Fireworks, Summoning Technique, and Goals

Ayato and Ino walked side by side down the road.

"So it really was you, Ayato. I almost didn't recognize you at first," Ino said, sneaking another glance at him. Ayato had probably dressed up specially for New Year today, and he looked much more handsome than usual.

"Yeah, but you recognized me in the end, didn't you?" Ayato said helplessly.

Although he had agreed to Sinai's request, he really didn't have those kinds of feelings for Ino. As he had said before, she was simply too young. The thought of feeling that way about her made Ayato feel a little guilty.

"Is there anything you want to play or eat?" Ayato asked.

"Um, that." Ino pointed at the takoyaki stall nearby. She had wanted some already, but her family would not let her have any. Since Ayato had asked, she said it outright and looked at him expectantly.

"Then wait here. I'll go buy some for you." Ayato glanced at the stall's long line and headed for the back of it.

Ino found a bench and sat down, propping her chin on both hands as she watched Ayato stand in line, a smile appearing on her face.

So Ayato was this handsome once he dressed up. And he was so outstanding too. Most importantly, he usually did not pay much attention to other girls, only her, right?

The young girl sank into a wonderful fantasy, her little face turning red.

If Ayato knew what Ino was thinking, he would tell her she was overthinking it. If they had not gotten acquainted when he bought flowers before, he would probably have treated Ino no differently from his other classmates.

Still, since they knew each other already, it would indeed be inappropriate to ignore her. Ayato was not treating her specially. He generally acknowledged anyone he knew.

The problem was that among the people Ayato knew, the only girls were Ino and Hinata. He had only gotten slightly acquainted with Hinata when Naruto was being bullied before, but with her personality, she would never take the initiative to find Ayato. Besides, she only had eyes for Naruto, so there was even less chance of her coming to him.

That was what had led to the current situation. In Ino's eyes, he seemed to only pay attention to her among all the girls.

The stall owner worked quickly. Though the line was long, it did not take much time before Ayato arrived before the still daydreaming Ino with a box of takoyaki.

"What are you thinking about? You look completely lost," Ayato asked after patting Ino on the head and seeing her snap back to her senses.

"N-Nothing." Ino's face reddened. There was no way she would tell him she had just been thinking about him. Taking the takoyaki, she felt her taste buds spring to life and immediately speared one with a toothpick, about to put it in her mouth.

"Careful, it's hot," Ayato warned when he saw that, but apparently he was a little too late.

Ino had already burned herself. She kept blowing hot air from her mouth, trying to cool it down, yet even like this, she refused to spit out the takoyaki.

Ayato was a little speechless. "Eat slowly. No one's going to steal it from you."

Ino nodded. Once the takoyaki in her mouth had finally cooled down, she began eating it. Her eyes immediately lit up, and only then did she remember Ayato's words.

"Ayato, aren't you having any?"

"I don't eat this kind of thing," Ayato said.

"Um, okay. Then how much was it? I'll pay you back."

"No need. It's only takoyaki. I can afford it." Ayato had no intention of taking her money. It was not expensive.

"Um, I should still give you the money. Mom gave me some. Look if you don't believe me." Ino opened her little wallet, and the amount inside left Ayato somewhat speechless. She seemed to be quite a little rich girl herself.

Even so, Ayato did not take it. "Consider it my treat. Of course I'm not taking your money. Don't think so much about it. Just enjoy it. The fireworks should be starting soon, and I'll take you somewhere with a good view."

"Okay." Ino finally nodded, put away her wallet, and began nibbling at the takoyaki in small bites.

Meanwhile, Ayato considered what place would not be too crowded while still offering a view of the fireworks. Fortunately, he had wandered all over the place when he was younger. After thinking for a while, he really did remember a good spot not far from where he usually trained.

"I'm done," Ino said after a while.

"Mm. Wipe up." Ayato took out some tissues he had picked up from the stall and handed them to Ino.

Only then did Ino realize she had probably gotten oil all around her mouth. Her face reddened, and she hurriedly took the tissues and wiped herself clean.

"I found a good spot. Make sure you keep up with me." Ayato stood and headed toward their destination.

"Oh, okay." Ino nodded and followed behind him.

But the two children were far too inconspicuous in such a crowd. Several times, people squeezed between Ino and Ayato, nearly causing Ino to lose track of him. It would not be good if they got separated like this.

In the end, Ayato chose to take Ino's hand and continue toward their destination. That way, they would not have to worry about thoughtless people cutting between them.

But as Ino looked at their clasped hands, her face reddened slightly, though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

Soon, Ayato brought Ino to a place with fewer people. The ground was relatively high, and it was not far from the main street, so they could still see the fireworks. Though there were not many people here, some had already claimed their spots.

Apparently, he was not the only one who had thought of this place. Ayato nodded and led Ino to a patch of grass, where they sat down.

"Ino, after we watch the fireworks, we'll head back," Ayato said.

"Mm, okay." Ino was already very satisfied, so she nodded in agreement.

At that moment, a beam of light blossomed in the night sky. The sea of fireworks began beneath the darkness, capturing all of Ino's attention. Her eyes shimmered with light, and she looked delighted.

Ayato also watched the fireworks overhead. When he had been young in his previous life, he had often been able to see fireworks during holidays. Unfortunately, after he grew up, fireworks and firecrackers were banned, and he rarely saw them again.

Seeing such dazzling fireworks now, Ayato could not help watching for a while longer. Then he shifted his gaze back and looked at Ino beside him, who was absorbed in the display.

Honestly, Ino's face was round when she was little, as though she had a bit of baby fat. She was quite cute, and Ayato felt a slight urge to poke her cheek. Unfortunately, that would be too intimate, so he gave up on the idea.

He remembered that in his previous life, he had wanted a daughter. Preferably one who would never grow up. Little daughters were especially adorable, and it would be even better if she were obedient.

There were many benefits to never growing up. She could always remain Daddy's little sweetheart, and he would not have to worry about her growing up and finding him annoying. Nor would he have to worry about her suddenly bringing some bratty boy home one day.

Unfortunately, never growing up was impossible. Besides, he had not even had a girlfriend in his previous life, so there was probably no point thinking so far ahead.

"What are you thinking about?" Ino noticed Ayato staring at her and asked curiously.

"Oh, I was thinking that it would be nice to have a daughter like Ino someday," Ayato answered without thinking.

Ino's face immediately turned even redder, though she was also a little confused. Why did he want a daughter? Why not a girlfriend?

"Alright, let's head back." Ayato noticed that the fireworks had ended and spoke.

"Okay." Ino nodded. Then, when they reached a crowded area, she took Ayato's hand on her own initiative. Even after they had walked out of the crowd, she did not let go.

After New Year, Ayato was still training as usual at the Training Ground.

However, as he trained, he thought about what had happened then. Even after they had left the crowd, he had forgotten to let go of Ino's hand, resulting in Sinai and the Yamanaka Couple seeing that scene.

Then Ayato had no choice but to face Yamanaka Inoichi's murderous gaze, along with the satisfied looks of the Yamanaka Matriarch and his own mother.

Sinai in particular kept looking at him as if to say, I didn't expect that from you. You've got some nerve.

The key was that Ayato could not explain himself. Was he supposed to say Ino had taken the initiative? Or that she was the one who had not let go? Ayato could not bring himself to say such things, so he could only remain silent.

Still, Ino's face had been very red back then. Could it be that she really had those thoughts?

After thinking about it for a while, Ayato felt it was actually possible. People in the world of Naruto matured far too early. Perhaps that was related to the average lifespan of shinobi. After all, shinobi did not live very long on average. If they really waited to marry and have children as late as people did in his previous world...

Then there would probably be far fewer people in the shinobi world. After all, many shinobi died on the battlefield at ages when, in his previous life, they probably had not even gotten married yet. How could that work?

Even so, six years old was still far too early, wasn't it?

And Ayato sighed. Although his impression of Ino, both now and in the original story, was fairly good, and he did find her cute, he truly had no interest in a six-year-old Ino.

She was so little. What interest could he possibly have? By Ayato's standards, older women were definitely more suitable. Unfortunately, his body would not allow it.

It seemed he could only take things one step at a time.

Ayato soon completed his physical training goal for the day, then sat to the side as lightning constantly danced across his body. He had always been using Lightning Release Massage, and his body's resistance to electricity had grown increasingly high.

As a result, the arcs of electricity around him had become thicker as well.

Ayato estimated that if other shinobi attacked him with Lightning Release ninjutsu now, he could probably resist a considerable portion of the damage outright. Moreover, his resistance to lightning was still increasing. That was rather terrifying. There was definitely a limit, but once he reached it, it would likely be difficult for purely Lightning Release, non-physical attacks to break through his defenses.

After Lightning Release Massage came further practice of the Void State.

Now, after entering the Void State, Ayato did not merely observe the Chakra within his body. He also had to sense things in that state. As for what he was sensing, it was naturally the Flying Thunder God kunai. Ayato had given that kunai to Sinai to carry.

Thus, in Ayato's perception, that kunai was constantly moving. This was exactly the result he wanted. If the kunai did not move, he could not determine whether he was able to sense a moving kunai. Although Sinai moved within a small range, it was enough.

As for why he had put it on Sinai, it was because Sinai was the only option. Putting it on a cat or dog would have been more effective, but what if the animal damaged the kunai? Besides, tying a Special Kunai to a cat or dog would be too conspicuous and would definitely be noticed by passersby. Ayato could summon it back directly, but what if it was damaged? He would be left in tears.

Therefore, if he wanted to test a moving kunai, he could only put it on Sinai.

Once he had finished sensing it, his practice in the Void State was over for the moment. Ayato instantly opened his eyes, quickly bit his thumb, and formed hand seals at high speed. In the next instant, he completed several seals and pressed his hand to the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

Far away in the restaurant, Sinai felt the object resting against her leg suddenly become lighter. She knew that Ayato had summoned the kunai away. Her expression did not change as she continued working.

Ayato looked at the kunai before him, a satisfied expression appearing on his face. Sure enough, with the lingering sensation from the Void State, even though he had not yet fully established a connection with it, he had successfully used the Summoning Technique and summoned this kunai over.

Of course, by using the previously bound technique formula, he could summon the kunai even without knowing where it was. But Ayato still preferred relying on perception rather than the formula's binding, because this method could test the depth of his connection and the strength of his perception.

Let's set a small goal first. Before school starts, I'll reach the point where I can sense the kunai's exact location and summon it over without entering the Void State!

Next, Ayato continued pouring his Chakra into the kunai, again and again, constantly deepening his connection to this Special Kunai.

Once he had left himself enough Chakra to massage Rock Lee and Sinai, Ayato stopped. Feeling the kunai become clearer and clearer in his perception, a satisfied look appeared on his face. As long as he continued like this, he believed the Flying Thunder God would absolutely not escape his grasp.

However, passing the Flying Thunder God test should no longer be a problem. It was time to consider his next direction. He could not allow Flying Thunder God to consume all his energy.

At present, he had basically completed the study of Chakra shape transformation. He had even tried a miniature version of the Rasengan, and its power was decent. It should count as a success, and he had not even needed the assistance of a Shadow Clone.

Of course, that version of the Rasengan was merely an attribute-less Rasengan.

Next, he would try incorporating Wind Style Chakra into the Rasengan. Lightning Release would probably be more difficult, but he could try that as well. And... he should also put learning nature transformation on the agenda.

The road ahead was long and arduous!