Teaching the Low-Key Way · Meeting the Father-in-Law

The school bell carried winter's chill into the classroom. Pencil cases on the desks snapped shut one after another with soft clicks.

Some unknown tree outside the window was somehow blooming even within the grotto-heaven. It swayed in the wind, shedding several pink-white petals.

One petal happened to drift past the window, so Uchiha Hara gently blew on it. The petal fluttered into the classroom and landed right on the tip of Kurenai Yuhi's hair. She was lowering her head to pack her books, fingers pinching the edge of her notebook, even the tips of her ears betraying a barely noticeable tension.

"Kurenai." Uchiha Hara had just stuffed the last scroll into his schoolbag. He casually straightened her crooked bag strap. "Are you going straight home later?"

Kurenai Yuhi abruptly looked up. Her rose-colored eyes brightened, then quickly lowered again as she said softly, "Father said... if you're free tonight, he'd like to invite you over for dinner. I-if you have something to do, we can do it another day!"

After saying that, she hurriedly added more, afraid of putting him in a difficult spot, though her cheeks quietly turned red.

For some reason, Kurenai had clearly been the one to make the first move, yet the more time they spent together, the shyer she became.

"I'm free. Of course I'm free." Uchiha Hara smiled and plucked the cherry blossom petal from her hair.

"But dinner's still a while away. Want to come spend some time at my place first? You'd be alone at home anyway, and Uncle Shinku is probably still out on a mission, right?"

"Yeah! Father usually doesn't get back until dark." Kurenai Yuhi nodded immediately, the tension in her shoulders vanishing at once. She even packed up faster. "And I can practice my throwing techniques for a while. There's no training ground at my house, so usually I can only sit around after I get home..."

When she stepped into Uchiha Hara's courtyard again, Kurenai Yuhi was no longer as reserved as she had been the first time.

She made her way familiarly to the corner of the training ground and picked up the practice kunai, its handle worn smooth. The hole in Uchiha Hara's roof had already been fixed, but there was no air conditioning or heating these days, so the kunai felt a little cold.

Kurenai Yuhi rubbed her hands, then took a deep breath and raised her arm toward the target ten meters away.

"Whoosh—" The kunai flew out with a faint whistle, but it scraped past the bullseye and lodged in the wooden target, its handle still swaying lightly.

The shuriken that followed were even worse. Two of the three landed in the grass beneath the target, while only one barely grazed the edge.

Kurenai Yuhi's shoulders slumped. She clenched the remaining kunai in her hand, her knuckles turning faintly white. "Still no good... I was clearly doing much better last time."

"Don't rush." Uchiha Hara stepped behind her, his warm hand gently covering her right hand as she gripped the kunai.

The boy's palm bore thin calluses from sword practice, yet it was surprisingly gentle. "Relax your wrist. Don't tense up so much. Like this..."

He guided her hand slowly back, his voice close to her ear, warm breath brushing her earlobe. "Let your strength flow with your body. Sink your waist first, then turn your shoulder, and finally 'send' the force out through your wrist. Don't just 'throw' it out."

Her arm followed his guidance in a steady arc. With a soft thunk, the kunai embedded itself precisely in the bullseye, its handle trembling only twice.

Kurenai Yuhi's eyes lit up instantly. When she turned around, she nearly bumped into his chin. She hurriedly stepped back half a pace, her face flushed with excitement. "It hit! Hara-kun, I think I just felt how the force was supposed to move!"

"Try again." Uchiha Hara smiled, released her hand, and stepped aside.

This time, Kurenai Yuhi drew a deep breath and adjusted her stance according to that feeling. The kunai struck the bullseye steadily again, and two of her shuriken landed within the eighth ring as well.

She turned around, hugged the kunai, and ran up to him, her rose-colored eyes sparkling. "Hara-kun, you're amazing! Why do you never show this level at school? If you competed seriously, you'd definitely surpass Kakashi and take first place!"

Uchiha Hara watched her bounce with excitement and lightly tapped his chin with a fingertip. "And what happens after I take first place?"

"After that?" Kurenai Yuhi froze, tilting her head as she thought. "After that... everyone would admire you, and the teachers would value you more..."

"Then they'd urge me to graduate early, right?" Uchiha Hara picked up the thread, his tone gentle but carrying a trace of seriousness.

"After graduating, I'd have to carry out missions. Maybe border reconnaissance, maybe assassinating enemy ninja. If I got unlucky and met an enemy stronger than me, I might not come back."

Kurenai Yuhi's smile slowly faded, and her fingers tightened around the kunai.

"Even if I survived by luck," Uchiha Hara continued, "if my strength grew too fast and I became a 'genius' in everyone's eyes, sooner or later I'd be pushed into the spotlight. Like the White Fang—he merely chose his comrades over a mission, and the entire village condemned him. Tell me, if I became a 'genius' and faced the same thing someday, would anyone stand by my side?"

He suddenly smiled, deliberately teasing her. "What would you do if I were gone? Would you have to give birth to a child named 'Uchiha Kakato,' then have him graduate early after I died too?"

"You won't die!" Kurenai Yuhi's face instantly turned scarlet. She raised a hand and lightly punched him, though she did not use any real force. "Hara-kun, don't say things like that!"

She buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled. "Then... then does hiding your strength mean there won't be any danger?"

"At least it can reduce a lot of trouble." Uchiha Hara rubbed her hair and carried a stack of yellowed scrolls out from the house, spreading them over the stone table. "Look at these. They're records from the clan elders. There was someone named Uchiha Lie who became a Chunin at thirteen and boasted about his Fire Release everywhere. Enemy spies noticed him, and he was targeted in an ambush during a mission. He was only fourteen when he died."

He pointed at the writing on the scrolls and explained word by word. "And this one, Uchiha Misaki. She was clearly good at Genjutsu, but insisted on competing with others in taijutsu. Her leg was broken, and she could never return to the battlefield. See? If they had restrained themselves more, wouldn't they have lived longer?"

Kurenai Yuhi leaned in to examine the scrolls, her eyes full of seriousness. Her fingertips lightly traced those records as she said quietly, "I think I understand... Like when I use Genjutsu. If I reveal it in front of an enemy too early, they'll prepare ways to counter Genjutsu, and it won't work when I use it again."

"That's exactly it." Uchiha Hara's eyes brightened. "And look, Might Guy shouts about 'youth' at school every day and challenges people to duels everywhere. If I revealed my strength now, he'd definitely pester me to spar with him every day. Then how would I have time to practice throwing techniques with you or eat red bean cakes with you?"

"Absolutely not!" Kurenai Yuhi immediately shook her head, her face full of determination. "It's better to hide your strength! Guy is way too noisy. I don't want him interrupting us!"

Uchiha Hara nodded in satisfaction and continued instilling his Low-Key Way philosophy. "It's good that you understand. This world isn't peaceful. The last great war ended not long ago, so who knows when the next one will come? If your reputation becomes too great, spies from other villages may notice you and send information about you back home. Once you reach the battlefield, the enemy will already have methods prepared specifically to deal with you. How dangerous would that be? So you always have to hold something back. If you have ten parts strength, normally show only five, or even three. That way, you can survive at critical moments and catch people by surprise."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded repeatedly, feeling that every word Uchiha Hara said made perfect sense.

She asked curiously, "So, Hara-kun, you've hidden a lot of your strength too? You're... one or two times stronger than what you show at school?"

Uchiha Hara merely looked at her, smiling without a word.

Kurenai Yuhi thought she understood and concluded with certainty, Hara-kun must be hiding most of his strength. Maybe he's only showing three-tenths of it!

How could she know that what Uchiha Hara had revealed might not even amount to seven-thousandths of his true strength?

Once the theoretical lesson was over, Uchiha Hara brought out another stack of books and files he had prepared long ago. He had carefully selected them from Uchiha Jiang's collection. They documented many cases from before and after Konoha's founding in which Uchiha clan members had failed missions or even lost their lives due to pride, arrogance, and flamboyant behavior.

Using one bloody example after another, he explained to Kurenai Yuhi in simple terms the importance of concealment, humility, and caution.

As a Genjutsu-type ninja, Kurenai Yuhi had naturally strong spiritual power, a clever mind, and exceptional comprehension.

Not only did she quickly understand what Uchiha Hara meant, she could even draw inferences from it.

Perhaps Kurenai has a blue talent related to intelligence as well? Uchiha Hara secretly guessed.

But then he recalled Kurenai Yuhi's infamous moment from the original story, when she had tried to use a kunai against Uchiha Itachi. He had no idea what had been going on with her then. Had she simply been protected too well?

After an hour of theoretical study, Kurenai Yuhi did not seem to have changed much on the surface.

Yet through the sharp perception of [Sword Heart Enlightenment], Uchiha Hara could clearly sense that Kurenai Yuhi's chakra, once somewhat outwardly apparent, had become far more restrained, as though a thin veil had gently enveloped it.

Chakra was the fusion of physical and spiritual energy. A shift in one's state of mind would naturally cause changes in its aura.

Of course, Uchiha Hara knew full well that the Low-Key Way could not be mastered in a day. In his previous life, he had been steeped in the culture of quietly making a fortune and had read countless webnovels, witnessing countless paths to rise in reality. That was how caution had been carved into his bones.

For Kurenai Yuhi, it would also require gradual influence. He would need to teach her every day, every month, before it could truly take effect.

Fortunately, Kurenai Yuhi was naturally quiet rather than flamboyant, and she could listen to reason.

That greatly reassured Uchiha Hara. He had no desire to be like the protagonists in certain novels, desperately hiding his own strength while his teammates desperately caused trouble and held him back.

By the time they packed up the scrolls and headed for the Yuhi Family home, the sky had already grown dark.

As soon as they reached the door, they smelled the fragrance of food. The wooden door creaked open, and Yuhi Yunyi stepped out carrying a bowl of soup. When she saw them, she immediately smiled. "Hara-kun, you're here? Come in quickly, the wind is strong outside. Kurenai, your father is busy in the kitchen."

Kurenai Yuhi's mother wore an off-white apron, her hair gathered in a simple bun. Her voice was soft when she spoke, like a spring breeze brushing over a lake. Uchiha Hara hurriedly bowed. "Hello, Aunt Yunyi. Sorry to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all. Sit down." Yuhi Yunyi ushered them into the living room, where teacups had already been set on the coffee table. "Have some hot tea first. Dinner will be ready soon."

A photograph hung on the living room wall. It had been taken when Kurenai Yuhi was three. Yuhi Shinku held her in his arms while she raised a tiny kunai in her hand, smiling so broadly that her eyes had narrowed into slits.

Several mission confirmation slips hung beside it. Kurenai Yuhi quietly told Uchiha Hara, "Father got those for completing S-Rank Missions. He never tells anyone about them."

It seemed that S-Rank Missions, which might appear ordinary to a transmigrator, were actually immensely significant in the eyes of ordinary ninja—perhaps no less so than a first-class medal of merit.

Come to think of it, the Ninja World did not seem to have medals. I should introduce them when I get the chance.

The kitchen echoed with the sizzling sound of stir-frying. Occasionally, two busy figures could be seen inside. Yuhi Shinku had used a Shadow Clone; his main body was cooking braised pork while the clone chopped green vegetables, their movements clean and coordinated.

Kurenai Yuhi ran to the kitchen doorway and peeked inside. "Dad, you made so many dishes today!"

"It's the first time that brat Hara has come over, so naturally I have to make more." Yuhi Shinku glanced back without pausing his spatula. "Go keep him company. Don't get in the way here."

Before long, the dining table was covered with dishes. The braised pork gleamed with oil, the fish ball soup was sprinkled with scallions, and there were bright green stir-fried vegetables and golden fried shrimp.

Kurenai Yuhi picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork in Uchiha Hara's bowl first. "Hara-kun, try this. Dad rarely makes it. He only does it on my birthday."

"You child." Yuhi Shinku smiled helplessly and placed a fish ball in his daughter's bowl. "You only care about serving Hara. Eat some yourself too."

Kurenai Yuhi stuck out her tongue and muttered quietly to Uchiha Hara, "See? Dad is biased. Usually, when Mom and I eat with him, we only get four dishes and one soup."

Uchiha Hara took a bite of the braised pork. It was tender, with just the right balance of salty and sweet. He hurriedly said, "Uncle Shinku's cooking is excellent. It tastes exactly like the meals my parents used to make for me."

"If it tastes good, eat more." Yuhi Shinku nodded, a little more warmth entering his gaze. This boy spoke sincerely, unlike some Uchiha who carried themselves with arrogance. He was rather comfortable to be around.

Dinner ended peacefully. Yuhi Yunyi pulled Kurenai Yuhi away to wash the dishes, deliberately turning up the living room lights a little brighter. "You two men chat slowly. Kurenai and I can clean up in the kitchen."

Only Uchiha Hara and Yuhi Shinku remained in the living room.

Uchiha Hara knew that this looked like casual conversation, but it was actually a talk between a father-in-law and a prospective son-in-law.

This conversation might determine whether Yuhi Shinku would allow him and Kurenai Yuhi to be together.

Yuhi Shinku took a sip of tea, his fingers lightly tapping the rim of the cup. His voice was calm and steady. "Hara, Kurenai is my only daughter. I do not have any great wishes in life. I only hope that she can live safely and peacefully."

Uchiha Hara sat straighter, placing both hands on his knees. His tone was earnest. "Uncle Shinku, I understand. My parents are gone, so I know even better how important the people around you are. I won't let Kurenai suffer. Whether now or in the future, I'll protect her."

Yuhi Shinku nodded, his eyes falling on Uchiha Hara's hands. They were small, but covered in thin calluses from sword practice and gripping kunai. It was obvious that he was willing to put in hard work.

He suddenly asked, "Kurenai says you like reading. Have you read a lot?"

"Yes, probably several hundred books. Most are records left by clan elders, along with some history books," Uchiha Hara answered honestly.

"Then have you gained any insights from them?" Yuhi Shinku lifted his teacup, his gaze casual, as though they were simply chatting about everyday matters.

Uchiha Hara thought for a moment and said quietly, "The greatest insight is probably these six words: 'Pride invites loss; humility gains benefit.'"

Yuhi Shinku's hand paused around the teacup, and his eyes instantly turned serious. "Oh? Go on."

"While reading the clan records, I discovered that many elders called 'geniuses' in childhood achieved very little after growing up." Uchiha Hara lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertips. "There was one named Uchiha Qi. He learned the Fireball Jutsu at ten and boasted about it everywhere. Later, his training became rash and superficial. At twenty, he was still only a Chunin, and he eventually died on a mission because of carelessness. On the other hand, some elders who appeared ordinary at first, such as Uchiha Qing, were called 'dead last' as children. But he continued training diligently and steadily, eventually becoming an Elite Jonin of the clan."

He raised his eyes toward Yuhi Shinku, his tone sincere. "I think being strong does not mean you are truly strong. What matters is keeping your heart steady. Like the White Fang—his strength was so great, yet because of what others said, he..."

He stopped there, afraid of touching upon a sensitive subject.

But Yuhi Shinku understood what he meant and let out a soft sigh. "You're right. Temperament has always mattered more than strength. In this line of work, a ninja can lose their life with one careless mistake. Only those who can remain composed can go far."

He looked at Uchiha Hara, with less scrutiny and more approval in his eyes. "You're still young, yet you can understand these things. It isn't easy. If there's anything you don't understand in your training later, or if you encounter trouble in the clan, you can come talk to me."

He paused, then added, "Your parents are gone. If you ever want a home-cooked meal, just tell Kurenai and come eat with us. Treat this place as your own home."

Warmth filled Uchiha Hara's heart, and he hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Uncle Shinku!"

I passed!

He had originally worried that he would be questioned about his plans for the future. He had not expected Yuhi Shinku to value practical character and temperament more. That actually put him more at ease than empty promises ever could.

Kurenai Yuhi's voice came from the kitchen. "Hara-kun! Mom made red bean soup. Come have some!"

Uchiha Hara stood up. Yuhi Shinku watched his retreating back and curved his lips slightly. This boy might be thoughtful, but he truly treated Kurenai well. Kurenai probably would not suffer if she stayed with him in the future.

The living room lights were warmly bright. Moonlight spilled in through the window, falling right into the teacup on the coffee table and rippling into a faint halo.

When Uchiha Hara entered the kitchen, he saw Kurenai Yuhi holding a bowl of red bean soup. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, like a little cat waiting to be praised.

He took the bowl and tasted it. It was sweet without being cloying, perfectly suited to his taste.

Kurenai Yuhi leaned closer and asked, "Is it good? Mom specially made it for you. She added the honeyed beans you like."

"It's good." Uchiha Hara smiled and nodded, then scooped a spoonful for her too. "You should drink some too. It's very sweet."

Kurenai Yuhi accepted it with a smile, her amber eyes full of delight. Dad approves of Hara-kun. From now on, they could openly train together, eat together, and slowly grow stronger together.