Inheritance

Chapter 9: Inheritance

"I see. Then you really should thank Iruka Sensei properly." Sinai looked a little surprised, then smiled as she spoke.

Ayato's Chakra reserves had also exceeded Sinai's expectations. Not to mention his rate of extraction—she remembered that neither she nor Ayato's father had particularly large Chakra reserves, only average ones. She had never expected Ayato to be so outstanding.

In truth, because Ayato's parents had both been ninja, his innate Chakra reserves were fairly good. But more importantly, Ayato had never slacked off over the years, and for the sake of his physical development, he had never shortchanged himself!

"By the way, Little Ayato, you've already looked over the Three Body Technique, right? How does it feel? If there's anything you don't understand, I can demonstrate it for you. I don't know how to teach it, but demonstrating should be fine." Sinai said with a smile.

"I've already learned all of them," Ayato answered.

"Mm, mm?" Sinai nodded subconsciously, then came back to her senses. Once she understood what Ayato meant, her eyes widened. She knew her child's personality—he would not lie about something like this. But this was simply unbelievable. He had learned them all on his first try?

Watching Sinai's astonishment, Ayato smiled and swiftly formed a hand seal. A puff of white smoke rose.

The next moment, two Sináis—one large and one small—faced each other. Ayato could have used more Chakra to create a body as tall as Sinai's, but there was no need to waste Chakra just for a demonstration.

Sinai stared at the miniature version of herself, feeling somewhat dazed. It was not merely that he could use the technique; his proficiency was quite high. Aside from the unavoidable difference in height, the transformation was detailed enough that, without close inspection, it truly could pass for the real thing.

After Ayato released the Transformation Technique, he used the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique again. His hand seals were a little faster than before. The Clone Technique took less than two seconds, while the Substitution Technique took just over two seconds. Neither was yet at Ayato's fastest hand-seal speed.

But to Sinai, this was already somewhat unbelievable, because even she could not perform those two ninjutsu as quickly as Ayato!

At that moment, Sinai finally understood her child's talent as a ninja. She had known he should be excellent before, but now it seemed this went far beyond excellence. He was an absolute genius.

However, even for a genius, the path of a ninja was full of danger. Sinai sighed, but she had no intention of stopping Ayato from becoming a ninja. After thinking for a while, she walked into her room.

Ayato watched Sinai's back, somewhat puzzled.

Then Sinai came out carrying several Scrolls and handed them to Ayato.

"What are these?" Ayato asked in surprise.

"Some ninjutsu we exchanged for before. They're all C-Rank. Actually, the Shadow Clone I gave you earlier was what your father had been planning to exchange for the B-Rank Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere. But he had not yet exchanged it because he had not fully mastered the C-Rank ninjutsu." Sinai did not sound particularly regretful as she spoke. She had grown used to it over the years. "I originally planned to give them to you after you officially became a ninja. But since Little Ayato is so talented, I can't waste your time. I'm giving them to you early."

"With Little Ayato's talent, you should learn them quickly. Even though I don't think my little grown-up needs reminding, I still have to say it: know your limits. Don't force yourself."

"Mm, I understand." Ayato solemnly accepted the Scrolls and looked them over. There were four ninjutsu in total, all C-Rank: Wind Style: Gale Palm, Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, and Lightning Style: Earth Corridor.

The Wind Release techniques had belonged to his late father. The set seemed fairly well-rounded: the wide-area Great Breakthrough, the single-target Wind Cutter Technique, and the close-range Gale Palm. With these, Ayato felt there was no need to exchange for any other C-Rank Wind Release techniques.

As for Lightning Style: Earth Corridor, it should have belonged to his mom. However, he remembered that this technique did not seem especially practical. Most battles took place on land, so it needed to be combined with Water Release to unleash its full power.

But Ayato had no plans to learn these ninjutsu yet. His current Chakra reserves should be enough to use them, but afterward, even if he used them at minimum power, he would probably have little Chakra left. He likely would not be able to use them many times, making the training efficiency too low.

Rather than learning those, he might as well continue becoming familiar with the low-Chakra-cost Substitution Technique. He could also start learning the Shadow Clone. Although Shadow Clone was B-Rank, it merely split his Chakra evenly. The amount of Chakra should determine how long the Shadow Clone could last. If the Shadow Clone did not use Chakra and only its natural upkeep was considered, then even with limited Chakra reserves, it should be able to persist for some time.

"Mom, I'll head out first." After putting away the Scrolls, Ayato spoke.

"Okay. Make sure you thank Iruka Sensei properly, understand? If you get the chance, you can bring him to the Grilled Meat Restaurant where Mom works. I'll arrange for the freshest ingredients." Sinai said.

"That won't work. I'd like to, too, but Iruka Sensei probably won't agree," Ayato said.

"Mm, he really is a good teacher." Sinai nodded, feeling a little moved. Meeting a teacher like that was a kind of good fortune as well.

Outside the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Ayato had arrived quite early. Iruka had not come yet. Looking at the bustling Ichiraku Ramen, Ayato could not help marveling at how good business was.

It was not hard to understand, though. The food truly tasted good, and the prices were fairly affordable. Uncle Teuchi in the shop still looked younger than he had in the anime.

"Ayato, you came so early?" Iruka said in surprise when he spotted him. He had thought he had arrived early enough, yet he was still later than Ayato.

"Mm. Since I'm the one thanking you and treating you, naturally I should arrive earlier," Ayato said.

"It would've been fine to come a little later," Iruka said, scratching his head. Once again, he felt that Ayato really did not seem much like a child.

"Iruka Sensei, let's go in," Ayato said, not answering that question.

"Alright." Iruka always felt as if he were speaking to someone his own age, yet the other party was undeniably a child. It was a rather strange feeling.

"Uncle Teuchi, two deluxe ramen bowls," Ayato said.

"Coming right up. Little Ayato, is there some happy occasion today?" Teuchi was a little surprised to hear Ayato's order. Previously, Ayato had almost never ordered the deluxe bowl. Of course, he had not ordered the cheapest one either. Ayato had always believed that a growing body needed enough meat, eggs, and milk, so he would never shortchange himself when it came to food.

"Mm, there were a lot of surprises today." Ayato nodded seriously. Whether it was the Three Body Technique, the Shadow Clone, or the several ninjutsu at the end, all of them had been surprises.

"Ayato, you don't need to spend so much," Iruka said at that moment.

"Iruka Sensei, just call me Ayato. And even this doesn't feel like enough, unless you agree to come with me to the Grilled Meat Restaurant later. You know my mother works there, so it can be a little cheaper," Ayato said seriously.

"Oh, that... haha, we can talk about it if there's a chance later." Iruka scratched his head and still did not agree.

Ayato looked at Iruka and did not press the matter, sitting to one side as he waited for the ramen.

During that time, Iruka watched Ayato with some hesitation. He had recently encountered a problem. Although the problem was not Ayato himself, Ayato was indeed closest to that person, so Iruka had something he wanted to ask.

"If you have something to ask, Iruka Sensei, just ask. If I know the answer, I'll definitely tell you," Ayato said, having already seen through Iruka's thoughts.

"Was it that obvious?" Iruka scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. Then his smile faded as he asked, "Ayato, I want to ask you something. What do you think of the Uzumaki classmate?"