Chapter 36

"Captain, we have complete faith in your strength. Please guide us in this team." As soon as Saitama finished speaking, Yan and Huo rose to their feet and bowed respectfully once more.

"Uh, you're making me feel a little uncomfortable instead." Saitama waved a hand, signaling that they needn't be so formal, then pointed at the other team members peeking over from the training ground.

The Uchiha brothers followed his gaze and quickly composed themselves, returning to their usual demeanor.

"Now that we're a team, I hope we can support each other and become people one another can rely on." Saitama walked up to them. There was not much difference in their heights; the brothers were only half a head taller than him.

"By the way, how tall are you?" Saitama gave them a once-over and suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" The two were briefly stunned, though they maintained serious expressions.

"I'm about 1.8 meters. Huo is a little shorter than me, probably around 1.78." Uchiha Yan first looked at the top of Saitama's head, then glanced at his older brother beside him, sounding slightly hesitant.

"Oh, you're pretty tall! This captain of yours is still a little short!" Saitama's expression remained unchanged as he headed out of the pavilion.

I'm still young. I'll grow taller later, so there's no need to envy them now, Saitama muttered inwardly. Though he was more mature than his peers, his age was what it was, and his height had yet to settle.

"Do you want to stay here a while and have dinner together tonight, or head back first and make plans another day? I still need to train for a bit, and it's still early." As Saitama walked, he occasionally turned back to speak to the brothers following behind him.

"We'll train with you, Captain," Uchiha Huo suggested. Yan beside him also looked at Saitama with blazing eyes.

"Sure. It'll be a good chance to see what you can do!" Saitama paused briefly before agreeing.

His suggestion of dinner had only been polite small talk. He had not expected the two, whom he had just met, to be so unreserved, but that suited him perfectly. Team coordination could start with a meal—as long as the team members were paying, haha!

A sly glint flashed through Saitama's eyes as he led the two deeper into the training ground.

"Saitama, you're back?" Shisui was sparring with Nagisa. When they saw him return, the two stopped.

"These are my teammates, Uchiha Huo and Uchiha Yan. They're brothers." Saitama gestured toward the two who had turned their attention over.

"Hello! I'm Shisui, and this is Nagisa."

"Nice to meet you!"

Though Shisui and Nagisa looked especially tiny standing before the brothers, both sides greeted each other amicably.

The brothers did not look down on them because of the height difference—the fight just now had already proven that these two children were not to be underestimated.

"You two keep practicing. I'll take them over there for a spar." Saitama waved his hand.

"Understood!" Shisui and Nagisa exchanged glances.

"Come at me together. Let me see what you can do." There was not the slightest trace of contempt in Saitama's voice.

He had already noticed how seamlessly the brothers worked together. Fighting jointly was their true strength. To accurately assess their abilities, he had to see the style of combat they excelled at most.

"Please teach us!" Yan and Huo exchanged looks and nodded, entirely unsurprised by the proposal. They had long heard of Captain Saitama's strength; after all, he commanded a jōnin squad despite being a chūnin himself.

The brothers took up positions on opposite sides, staring intently at Saitama, who stood some distance away with a hand resting on his sword.

"Since you aren't making the first move—" Saitama slowly curled his fingers around the hilt, chakra gathering beneath his feet, "then I will!"

The instant the sound of him kicking off the ground rang out, his figure shot forward like an arrow released from the bow.

"Watch out!" The tomoe in Yan's eyes spun rapidly as he tried to lock onto the afterimage.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! Uchiha Huo activated his Sharingan at the same time, and a blazing fireball howled through the air.

Saitama sharply twisted his body, nimbly evading the fireball's path.

Clang, clang, clang! The moment he left the flames' range, the incoming shuriken slicing through the air were all blocked by his longsword.

Smart tactics, Saitama praised inwardly as he advanced. Use Fire Release to obscure sight and sound, then launch a silent attack with ninja tools.

The twenty-meter distance vanished in an instant, and his blade was already slashing toward Uchiha Huo's face.

"Clang!" A kunai barely caught the strike.

"I forgot to mention..." The corners of Saitama's lips curled up slightly as lightning surged along his blade. "I'm rather good at Lightning Release."

Amid the piercing crackle of electricity, the struck figure burst into white smoke and vanished.

"A Shadow Clone? Did he swap out when the Fire Release ended?" Without withdrawing his blade, Saitama swung his fierce strike toward Uchiha Yan behind him. "Then where's the real body?"

Uchiha Yan had clearly underestimated how effectively his older brother's Shadow Clone could hold Saitama back. Saitama was only delayed for a moment before charging at him again. As Yan hastily retreated, the blade was already hurtling toward his throat with a sharp whistle.

With a thunderous roar, the ground suddenly collapsed beneath Saitama, making his body sway slightly. Yan seized the opportunity and rapidly formed hand seals, his scarlet Sharingan locking onto its target. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique!" Blazing fireballs poured down like a rainstorm.

A cold gleam suddenly flashed through the smoke, and a sword hilt was already pressed against Yan's lower back. Cold sweat slid down the boy's temple—the Body Flicker Technique just now had been faster than he had expected.

"The one hiding should show himself now, shouldn't he?" Before Saitama finished speaking, the soil beneath his feet suddenly churned. "Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!" The instant Uchiha Huo burst from the ground, Saitama's body had already sunk underground.

"Got him!" Huo was about to celebrate when he saw his brother's expression abruptly change. As the white smoke dispersed, lightning-wreathed blades were already held at both brothers' throats. Dancing arcs of electricity illuminated their stunned faces—their supposedly exquisite coordination was ultimately futile before absolute strength.

"You work well together, and your movements are highly coordinated. Ordinary jōnin probably wouldn't gain much of an advantage against you." Saitama sheathed his longsword and casually tied it at his waist.

Uchiha Huo immediately flattered him. "Captain, your strength truly lives up to your reputation. You must be among the best even among jōnin, right?"

"Haha!" Saitama laughed, patting his arm and brushing off the dust. "Train with me a little longer. We'll eat after we're done."

Saitama's expression turned serious, his tone resolute. Their combined attacks had indeed put pressure on him, and this relentless offensive was perfect for further honing his Body Flicker Technique. This ninjutsu felt surprisingly natural to use.

Though he had mastered a simplified version of Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the Body Flicker Technique he had learned from Shisui was clearly more suitable for him now in terms of chakra consumption and side effects. However, the version Saitama was practicing had already been improved—he concentrated chakra beneath his feet and used instantaneous bursts to achieve high-speed movement. This method was not original, but without the dynamic vision of an advanced Sharingan, ordinary people simply could not control such speed.

"Alright!" Uchiha Yan agreed without hesitation, reacting even faster than Uchiha Huo. To him, victory or defeat did not matter; what mattered was learning real combat techniques from the battle-hardened Saitama. After all, he and Uchiha Huo were both still newcomers to the battlefield.

The three sparred until after five in the evening. Seeing that it was getting late, Saitama called for them to pack up their gear and took the two out for barbecue. He had Nagisa return and tell Granny Xiang that he would not be home for dinner that night. Nagisa and Shisui could not come along because they had matters at home.

"Captain... are we still ordering more?" Uchiha Huo swallowed, looking rather uneasy.

The plates before Uchiha Yan had already piled into a small mountain. He indicated that he was full and was now watching Saitama's personal performance with great interest.

"What, are you both full?" Saitama dipped the last slice of meat on the grill in sauce and swallowed it in one bite.

"Yes, Captain. Please enjoy yourself." Looking at Saitama's face, Uchiha Huo thought of how he would be serving under him from now on and swallowed the words that had reached his lips. He casually added more meat to Saitama's grill.

The table and the nearby rack were piled with plates, some completely empty and others still holding freshly served raw meat.

"This is already the sixtieth plate..." Uchiha Huo's eye twitched as he suddenly recalled how Saitama had talked him into treating them when they entered the restaurant.

As his thoughts churned, Uchiha Huo looked at Captain Saitama, who was still focused on eating, and felt his eyes sting.

"This will cost me several days' wages!" Uchiha Huo continued turning the meat on the grill, repeatedly signaling to Uchiha Yan at the next seat with his eyes. Unfortunately, Yan kept staring blankly at the empty plates.

I'll just consider it a tribute to my superior, Uchiha Huo sighed resignedly and simply accepted his fate.

"Owner, another ten servings!" Seeing the newly grilled meat vanish into Saitama's stomach once again, Uchiha Huo decisively added to the order.

"Coming right up!" The owner grinned from ear to ear. Every visit from this customer brought in big business, and he was considering getting Saitama a VIP card.

"Not bad, Huo." With his cheeks puffed out, Saitama gave him a thumbs-up. His grease-shiny chopsticks swayed beneath the lights.

"As long as you're enjoying the meal, Captain." Uchiha Huo forced a smile, catching the schadenfreude glittering in Uchiha Yan's eyes from the corner of his vision.

The meat on the grill sizzled as fat dripped onto the charcoal, sending wisps of white smoke into the air. Saitama watched the slices gradually turn golden with full concentration. The hunger after training made the barbecue seem especially delicious.

"Let's eat!" A booming voice suddenly came from the next table. Uchiha Huo turned and saw a father and son in green jumpsuits sitting across from each other.

The middle-aged man placed grilled meat into the boy's bowl. "After you finish these, the flames of youth will burn even brighter!"

"Yeah!" The boy's eyes gleamed as he dug in, then he suddenly stopped. "Father, why aren't you eating?"

"Hahaha, of course I am! Youth must not be faked!" The man hurriedly picked up a slice of meat and dipped it in sauce.

Guy buried his head in his meal. Seeing that Duy had begun using his chopsticks as well, he continued wolfing down food. But he did not notice that Duy's chopsticks barely moved. Even when he occasionally picked up food, his motions were as slow as a replay in slow motion.

Uchiha Huo casually glanced at the next table. To him, this noisy father and son were nothing more than random passersby.

Saitama's chopsticks suddenly stopped in midair. His gaze passed over the sizzling grill and landed on the green-clad genin—Might Duy was using the tips of his chopsticks to nudge the rice in his bowl. As the eternal last-place student, Duy's savings were probably even poorer than his ninjutsu. The meager pay from D-rank missions had to fill the stomachs of two taijutsu fanatics and cover the medical bills brought on by high-intensity training. Even with shinobi subsidies, it was far from enough.

"Guy! After we eat, twenty laps around the village for special training!" Duy suddenly speared a slice of meat with his chopsticks. The meat trembled in the lamplight.

"Mission accepted!" Guy snatched the meat from his father's chopsticks in one bite, grease splattering onto his thick eyebrows.

"Now that's the spirit!" Duy smiled and put his empty chopsticks into his mouth, as if chewing the most precious delicacy in the world.

When the grease on the grill burst and crackled, Saitama tapped the iron plate with the end of his chopsticks. Uchiha Huo snapped out of it and hurriedly laid the raw meat on the grill—he had been too busy studying that strange father-son pair. Yan was also sneaking glances at the two in green, racking his brain to recall the ninja registry, yet he could not remember anyone like them.

By the time Saitama had swept through his fifth plate of barbecue, Duy and Guy had only reached their second bowls. When Saitama stood, he deliberately passed by their table and saw Duy's chopsticks hovering over Guy's bowl, the meat nearly cold.

"Put it on my tab." Saitama flicked a coin onto the counter, where it spun across the wooden surface in a blur.

"That customer paid for all of you." The plates of meat the owner brought over stacked into a small mountain on the table, and Duy's thick eyebrows nearly shot up beneath his forehead protector. He turned toward the now-empty entrance, where the glass still reflected Guy wolfing down food.

"The young man who just left is a regular here, from the Uchiha clan. He's a pretty good person," the owner said as he cleared the dishes.

"I see. Thank you, sir." The image of that smiling back surfaced in Duy's mind.

"No need to thank me. It wasn't my treat. Enjoy yourselves, I need to get back to work." The owner waved his hand and returned to the counter.

"Alright!" Duy answered cheerfully. Guy stared at the suddenly added barbecue, his eyes shining.

"Guy, this is a gift along the path of youth. Eat to your heart's content!" Duy no longer declined. Now that he knew whose kindness it was, he accepted it openly.

"Yeah, Dad!" Guy grinned, his white teeth flashing before he lowered his head and began devouring the food.

With Saitama's generous help, Duy no longer held back. After all, thirty full plates of barbecue were enough to give them a proper feast.

"Let's eat!"

"Yeah!"

The aroma of barbecue was filled with a fervent atmosphere, while the owner behind the counter looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

"Captain, was there something special about that father and son? You even treated them to a meal."