Watching Yuki Yuichi repeatedly climb the tree, then fall and land on the crash mat with a series of dull thuds, Yuhi Kurenai blinked.
Although Yuki Yuichi fell every time, she could still see that he was reaching a different height each time.
Each time Yuki Yuichi fell, he seemed to make an adjustment, and on his next climb, he got a little higher.
"Yuichi is amazing." Yuhi Kurenai watched him, her eyes sparkling.
Then she clenched her little fists. "I can't slack off either!"
They kept up this training for four days. Yuhi Kurenai had an even greater talent for chakra control than Yuki Yuichi.
She was the one who truly belonged among the geniuses.
If Yuki Yuichi's progress was like a snail's, slow and steady, then Yuhi Kurenai's was like walking. She wasn't especially fast, but compared to him, she was making much faster progress.
Standing vertically on a tree trunk three meters above the ground, Yuki Yuichi fell silent as he watched Yuhi Kurenai nearing the top.
I'm pretty sure I have a title that boosts my training, right?
[Ninja Student: While wearing this title, ninjutsu effectiveness increases by 10%, and training effectiveness increases by 20%.]
Looking at the bright blue panel before him, Yuki Yuichi fell even quieter.
With a 20% boost to his training, and this was still how he was doing? Just how bad was his talent?
His talent wasn't actually bad. Whether it was his physique or his chakra, he was leagues ahead of his peers.
But when it came to chakra control, he really did have it rough.
The more chakra you had, the harder it was to control.
The less chakra you had, the easier it was to control.
Because of his Uzumaki Clan heritage, he had an enormous amount of chakra, which naturally made it much harder to control.
And Yuhi Kurenai was already a genius when it came to genjutsu. After all, she would eventually become a jonin through her skill with it.
Genjutsu relied heavily on chakra control.
If Yuhi Kurenai hadn't been talented at controlling chakra, how could she have become a genjutsu specialist jonin?
Compared to her, he, Yuki Yuichi, looked like a complete waste.
She was nearly at the top, while he had only climbed two and a half meters.
As he was lost in thought, Yuhi Kurenai's voice reached his ears.
"Yay! I did it!"
Yuhi Kurenai stood at the top of the tree, her face beaming with joy.
Yuki Yuichi pushed off with both feet, flipped once in the air, and landed on the ground with a smile.
So what if I'm a waste?
If Kurenai's happy, then I'm happy.
I can accept losing to Kurenai.
Yuhi Kurenai climbed back down the trunk and landed steadily on the ground. She clasped her hands behind her back and looked at Yuki Yuichi with a bright smile.
"Hehe, I've learned how to climb trees!"
Yuhi Kurenai looked like a little cat waiting for him to praise her.
Yuki Yuichi smiled and ruffled her hair. "As expected, Kurenai is the best!"
"Hehe..." Yuhi Kurenai giggled, then said, "I can explain the tricks to tree climbing to you, Yuichi!"
"Then I'll be sure to listen carefully!"
It wasn't just Yuki Yuichi. Sarutobi Asuma and the others came over, too.
They had naturally heard the commotion Yuhi Kurenai had made.
They gathered around, greeted her with smiles, and then started teasing Yuki Yuichi.
Sarutobi Asuma laughed. "You're so lame, Yuichi!"
Uchiha Obito took off his goggles. "Yuichi's such a loser!"
Yuki Yuichi chuckled as he looked at the two of them. "Oh, so you two are pretty tough, huh?"
Seeing the situation turn against him, Sarutobi Asuma pulled Uchiha Obito in front of himself and fell silent.
Uchiha Obito didn't notice a thing and kept talking. "I'm super tough, okay!"
"Then let me show you something fun." Yuki Yuichi led Uchiha Obito away.
Watching Uchiha Obito being dragged toward the training ground, Sarutobi Asuma shook his head. "Good thing I'm smart. Otherwise, I'd be just like Obito."
Kakashi Hatake glanced at him and chuckled. "So you think that guy would let you off?"
After spending so much time with Yuki Yuichi, Kakashi Hatake had started picking up his mischievous streak.
Hearing that, Sarutobi Asuma's smile froze. He looked at Kakashi Hatake, stiff with uncertainty. "He... probably won't, right?!"
Uchiha Obito's screams rang out just then, making him shudder. He gave a dry cough and said, "I just remembered I've still got some things to take care of. I'm going back."
"See you this afternoon!"
With that, he ran straight down the mountain.
He moved at a speed rarely seen in the world.
The others here wouldn't go easy on him just because he was the Hokage's son. He knew that well, and it was why he was friends with them.
Here, he was Sarutobi Asuma, not the Hokage's son.
But right then, he wished Yuki Yuichi and the others would treat him like the Hokage's son, the way everyone else did.
Then he could avoid a beating.
After a while, Yuki Yuichi returned, thoroughly satisfied.
Uchiha Obito followed behind him, covered in dust and grime.
"Where's Asuma?" Noticing one of them was missing, Yuki Yuichi looked at Yuhi Kurenai curiously.
"He ran off..." Yuhi Kurenai scratched her little head.
"Huh?" Yuki Yuichi blinked.
"Why'd he run?"
"He was afraid you'd get even with him," Might Guy said as he did push-ups nearby.
"!!!"
"Is that really the kind of person you all think I am?!"
Yuki Yuichi stared at them in disbelief, looking heartbroken.
"Can't there be even a little love in this world?"
Yuki Yuichi looked devastated, but Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Obito both stared at him expressionlessly.
Their faces seemed to say, That's exactly the kind of person you are.
"You've really let me down!"
Yuki Yuichi sighed. "I was just helping you loosen up your muscles."
"Heh."
Even Yuhi Kurenai couldn't listen to Yuki Yuichi's excuses anymore.
Not many people could lie so shamelessly to someone's face.
"Enough talking. I'm going back to climbing trees."
"Then I'm going to practice Water Walking!" Yuhi Kurenai raised her hand.
They weren't doing nothing but training, either. At the very least, they had explored all around the training ground.
There was a small stream nearby, and the water wasn't very deep.
Even at its deepest, it only came up to Yuki Yuichi's belly.
It was perfect for practicing Water Walking.
That was probably one of the main reasons Minato Namikaze had set up a training ground here.
If they'd had to find a place themselves, they never would have found anywhere this good.
It was secluded, hardly anyone came by, and they could train all kinds of ninjutsu and taijutsu. There were also places to practice tree climbing and Water Walking.
While they were training, Minato Namikaze returned to Konoha.
"Even though I could use the Flying Thunder God to get home, walking back is more relaxing."
Minato Namikaze went home.
Before you continue