"It's ready!" Minato interrupted their chat. "Come and taste my Fire Style: Jet-Black Super Delicious Fourth Form!"
"There you go again, making up names no one understands," Kushina said, rolling her eyes as she took a grilled fish.
"I couldn't help it," Minato said, scratching his head with a smile.
Hagawa silently took a bite of his fish. Eating grilled fish is better than eating dog food.
"How does it taste?" Kushina asked, looking at Hagawa. During their chat, she had already learned about the pretty little boy's situation. A war orphan currently living with Shinku Yuhi's family. His circumstances were a bit like hers, quite tragic.
"Delicious," Hagawa said with a firm nod.
"You can try my cooking next time," Kushina said, beaming.
"Okay," Hagawa naturally had to agree. Although meeting Kushina was an accident, building a good relationship with them had no downsides, especially with Minato. It would be an extra layer of security during the Third Great Ninja War.
"Kushina," Minato said with a light cough, reminding her. Just like last time, Kushina had used a sealing jutsu to trap her Anbu guards and sneak out. From the way she was talking, she planned to do it again.
"What?" Kushina asked, clenching her fist. "Is my cooking not delicious?"
"It is delicious," Minato answered instantly.
"That's more like it." Kushina knew his underlying meaning, but being cooped up inside the barrier was just too boring.
Hagawa felt like he had just been force-fed another mouthful of dog food. The meal ended amidst pleasant conversation. Hagawa said his goodbyes and returned to Konoha Village. Night had fallen, and the streetlights on both sides of the road were lit. He felt as if at any second, a crow would fly by, followed by the appearance of Itachi Uchiha. Fortunately, the night of the clan massacre was still far away, and he wasn't an Uchiha.
As he walked, Hagawa opened his Trait panel. The progress bar for the E-Rank Trait [Seven Ninja Tools] had already reached 70%. Mastering the exploding tags was going faster than he'd expected. This was perhaps the power of paying to win. As the saying goes, "only by using money can one create happiness." The progress for the E-Rank Trait [Top Student] was about the same; he was just waiting for the "Last Dance" of the final exams.
"I'm home!" Hagawa casually pushed open the door and began changing his shoes at the entrance.
Hearing his voice, Kurenai jumped off the sofa and scampered out like a little white rabbit. Across from her, Shinku Yuhi's mouth couldn't help but twitch. He felt his status in the household was under serious threat.
"Hagawa, why are you back so late?" Kurenai asked with her hands on her hips, dissatisfied. "And you didn't even tell me beforehand!" The last part is the main point, isn't it?
Hagawa looked at her cute, pouting face and said with a smile, "I ran into Minato Namikaze."
"Who's Minato Namikaze?" Kurenai didn't recognize the name at first.
"You met Minato?" Shinku asked with a surprised look.
"I met him at Training Ground 4," Hagawa spouted a casual lie. "Perhaps he saw that my bone structure was wondrous, so he invited me for grilled fish."
"Lord Hokage probably mentioned you to him," Shinku said thoughtfully.
"Eh?" Kurenai's eyes widened. "Lord Hokage knows about Hagawa?"
"What do you think?" Shinku said, patting her head with a smile. "He's the one who fought Asuma."
"It was a spar," Hagawa said with a straight face.
"Alright, come inside before we talk," Shinku said, glaring at him before pulling Kurenai away.
"...?" Hagawa was taken aback. What's going on? It's not like I parked a 'ghost fire' scooter downstairs.
"Uncle Shinku," Hagawa said, closing the door and walking into the living room. "I want to learn swordsmanship." Hayate Gekkō and Yūgao Uzuki were younger than him, and he didn't know Kosuke Maruboshi, so his only option was to ask Shinku.
"Why the sudden interest in swordsmanship?" Shinku asked, surprised.
"My chakra is insufficient right now, so I can't learn any new genjutsu. I want to learn swordsmanship for self-defense," Hagawa said, his excuse already prepared.
Shinku nodded slightly. The reason was sound; he had no cause to refuse. This is what a genius is like.
"I'll teach you swordsmanship later," Shinku said with some emotion.
"Huh?" Hagawa subconsciously looked skeptical.
"You little brat!" Shinku puffed out his non-existent beard and glared. "Is there a problem with me, a genjutsu user, knowing some swordsmanship?" Swordsmanship was a form of taijutsu, and taijutsu was one of a ninja's fundamental skills, essential for genjutsu users to learn. Otherwise, if their genjutsu failed, all they could do was wait to die.
"No problem at all!" Hagawa quickly stood at attention. "Thank you, Uncle Shinku!"
"I want to learn too!" Kurenai raised her little hands.
"Kurenai," Shinku said in a gentle tone, "I'll teach you after you've mastered genjutsu."
"Okay," Kurenai said, understanding the huge gap between her and Hagawa. Trying to learn everything might lead to learning nothing.
"Go wait for me outside," Shinku said, getting up and heading to his room. Hagawa waited for a moment and saw him return with two wooden swords.
"The style I'll be teaching you is called Konoha-ryū Swordsmanship. Although it's a basic style, it should not be underestimated," Shinku said, tossing him a wooden sword. "If you study it diligently, you can create your own secret sword techniques." Hagawa immediately thought of Kosuke Maruboshi, whose Konoha-ryū: Yanagi was a combination of this sword style and genjutsu.
"Then let's start with the simplest," Shinku said, swinging the wooden sword.
"Yes, sir," Hagawa nodded seriously.
Night fell, and moonlight bathed the earth. After two hours of study, Hagawa finally triggered a new Trait.
[E-Rank Ninjutsu Trait: Swordsmanship Ninja (Not Yet Acquired)]
Activation Condition: Reach the introductory level in Konoha-ryū Swordsmanship.
Current Progress: 5%
After training, Hagawa took a shower and returned to his room. Although he was tired, he didn't go straight to sleep. Instead, he took out a pen. After long deliberation, he began to write the creative concept and outline for a novel. The work he chose was Taimanin.
Two more days passed. In the early morning, Hagawa was running on the streets as usual. After two laps, he entered the Konoha Knowledge Bookstore. He soon met Tsuchihashi and presented him with the Taimanin concept and outline.
"So soon?" Tsuchihashi asked casually. "What's your friend's name?"
"Thunder Fire Sword," Hagawa said after a pause. "It's his pen name."
"A pen name? I get it," Tsuchihashi said with a knowing smile.
What do you get? Hagawa's scalp tingled. He couldn't imagine how much social death he would suffer if his "friend's" identity was ever exposed.
Tsuchihashi started reading with a smile. But soon, his smile vanished, replaced by a very serious expression, and finally, utter ecstasy.
"Your friend is an absolute genius!" Tsuchihashi exclaimed. "This kind of ninja setting is completely unheard of! It's guaranteed to be a massive bestseller!"
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