Dinner

When they arrived in the kitchen, Hyuga Shinichi first bled and plucked the duck, then cleaned it. Finally, he gutted it, removed the organs, and washed it again before setting it on the cutting board.

Hyuga Shinichi picked up a kitchen knife, ready to show off his superb knife skills. Then he suddenly thought of a move he'd been developing lately: instead of using a sword, he could shape his palm into a blade and swing it to launch a sword-like chakra attack.

The principle was the same as the Chakra Scalpel. He could add Wind Release chakra to it and swing with force, launching a small blade of chakra like Wind-Cutting Slash. It wouldn't hit as hard as Wind-Cutting Slash, though, so he'd named it Wind Release: Wind-Cutting Hand Blade.

"Should I try cutting the duck with Wind-Cutting Hand Blade? It's not stable yet, though, so I'd better try it with just one finger first."

Once he'd decided, he closed his eyes and focused, raising his right hand as he tried to concentrate chakra in his index finger. A small patch of blue-green chakra, about the size of a fingernail, enveloped the tip.

He lightly swiped at the duck. A thread-thin streak of blue-green chakra shot from his fingertip, slicing the duck in half. The chakra vanished just before it reached the cutting board.

"Hahaha, I'd better just cut the duck the old-fashioned way. Controlling the chakra would take time, and everyone's waiting."

Hyuga Shinichi laughed and gave up on using Wind-Cutting Hand Blade. He picked up the kitchen knife and deftly cut the duck into pieces.

Just then, Jiraiya came into the kitchen.

"Was that a change in the nature of the Chakra Scalpel, with Wind Release chakra added? That's pretty interesting."

Seeing Hyuga Shinichi about to bow and offer him a compliment, Jiraiya spoke first.

"You don't have to be so formal with me. Just treat me like an older brother, like Nawaki does."

Hyuga Shinichi laughed and scratched his head.

"Sure thing, Big Brother Jiraiya. I was just bored and decided to give it a try. The technique's not ready yet."

"Oh, is that so? It looked pretty impressive to me. It's a shame you've already taken Lady Mito as your teacher. Otherwise, I'd want to take you on as a student too."

Hearing that Jiraiya wanted to take on a student, Hyuga Shinichi thought of the students Jiraiya had taken in the original story. A blond-haired boy came to mind.

"Big Brother Jiraiya, if you're looking for a student, I can recommend someone. He's got a lot of talent, too."

In the original story, Jiraiya should have taken Namikaze Minato as his student first. Minato had graduated before the Second Shinobi World War even began, and Jiraiya was probably his Jonin team leader. Once the war broke out, they'd headed to the battlefield, where Jiraiya met Yahiko and the others. Later, he took all three on as students and taught them for three years.

That meant Minato had been left to grow on his own in the village while waiting years for Jiraiya. But now that Jiraiya was thinking about taking on a student, Shinichi could introduce Minato to him early.

Actually, Shinichi had considered taking Minato on as his own student, too. But he was already a student of Uzumaki Mito, and he still had plenty of ninjutsu and sword techniques to study and develop. He hadn't even mastered Sealing Jutsu yet; all he'd learned was the Yin Seal. He really didn't have time to teach Minato.

It was better to let Jiraiya, his teacher in the original story, teach him. Shinichi could always show him a few tricks later, as his big brother.

"Oh? If even you think he's talented, then I'd be happy to meet him."

"Heh heh, I'm sure he won't disappoint you, Big Brother Jiraiya."

Hyuga Shinichi cooked while chatting with Jiraiya, who helped him with the preparations. Before long, they'd made a sumptuous dinner.

Once the other dishes had been served, the star of the meal—the fragrant beer-braised duck—was brought to the table.

Hyuga Shinichi carried the beer-braised duck out. Everyone was already seated, waiting for the last dish, so he smiled and invited them to serve themselves and start eating.

Everyone tasted the delicious duck and praised Hyuga Shinichi's cooking, enjoying the lavish dinner.

They chatted and laughed over drinks, swapping all kinds of amusing stories. Of course, Hyuga Shinichi and Nawaki were too young to drink, so they had freshly squeezed juice with Uzumaki Mito instead.

Dinner went on until after ten that night. Apart from Orochimaru, almost everyone who'd been drinking was thoroughly tipsy. Dan Katō couldn't hold his liquor; Tsunade, already in high spirits, got him to down a glass, and he promptly passed out at the table.

After that, Tsunade could only find Jiraiya to compete with her in drinking. If they hadn't run out of food, the two of them probably would've drunk all night.

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

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and spilled across the room.

Jiraiya woke first. He stretched and walked out of the room.

Dan Katō was still fast asleep inside, while Orochimaru had vanished without a trace. Jiraiya shook his head, thinking that Orochimaru was always disappearing without warning.

By then, Hyuga Shinichi was already up, practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard. Jiraiya saw him through the window and couldn't help but marvel.

"What a hardworking kid."

Jiraiya went out into the courtyard to watch Hyuga Shinichi practice. Before long, Uzumaki Mito joined them.

"Good morning, Lady Mito."

"Jiraiya, good morning."

The two of them watched Hyuga Shinichi practice his swordsmanship. Jiraiya couldn't help but remark,

"Shinichi's swordsmanship is superb. He's almost on Sakumo's level."

"Mm, Shinichi has a real talent for swordsmanship. But swordsmanship alone isn't enough. He only knows Wind Release Ninjutsu and a few basic techniques, and he hasn't been able to learn a single Sealing Jutsu I've taught him.

"As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, I can't even teach my student Sealing Jutsu. What kind of thing is that?"

Jiraiya's mouth twitched as he listened. Shinichi could use swordsmanship at his age, and from the looks of it, he was pretty good at ninjutsu too. He could use the Byakugan with ease, and Jiraiya had also heard that Shinichi could use the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist and even perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

His talent already put him far ahead of other kids his age, and he might even become a Special Jonin soon. At Shinichi's age, Jiraiya himself had still been sneaking peeks at women bathing.

Once Hyuga Shinichi finished practicing, he noticed the two of them and immediately ran over.

"Good morning, Grandma and Big Brother Jiraiya."

"Mm."

Just as Jiraiya was about to speak, something unusual happened.

As he looked at the sweat-dampened spot at the center of Shinichi's forehead, Jiraiya sensed a huge amount of chakra rapidly gathering there.

It slowly formed into a diamond-shaped mark that flashed with a brilliant blue-green light. Then the glow gradually faded, leaving a blue-green diamond-shaped mark at the center of Shinichi's forehead.

"So this is the Yin Seal?"

Jiraiya was astonished by the amount of chakra stored in the Yin Seal. When he thought about Shinichi's age, he couldn't help feeling another blow to his confidence.

"Shinichi, do you feel anything unusual?"

Uzumaki Mito asked with concern. Hyuga Shinichi grinned excitedly and shook his head.

"I feel better than ever, Grandma. I finally got the Yin Seal to work."

"Mm, as long as you're all right. Oh, you can try that technique now, too."

Jiraiya couldn't help thinking, There's more? Where does this kid's potential end? Talented people really are annoying.

"Okay, Grandma. I'll try it now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hyuga Shinichi ran some distance away from the two of them, closed his eyes, and began forming hand seals.

Jiraiya sensed chakra begin to flow through Hyuga Shinichi and gather around his eyes. The Byakugan? But hasn't Shinichi been able to use that for ages?