A Perfect Match

"That wasn't the case. She left around two or three in the afternoon, and I spent the rest of the time practicing by myself. After all, Lord Hokage mentioned rewards today, and I cared quite a bit about that. I wanted to see if I could earn one."

Mikami Yu told the truth.

"Oh... so that was it."

Nohara Rin nodded lightly, and the smile on her face seemed to become more natural and genuine. "Yu, you really are hardworking. No wonder you've improved so quickly. I'll have to ask you for advice sometime too... But it's getting late today, so hurry home and eat dinner. See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow."

Mikami Yu waved as well, watching Nohara Rin skip lightly back into her house. Then he pushed open his own courtyard gate, and the scent of his mother Mikami Aoi's cooking immediately drifted through the air.

Mikami Yu touched the thousand-ryo note in his pocket, feeling the faint soreness in his body from training and the abundant strength coursing through him. The beginning of this winter break...

Seemed pretty good.

Over the next two weeks.

Mikami Yu's days became exceptionally fulfilling.

He went to sleep at eleven every night and got up at seven the next morning. First, he ran several laps around Konoha as a warm-up, then began practicing Ninjutsu.

During this time, he often saw Might Duy and his son, but Mikami Yu was in no hurry to fulfill the "ten laps in ten days" goal he had agreed upon with Might Duy.

Sharpening the axe would not delay the cutting of firewood.

With his current physique, he could barely force himself through ten laps, but he would end up utterly exhausted and unable to fully recover for the next half day. It would be better to spend a few days improving his physique first before attempting the run. That would make better use of his time.

Thus,

Every day at the training ground, Mikami Yu carried out [Dialogue] and [Practice], practicing the Three Techniques, Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, and Water Release: Water Shockwave in that order for roughly half an hour each. He rested between sessions, sitting beneath a tree and refining Chakra.

He also continued attending medical training classes.

Since it was winter break, the frequency had increased to two half-day classes per week.

After class, he, Nohara Rin, and Obito would head to the area near the Naka River. They used a simple fishing net to scoop up unlucky river fish as "patients," then took turns attempting to use Healing Technique on them.

Other than Obito, who was too clumsy to learn it, both Mikami Yu and Nohara Rin could control Yang Release Chakra and gather a faint emerald glow at their fingertips. They had finally gotten started with Healing Technique—or, to be precise, Obito had not learned a thing at all. He had joined the training class purely to sneak glances at Nohara Rin.

Obito still argued confidently, "Th-this is normal, isn't it? Didn't Matsumoto-sensei say that medical ninjas all trained like this? The more fish you kill while treating them, the better your medical skills become!"

Nohara Rin pressed a hand to her forehead. "First of all, his surname is Matsushita, not Matsumoto. Second, he isn't a teacher; he's an apprentice just like us. Third, after he said that, Jaji-sensei gave him a severe scolding for wasting experimental materials. Is that really the only part you remembered...?"

Obito blinked. "Huh?"

Nearby.

Mikami Yu could barely hold it together.

He had to admit, Konoha Hospital really was full of talented people. They all spoke so pleasantly.

And Obito really was an idiot. Following him and Nohara Rin to class was purely a waste of time.

Still, considering that Obito had paid part of the cost of the fishing net and put in plenty of effort catching fish, Mikami Yu did not say much. He simply practiced Healing Technique silently nearby. As a faint emerald glow flickered at his fingertips, the fish's wounds slowly healed bit by bit.

[Healing Technique: Hmm, although he learned slowly, his attitude is fairly serious. He's finally starting to look the part.]

[Healing Technique Favorability +2]

Aside from sitting in on the medical training classes.

There was one other matter worth mentioning...

Mikami Yu's "private lessons" for Yuhi Kurenai.

Over four lessons, he taught Yuhi Kurenai the Taijutsu principles Hizashi Hyuga had mentioned to him. With the help of the Three Techniques sisters, he also guided her Three Techniques training and successfully collected ten thousand ryo in "lesson fees."

"Um... thank you for everything these past few days, Mikami."

After the fourth lesson ended, Yuhi Kurenai clasped her hands before her, looking a little embarrassed. "Are you free this afternoon, Mikami? How about I treat you to Barbecue Q? Otherwise, I feel like I've taken too much advantage of you."

"Next time."

Mikami Yu smiled. "We're classmates, and besides, you paid me. It wasn't free, so what advantage could you possibly be taking? If you really want to thank me, wait until your grades have genuinely improved."

"...Then, if there's something I don't understand later, can I still come ask you?"

Yuhi Kurenai bit her lip lightly, then quickly added, "Of course, I'll pay you too."

"Sure."

If not for the hassle, Mikami Yu really would have liked to recruit a few more "students" like Yuhi Kurenai and teach them together. That way, he could earn several payments at once. Still, teaching Yuhi Kurenai alone was not bad either. The girl was refreshingly straightforward—she paid well, caused little trouble, and did not cling to him. Working with her was quite pleasant.

After Yuhi Kurenai left.

Mikami Yu spent another half day clearing out today's routine tasks.

[Current Available Targets]

[Transformation Technique (Favorability: 100/100 (A Perfect Match))]

(Phase rewards obtained 4 times: Physique +4, Trait as Reality (Your Transformation Technique has reached the pinnacle. You can completely alter your own form, and while transformed, perfectly reproduce all physiological traits of the transformation target, including physical abilities, ordinary senses, Chakra aura, and more. You may also use this to imitate and employ the target's non-Kekkei Genkai abilities.)

Note: To use this trait, you must possess a certain degree of familiarity with the transformation target. The greater your familiarity, the better the transformation effect.)

[Water Clone Technique (Clone Technique) (Favorability: 83/100 (Attachment))]

(Phase rewards obtained 3 times: Physique +3, Trait Sight and Hearing: Your Clone Technique possesses vision and hearing. When concentrating, you may link the senses of your main body with 2→3 clones, sharing sight and hearing.)

[Substitution Technique (Favorability: 85/100 (Attachment))]

(Phase rewards obtained 3 times: Physique +3, Trait-less Instantaneous (Your Substitution Technique requires no deliberate preparation. Within 15→45 meters, with a single thought, you can exchange places with a substitution medium within 0.2 seconds.)

[...]

That was right.

After more than half a month of continuous effort.

Mikami Yu had finally raised his first favorability score to the maximum!

After reaching the maximum, the Transformation Technique's "Form and Spirit" had upgraded into "Vivid as Reality." Beyond improving its disguise effect further, it had gained an incredibly terrifying trait: the ability to use the transformation target's abilities!

Even if those abilities did not include Kekkei Genkai, it was still astonishing.

In theory, he could rely on this transformation to imitate the secret techniques of clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho and Inuzuka, since those did not fall within the scope of Kekkei Genkai.