Chapter 88: Have You Learned to Fly?
Over the next few days, Haruko lived a rare period of peace and quiet.
No missions, no emergencies; every day he helped out at the Ramen Shop, went home to bask in the sun on his rocking chair, and took some time to flip through the spoils he got from Danzo while letting his Shadow Clones research Sage Mode.
This was the life he wanted.
However, good times are always short-lived.
"Brother Haruko, please teach me Ninjutsu."
Haruko was lying on the rocking chair in the courtyard when Kin ran over clutching a pile of Ninjutsu materials.
Haruko was stunned for a moment: "Why so suddenly..."
"I... I've already learned the basic use of Chakra. I can start learning Ninjutsu now. And..."
As she spoke, the young girl lowered her head.
"I don't want to be a burden to Brother Haruko..."
Haruko wanted to say, "Go ask your school teacher," but seeing the girl's eyes that looked like they could burst into tears at any moment, he swallowed his words.
Actually, this child's Ninja talent wasn't bad among her peers. Haruko was willing to bring her back because even if she wasn't part of the Sound Four, she was still a talent "strictly selected by Orochimaru."
It was just that at home, with Haruko and Kaede above her, there was no need for her to act, and with Tayuya below her having even better Ninja talent for comparison, she seemed somewhat useless.
"Alright then." Haruko sighed and sat up from the rocking chair. "But you know, I'm not very good at teaching people."
Haruko had tried to teach her before, but the results weren't ideal, so he had sent her to the Ninja Academy to build a foundation first.
Now that the foundation was mostly set, it was time to teach her some Ninjutsu—after all, the Ninja Academy taught nothing but the Three Basic Jutsu.
"Me, me, me! I want to, too!"
Tayuya rushed out of the house with a defiant expression.
"Why teach only her and not me? I want to get stronger too!"
Haruko rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache.
'Kaede..."
Kaguya Kaede, this woman, had intensified her offensive since the Uchiha Clan Massacre Night.
Not only did she look at Haruko with those affectionate eyes from time to time, but she also secretly encouraged Kin and Tayuya to "take the initiative."
'Forget it... since I brought them back, I have to take responsibility to the end. This is all for future investment, yeah."
"Alright, since you want to learn..."
...
Half an hour later.
"...Those are the essentials of Chakra control. Do you understand?"
"...?"
The two girls stared at each other, looking completely bewildered as if listening to a foreign language.
"You don't understand? So, what exactly don't you get?"
Haruko scratched his head. He was a typical genius-type player, and with the accumulation of knowledge from his previous life, learning Ninjutsu was as easy as drinking water.
He often couldn't understand why others would get stuck on basic issues.
"Um... it's just a bit... too much of a leap?" Kin blinked her large eyes, looking confused.
"For example, you said 'condense Chakra in your hand, release it, and control it." After condensing it in the hand, how is it released? How much should be released? And how do you control it after it's released?"
"Condensing Chakra in the hand..."
Haruko held out a hand—
"...releasing it..."
Visible blue Chakra was released from his palm—
"...and controlling it."
And he let the Chakra gradually turn into a sphere.
"...Like this. Do you see?"
The two girls looked at the Chakra sphere, then at each other, and shook their heads.
"Brother Haruko, can you... make it a bit simpler?"
Haruko fell silent.
Simpler? This was already the simplest explanation he could think of.
Helpless, Haruko had to place Kin's small hand on his own: "Relax, try to concentrate your Chakra in your hand."
A wisp of gentle Chakra was released from Haruko's hand, passing through Kin's hand and guiding the flow of her Chakra.
"...Remember this feeling of Chakra being released from your hand."
Under Haruko's guidance, the Chakra condensed in Kin's hand also began to be released from her body.
"How is it? Do you feel it?"
"I... I feel it..." Kin's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her entire face flushed deep red.
"Brother Haruko's hand is so big... and warm..."
"..."
Haruko rolled his eyes, not knowing what to say to her.
"Big brother, I want to try too."
Tayuya reached out her hand, looking at Haruko expectantly.
Glancing at the already short-circuited Kin, Haruko nodded and let go of her hand.
Tayuya's hand was slightly firmer than Kin's. When Haruko held her hand to adjust her posture, he noticed the young girl's ears were a bit red, but that was all.
Compared to Kin's love-struck brain, Tayuya appeared exceptionally focused when Haruko guided the Chakra.
"I think... I understand a little." Tayuya looked at her palm thoughtfully.
Relying on her wild intuition, even though she couldn't understand Haruko's abstract teaching, her body remembered the feeling of the Chakra flow.
"It seems I can teach people after all." Haruko nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, Kaede, who had been leaning against the doorway watching the show, walked over gracefully, making the ambiguous atmosphere in the room a bit thicker.
"Darling, I want to try too~"
She walked to Haruko's side and took his hand, their fingers interlocking.
"Do you still need me to teach you?"
"Is that so? That's a pity then." Kaede blinked her eyes, not letting go of Haruko's hand.
"But they can't learn from your 'genius-style' teaching. I'd better do it."
Kaede pinched Kin's cheek to bring her back to her senses, then began to explain in detail using easy-to-understand theories combined with Haruko's demonstration.
With Kaede as a "translator," plus the previous intuitive experience, the two girls finally managed to get the hang of it.
...
Two more days passed, and Haruko finally finished sorting through the spoils.
Unfortunately, he didn't find Super Beast Imitating Drawing or any similar perfect "tool-man" Ninjutsu.
However, there were a few Ninjutsu that might be useful.
"Barrier Ninjutsu... That old dog Danzo really values his life; one wasn't enough, he had several kinds."
Haruko picked up a scroll—
"Even if it can't help me work, at least it can protect the safety of the home."
"It's a success!" The door suddenly burst open, and a Shadow Clone rushed in.
"What's a success... It's a success?!"
"Yeah, see for yourself." With that, the Shadow Clone vanished into a puff of white smoke.
Receiving the memories, Haruko dropped the scroll and dashed into the courtyard.
In a corner of the courtyard, a Shadow Clone sat cross-legged, its entire body covered in a layer of silver-gray Chakra.
"Is this... my Sage Mode?"
Haruko walked in a circle around the Shadow Clone.
There were no markings like the Mount Myōboku style, nor mutations like the Ryūchi Cave style; it looked somewhat like Naruto's Nine-Tailed Chakra Mode.
"How do you feel? Is it safe?" Haruko spoke to the Shadow Clone.
"Very good. There shouldn't be any risk in dispelling it."
"Hiss— Whew—" Haruko calmed his excitement, then—
"Release!"
The moment the Shadow Clone was released, the silver-gray energy surged into Haruko's main body like a tide.
He closed his eyes, feeling the Sage Mode Chakra, which was different from Natural Energy, flowing through his body.
"This is... Sage Mode."
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