Gua's mother was delighted with his performance that day. The smile never left her face.
So much so that...
Breakfast the next morning was a veritable feast.
For the first time, Gua tasted the benefits of sweet-talking.
He ate his fill at breakfast.
Then he headed to school, thoroughly satisfied.
Before he left, his mother, Nai, even pressed a lunchbox into his hands.
"I'm full."
Gua said.
"Izumi isn't."
His mother said.
Gua: ...
Even someone as slow on the uptake as Gua realized something was off.
"Izumi and I are good friends."
Gua explained.
"Of course, of course. Izumi's mother and I are good friends too. There's nothing wrong with me looking after Izumi, is there?"
Gua: ...
Gua took the lunchbox to school.
On the way, he ran into Itachi.
Seeing the lunchbox in Gua's hand, Itachi asked curiously, "Gua, didn't you have breakfast?"
Itachi thought that was unlikely.
Gua's mother doted on him. There was no way she wouldn't make him breakfast.
"Someone else hasn't eaten."
Gua parroted his mother's words.
Itachi froze, then his mouth formed an O.
Got it!
He got it!
"Can I see what you prepared for Izumi?"
He simply had to get in on the gossip about his best friend.
Gua opened the lunchbox for Itachi without a moment's hesitation.
"Ooh~"
Itachi felt a little envious.
Rice dumplings, potato croquettes, sausages, and a fried egg.
He had never had such a lavish breakfast at home.
Most families in Konoha made do with something simple for breakfast. Lunch and dinner were usually the main meals, but since the children were at school during the day, dinner generally became the proper meal.
Take Itachi, for example. His breakfast that morning had been salty miso soup and a piece of fried dough that was two days old.
Hmm...
Itachi's mouth watered.
Gua was dumbfounded too.
Wait, what?
When did Mom fry these potato croquettes?
Why didn't I get any?
Huh?
Gua wanted to grab his mother right then and ask, Look your son in the eyes! What's the deal with these potato croquettes?
Gua and Itachi exchanged a look.
"Want one?"
Gua asked.
Itachi said, "Yes."
Gua looked around to make sure no one was watching, then took a potato croquette out of the lunchbox for Itachi.
He took two for himself.
Then he closed the lunchbox again.
Itachi looked at his potato croquette, then at the two in Gua's hands...
Some friend he was.
Still, getting anything to eat was better than nothing.
Itachi happily dug in.
After finishing one croquette, Gua split the other in half and gave half to Itachi.
That way, the two of them shared the three potato croquettes equally.
There was no helping it. Itachi was a sensitive little soul.
He had to take good care of Itachi's feelings. Otherwise, the boy would start pondering life whenever he was unhappy, and once he started pondering life, he would want to massacre his clan!
Seeing how loyal Gua was, Itachi was deeply touched.
He took the Potato Croquette and swallowed it in one bite.
"Gulp~"
"Sho good!"
Gua glanced at Itachi without saying anything.
He felt as though he had figured something out.
Itachi's mental state had become twisted because no one had given him proper guidance, and no one had given him love.
It was hard to imagine someone living under constant pressure being cheerful, outgoing, and full of sunshine.
Fugaku hadn't given Itachi the love he wanted. As for the guidance Itachi wanted, Fugaku had led him down the wrong path. Itachi rejected that path, only for Shisui to point him down another wrong one...
What a miserable life!
Gua silently sighed.
They arrived in the classroom.
Gua placed the lunchbox on Izumi's desk.
He hadn't met Izumi at the school gates that day.
That was because he had deliberately quickened his pace on the way to school to avoid Izumi.
Giving Izumi the lunchbox face-to-face at the school gates felt a little awkward to Gua.
It would make it look like he had ulterior motives.
And if he then explained, "It was my mom~"
That would only make it harder to explain.
After setting the lunchbox bearing the Uchiha Clan Crest on Izumi's desk, Gua returned to his seat.
Soon...
Izumi came in from outside.
Izumi was clearly a little dejected.
Why didn't I run into Gua at the gates?
Izumi couldn't understand it!
She had timed it perfectly!
It was the same as every other day!
When Izumi entered the classroom, she spotted Gua at once.
"Oh~"
"So I just missed him?"
Having figured it out, Izumi felt a little better and went over to sit down.
"Hm?"
Izumi stared at the lunchbox on her desk for a moment.
"Gua gave you that~"
Hana Inuzuka looked up from playing with her dog and spoke to Izumi.
Izumi raised her head and glanced at Gua in a seat farther back.
Gua was doing his usual idle training.
Izumi looked away and settled into her seat.
Looking at the lunchbox in front of her, Izumi suppressed a smile.
Don't get too carried away, Izumi!
It's just a lunchbox!
You're not that easy to win over~
Noticing the change in Izumi, Hana Inuzuka blinked.
"How strange!"
Just then, Ye Chuan Dahei walked in.
"Class is starting!"
Izumi swiftly tucked the lunchbox into her desk drawer.
The lesson began.
That day's lesson wasn't boring. Yefune Daye began explaining the most basic ninjutsu to the students: the Three Body Technique.
"It's been two months since you all began extracting chakra. Starting today, we'll gradually begin covering the fundamentals of ninjutsu."
"And when discussing ninjutsu, we simply have to mention the most basic of them, the Three Body Technique.
"The Three Body Technique is the collective term for the Substitution Technique, Transformation Technique, and Clone Technique.
"Today, I'll be teaching you the Transformation Technique. First, I'll explain its basic principles."
Ye Chuan Dahei was a very conscientious teacher.
At the lectern, he covered everything in meticulous detail, from the definition of the Three Body Technique to the Transformation Technique, then its applications, and finally the basic chakra circulation paths and hand seals for the Three Body Technique.
The students all listened attentively.
After all, this was their first real exposure to ninjutsu.
Even Gua listened with particular attention.
All this time, he had been unable to learn any ninjutsu from his father.
The only Fire Release Ninjutsu he knew had come from Itachi.
He felt a little embarrassed about asking Itachi to teach him more ninjutsu.
So he hadn't learned any new ninjutsu since.
Now that Ye Chuan Dahei was teaching it, he certainly intended to learn.
Once he learned it, he could train it idly.
It was a one-time effort with lasting benefits.
Ye Chuan Dahei spent the entire morning teaching them about the Transformation Technique.
When Ye Chuan Dahei explained the Transformation Technique's chakra circulation path for the third time, Gua followed his instructions and tried it bit by bit, circulating his chakra in the prescribed pattern.
Then an available idle-training option appeared in his mind.
[Transformation Technique]
Looking at the newly appeared idle-training option, Gua suspected this was likely a benefit of idly training Chakra Extraction.
It had made his control over chakra circulation far better than the average person's.
Before, with his aptitude, it probably would have been difficult to unlock this idle-training option in such a short time merely by listening to Ye Chuan Dahei's explanation.
With the option available, Gua didn't hesitate.
He immediately assigned it to idle training, removing Great Fireball.
[Taijutsu (10× boost active)] [Eyesight (10× boost active)] [Transformation Technique (10× boost active)]
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