Growth

Three months had passed since the last mission. Itō Yuying wiped the sweat off his face and walked to the edge of the training ground. "Ah, it's so hot today." Beside him, Jiraiya said listlessly, "Yeah! I feel like I've gotten a tan."

"By the way, Yuying, everyone's learned ki now, and we've spent a long time consolidating it. How about teaching us some moves?" Itō Yuying thought for a moment. "Hmm... let me think about what to teach you."

Although Itō Yuying was chatting with Jiraiya, everyone else was actually listening intently. From time to time, they stole glances in their direction. Feeling their gazes, Itō Yuying thought, Looks like it's time to teach them something.

Then he told Jiraiya beside him, "Take everyone to Secret Training Ground Eight. I'll teach you all something." Jiraiya was delighted. "Sure!" He had only just gotten up to call everyone when he saw that the training ground was empty except for Itō Yuying and himself.

"Hey, hey, hey! There were so many people here just now. How come there's no one left?" Itō Yuying raised his head and sensed their ki. His mouth twitched as he said with a wry smile, "Looks like everyone really can't wait."

"All right, let's go! Everyone's already gone over." Jiraiya froze for a moment before catching on. "Damn it! Every last one of them wants to learn something but won't say it themselves. Are you the only ones who care about saving face? Honestly, this makes me so mad!"

The two then arrived at Secret Training Ground Eight. As soon as they entered, Uchiha Hanyue said, "Oh, hey, Yuying, Jiraiya! What a coincidence. You came here to train too!" Itō Yuying and Jiraiya both looked bewildered. Might Duy gave them a thumbs-up. "Hey... Yuying!"

"We really are brothers whose hearts are connected! Youth must be calling us!"

Jiraiya was dumbfounded. How could anyone be this shameless?

Itō Yuying was speechless at their terrible acting too. Then he said, "Oh, no, it's nothing. Jiraiya and I just came to have a look. All right, carry on training. Seeing everyone so motivated puts my mind at ease."

"All right, keep training. Jiraiya and I have something else to do, so we'll be going." Then he turned and walked away. Jiraiya immediately followed.

At this point, Tsunade could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and stopped Itō Yuying. "Hey... Yuying, wait a moment. Didn't you say you were going to teach us some new moves? Why are you leaving?" Itō Yuying turned his head. "When did I say that?"

"Just... just now, when you were talking to Jiraiya! You said you'd come here to teach us new moves," Tsunade answered, blushing. Little Tsunade was not yet as thick-skinned as she had been before. She still had some sense of shame!

Itō Yuying laughed. "That's right! You knew I was going to teach you something, yet you still acted like this. You even pretended we'd run into each other by chance and acted like you knew nothing. Are you the only ones with thin skin?"

"You want to learn something, but you won't come ask me yourselves. You have to wait for someone else to say it. You're so proud! I almost feel like I'm begging you to let me teach you."

"We've known each other for so long, and you're still putting on airs with me. All you know how to do is take what's handed to you. You're from big clans, so you all need to save face, right? And that goes for the ones pretending to be cold and aloof too. I'm in a very bad mood today. Train on your own for now! Jiraiya, let's go to another training ground."

Everyone watched the two walk away, each of them silent.

Might Duy felt terribly wronged. He had been Itō Yuying's best friend from the very beginning. They encouraged each other and went to train together every day. The reason he had not asked Itō Yuying to teach him new techniques was that he genuinely felt too embarrassed to ask. Itō Yuying already looked after him so much that he simply could not bring himself to speak up, so he could only learn this way along with everyone else. Seeing Itō Yuying so upset today left Might Duy's heart cold. Hatake Sakumo and the others also lowered their heads in shame.

"Yuying, you really don't need to take it to heart. Everyone's just thin-skinned, unlike me." Jiraiya followed behind him, explaining on Tsunade and the others' behalf.

"Yeah, I know. I just want them to understand that if they want to learn something in the future, they should come ask me themselves. They shouldn't keep expecting a free ride. All right, it's fine. They'll come over in a little while. Come on, Jiraiya. I'll teach you a practical technique." "Okay!" Jiraiya answered excitedly.

In the distance, Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the scene. "Did they have a quarrel?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked. "Mm..." Shimura Danzō grunted in acknowledgment. "Children get upset. They'll be fine in a little while. I believe they'll sort it out."

At the training ground, Itō Yuying said, "Slowly gather your ki into your palm. That's right, don't rush." Watching Jiraiya slowly gather his ki, Itō Yuying also quieted down beside him, not daring to disturb him. By now, Jiraiya was drenched in sweat. He kept struggling to control the ki in his body and did not dare draw all of it out. Itō Yuying gently rested a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, sending a stream of energy from his palm into Jiraiya's body. A tiny Energy Wave slowly appeared in front of Jiraiya's palm. Jiraiya shouted excitedly, and Itō Yuying said with a smile, "Go on, try firing it."

"Yeah!" Recovering from his excitement, Jiraiya fired at the huge boulder ahead without hesitation. A tiny Energy Wave instantly pierced the boulder and left a deep crater in the open ground beyond it. Jiraiya stared at his hands, his eyes full of stars, excited beyond measure. Itō Yuying smiled. "Keep trying, following the feeling you just had."

"Okay!" Jiraiya excitedly ran off to one side and began practicing gathering ki!

Just then, Might Duy and the others came over. Might Duy walked up to Itō Yuying and said, "Yuying, I was wrong. I really want to learn your techniques, but I was honestly too embarrassed to ask. I-I'll definitely ask you for guidance next time!" Then he bowed at a ninety-degree angle. The others did the same. "Sorry, Yuying. We couldn't let go of our pride as members of big clans, and we hurt you." Seeing their sincere apologies, Itō Yuying stopped putting on airs too. "All right, we're all friends. It's in the past now, so let it stay there!"

Hyuga Yeyang said, "Yes, yes, we're all friends. Thank you for forgiving us, Yuying." The others echoed him. Then Itō Yuying explained to everyone else the technique he had just taught Jiraiya. Might Duy understood it the fastest and was also the first to form an Energy Wave. Everyone stared at him in astonishment, bewilderment, and confusion. Why had Duy learned it so quickly? Duy flashed his big white teeth and proudly swung his hand forward. The Energy Wave shot ahead, blasting another huge crater in front of them. Everyone crowded around Might Duy to ask him for pointers.

Might Duy scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Actually, I learned this before, and I've been training diligently, so that's why I was so fast today." Hearing this, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Good, we're all the same.

Then everyone resumed their own training. Surprisingly, Tsunade was the second to master it. Seeing her smug expression, the others grew even more anxious and trained desperately. Itō Yuying had said he would teach them the Flight Technique before long. Not wanting to fall behind, Hyuga Yeyang and Uchiha Hanyue practiced desperately until their mouths were covered in blisters.

After constant practice, everyone could fire a basic Energy Wave, though they were quite a sorry sight. Orochimaru's dark circles made him look like a panda, and Hatake Sakumo had lost more than a dozen jin. His former high spirits were gone, and with his filthy face and disheveled hair, he looked like a little beggar. Uchiha Hanyue and Hyuga Yeyang were even worse off. They had fainted several times during this period, and their mouths were so full of blisters and ulcers that they could not even eat.

Fortunately, everyone had learned it. Itō Yuying said, "All right, everyone, go home and consolidate what you've learned first. In ten days, we'll learn the Flight Technique. Make sure you get plenty of rest, because the Flight Technique really is difficult to learn." "Okay!" everyone answered in unison.