SLAM!SLAM!SLAM!
Early in the morning, before breakfast, Shirakumo Aoba was dragged out of bed by Yamanaka Yamanaka for morning training.
They stood in the small courtyard of their home, each holding a bamboo sword, trading blows.
They were "sparring," but Aoba was the only one attacking. Yamanaka only blocked.
Even though they were using bamboo swords, the clashing sound was loud. Aoba didn't hold back at all—every strike was fast, precise, and brutal. His angles were sharp, and the force behind each swing wasn't light.
After just a few dozen exchanges, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Aoba's forehead.
He was still just a child. If it weren't for the fact that his chakra was already comparable to most genin, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep up for so long.
Yamanaka, blocking the strikes, looked satisfied.
The speed of Aoba's swings, the strength of each hit, and the timing—everything showed that he hadn't slacked off on sword training, even with all those girls around.
He could also feel the terrifying talent within Aoba.
In the ninja world, the most intuitive measure of talent was chakra capacity. Except for a few rare exceptions, every famous ninja had plenty of chakra.
And Aoba was only five years old, yet his chakra already far exceeded that of his peers.
It reminded Yamanaka of the legendary genius ninja, Hatake Kakashi.
Both were young prodigies, both were skilled in swordsmanship…
No, scratch that—he didn't want to keep drawing comparisons.
After a few more exchanges, Yamanaka stepped back, creating distance and signaling Aoba to stop attacking.
"Good," he said. "It seems you haven't slacked off on sword training. The next step is to begin training sword techniques that combine chakra."
Aoba's eyes lit up.
"Is that the one where you swing the sword and release sword energy?"
"Oi!"
Aoba instinctively clutched his head and cried out in pain.
Yamanaka withdrew his hand from the bamboo sword and spoke seriously.
"The biggest mistake in training is aiming too high too soon. You need to take it step by step. You little brat haven't even learned to walk properly yet, and you already want to fly?"
"I wasn't trying to— I just didn't know."
Aoba rubbed the sore spot on his head.
Seeing how obedient Aoba was being, Yamanaka didn't scold him further. A faint smile flashed in his eyes.
After putting the bamboo swords away, he said, "I'll go prepare breakfast. You go wash up."
He said "prepare breakfast," but Yamanaka wasn't exactly a cook. When he lived alone, he was always on missions or training. He basically survived on rations.
He only visited his older brother's home during holidays.
This courtyard had been purchased after Aoba's parents died on a mission, so it was easier to take care of him.
So "preparing breakfast" meant two bowls of ramen, plus eggs, milk, and some fruit.
Simple, but nutritious.
Aoba didn't object at all. Honestly, he preferred instant ramen over a normal Japanese breakfast.
"By the way," Yamanaka said at the table, putting down his chopsticks with a serious expression, "for the next few days, don't go looking for those girls."
"Why?"
Aoba lifted his head from his bowl and asked instinctively.
Yamanaka continued while tidying the dishes.
"The things you're about to learn aren't simple."
"I'm not going to have much time to rest this time, so things will be tight."
"I don't think a few days without seeing them will affect your relationships with your little girlfriends, right?"
…
Aoba was speechless.
They were talking so seriously, and then he had to throw that tease in at the end?
Yamanaka regained his serious demeanor and asked, "Among Tenten, Ino, and Sakura, who do you like the most?"
Yamanaka was unusually curious. He was usually strict, but when it came to the Yamanaka family's future, he had a right to gossip a little.
Aoba was still a child and might not understand, but Yamanaka expected him to.
Aoba needed a way to get out of this question.
"I don't have any thoughts like that right now."
Aoba bit his chopsticks, refusing to say he wanted all of them.
"Then who do you like playing with the most?"
Yamanaka asked again.
"I like playing with everyone."
Aoba's answer was airtight.
He treated all three equally.
Although he spent more time with Tenten because of the trade, he wouldn't favor Ino or Sakura.
As a commoner, he understood the value of having multiple friends and multiple paths.
These girls were all going to become major figures in Konoha one day, and their development had progressed faster than he expected.
"Is that so?"
Yamanaka's expression grew complicated, as if he meant something deeper.
Aoba didn't know what to make of it. He was about to ask when Yamanaka had already gone to the kitchen, leaving behind a final sentence.
"Eat quickly. After you're done, we start training."
—
Yamanaka himself wasn't skilled in flashy ninjutsu.
He was famous for only two techniques:
Vacuum Sword and Konoha Shunshin.
Vacuum Sword was the method of infusing chakra into the blade, then swinging it to create a powerful chakra wind blade that could attack and defend.
Konoha Shunshin was a technique where the user transformed into a leaf and drifted away in the air to evade attacks.
Because Konoha Shunshin was difficult, Aoba had to learn Vacuum Sword first.
The first step he had to master was infusing chakra into the sword.
If he had a sword made from chakra metal, it would be easy.
But with a normal blade, it was much harder.
So before learning Vacuum Sword, he had to learn a technique similar to Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.
"Aoba, your chakra nature is wind," Yamanaka said in the courtyard, explaining Vacuum Sword techniques.
"Wind is the best nature for practicing Vacuum Sword."
Seeing Aoba's confused expression, Yamanaka continued.
"Wind's most prominent property is cutting. Like this—"
Yamanaka casually picked up a branch from the ground.
Then, with a soft buzz, the branch became enveloped in a faint blue chakra.
Aoba widened his eyes slightly.
He could feel a sharpness coming from the branch.