of Yuhi Shinku

Sitting at the table, Yuki Yuichi took a deep breath of the meal's aroma and couldn't help but praise, "Uncle Shinku, your cooking is getting better and better!"

Yuhi Kurenai's mother had passed away, so Yuhi Shinku had long since taken on the role of both father and mother, honing his culinary skills in the process.

Hearing the compliment, the corners of Yuhi Shinku's mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile before he waved his hand dismissively.

"Eat up."

"We'll be starting your special training in a little while!"

"Mm!" Yuhi Kurenai nodded earnestly from the side. "I will definitely become stronger!"

"I want to protect Yuichi, too!"

Having said that, Yuhi Kurenai looked at her father and added, "And Dad, too."

Yuhi Shinku: "..."

His little girl was starting to drift away!

The meal passed with Yuhi Shinku feeling a bit of heartache.

The joyful laughter of Yuhi Kurenai and Yuki Yuichi made him feel both a pang of heartache and a sense of warmth.

This is how a family should be.

Watching Yuki Yuichi and Yuhi Kurenai, Yuhi Shinku thought silently to himself that it would be nice if they could grow up quickly, so he could retire and look after his grandchildren.

Ninjas could retire; if one didn't want to be a ninja anymore, they could simply apply for retirement.

Whether it would be approved, however, was another matter entirely.

A ninja like Yuhi Shinku, even if he could retire, would likely still be assigned some idle position.

After the meal, Yuhi Shinku looked at the two of them seriously. Just as he was about to speak, Yuhi Kurenai pulled out a scroll engraved with the character for "Fire" and handed it to him, effectively cutting him off.

"Dad, this is what the Hokage gave to Yuichi."

Yuki Yuichi nodded from the side and recounted what had happened that morning.

Holding the scroll, Yuhi Shinku looked at Yuki Yuichi in silence.

He wasn't a fool; he naturally knew how slim the chances were of running into Sarutobi Hiruzen at a ramen shop.

Especially when, upon meeting, the man had actually gifted a ninjutsu scroll.

This was clearly an attempt to build rapport.

On the other hand, he hadn't given much thought to Minato Namikaze earlier.

He knew about the relationship between Uzumaki Kushina and Yuki Yuichi, and naturally, Minato Namikaze knew as well.

It was normal for him and Kakashi Hatake to run into them while training at the grounds Minato Namikaze used to frequent.

Many people in Konoha knew about that training ground atop the Hokage Rock.

Looking at the scroll in his hand, Yuhi Shinku sighed.

When Yuki Yuichi had shown him the Sharingan yesterday, he knew it would attract attention sooner or later.

He just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

I suppose this counts as a good thing, Yuhi Shinku thought to himself, as he had been agonizing over how to address the matter of the Sharingan with the Uchiha Clan.

Now, he didn't have to worry about it.

Since the Hokage had taken notice of this kid, Yuki Yuichi, he must already be aware of the Sharingan.

As for the Uchiha, he would let the Hokage handle them; he just needed to pretend he knew nothing.

Thinking this, Yuhi Shinku opened the scroll in his hand.

The first thing that caught his eye was the name of the ninjutsu.

[Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique.]

He knew this technique; it was a standard C-rank Fire Style jutsu.

Aside from the Three Basic Jutsu and the Body Flicker Technique, which had a very low floor but a very high ceiling, C-rank ninjutsu were the easiest to learn.

The rank of a ninjutsu depended on the difficulty of learning it.

A C-rank ninjutsu didn't necessarily mean its power was limited to the C-rank category.

However, the greater the initial power of a technique, the harder it was to learn, and thus the higher its rank.

Therefore, classifying the power of ninjutsu by rank wasn't entirely wrong.

"Since the Hokage has given you a ninjutsu, I will teach you both this technique first."

As he spoke, Yuhi Shinku pulled two pieces of Chakra Induction Paper from his pocket and looked at Yuki Yuichi. "Although you already tested in front of the Hokage, I bought two pieces of Chakra Induction Paper."

"It would be a waste to leave them sitting there, so test again."

Yuki Yuichi didn't object; he took a piece of Chakra Induction Paper and channeled his chakra into it.

Just like before, half of the paper sparked with fire, while the other half wrinkled.

Seeing this, Yuhi Shinku nodded; in truth, he had still been a little skeptical of what Yuki Yuichi had told him.

After all, the impression this kid had given him over the past few years was truly not very reliable.

Yuhi Kurenai followed suit, picking up another piece of Chakra Induction Paper and channeling her chakra into it, then blinked her large eyes in anticipation.

Under the gaze of the three, sparks slowly ignited around the edges of the paper, but then there was no further change.

Seeing this, Yuhi Shinku felt no disappointment.

Chakra affinity was merely a beginning.

These things could be cultivated.

Having only Fire-style chakra now did not mean it would remain that way in the future, and besides, his intention was to train Yuhi Kurenai as a genjutsu ninja.

That way, the level of danger would not be so high.

This was just right.

Once the two had finished testing their chakra affinities, Yuhi Shinku continued, "Alright, the preparations are complete."

"Next, I will teach you two a ninjutsu."

As he spoke, Yuhi Shinku fully unfurled the scroll in his hands and added, "I originally intended to teach you a genjutsu."

"However, the Hokage provided this scroll, and since you both possess Fire-style chakra, I will teach you two a Fire-style jutsu first."

Yuki Yuichi and Yuhi Kurenai sat quietly in their places, looking toward Yuhi Shinku.

"You two probably can't understand this scroll, can you?" Yuhi Shinku pointed at the scroll and said with a smile.

"Mhm!" Yuhi Kurenai nodded her little head from the side.

"When Yuichi gave me this scroll, I couldn't understand it at all."

Yuki Yuichi also spoke up, "I recognize the characters inside, but when they are put together, I don't understand them."

Hearing their words, Yuhi Shinku nodded.

"That is normal."

"Do you know the essence of ninjutsu?"

"The essence?" Hearing this, Yuki Yuichi was stunned for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Releasing ninjutsu using chakra?"

"Correct, and yet incorrect."

Yuhi Shinku shook his head. Seeing the two looking at him with confusion, he did not keep them in suspense and said directly, "The essence of ninjutsu is indeed releasing it with chakra."

"But how it is released—that is the true essence."

"Normally, chakra flows within the body."

"However, it flows through the meridian pathways."

"The essence of ninjutsu is actually making chakra flow along specific routes to form various elemental ninjutsu."

"Therefore, the essence of ninjutsu is actually the flow of chakra."

"If you are very familiar with the flow route of a certain ninjutsu and have high control over your chakra, you can simplify a ninjutsu that originally requires ten hand seals down to four or five."

Yuhi Shinku's words were simple and easy to understand.

Yuki Yuichi looked at him thoughtfully and asked, "So, all ninjutsu can be performed without hand seals?"

"Correct."