"That kid? I think his name was something like Minazuki Yuzuru. Oh, right, that was it. The baby Senior Sakumo picked up."
Jiraiya followed Orochimaru's gaze.
"Tsk, that kid looks even more girly than you. His skin's so pale, and his face is, well..."
"An interesting kid. He's quite good."
Orochimaru looked away, offering a rare word of praise.
"If even you're praising him like that, this kid really must be different."
Jiraiya's slightly drunken eyes cleared a little.
"Snakes can sense the temperature around them."
"You mean Ice Release?"
"Yes."
Orochimaru said nothing more, but as a Jonin, and one infinitely close to Kage level at that, he could sense the strength of Yuzuru's body and the abundant chakra within him. This was a snake's keen perception.
After dinner, Yuzuru paid the bill and left with Kurenai and the others.
Once home, Yuzuru chatted with Sakumo for a while. Kakashi returned just then, and the familiar routine of asking for ninjutsu guidance began.
Yuzuru left them undisturbed and returned to his room. Looking at the rubber ball on his bed, he picked it up and began gathering chakra.
With Shadow Clones as his training cheat, Yuzuru had gone straight into accelerated training.
He had already finished the balloon and water-ball stages.
After receiving the experience his Shadow Clone had accumulated during the day, Yuzuru began reinforcing those memories.
Violent, disorderly chakra began gathering inside the rubber ball. Seeing its surface start to tremble, Yuzuru knew his chakra could now affect it, but it was not enough. He needed more chaos, more violence, and more chakra, all while maintaining the rubber ball's spherical shape.
So he increased his chakra output, ensuring that every part inside the rubber ball bore equal force while also keeping the chakra within it expanding chaotically.
Half an hour later, the rubber ball finally burst with a pop.
At the sight, even Yuzuru's hands trembled.
Heaven knew how hard it was to maintain chakra output for half an hour. Even with his abundant chakra, he could not squander it like this.
Fortunately, he had made progress.
So he rested for a while, took a new rubber ball from the drawer, recalled the feeling from before, and began channeling chakra again.
This time, the rubber ball shattered completely in less than six seconds.
"Good, again!"
The next time, five seconds.
The time after that, four seconds.
After four more attempts, Yuzuru could finally break the rubber ball within three seconds.
Now he could finally try forming a Rasengan.
He held out his right hand, and chakra surged from his palm. Under Yuzuru's control, it began moving randomly around an invisible center. As his chakra output increased, a blue sphere appeared in his palm, emitting a piercing sound as it tore through the air.
Visible chakra moved chaotically inside the sphere.
Meanwhile, the noise made Sakumo rush upstairs immediately. When he opened the door, the sight before him left him stunned.
"Th-this is...?"
Beside him, Kakashi's eyes instantly went wide.
"You've been practicing ninjutsu behind my back?"
"No, he's not practicing ninjutsu. He's creating ninjutsu!"
Sakumo corrected him.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Kakashi was even more shocked.
"Wait, don't you hate training more than anything? How did you end up creating your own ninjutsu behind my back?"
Seeing the two enter, Yuzuru dispelled the Rasengan in his hand and recovered a little chakra before slowly speaking. "Not bad, right?"
"What is that ninjutsu you created? Wind Release Ninjutsu?"
Sakumo asked hastily.
"No, it's a ninjutsu without an elemental nature."
Yuzuru shook his head.
"A ninjutsu without an elemental nature? So anyone can learn it?"
Kakashi picked up on the key point.
"That's right, though it's a little difficult."
Yuzuru stood and used Ice Release to create a large block of solid ice.
"Perfect. Let's test its power."
With that, Yuzuru held out his palm. A large amount of chakra gathered in it, and with the familiar sound of air being torn apart, a blue sphere appeared in his hand. Yuzuru then slammed it hard against the ice.
In an instant, the block of ice Yuzuru had created was ground to pieces.
"So powerful!"
Having sparred with Yuzuru many times, Kakashi was very familiar with the ice he created. It was harder than ordinary iron and often left him unable to counter it.
Yet such hard ice had been smashed to pieces by the blue sphere in his hand, showing just how destructive it was.
Sakumo noticed another key point.
"This technique of yours doesn't need hand seals?"
"Right. It's a ninjutsu without seals."
Hearing this, Sakumo and Kakashi were shocked once again.
"What's it called?"
Sakumo could not help asking again.
"Rasengan."
"Rasengan? That suits its shape. Yuzuru, you've created an incredible ninjutsu. It's at least A-rank."
Sakumo looked at Yuzuru in amazement.
"An A-rank ninjutsu!"
Kakashi felt even more crushed now.
"Want to learn it, Kakashi?"
"I'll create my own ninjutsu too."
Kakashi refused to concede.
"Of course I believe you will. So, want to learn? I'll teach you."
Yuzuru spoke in a tone that begged for a beating.
Kakashi: ...
Although he wanted nothing more than to punch Yuzuru in the face, this was a new ninjutsu-an A-rank ninjutsu Yuzuru knew, at that. He could only put up with him for now.
"Yes!"
"Ahem, I'm a little interested too."
Hatake Sakumo spoke with a smile as well.
"I'll teach you. I'll teach both of you."
Naturally, Yuzuru would not refuse either of their requests. He narrowed his eyes and nodded repeatedly.
The next day, Yuzuru went to school on time as usual, leaving only two Shadow Clones at home. One taught Kakashi and Sakumo the Rasengan, while the other continued training Ice Release.
The Rasengan merely supplemented his offensive options in special circumstances, such as surprise attacks, but Ice Release was Yuzuru's true foundation, mainly because its potential was so great.
By now, Yuzuru had learned four Ice Release ninjutsu, namely:
C-rank, Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm
C-rank, Ice Release: Icicle Formation
B-rank, Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique
B-rank, Ice Release: Wolf Fang (modified from Nadare Rōga's version)
The last one, Ice Release: Wolf Fang, was something Yuzuru had modified based on the Ice Release used in the Land of Snow. After all, he possessed true Ice Release and did not need to rely on snow falling in an avalanche to create ice wolves.
As for ice senbon, those were so simple that Yuzuru often forgot they counted as ninjutsu.
At this point, Yuzuru's ninjutsu were more than sufficient. Neither offense nor defense posed much of a problem, and his arsenal was more lavish than an ordinary Chunin's.
Unfortunately, he had yet to master Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
Right now, this secret technique was his highest priority. Yuzuru wanted to master it completely and figure out exactly how it worked.
The space within the ice mirrors was simply too miraculous.
In class, Yuzuru slept slumped over his desk as usual. Beside him, Kurenai listened attentively and took notes as always, occasionally teasing Yuzuru by pinching his nose or poking his cheeks.
"Yuzuru looks cute when he's sleeping too~"
Perhaps it was something in the Yuki Clan's genes, but Yuzuru's skin remained as fair as ever. It was not a sickly pallor, but a crystalline fairness, and it felt smooth to the touch.
With his softly contoured face and the ponytail at the back of his head, he now fully understood why Haku in the original story had been mistaken for a girl.
It was purely a matter of the Yuki Clan's genes.
Because of this, Kurenai loved pinching and kneading Yuzuru's cheeks and never tired of doing it every day.