"Go to school on your own in a little while. The meeting starts at nine today, so I can't take you!" Senju Toka picked up another soup dumpling with her chopsticks, dipped it in the oil sauce, and spoke to Uka, who was eating with his head down.
Without waiting to swallow the dumpling in his mouth, Uka Senju nodded furiously to show he understood!
"Slow down. Why are you eating like a starving ghost reborn? No one's going to steal your food!" Senju Toka frowned at the sight of him.
Seeing this, Senju Chiharu brought several more steamers of dumplings out of the kitchen and set them all in front of Uka. "Take your time. I made plenty of soup dumplings today!"
"I can't help it. Your cooking is just too good. Whoever marries you will be lucky, Sister Chiharu!" Uka Senju was full of admiration for Chiharu's cooking.
Every time he described roughly how to make something, Senju Chiharu could perfectly recreate it after a few tries!
That was also why his family had been able to switch to Chinese food so quickly. If she had been less skilled, how could he have eaten these snacks from his previous life so soon?
At Uka's words, a faint blush rose on Senju Chiharu's fair little face, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Uka Senju was very satisfied with breakfast.
He hung his schoolbag from the end of his new sword, slung it over his shoulder, and headed down the street toward school.
He had specially commissioned the new sword in the style of a Tang hengdao after spending several years learning swordsmanship and mastering the basics.
Unfortunately, at his height, he couldn't yet use a full-sized version over a meter long, so he had a fifty-centimeter zhangdao made first.
Though called a zhangdao, it was really a scaled-down Tang hengdao.
Compared with Japanese swords, the hengdao didn't look all that different.
It had simply lost the curve and gained hardness and weight, but it was actually better suited to the Senju's fighting style.
The Senju were strong to begin with, and their swordsmanship focused mainly on chopping.
Japanese swords, however, prioritized sharpness rather than armor penetration. In this age, when armor was still in use, the Senju could only strike at weak points or watch how much force they used when chopping.
Uka Senju had found it awkward when practicing before. He had to hold back his blows and look for weak points, all for fear of breaking the blade?
But as a beginner, he had no say in the matter. He had to wait until the middle of June this year before he was allowed to have a new sword forged.
Uka Senju searched his memories and, considering a ninja's needs, set aside other swords better suited to chopping and had a Tang hengdao made. As an ancestral model, wasn't the hengdao, which was better at chopping and breaking through armor, just what the Senju needed?
With this change, he no longer needed to be so careful when chopping!
When the new sword arrived, Senju Toka and Senju Chiharu each tried it out.
After trying it, each had a full-sized version made from Uka's designs, and they were now getting used to them!
Once they were familiar with the swords, they would probably recommend that their clansmen switch weapons.
After all, the hengdao really was perfectly suited to them!
Going by Senju custom, he could also expect a substantial monetary reward.
If they sold it to outsiders, he would get a share of the profits too!
The thought of another source of income soon coming his way put Uka Senju in an even better mood!
Although Uka had no shortage of spending money with his aunt around, when it came to money, more was certainly better.
After spending so long chasing money in his previous life, Uka Senju had developed something of a stress response!
Without money in his pocket, he didn't even dare speak loudly!
But now that he received a share of the grenade profits, he was among the richest of his peers.
While everyone else was still training with wooden ninja tools, he had already switched to the refined-iron tools commonly used by Jonin!
What could he do? He simply had too much money!
"Aaaaah! Run, run! I'm going to be late!"
A figure suddenly rushed past Uka Senju. Before he could make out who it was, the figure had already raced away in a cloud of dust!
"Late?"
Uka Senju stared in surprise at the scene, but didn't quicken his pace. He clearly remembered leaving home fifteen minutes ago, which meant he had at least ten minutes before he would be late!
In ten minutes, he only had to cross the street in front of him to reach school. He could crawl there in that time!
Too bad the person had been too fast for him to see who was being such an idiot!
Certain of the time, he paid it no more mind.
Uka Senju continued strolling slowly along at his own pace.
"Good morning, Uka!"
A soft, sweet female voice came from behind him.
Recognizing the voice, Uka Senju stopped, turned around, and greeted his two Inuzuka friends. "Furin, Sawa, long time no see. Good morning!"
"Yeah, it's been a while. We got together over summer vacation, but you never came," a brown-haired boy answered loudly. He had two stripes of paint on his face and wore a hooded top and cropped pants.
"Sawa, could you keep your voice down a little?" The voice ringing beside Uka Senju's ear made his scalp tingle.
What a waste it would be if this kid didn't run a market stall with a voice like that!
Rubbing his ear, Uka Senju replied, "I went fishing that time and happened to miss it!"
"You went fishing?"
Hearing Uka's explanation, Inuzuka Sawa froze, the corners of his mouth twitching and making the paint on his face jump along with them.
Who in all of Konoha didn't know there was a prodigal kid in the Senju who used explosives to blast fish?
Fishing with grenades?
Uka Senju, the self-proclaimed fishing god of Konoha, felt that his friend's expression seemed a little doubtful.
So he stared at him expressionlessly, wanting to know just what objection he had. Was he trying to challenge the dignity of the fishing god?
"Your..."
"All right, Uka's fishing skills really are very good!" The girl beside them, who was holding a small white-and-brown puppy, tugged at her fellow clansman's clothes and cut him off before he could finish.
The girl had long, dark brown hair and wore a hooded top and black pants. Like her clansman, she had two red stripes painted on her face, and she was smiling at Uka.
"All right!" As long as this fellow clanswoman was around, whatever Uka said was right. Knowing he couldn't take on two against one, Inuzuka Sawa shrugged helplessly.
His attention drawn back, Uka Senju smiled at Inuzuka Furin. Then, noticing something different about the two of them, he asked in surprise, "Are these your Ninja Dogs? Have you finished training them already?"
"As you can see. Black Wolf, say hello!" Inuzuka Sawa shook his head, waking the puppy on top of it.
"Woof, woof!"
The black puppy hidden in his hair raised his head, barked lazily twice, then lay back down!
"Woof, woof!"
A white-and-brown puppy also poked his head out of Inuzuka Furin's arms, wagged his tail, and barked twice at Uka Senju with plenty of energy.
"This little fellow's livelier." Uka reached out to play with the spotted puppy in Furin's arms.
"Woof!"
Watching the boy and dog get along so well, Inuzuka Furin smiled and lifted the puppy up. Once Uka was done playing with him, she placed the puppy on her head!
Inuzuka Sawa answered his friend's question from the side. "They're not fully trained yet, but their initial training is over. For the second stage, we need to train together with them, so now we can bring them out and learn to work in sync!"
Uka Senju looked at the two palm-sized puppies and asked in puzzlement, "They're already in the second stage? Why do they look about the size of month-old puppies?"
"Ninja Dogs develop about three times more slowly than ordinary breeds. They may look about a month old, but they were born over three months ago!" Inuzuka Sawa explained.
Few Senju raised ninja beasts, so Uka, encountering such knowledge for the first time, humbly asked the two Inuzuka ninja-beast experts for advice.
He could count it as gathering useful knowledge in case he might have a ninja beast in the future, so he wouldn't have to cram at the last minute if he wanted to raise one!
Along the way, the two explained the key points of raising ninja beasts to Uka, and before they knew it, they had reached the school gates!