Life at the Ninja Academy was meaningless.
At least, it was for Uchiha Gin.
The knowledge taught at the academy was already deeply imprinted in his mind. The "Will of Fire" had been thrown into the trash long ago, and even when it came to battle experience—
he believed more in learning through real combat.
The noisy chatter around him brought Gin back to reality. He lifted his head, the golden light of the setting sun casting a warm glow across his face.
The first thing he saw was the scowling face of Inoue Satoru.
Better to just ignore him.
Namikaze Minato, who had been about to nudge Gin awake, awkwardly pulled his hand back.
Gin always woke up right on time.
No need for anyone to wake him.
"We're heading out for some barbecue, Gin, you coming?"
Gin glanced sideways. Uzumaki Kushina, who was waiting nearby, had perked up her ears to listen.
In front of him, Minato's sunny smile was beaming.
Even though these two were still in the awkward phase of a budding crush, Gin had no desire to become the third wheel for their puppy love.
Still...
"Are you treating?" Gin asked lazily.
If someone else was paying, that was another story.
Minato scratched his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed. Treating everyone... he probably couldn't afford that. He came from an ordinary civilian family, and he was the only ninja among them.
"I'll pay!" Kushina slammed her palm onto the table loudly.
After all, she only had these two little brothers around her.
Without realizing it, Gin had been lumped in by Kushina as one of her "little brothers."
But at the very moment Kushina said she'd treat—
Gin had already vanished from his seat.
"Eh?!"
Where did he go?!
"Hey! What are you guys still waiting for?"
Gin had already appeared at the classroom door, waving at them.
"Come on! Barbecue!"
Work hard when it's time to eat. If you're lazy, your mindset is wrong.
And this time someone was paying!
Minato: "..."
Kushina: "..."
Why are you so quick and so skilled at this?!
"Wait up!"
Hyuga Sei stomped over with a dark expression, standing in front of Minato.
"I'm coming too."
Hyuga Sei had long been curious about why Minato's strength had been increasing so rapidly.
Today was the perfect chance to find out.
"I'm not treating you," Kushina turned her head away proudly.
She wasn't close to Hyuga Sei at all.
In fact, outside of Gin and Minato, hardly anyone in the class dared to approach Kushina.
She wasn't about to waste her money.
Hyuga Sei just snorted coldly and waved his hand dismissively.
"I'll treat you guys."
The Hyuga clan was rich and powerful. Even if Sei was from a branch family, he could easily afford one meal of barbecue.
"Big shot, respect!"
Gin clapped Hyuga Sei's shoulder, startling him so much he almost reflexively attacked with Gentle Fist.
Wasn't this guy still standing at the door just now?
When did he sneak up?
No...
Hyuga Sei narrowed his eyes at Gin, who was eagerly making his way to the barbecue.
This guy isn't simple.
Meanwhile, Inoue Satoru watched with a blackened face as these students completely ignored him and walked out of the classroom.
He fell into deep doubt.
"Am I... really suited to teaching students?"
Inside the barbecue restaurant, Hyuga Sei stared at the towering stack of plates on the table.
His heart ached terribly.
No normal person could eat like this.
He could practically hear his wallet crying.
"Sorry, wallet... I can't save you."
Sei mourned silently for his wallet.
Still, a Hyuga's word was as firm as steel.
What he promised, he would never go back on.
And especially not in front of a damned Uchiha!
The Hyuga Clan: Konoha's Number One!! (cracked voice)
"Boss, another round!" Gin called out, raising his hand.
Hyuga Sei's face collapsed even further.
Wasn't it okay to not be so stubborn?
At that moment, Gin and Kushina were locked in a fierce battle—over the meat on the grill.
They stared each other down, electric sparks flying between their eyes.
A worthy opponent!
Both pairs of chopsticks moved like swords on a battlefield, snatching up grilled meat at lightning speed.
Minato, feeling guilty, quickly snagged a piece too in the middle of their chaotic war.
Ever since training in basic internal energy cultivation, his strength and appetite had been growing day by day.
He wasn't quite a match for Gin and Kushina yet, but he was definitely a rising big eater.
Hyuga Sei watched helplessly as plate after plate of meat vanished, each bite draining his savings.
He still didn't fully understand.
At a dining table, it's a battlefield.
Just as Sei finally managed to grab a piece of meat and move it towards his mouth—
he bit down on nothing but air.
"Where's my meat?!"
He stared at the three with puffed-up cheeks and full mouths, not even bothering to explain themselves.
Fine! You want to play like that?!
"Byakugan! Activate!"
Declaring war, Hyuga Sei used Gentle Fist techniques with his chopsticks to storm the battlefield.
He now understood the harsh truth:
If you can't grab the meat, you're left eating plain rice!
By the time Gin finished eating and leaned back to pick his teeth with a toothpick—
Kushina was glaring murderously at Hyuga Sei.
"You cheated!"
Who uses bloodline abilities and taijutsu during a meal?!
This had to be illegal!!
Hyuga Sei, facing a mountain of empty plates, turned his head slowly to Kushina's tearful glare.
"You got a problem with that?"
He had spent so much money already.
He couldn't leave without eating his fill.
Kushina just huffed and turned away awkwardly.
"I have a little money,"
Minato said, pulling out his tiny stash of pocket money.
Hyuga Sei looked at the crumpled 100 ryo note and almost burst into tears.
What a good man!
No wonder Minato was the academy's number one popular guy.
Just as Hyuga Sei was about to accept it with trembling hands—
he suddenly froze.
Wait. Minato was his lifelong rival!
He couldn't be bought off like this!
"I absolutely won't fall into your trap!"
Sei refused the money with a difficult expression.
"Huh?" Minato scratched his head, utterly confused.
"Hurry up, time to pay!"
Gin urged, still picking his teeth like he didn't have a care in the world.
"And after that, let's head to the training field. I'll teach you guys something new."
He had already come up with a new trump card.
It was time to pass on the Four Techniques.
Though there was more advanced training later, Gin was currently limited by his "golden finger" cheat ability.
Hyuga Sei, still confused, could only go pay the bill.
Under the restaurant owner's forced smile, Sei emptied his wallet.
Judging by how hard the owner was trying not to laugh, it was clear just how much money Hyuga Sei had just spent.
Now left with only a few measly coins in his wallet, Sei felt soul-crushing exhaustion.
"I wonder if my cousin will let me stay with him for a few months…"
One meal, and several months of savings were gone.
What kind of monsters were these three?!
As they walked out of the restaurant, the group found themselves talking quietly.
Hyuga Sei tightened his fists silently.
He felt like a complete sucker.
Drawing closer, he heard Uchiha Gin comment thoughtfully:
"There's fewer and fewer people on the streets lately."
Even on the busy commercial streets, barely anyone was around anymore.
Counting them, there weren't even ten people in sight.
Hyuga Sei also recalled what some of his clan's ninjas had said and spoke up:
"I heard that ninja from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind are trying to invade the Land of Fire.
All the village's ninja have been sent out on scouting and defense missions."
Minato sighed too:
"The villagers are scared that foreign ninja might attack, so they don't dare to go out."
Kushina said nothing.
Of the four of them, only she truly knew how cruel war could be.
Her home had been destroyed by it.
Everyone could smell the tension in the air.
"Let's focus on getting stronger," Gin said in a calm tone.
"When we graduate, we might have to head straight to the battlefield."
Even though he spoke vaguely, deep inside, Gin knew for certain—
they would inevitably get dragged into the war.
"So what exactly are you planning to teach us?"
Hyuga Sei asked curiously.
Gin shot him a sideways glance, then leaned his head back lazily, hands folded behind his head.
"Just follow me. You'll find out soon enough."
Seeing that Minato and Kushina weren't questioning anything, Hyuga Sei reluctantly followed along.
They crossed several streets, walking farther and farther out—
eventually entering the forest.
"Why are we going somewhere this remote?"
Minato asked.
Last time they had trained by a creek.
Now they were heading deep into the woods?
Gin grinned, "I found a secret base.
We can use it for training—just the few of us."
As he said "few of us," his eyes flicked subtly toward the trees.
Kushina and Minato noticed the small movement.
After training in basic internal energy cultivation, their senses had grown sharper.
They had already detected the hidden Anbu following Kushina.
Kushina understood why but pretended not to notice.
Minato didn't fully get it, but he knew it wasn't something a ninja student should meddle with.
Deep in the forest was a broken-down old training ground.
Minato, Kushina, and Hyuga Sei sat on the ground while Gin stood atop a tree stump, arms behind his back.
"Starting today, I'm going to teach you guys four special taijutsu techniques."
"Taijutsu?"
Hyuga Sei sounded unimpressed.
He had expected something much more exciting.
"You don't sound convinced. Want to try me?"
Gin said, smiling faintly.
Hyuga Sei, who wasn't even convinced by Minato's strength, immediately stood up and got into a fighting stance.
"This is your—"
Before he could finish, Gin was already standing face-to-face with him, that annoying smile still on his face.
"Shave," Gin whispered.
Hyuga Sei unleashed Gentle Fist, his hands moving rapidly and leaving afterimages.
Yet Gin weaved between the attacks effortlessly, like a piece of paper, dodging everything.
The more Hyuga Sei missed, the more frustrated he became, his attacks growing even faster.
"Paper Drawing," Gin said lightly.
Then, at the perfect moment, he suddenly stopped moving, giving Hyuga Sei a chance.
Hyuga Sei struck quickly, hitting several key chakra points—
But Gin remained standing as if nothing had happened, even blinking playfully at him.
This guy was even more annoying than Minato!
Still, after stepping back, Hyuga Sei winced.
His hands were swollen and red.
This guy was way too tough!
"You just witnessed 'Iron Body,'"
Gin said casually.
He pointed a finger at a branch nearby—
and when he pulled his hand back, there was a deep hole left behind.
"Finger Gun."
"This is the Four Techniques of taijutsu that I'm going to teach you."
(End of Chapter)