Bold Idea

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

During the holiday, Ryusuke trained hard at home as usual.

With several poofs, white smoke filled the living room.

Once the smoke dispersed, two identical copies of Ryusuke appeared beside him.

The two Shadow Clones immediately got to work.

One sat cross-legged on the tatami, practicing hand seals.

The other flipped through books, studying.

Ryusuke himself warmed up on the spot, preparing to train his body.

"Ryusuke, are you home?"

"Ryusuke, we came to play with you!"

Just then, shouts came from outside the balcony.

Hearing those familiar voices, Ryusuke immediately smiled helplessly.

He did not ignore them. Instead, he opened the balcony door and looked toward the entrance of his home.

There, two small figures dressed in winter clothes and bundled up tightly waved their mittened little hands at him.

Both were girls the same age as Ryusuke.

One had blond hair, the other pink hair, and both had green eyes of varying shades.

That was right. They were Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, two of Konoha 12 and members of Ryusuke's current circle.

As the saying went, cast a wide net to catch more fish.

Before awakening his golden finger, Ryusuke's goal had been to become a minor supporting character, leave a deep impression on Naruto before graduation, strive to survive through Shippuden, then secure a decent position in Boruto and marry a pretty, busty female supporting character. That would have been enough for him.

But if he wanted to survive, even knowing how the plot would unfold, he still needed a certain amount of luck and strength.

That was why all the golden girls of this generation had become Ryusuke's targets.

Ino and Sakura were merely two of them.

When he was three, Ryusuke had even waited for several days in the snowy night just to encounter a lost little princess and make a good first impression.

These young ladies and future disciples of the Three Sannin would only need to offer Ryusuke a little benefit in the future for him to gain immensely.

If he could latch onto a powerful backer and live off a woman, that would be even better.

Now that he had turned things around, Ryusuke had no intention of cutting contact with them just because he no longer needed to win their favor to survive.

He had worked so hard to build up that affection. How could he possibly give up halfway through?

Authors who wrote stories where they gave away their girls deserved to be burned alive.

Now that his strength had grown and he had become more confident, his thoughts should naturally become bolder.

Looking at the two little girls below, their faces flushed red and their smiles bright, a classic "Santa Claus" scene suddenly surfaced in Ryusuke's mind.

So he raised a hand in response. "Wait a moment. I'll be right down."

After saying that, Ryusuke returned to his room and put on winter clothes. Ignoring the disdainful looks from his two Shadow Clones, he quickly left the house.

"Ryusuke, let's go find someone for a snowball fight!"

"Better not. Wet clothes are hard to wash."

"It's fine. I'll take them home and wash them for you."

"That's even scarier. I'm afraid your dad will kill me."

"Huh? Why would Dad kill you if I wash your clothes?"

"..."

Walking down streets blanketed in goose-feather snow, the lively Ino chatted with Ryusuke.

Sakura, who likely had not yet awakened her second personality, quietly and shyly watched the two of them.

After turning down Ino's various childish games, Ryusuke looked at the villagers shoveling snow and suddenly had an idea. "Got it. I thought of a really fun game. Do you want to play?"

"Sure, sure..."

Ino immediately raised her hand in agreement.

She did not care what the game was, as long as Ryusuke and Sakura were playing with her.

"Mhm, mhm..." Sakura nodded repeatedly as well.

Seeing that they both agreed, Ryusuke immediately led them away from the main street and into a forest.

After finding a large tree with thick snow piled beneath it, Ryusuke smiled at Ino and Sakura. "Let's climb trees."

"Huh... What's fun about climbing trees?"

Ino's expectant expression instantly turned disappointed.

Sakura felt the same way.

Ryusuke could not help but smile. "This isn't ordinary tree climbing."

Under the girls' puzzled gazes, Ryusuke suddenly formed the Boar Sign with both hands.

Then, he stepped toward the tree.

An unbelievable sight immediately appeared before Ino and Sakura.

Ryusuke's body seemed to break free of gravity's restraints. His feet walked freely along the trunk, his body stretched sideways through the air.

It was their first time encountering a technique that even the Ninja Academy did not teach. Ino and Sakura both opened their mouths wide, staring at Ryusuke in shock.

Once Ryusuke came down and the two girls recovered their senses, their beautiful eyes immediately sparkled as they looked at him.

"Ryusuke, how did you do that just now?"

Ino asked excitedly, "Was that ninjutsu?"

"No. It's just a method of controlling chakra."

Ryusuke lied without batting an eye. "A while ago, when I was cleaning the house, I accidentally found Father's ninja journal. It recorded his life as a ninja, and I learned that the techniques ninjas use to run across roofs and walls are actually done by gathering chakra in their feet."

"I also practiced for a long time before learning this technique."

"I see."

Ino and Sakura immediately understood.

"Gather chakra in my feet? I'll try it too."

Ino said eagerly. Just like Ryusuke, she formed the Boar Sign with both hands, gathered chakra in her feet, and walked toward the tree.

However, the moment one foot stepped on the bark and the other had just lifted, Ino's body tipped backward.

Before Ino could cry out, a hand pressed against her back and steadied her tilting body.

"Stay focused and control the chakra to stick to the trunk."

After reminding her, Ryusuke smiled reassuringly. "Don't be afraid of falling. I'll catch you."

"Okay!"

The fear still lingering on Ino's face immediately turned into excitement.

Then she began trying over and over again. Each time she fell backward, Ryusuke either caught her with his hands or she tumbled into his arms.

Only when her chakra was nearly depleted did Ino finally manage to lift both feet off the ground and walk several steps up the tree before falling.

"I did it, Ryusuke! I did it!"

Ino shouted excitedly as she fell into Ryusuke's arms.

"Amazing. I couldn't even get both feet off the ground until the second day. Ino, you learned much faster than I did."

Ryusuke praised her without hesitation, then poured cold water on her excitement. "But this still doesn't count as success. Only when you can walk freely on trees, walls, and even water will you have truly succeeded."

Hearing that, Ino immediately calmed down.

Yet her beautiful eyes still shone brilliantly as she told Ryusuke, "Ryusuke, this game is so much fun!"