Chapter 30: THE TEACHINGS OF YUHI SHINKU

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Sitting at the table, Yuki Yuichi took in the aroma of the food and couldn't help but praise, "Uncle Shinku, your cooking just keeps getting better and better!"

Yuhi Kurenai's mother had passed away, so her father, Yuhi Shinku, had taken on both parental roles, developing excellent cooking skills over time.

Hearing the compliment, Yuhi Shinku gave a small smile and waved his hand, saying, "Let's eat."

"Your special training will start soon!"

"Yes!" Kurenai nodded earnestly from the side. "I'll definitely become stronger!"

"I also want to protect Yuichi!" she added confidently, then looked at her father and said, "And you, too, Dad."

Yuhi Shinku: "..."

His little girl was letting her secrets slip!

The meal was filled with laughter from Kurenai and Yuichi, though it caused Yuhi Shinku some heartache. Still, it warmed his heart. This was what family should feel like.

As he watched the two, Yuhi Shinku silently wished they could grow up quickly, so he could retire and spend his time looking after future grandchildren. Even ninjas could retire, although being granted permission was another matter. Someone like Yuhi Shinku might be allowed to retire but would likely still hold a minor official position.

After they finished eating, Yuhi Shinku looked at the two youngsters seriously. Just as he was about to speak, Kurenai pulled out a scroll with the kanji for "fire" engraved on it, silencing him.

"Dad, this is what Hokage-sama gave to Yuichi."

Yuichi nodded and recounted what had happened that morning.

Yuhi Shinku held the scroll and silently observed Yuichi. He wasn't a fool and knew how unlikely it was to just run into Sarutobi Hiruzen at a ramen shop—and then be given a ninjutsu scroll.

This was clearly an act of favor.

As for Namikaze Minato, he hadn't thought much of it at first. He was aware of the connection between Uzumaki Kushina and Yuichi, so naturally, Minato knew about it too. Yuichi and Kakashi had likely gone to the training grounds near Hokage Rock where Minato often trained. It wasn't unusual to bump into him there.

Looking at the scroll, Yuhi Shinku sighed. When Yuichi had shown him the Sharingan yesterday, he knew it would draw attention sooner or later—but not this soon.

"This should be a good thing," Yuhi Shinku thought. He had been worrying about how to handle the Uchiha clan regarding Yuichi's Sharingan, but now that Hokage-sama had taken notice, the Hokage could deal with the Uchiha. Yuhi Shinku could just play ignorant.

With this in mind, he opened the scroll.

The first thing he saw was the name of the technique: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.

He recognized it as a basic C-rank fire jutsu. While C-rank jutsu were easier to learn, that didn't mean their power was weak. The difficulty of learning a jutsu usually determined its rank, not necessarily its strength.

"Since Hokage-sama gave this to you, I'll teach both of you this technique first," Yuhi Shinku said, taking out two chakra test strips and addressing Yuichi, "Even though you already tested your chakra nature in front of the Hokage, I bought these, so you might as well test again."

Yuichi didn't object. He took the chakra test strip and infused it with chakra. Just like before, half the strip sparked, while the other half crumpled.

Seeing this, Yuhi Shinku nodded. In truth, he hadn't entirely believed Yuichi's earlier results, given the boy's unreliable behavior over the years.

Kurenai eagerly followed suit, infusing chakra into her strip. Under the watchful eyes of the three, sparks flickered around the paper, but no further changes occurred.

Yuhi Shinku wasn't disappointed. Chakra affinities were just a starting point. They could be developed over time. His plan was to mold Kurenai into a genjutsu specialist, which would lower her exposure to danger.

With the chakra tests done, Yuhi Shinku said, "Alright, now that we've prepared, I'll teach you both a jutsu."

He fully unrolled the scroll and continued, "I was originally going to teach you an illusion technique, but since Hokage-sama gave you this scroll and you both have fire chakra, we'll start with fire release."

Yuichi and Kurenai sat quietly, eyes fixed on the scroll.

"You probably can't understand much of this scroll yet," Yuhi Shinku said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Kurenai nodded. "When Yuichi showed it to me, I couldn't make sense of it."

Yuichi added, "I recognize the words, but together they don't make sense."

Yuhi Shinku nodded. "That's normal."

"Do you know the essence of ninjutsu?"

"Essence?" Yuichi was confused but ventured a guess, "Using chakra to release ninjutsu?"

"Yes and no," Yuhi Shinku said, shaking his head. Seeing their confused faces, he explained, "The essence of ninjutsu is indeed using chakra to release it, but the key lies in how you release it."

"Chakra normally flows throughout the body," he continued, "but it flows through specific pathways called meridians. Ninjutsu involves directing chakra through these pathways in a particular way to produce elemental effects."

"So, the essence of ninjutsu is how chakra flows," Yuhi Shinku said.

"If you become familiar with the specific chakra flow of a technique and can control your chakra well, you can reduce the number of hand seals needed. For example, what normally takes ten seals could be reduced to four or five."

His explanation was simple and easy to grasp.

Yuichi pondered this and asked, "So, it's possible to perform ninjutsu without any seals at all?"

"Yes," Yuhi Shinku replied.

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