Private Lessons After School

Fifteen minutes later.

At a training ground roughly three or four kilometers from the Ninja Academy.

The sounds of smack! smack! smack! rang out without pause.

Mikami Yu and Yuhi Kurenai were engaged in a taijutsu spar.

After a prolonged exchange, Mikami Yu remained calm and composed, while Yuhi Kurenai was breathing lightly, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She pointed her Kunai at Mikami Yu, but her eyes held obvious frustration.

"Again!" she called softly, stepping forward in a rush as her Kunai traced an arc toward Mikami Yu's shoulder blade.

The instant before the Kunai reached him, Mikami Yu swayed slightly to the side like a drifting willow catkin. At the same time, his right hand shot out like lightning and precisely seized Yuhi Kurenai's wrist holding the Kunai. With a pull and a forward trip of his left foot, he threw her off balance, and she stumbled face-first onto the ground.

"Ah!"

"See?"

Mikami Yu said, "You can't charge too fiercely when you rush in. Otherwise, all your weight shifts forward, and the slightest pull from your opponent will send you tumbling. Remember to keep your center of gravity in the middle of your body and move with the flow. That way, no matter what your opponent does, you can adjust and counter it in time..."

"Mm..."

Yuhi Kurenai's cheeks reddened slightly as she bit her lower lip and nodded. That fall reminded her of the sorry state Kaimon Hyuga had been in when Mikami Yu knocked him down.

"And when you exert force, whether thrusting or blocking, you can't rely solely on brute arm strength. You need to coordinate your whole body's power—from your feet, to your waist, back, shoulders, and finally your arms... You're a girl, so physical strength is one of your weaker points. That means you need to pay even more attention to technique..."

Come to think of it, Mikami Yu had learned many of these technical points from Hizashi Hyuga and, before that, Might Duy.

Now, he was simply putting what he had learned to use, explaining it all with great confidence.

Yuhi Kurenai listened attentively and tried making adjustments. Then, with Mikami Yu working with her through a few more exchanges, she was indeed smoother than at the start. The change left Yuhi Kurenai somewhat encouraged.

"By the way, Yu, could you teach me about your Three Techniques? My Transformation Technique and Clone Technique are always called all form and no substance by the teacher. They're too easy to see through. You use them so well—do you have any tricks?"

"This..."

Before Mikami Yu could answer, he saw the Gala System interface become lively.

[Clone Technique: Hmph, who's this little brat? Does she even deserve to use the Three Techniques? Look at that silly face of hers. It'd be a miracle if she could use us properly! The things she makes probably couldn't fool even a dog!]

[Transformation Technique: Little Clone, aren't you being a little too harsh on her?]

[Clone Technique: Harsh on you... Ahem, Mikami, show her what you can do! Let her see what the real Three Techniques look like!]

[Substitution Technique: Indeed. She doesn't seem as good as Mikami. (.-ω-)zzz]

"...Six."

Mikami Yu found it secretly amusing.

As their favorability increased, especially after he had given them the [Limited Skin], the Three Techniques' tone toward him had clearly improved significantly. Even the Clone Technique, which had once loved to be sharp-tongued, was far more talkative now, completely unlike before.

So—

Using a demonstration as an excuse, Mikami Yu first formed the hand seals for the Clone Technique.

With a poof, four figures identical to Mikami Yu instantly appeared at his side! Each one's movements and expressions were nearly indistinguishable from the original, and even the rise and fall of their breathing could be seen clearly—this was the Water Clone version of the Clone Technique!

Then Mikami Yu formed another set of seals. With a puff, his original body vanished. When the small cloud of smoke dispersed, he had transformed into a gray-and-white kitten with bright, lively eyes. It sat where he had stood and let out a "Meow."

"Wow!"

Yuhi Kurenai could not help giving a soft cry of surprise. Her eyes widened as she walked over to inspect Mikami Yu closely.

She even gathered her courage, crouched down, and reached out to gently stroke Mikami Cat's head and back. The warm feel of the fur startled her. "Th-this is way too realistic! It's like you really turned into a cat. Mikami, you didn't use the Substitution Technique, did you?"

"But it's really cute..."

Yuhi Kurenai stroked Mikami Yu again, a pure, delighted smile appearing on her face. She seemed to have the urge to pick him up and cuddle him.

Across from her.

Mikami Yu awkwardly turned his head to the other side.

How should he put it... His Transformation Technique really was different from everyone else's. It was not an illusion, but a genuine transformation, so both visually and to the touch, he was almost exactly like a real cat.

As a result, from Mikami Yu's low "cat's-eye view," looking upward felt a little awkward. When Yuhi Kurenai crouched down, her fair thighs naturally parted slightly, and the hem of her red skirt fell around them. From where he was, he could not avoid catching a glimpse of... well.

To avoid making things even more awkward—

Mikami Yu let out a "Mrow!" and sprang nimbly from the spot, shooting onto the branch of a nearby small tree. After lightly taking a few steps along the branch, he performed a nimble backflip and landed, returning to human form the instant his feet touched the ground. His expression was utterly serious, as though nothing had happened.

"Did you see that, Kurenai?"

Mikami Yu cleared his throat, doing his best to ignore the blush still on Yuhi Kurenai's face, one meant for the kitten. "The Three Techniques aren't rigid formulas. You need to imagine the breathing, heartbeat, even the little habits of whatever you're transforming into, before you can create another version of yourself."

"Mm... It feels so difficult. I can't grasp that feeling."

Yuhi Kurenai looked a little confused.

Mikami Yu thought for a moment. "How about this? Perform the Three Techniques one at a time. I'll place my hand on your back and try to sense how chakra flows through your body. Maybe I can figure out where you need to make adjustments."

"Huh? Th-that..."

Yuhi Kurenai hesitated, but when she remembered that he was only trying to guide her—and how impressive his demonstration had been—she still nodded. She stood with her back to Mikami Yu, took a deep breath, and began concentrating as she formed hand seals.

Mikami Yu extended his right hand and gently placed his palm against the center of Yuhi Kurenai's back, beneath her shoulder blades. Under his hand was the soft fabric of the girl's training clothes and the warm skin beneath. It felt nice, though it seemed slightly tense at the moment because she was nervous.

Very soon—

Yuhi Kurenai's chakra began to surge along with her hand seals. She was clearly using the Transformation Technique.

Mikami Yu vaguely sensed the problem. Just as he was considering how to describe it to Yuhi Kurenai, Galageki's text box appeared again. Then the Transformation Technique, which had been silent for a while, spoke once more:

[Transformation Technique: Little Mikami, this girl's chakra intensity is pretty good, but she's using it far too loosely. She should spread her chakra evenly across her entire body, like putting on clothes, then concentrate the remaining chakra on a few key features...]

"...?"

Wait, what did it mean by saying my Three Techniques teacher was the Three Techniques?