Pa!
Pa!
Pa!
Early in the morning, before even having breakfast, Aoba was pulled up by Hayame for morning training.
The two of them were in their small courtyard, each holding a bamboo sword, exchanging moves.
Well, it was called an exchange, but in reality, Aoba was the one constantly attacking, while Hayame was purely defending, blocking all of his strikes.
Even though they were only using bamboo swords, the sound of their collisions was extremely loud. Aoba showed no mercy; every strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless. Not only were his angles tricky, but his strength was far from light.
After just a few dozen exchanges, a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on Aoba's forehead.
After all, he was still just a child. If it weren't for his chakra reserves being comparable to most Genin, he probably wouldn't have been able to last through so many rounds.
As Hayame blocked his strikes, a satisfied expression appeared on his face. The speed of the attacks, the force behind each strike, and even the timing of the attacks all proved that this kid hadn't been slacking off in his swordsmanship training because of those girls.
At the same time, he could clearly sense the terrifying talent hidden within Aoba.
In the world of ninjas, the most direct way to measure a ninja's talent was their chakra reserves. Except for a few special cases, any famous ninja would never have low chakra reserves.
And now, at only seven years old, Aoba already had chakra reserves far beyond others of his age. This reminded Hayame of a once-renowned genius ninja, Hatake Kakashi.
A young prodigy, skilled in swordsmanship at a young age, and... well, best not to continue that comparison.
After a few more clashes, Hayame took a step back to create some distance and signaled Aoba to stop attacking.
"Not bad. It looks like you haven't slacked off in your swordsmanship training. The next step is to start integrating chakra into your swordsmanship," Hayame nodded in satisfaction.
Hearing this, Aoba's face lit up with excitement. He asked eagerly, "Is it that technique where you can slash out energy waves with a sword?"
Smack!
Aoba clutched his head in pain.
Hayame withdrew his hand and said seriously, "The worst thing in training is being overly ambitious. You need to take it one step at a time. You little brat, you haven't even learned to walk properly yet, and you're already thinking about flying?"
"I was just curious!"
Aoba rubbed the spot where he was hit.
Seeing how well-behaved he was being, Hayame didn't scold him further. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
After putting the bamboo swords back in their place, he said, "I'm going to prepare breakfast. Go wash up first."
When he said 'prepare breakfast,' it didn't actually mean cooking. Hayame never learned to cook. When he used to live alone, he rarely stayed in one place, spending most of his time either on missions or training. His meals mostly consisted of ration pills.
He only visited his older brother's house during holidays.
This courtyard was bought after Aoba's mother died during a mission, so it would be easier to take care of him.
So by 'preparing breakfast,' he really just meant making instant ramen, with eggs, milk, and some fruit.
Simple, but nutritionally balanced.
Aoba had no complaints about this. To be honest, he preferred instant ramen over traditional Japanese breakfasts.
———
At the breakfast table, Hayame put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "For the next few days, don't go looking for those little girls."
"Why?"
Aoba lifted his face from his bowl and asked instinctively.
Hayame continued clearing the dishes as he explained, "The next thing you'll be learning isn't easy."
"I won't be able to stay off duty for too long this time, so our time is tight."
"I don't think not seeing your little girlfriends for a few days will affect your relationships, right?"
"…", Aoba was speechless, 'He has been so serious just now, why does he have to tease me at the end?
Hayame then put on an even more serious expression and asked, "Speaking of which, between Tenten, Ino, and Sakura, which one do you like the most?"
For once, Hayame showed genuine curiosity. Though he usually had a strict personality, when it came to the future of the Shirakumo family, he felt the need to gossip a little.
Aoba might not understand now, but he had to plan ahead.
"I don't have those kinds of thoughts right now," Aoba bit his chopsticks. He couldn't exactly say, "I want them all," could he?
"Then who do you enjoy spending time with the most?", Hayame pressed on.
"I like hanging out with all of them," Aoba's response was flawless.
He treated all three of them equally.
Though he spent more time with Tenten since her family ran a weapons shop, he never neglected Ino or Sakura.
As a civilian, he understood the importance of having more friends.
After all, they would all be important figures in Konoha in the future. He just hadn't expected things to progress so quickly between them.
"Is that so?", Hayame's expression turned complicated, as if he were deep in thought.
Aoba found it strange, but just as he was about to ask, Hayame had already walked into the kitchen with the dishes, leaving behind one last sentence: "Hurry up and eat. After this, we start training!"
———
Hayame wasn't particularly skilled in various flashy ninjutsu.
His claim to fame came from two techniques.
One was the Vacuum Sword, and the other was Body Flicker Technique.
The Vacuum Sword involved infusing chakra into the blade and then swinging it to create powerful chakra-infused wind blades. It could be used for both offense and defense.
Body Flicker Technique, on the other hand, allowed the user to scatter into leaves and disappear into the air, avoiding enemy attacks.
Since Body Flicker Technique was more difficult, Aoba would start with learning the Vacuum Sword.
And the first step was to infuse chakra into his sword.
If he had a sword made of chakra metal, this would be easy. But with an ordinary sword, it would be much harder.
So before mastering the Vacuum Sword, he had to learn techniques similar to Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.
"Aoba, your chakra nature is wind, and wind is the best attribute for learning the Vacuum Sword," In the courtyard, Hayame explained the principles of the Vacuum Sword to Aoba.
Seeing the confused look on Aoba's face, he continued, "Because the most defining nature transformation of wind chakra is cutting—like this."
He casually picked up a twig from the ground.
Then, with a faint humming sound, the twig was enveloped in a thin layer of light blue chakra.
Aoba's eyes widened slightly. He could feel an undeniable 'sharpness' radiating from the twig.
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