Banquet

Arriving at the kitchen, Hyuga Shinichi first bled, plucked, and cleaned the duck. Finally, he gutted it, removed the internal organs, and gave it a final rinse before placing it on the cutting board.

Hyuga Shinichi picked up his kitchen knife, preparing to show off his exquisite knife skills, when he suddenly thought of a move he had been developing recently: instead of using a sword, he would use his palm in a hand-blade shape to unleash sword qi.

The principle was similar to the Chakra Scalpel, but by adding Wind Style chakra and swinging with force, he could unleash a small blade of sword qi just like the Wind-Cutting Slash, though it lacked the same destructive power. He named it Wind Style: Wind-Cutting Hand Blade.

Should I try using the Wind-Cutting Hand Blade to cut the duck? It's still unstable, though; I'd better test it with just one finger first.

Having made up his mind, he closed his eyes to focus, raising his right hand to condense chakra into his index finger. A cyan-green glow the size of a fingernail wrapped around the tip of his finger.

He made a light swipe at the duck, and a thread-thin line of cyan-green sword qi flew from his fingertip, slicing the duck clean in half before dissipating just as it touched the cutting board.

Hahaha, I'd better just stick to cutting the duck properly. Controlling the chakra volume like this is too time-consuming, and everyone is waiting.

Hyuga Shinichi laughed and gave up on using the Wind-Cutting Hand Blade, picking up his knife to skillfully carve the duck into pieces.

At this moment, Jiraiya arrived in the kitchen.

"Was that a Chakra Scalpel combined with a nature transformation of Wind Style chakra? That's quite interesting."

Seeing Hyuga Shinichi about to salute and offer flattery, Jiraiya spoke first.

"No need for such politeness with me. Just treat me like an older brother, same as Nawaki does."

Hyuga Shinichi laughed and scratched his head.

"Alright, Big Brother Jiraiya. I was just bored and messing around; the technique isn't mature yet."

"Oh, is that so? To me, it already looks quite impressive. It's a shame you've already taken Uzumaki Mito as your master, otherwise, I'd want to take you on as a student myself."

Hearing Jiraiya's desire to take on a student, and recalling the disciples Jiraiya took in the original story, a blond-haired boy appeared in Hyuga Shinichi's mind.

"Big Brother Jiraiya, if you're looking for a student, I can recommend someone to you. His talent is quite good."

In the original story, Jiraiya should have taken Namikaze Minato as his first student. Namikaze Minato graduated before the Second Shinobi World War broke out, and his team leader was undoubtedly Jiraiya. Later, when the war started, they headed to the battlefield, met Yahiko and his two companions, and eventually took the three of them as students for three years.

This meant Namikaze Minato had been left to grow on his own in the village for a few years waiting for Jiraiya. However, since Jiraiya had the intention to take a student now, he could introduce Namikaze Minato to him early.

In truth, Hyuga Shinichi had considered taking Namikaze Minato as a student himself, but he was already a disciple of Uzumaki Mito and had plenty of ninjutsu and swordsmanship to research and develop. He couldn't even master sealing techniques yet—having only learned the Yin Seal—so he truly had no time to teach Namikaze Minato.

It was better to let his original teacher, Jiraiya, handle it. When the time came, he could still teach him a trick or two as his big brother.

"Oh? If even you think his talent is good, then I'll have to take a look."

"Heh heh, I definitely won't let you down, Big Brother Jiraiya."

Hyuga Shinichi chatted with Jiraiya while cooking, and the latter even helped him with the prep work. A sumptuous dinner was soon ready.

After the other dishes were served, the star of the show, the fragrant Beer Duck, was brought to the table.

Hyuga Shinichi carried the Beer Duck out and, seeing everyone already seated and waiting for the final dish, smiled and invited them to serve their rice and eat.

Everyone tasted the delicious duck meat, praised Hyuga Shinichi's culinary skills one after another, and began to enjoy the hearty dinner.

During the meal, everyone laughed and chatted, drinking a little wine and discussing various interesting anecdotes. Of course, Hyuga Shinichi and Nawaki were not yet of age to drink alcohol, so they drank freshly squeezed fruit juice with Uzumaki Mito.

The banquet lasted until after ten in the evening. Everyone who had been drinking, except for Orochimaru, was tipsy. Dan Katō, whose tolerance was particularly poor, was goaded into a glass by a high-spirited Tsunade and passed out on the table.

Tsunade eventually had to find Jiraiya to compete in drinking; if the food hadn't run out, the two of them might have drunk until dawn.

In the end, everyone stayed overnight at the Senju compound instead of going home. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Dan Katō all slept in the guest rooms.

The next morning, sunlight spilled into the room through the window.

Jiraiya was the first to wake up; he stretched and walked out of the room.

Dan Katō was still fast asleep in his room, while Orochimaru was nowhere to be found. Jiraiya shook his head, thinking that Orochimaru was always coming and going like a ghost.

At this time, Hyuga Shinichi was already up and practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. Seeing this scene through the window, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh.

"What a diligent child."

Jiraiya walked into the courtyard to watch Hyuga Shinichi practice. Before long, Uzumaki Mito also arrived.

"Good morning, Lady Mito."

"It's Jiraiya. Good morning."

The two watched Hyuga Shinichi practice together, and Jiraiya couldn't help but exclaim.

"Shinichi's swordsmanship is highly accomplished; it's almost on par with Sakumo."

"Hmm, Shinichi's talent for swordsmanship is quite good, but swordsmanship alone is not enough. In terms of ninjutsu, he only knows Wind Style and some basics, and he hasn't been able to learn a single sealing technique I've taught him.

As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, for my disciple to be unable to learn sealing techniques—what kind of situation is this?"

Jiraiya's mouth twitched upon hearing this. He thought to himself that for Hyuga Shinichi to know swordsmanship at this age—and it looked like his ninjutsu was quite good, too—plus his ability to flexibly use the Byakugan, and the fact that he had heard the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist allowed Hyuga Shinichi to perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms...

This talent could already be considered overwhelming for his peers. He might even become a Special Jonin soon. At Shinichi's age, he was still busy peeking at others bathing.

Hyuga Shinichi noticed the two after finishing his practice and immediately ran over.

"Good morning, Grandma and Big Brother Jiraiya."

"Hmm."

Just as Jiraiya was about to speak, something unusual suddenly occurred.

Watching the center of Hyuga Shinichi's sweat-drenched forehead, Jiraiya could sense a massive amount of chakra rapidly converging there.

It slowly formed a diamond-shaped mark that flashed with a brilliant cyan light, which then gradually faded, leaving a cyan diamond-shaped mark imprinted in the center of Hyuga Shinichi's forehead.

"Is this the Yin Seal?"

Jiraiya was astonished by the sheer volume of chakra stored within the Yin Seal, and thinking of Hyuga Shinichi's age dealt him yet another blow.

"Shinichi, do you feel anything unusual?"

Uzumaki Mito asked with concern, and Hyuga Shinichi shook his head with an excited smile.

"I've never felt better, Grandma. The Yin Seal is finally a success."

"Good, as long as you're fine. By the way, you can try that technique now."

Jiraiya couldn't help but think, There's more? Where exactly is the limit for a guy like Hyuga Shinichi? Geniuses really are annoying.

"Alright, Grandma, I'll give it a try right now."

After saying this, Hyuga Shinichi ran away from the two of them, closed his eyes, and began forming hand seals.

Jiraiya could sense Hyuga Shinichi beginning to circulate chakra and focus it toward his eyes. Is it the Byakugan? But hadn't Hyuga Shinichi already mastered that long ago?