"I see, then you really should thank Iruka properly," Sinaye said with mild surprise before smiling warmly.
Haruto's chakra reserves had exceeded even her expectations, not to mention the amount he could draw out at once. She remembered clearly that neither she nor Haruto's father had large chakra pools; they were both about average. She never imagined their son would turn out this exceptional.
In truth, Haruto's naturally decent reserves came from the fact that both his parents had been shinobi. But what mattered even more was that Haruto had never once slacked off these past years. And for the sake of ensuring his body grew well, he had never allowed himself to go without proper nutrition.
"Right, Haruto, you must have already looked over the Three Basic Techniques, right? How does it feel? If there's anything you don't understand, I can demonstrate for you. Teaching might be hard, but showing is easy," Sinaye said with a grin.
"I already learned all of them," Haruto replied.
"Mm, mhm—huh?" Sinaye nodded on reflex, then froze as the meaning hit her. She knew her son's personality well. He wouldn't lie about something like this. But still—learning all three techniques on the first attempt?
Haruto watched her stunned face and smiled. He quickly formed a single hand sign, a puff of white smoke rose, and the next moment two Sinayes—one big, one small—were staring at each other.
He could have matched her height using more chakra, but there was no point wasting it just for a demonstration.
Sinaye gazed at the miniature version of herself, dazed. The precision of the transformation was incredible. Aside from the height difference, the level of detail was enough to fool most people at a glance.
Haruto dissolved the Transformation Technique, then performed the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique, both of which he could now use reliably. His forming of the hand signs was already faster than before—the Clone Technique taking under two seconds, the Substitution Technique just over two.
It still wasn't his maximum speed for hand seals, but Sinaye was already stunned. She, who had been a genin, couldn't perform either technique that quickly.
At that moment, she finally understood the truth of her son's shinobi talent. She had always known he was gifted, but this was no longer the level of "excellent." This was unmistakably the level of a genius.
Even so, she also knew the path of a shinobi was one filled with danger. With a soft sigh, she didn't try to stop him but instead quietly returned to her room.
Haruto watched her retreating back in confusion.
A moment later, Sinaye returned holding several scrolls and handed them to him.
"These are…?" Haruto blinked.
"Jutsu we exchanged for long ago. All C-rank. The Shadow Clone jutsu I gave you earlier was actually something your father planned to trade for the Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere—a B-rank technique. But since he hadn't fully mastered the C-rank techniques yet, he never made the exchange." Sinaye's tone was calm, as though the years had already smoothed out the pain. "Originally, I wanted to give these to you only after you officially became a shinobi. But with your talent… delaying you would only be wasting your time."
She touched his shoulder gently. "A little reminder, even though I know my little adult doesn't need it: always do things within your limits. Never recklessly push yourself."
"I understand," Haruto said seriously.
He looked over the scrolls—four C-rank jutsu in total: Wind Release: Gale Palm, Wind Release: Wind Cutter, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, and Lightning Release: Earth Flow.
The wind techniques were clearly inherited from his late father. Together they formed a solid toolkit—a wide-area attack, a precise cutting technique, and a close-range blast. With these, Haruto doubted he would need to obtain any more C-rank wind techniques.
As for Earth Flow, that must have been from his mother's side. Haruto remembered that it wasn't very practical alone. Many battles happened on open ground, so Earth Flow was most effective only when paired with a water-style technique.
For now, Haruto had no intention of learning these jutsu. While he had enough chakra to use them at minimal strength, afterward he would be nearly empty. The training efficiency would be terrible.
Instead, he preferred to continue mastering low-consumption techniques like Substitution. And now that he finally had the Shadow Clone Technique, he could begin working on it—it was perfect for training. Despite being B-rank, its main difficulty lay only in the chakra requirement, not complexity. The durability of each clone depended directly on the chakra allotted to it.
If his clone used no chakra except what was needed for maintaining form, Haruto believed even his low reserves would allow it to last for a reasonable amount of time.
"Mom, I'm heading out now," Haruto said as he stored the scrolls away.
"Alright. And remember to thank Iruka properly, okay? If there's ever a chance, come by the barbecue shop where I work. I'll prepare the freshest cuts for you." Sinaye smiled.
"I'd love to, but I don't think Iruka-sensei would agree," Haruto said.
"Ah… truly a good teacher." She nodded with a touch of admiration.
In front of Ichiraku Ramen, Haruto arrived early. Iruka had not yet shown up. Haruto glanced at the lively shop and couldn't help admiring how well business was doing.
Not surprising, really—the ramen was excellent, and the prices were fair. Even the hand-made noodles Teuchi prepared looked younger than they did in the anime.
"Haruto, you're here so early?" Iruka's surprised voice came as he approached. He had thought he arrived ahead of time, yet Haruto had still beaten him.
"Yes. Since I'm the one treating you, I should be earlier," Haruto replied.
"Well… coming a little later would've been fine too," Iruka said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. Haruto really didn't feel like a first-year student.
"Iruka-sensei, shall we go in?" Haruto said politely.
"Alright," Iruka answered. The whole time, he couldn't shake the feeling he was conversing with a peer rather than a child.
"Teuchi-san, two deluxe ramen," Haruto ordered.
"Oh? Haruto, it's you. Something to celebrate today?" Teuchi asked, surprised. Haruto rarely ordered the deluxe bowl—not the cheapest, but certainly not something he splurged on often. Still, Haruto had always believed that proper nutrition was essential for growth, so he never mistreated himself in that regard.
"Yes. A lot of good things happened today," Haruto nodded seriously. From mastering the Three Basic Techniques to receiving Shadow Clone and the inherited jutsu, today was full of blessings.
"Haruto, you don't need to spend this much on sensei," Iruka murmured.
"Iruka-sensei can just call me Haruto. And honestly, this doesn't feel like enough. Unless… sensei agrees to go with me to the barbecue shop sometime. You know my mom works there—she could give a discount." Haruto replied earnestly.
"Ah… well… maybe another time," Iruka said, still unable to accept.
Haruto didn't push further. He simply sat quietly and waited for the ramen.
But Iruka hesitated, watching Haruto thoughtfully. Something had been bothering him. Recently, he had noticed a problem—not with Haruto, but related to someone Haruto interacted with often. If anyone might know something, it would be him.
"If Iruka-sensei has something to ask, please go ahead," Haruto said calmly. "If I know the answer, I'll tell you."
"That obvious?" Iruka laughed awkwardly, then exhaled and asked seriously, "Haruto… what do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?"