Chapter 69: Water Style, Yuhi Kurenai
After dinner, Hanekawa left with Tsunade.
Half an hour later, he met Maruboshi Kosuke.
He was wearing a gray vest and carrying a large black pot and several spatulas. He looked less like a ninja and more like a chef. Unlike in the original story, his left leg was not yet crippled.
When Hanekawa saw the giant black pot, he was instantly reminded of the "Pot-Shadow" Shimura Danzo.
"Lady Tsunade?" Maruboshi Kosuke was startled, a look of surprise on his face.
"Kosuke, it's been a while," Tsunade said, stroking Hanekawa's head. "This is my student, Hanekawa."
"Hello, Uncle Kosuke," Hanekawa greeted him.
"I've heard your name," Maruboshi Kosuke nodded, smiling. "Lady Tsunade has a great student."
"I've come today to ask you to teach him the Leaf Style Kenjutsu," Tsunade said after the pleasantries were over, stating her purpose.
"No problem," Maruboshi Kosuke agreed without a moment of hesitation.
"Thank you," Tsunade said, secretly relieved that it went so smoothly.
"Think nothing of it, Lady Tsunade," Maruboshi Kosuke waved his hand. "The Second Hokage didn't hold back any secrets from me, so how could I?"
He was referring to the Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu. The original version had 44 hand seals, but in the hands of Tobirama Senju and Kosuke, it only took three and six respectively.
"Lady Tsunade, does Hanekawa have any foundation in kenjutsu?" Maruboshi Kosuke quickly got into character.
"Yes," Tsunade replied.
"Then let's have a quick spar first," Maruboshi Kosuke said, thinking for a moment. "It's the best way to understand each other."
"Hanekawa," Tsunade instructed, "use all of your strength."
She also wanted to see how good her student's swordsmanship had become. Although she was his teacher, she had only taught him medical ninjutsu and the Strength of a Hundred Seal. His kenjutsu and genjutsu were taught by Yūhi Shinku, so she wasn't very clear on the details.
"Understood." Hanekawa took out his samurai sword.
"Be careful!" Maruboshi Kosuke drew a ninja sword and charged.
Clang!
The immense force sent a jolt up Maruboshi Kosuke's arm.
As expected of Tsunade's student! Kosuke was internally amazed but completely unfazed.
The two began a close-quarters kenjutsu match. The sound of blade on blade rang out continuously. In less than a minute, they had exchanged blows dozens of times.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Hanekawa's swordsmanship was better than she had imagined. She realized she still didn't know him as well as she thought.
"Let's stop here," Maruboshi Kosuke took two steps back, creating some distance. He only wanted to gauge Hanekawa's strength, not have a real fight, so there was no need to determine a winner.
"How was it?" Tsunade asked.
"Lady Tsunade, you were too modest. This is more than just a foundation," Maruboshi Kosuke said with a sigh of admiration. "There's not much more I can teach him in Leaf Style Kenjutsu."
Tsunade smiled at that. Complimenting Hanekawa was complimenting her, even though she didn't really care about it.
This brat is truly something.
"I've combined genjutsu with kenjutsu to create a technique called Leaf Style: Willow. I can teach him that," Maruboshi Kosuke said after some thought.
"That would be a great help, Kosuke," Tsunade said. This was exactly what she wanted Hanekawa to learn.
"It's no trouble at all; I should be thanking you, Lady Tsunade," Maruboshi Kosuke laughed. "I was worried that Leaf Style: Willow would be lost forever, but now I don't have to worry anymore!"
Although Leaf Style Kenjutsu was a basic style, genius ninjas didn't bother to learn it, and ordinary ninjas couldn't master it, so he had never been able to find a student.
"Hanekawa, go to Kosuke's place and learn kenjutsu whenever you have free time," Tsunade said, pausing to add, "Behave yourself."
"Huh?" Hanekawa really wanted to complain that she misunderstood him. He was very well-behaved. His report card from the Academy would prove it.
After Tsunade left, Maruboshi Kosuke began to explain his Leaf Style: Willow.
Simply put, you first used kenjutsu, then a genjutsu to blur your form and trap the enemy, and finally, you would attack from their blind spot. The overall difficulty was not small, just a little less than the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
Three days later, at the Ninja Academy.
Hanekawa opened his talent system.
[A-rank Jutsu Talent: Leaf Style: Willow.]
[Trigger Condition: Successfully perform the jutsu.]
[Current Progress: 5%.]
Though they were both A-rank, the Strength of a Hundred Seal was much slower to learn because he had no talent for taijutsu, but he did for genjutsu and swordsmanship. Hanekawa estimated he could learn Leaf Style: Willow in a month or two.
"Hanekawa!" Yuhi Kurenai's voice pulled him back to reality.
Hanekawa looked at her. Kurenai's cheeks were puffed up, and she looked unhappy.
"What's wrong?" Hanekawa reached out and poked her cheek.
It caved in like a balloon; it was very soft.
"Where have you been these past few days? Why haven't you been training with us?" Kurenai asked, pouting.
"I've been learning kenjutsu from a senpai," Hanekawa suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Kurenai, do you want to learn Water Style?"
Kurenai's chakra affinity test had shown she had a Water Style affinity. Hanekawa also needed to farm a Water Style talent.
More importantly, Maruboshi Kosuke was probably the most skilled Water Style ninja in the Leaf Village, aside from Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all, his Water Style was taught by Tobirama Senju.
"Water Style?" Kurenai hesitated, a little conflicted. "But I'm already so slow at learning genjutsu."
"Just give it a try," Hanekawa said with a smile. "Plus, if you only use genjutsu, your future potential will be limited."
Genjutsu had a fatal flaw in the ninja world: it could be broken by a teammate. In other words, a regular genjutsu ninja could do well in a one-on-one fight, but when there were more people, they were at a disadvantage.
The Uchiha clan was the exception.
"My dad would be so mad if he heard you say that," Kurenai said, rolling her eyes.
"But would you tell him?" Hanekawa asked, coiling a strand of her hair around his finger.
"N-no..." Kurenai felt her heart flutter a little.
"You're a good person, Kurenai," Hanekawa said softly.
"Of course, I am!" Kurenai said, looking at him. "I would never betray you!"
Not far away, Sarutobi Asuma looked at them. Although he had given up on Kurenai, seeing Hanekawa being so brazen with her, he muttered to himself, "What a jerk!"
But who was he to object? The boy was handsome, and the girl was beautiful; they were a match made in heaven.
"Let's go." After class, Hanekawa brought Kurenai to Maruboshi Kosuke's house.
"Hello, Uncle Kosuke, I'm Yuhi Kurenai," Kurenai said politely.
"Shinku's daughter?" Maruboshi Kosuke looked at her for a moment and said with a sigh, "I can't believe his daughter is all grown up already."
"You know my dad?" Kurenai asked, surprised.
"We were temporary teammates on a mission once," Maruboshi Kosuke explained.
A three-person ninja squad had fixed teammates. But sometimes, a mission couldn't be completed by three people, or a teammate was killed in an accident, so temporary teammates would be assigned.
Kurenai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was always easier to talk to someone you knew. She looked at Hanekawa, mustered up her courage, and asked, "Uncle Kosuke, can I learn Water Style from you?"
"Water Style?" Maruboshi Kosuke's eyes lit up. "You've come at the perfect time. I don't have much else to teach Hanekawa, so I've been a little bored."
Hanekawa's talent was amazing. He had already learned everything he needed to for Leaf Style: Willow; it was just a matter of time before he mastered it.
....
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