Tenten's Special Training Invitation

Takuma did not tell anyone about his meeting with the Third Hokage. Talking about it would only make people worry, and it wouldn't change anything.

Takuma was practicing Taijutsu against a wooden post in the training ground when a voice drifted over from the entrance.

"I knew you'd be here."

Tenten stood at the gate of the training ground, wearing her usual light-colored casual outfit with her ninja tool pouch slung across her waist. She wasn't carrying her usual large scroll, just a small cloth bag in her hand.

"You haven't been to the shop in days." Tenten walked into the training ground, glancing at the gravel and the crooked wooden posts scattered across the ground. "My dad even asked if you'd gone out on a mission."

"I've just been training."

"I can see that." Tenten kicked a piece of a wooden post that had split in two. "Do you have a grudge against these posts?"

Takuma didn't respond. He walked to the side of the field, took a few gulps from his water bottle, and wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Tenten's gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds. Then, she set down her cloth bag, pulled out two Shuriken, and tossed one to Takuma.

"Train with me."

"...Huh?"

"Guy is taking Neji and Lee into the mountains for intensive training, and I don't have anyone to help me practice throwing." Tenten held three Shuriken in each hand and tilted her chin at him. "I'll teach you advanced ninja tool throwing techniques, and you spar with me. How about it? Not a bad deal, right?"

"Why don't you find the others from Team Guy?"

"I just told you, they're at intensive training." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Besides, you know how Neji is; sparring with him is just a one-sided beating. Lee doesn't know his own strength—last time he sprained my wrist for a week. After thinking it over, you're the most suitable."

"Because I'm more durable?"

"And you still owe me money for ninja tools. Consider this interest."

"...Are you a devil?"

"I'm a creditor."

Takuma was speechless. He set his water bottle back on the ground, walked to the center of the training ground, and stood face-to-face with Tenten.

"What are we practicing first?"

"Ninja tool throwing." Tenten pulled a Kunai from her pouch and spun it in her hand. "I've seen your throwing basics. Your aim is decent, but you only throw in straight lines. Real ninja tool throwing requires learning how to make the tools change trajectory in mid-air."

As soon as she finished speaking, she flicked her wrist. The Kunai flew from her hand, tracing an arc through the air, bypassing Takuma's side, and embedding itself into the back of the wooden post behind him.

Takuma looked back. There was nothing on the front of the post; the Kunai had curved into an angle he couldn't see.

"This is called an arc throw." Tenten pulled out another Shuriken. "By controlling the release angle and rotation speed, you make the tool travel in an arc. It's easy to start but hard to master, but for someone like you who likes to charge head-on, it's incredibly practical. You use the front to attract attention while the arc attack hits the blind spot."

Takuma took the Shuriken she handed him and weighed it. It was a standard issue, no special modifications. In other words, that arc was purely a matter of technique, having nothing to do with the tool itself.

Takuma aimed at the wooden post in front of him, recalling the angle Tenten had used, and put force into his wrist. The Shuriken left his hand, barely managing a slight curve in the air before being deflected by the post.

"Your wrist is too stiff." Tenten walked over and gripped his wrist. "When throwing in a straight line, your wrist is locked, but for an arc throw, you have to loosen your wrist at the moment of release, letting the Shuriken fly with spin. Like this..."

She held Takuma's wrist and guided him through the motion twice.

Takuma tried again, following her instructions. This time, the arc of the Shuriken was much more pronounced than before. Although it was still off-target, it at least grazed the side of the post.

"Progress. Keep practicing. One hundred times."

"One hundred times?"

"It's only a hundred. When I first learned this, I threw five hundred times a day, and I couldn't even lift my arms the next day." Tenten walked over to the railing and sat down, her legs dangling in the air. "Throw. I'm watching."

Takuma resigned himself to the practice.

Shuriken flew from his hand one after another. Some had arcs too wide and flew out of the training ground, some didn't have enough spin and wobbled flat, and some barely managed an arc but were wildly off-target. Tenten sat on the railing, calling out corrections from time to time.

After about fifty throws, Takuma finally landed his first successful arc. The Shuriken traced a beautiful crescent in the air, bypassed the front of the post, and embedded itself into the side.

"You're a fast learner." Tenten stood with her hands on her hips, looking satisfied. "As expected of someone personally coached by yours truly."

"Yes, yes, Teacher Tenten is amazing."

"That's right." Tenten ignored the perfunctory tone in his voice and walked to the center of the training ground to loosen her shoulders. "Alright, now it's your turn to spar with me."

"Spar what?"

"Combat." Tenten turned around and took a fighting stance. "Pure Taijutsu, no Ninjutsu. You attack, I defend."

Takuma frowned. "Are you sure?"

"What's with that look? Looking down on my Taijutsu?"

"It's not looking down." Takuma carefully chose his words. "But isn't your strength in ninja tool throwing?"

"I know." Tenten interrupted him, her tone calm. "My Taijutsu is indeed much worse than Neji's or Lee's. But precisely because it's worse, I need to practice it more. On the battlefield, enemies won't stop getting close just because I'm not good at Taijutsu."

Takuma nodded and took a basic fighting stance, not rushing to attack. The two circled each other in the center of the training ground, testing each other's positioning.

Takuma moved first.

He lunged forward, his right fist aiming straight for Tenten's face.

Tenten parried to the side while driving her left knee toward his abdomen. The angle was tricky, but the force was clearly lacking. Takuma pressed down on her knee with his palm and used the leverage to step back.

"Your center of gravity is too far forward when you punch." Tenten didn't pursue, instead standing in place to critique him. "If I had dodged that and swept your legs, you would have already fallen."

"...Didn't you say you'd defend while I attack?"

"I can point out your flaws while defending, can't I?" Tenten said righteously. "Again."

After sparring for a while longer, Tenten grew tired, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. "Your stamina is monstrous. You're not even breathing hard."

"Born with it."

"Are all people from the Senju clan like this?"

Takuma paused slightly. Tenten had said it casually, as if it were just a passing question. She probably just meant to express that his family had great stamina and didn't mean to pry into the Senju bloodline.

"...Pretty much." He gave a vague reply.

Tenten didn't press the issue, her tone suddenly turning serious.

"Hey, if something is bothering you, you can tell me."

"You've been acting strange these past few days." Tenten set down her water bottle and looked him in the eye. "You've always been intense with your training, but you wouldn't go days without coming to the shop. And the way you look at people has changed, like you're guarding against something."

Takuma was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected Tenten to notice these things.

But the Third Hokage's words still echoed in his ears—"Danzo is only one of them." The severity of this matter couldn't be explained away with a simple "I'm being watched." Besides, dragging Tenten into this would do no good.

"It's nothing major," he said. "The Chunin Exams are coming up, and I'm just feeling a bit of pressure."

"Fine." Tenten's tone was clearly skeptical. "But if you ever feel like the pressure is too much to handle, remember to come to the shop. My dad just got a new batch of special ninja tools; maybe they can help you relieve some stress."

"...Are you trying to sell me ninja tools?"

"Of course." Tenten said righteously. "Caring for a childhood friend and expanding my customer base aren't mutually exclusive."

Takuma couldn't help but laugh.