21

The next morning, while they were having breakfast, Nawaki teased Haru about yesterday's fight, saying, "I heard you got your ass kicked. That's what happens when you go against a jonin." Haru continued his meal and replied casually, "It's a very good experience to fight someone much stronger than you. It shows you how weak you still are. You should try it too. How about we spar later? I have some time today. I think you'll feel the same as me." Mito just chuckled at their banter, while Nawaki immediately changed the subject. Since Haru's physique had grown, Nawaki hadn't been able to gain any advantage in their fights, so he wisely didn't continue teasing. Once Haru became serious, he would be very sore for the rest of the day.

After finishing his breakfast, Haru waited for Mito as he had something to discuss with her. After thinking about yesterday's spar, Haru decided to start learning more techniques. For normal people, focusing on one thing and mastering it completely would bring better results than trying to learn multiple things at the same time, like the saying 'jack of all trades, master of none.' However, that didn't pose a problem for Haru since he already had his own style. With his fast learning speed and solid foundation, he could learn most techniques very quickly. Of course, he wouldn't be able to master them, but that wasn't his goal from the beginning. What he wanted was to gain more experience. This could be achieved by sparring with different opponents. This way was very effective as it allowe you to confront different styles and forced you to change and adapt since there was nothing that worked against everyone. This is a very good method that is known to be effective. However, for Haru, there was a better method. If he could learn multiple techniques, he would be able to broaden his horizons and enrich his style with different moves and techniques. This way, his arsenal would grow, and he would be far more unpredictable, which would suit his current style a lot.

Haru knew he could learn many techniques on his own since the Senju clan had a large collection of techniques, but there was one he wanted to learn that he would need someone to teach him. After Mito finished, she accompanied him to the study. Once there, he said, "Since Yakuta-sensei is no longer teaching me, I was thinking about what I should focus on next." Mito listened calmly and waited for him to continue. Then he said, "After giving it some thought, I finally found what I want to do next."

Mito replied, "Since you didn't tell Kazuki directly, it means your new teacher is harder to find. Come on, tell me then." Kazuki was Mito's right-hand person and had been with her for a long time. Her jobs varied from being a bodyguard and protecting Mito to helping her with running the clan, and even acting as a housekeeper. For most simple things, Haru and Nawaki didn't need to disturb Mito; just telling Kazuki was enough. Haru's previous teacher, Yakuta, was someone Kazuki had found for him. With her time beside Mito, her connections were vast, and she knew most of the upper-class of the village. Her status was very high, and she was a strong ninja herself.

Since Haru didn't ask her, Mito figured out that his target was difficult, at least for Kazuki. Haru smiled with an embarrassed face and said, "Well, I was thinking about learning some different techniques, and one of them I think I need help with. I want to learn the Hyuga taijutsu, Gentle Fist."

Mito listened calmly, but at the end, she furrowed her brow and said, "Well, that technique is their family secret. I don't think they will teach it to you, and even if they did, you couldn't master it. It works with their eyes, the Byakugan. Without it, it wouldn't be a powerful technique."

Haru nodded his head. The Gentle Fist worked by attacking the chakra pathway in the body, which you wouldn't be able to see with normal eyes. But Haru had a plan for it, and it should be able to work if what he was thinking was possible. He then said, "I know, but just learning a simplified version would be enough for me."

Mito listened and thought for a while. If those were the only requirements, it could be far easier. Although the Hyuga clan wouldn't normally accept such a thing, if it was her who asked, that was a different matter. So she said, "Well, then that makes things far easier. I can help you with this, but it's going to take some time. Even if it's a simplified version, those Hyugas are stubborn."

Haru smiled. Without Mito, most of his plan would be very hard to achieve. But before he could thank her, she said, "But Haru, you have to promise me that you would take it just as a reference. Theoretically, it's possible to learn the Gentle Fist, but in practice, it's not very feasible without the Byakugan. The amount of training required would be astounding, and it's not even certain if you could replicate half of the technique's original strength."

Haru agreed with Mito, and he wasn't interested in using it for combat since even with the Byakugan, its power wasn't effective against stronger opponents. After assuring Mito several times and promising her he would give up once it didn't work, Haru finally got what he wished before he left.

After that, he went to the library and dove into his books once again. Time passed, and soon it was noon. As today was the weekend, neither he nor Nawaki had school. Haru decided to check on him since he felt slightly tired from the long reading. He got up and went to the training ground where Nawaki was, standing aside and watching as Nawaki and his three clones sparred. It was three versus one, but even then, Nawaki was still winning.

Watching for a while, Haru decided to have some fun and said, "Nawaki, how about I be the strategist of the clones' side? That would make it more challenging and better for your training." The clones were the first to agree, cheering and jumping. It was weird having four Nawakis, but Haru decided to ignore it. After some thinking, Nawaki agreed, so Haru went and started whispering to them about his plan. They nodded and were very excited. Nawaki watched from afar and couldn't help but have a bad feeling. Maybe this was a bad idea.

After a while, the clones nodded at Haru with serious faces and clenched fists, excited about what was going to happen. Haru went away and watched the fight. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Nawaki being beaten by his own clones. It was a very comical sight, and he felt pity that Mito wasn't there to witness it with him. Finally, Nawaki remembered that he could disperse them. He took a deep breath, feeling the pain in his body. Once the memories came back to him, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and shout, "Haru, you bastard!" Of course, Haru was no longer seen, as he already took his leave once he noticed the fight was about to end. Nawaki didn't give up and started to look around the compound for him.

After searching for a while to no avail, he went to Mito for help. As he got closer, he started hearing laughter coming from inside, and he heard a familiar voice. His anger rose once again, so he pushed the door open to see Mito and Haru having a good time. Seeing this, he felt a burning rage inside him and he gritted his teeth, jumping at Haru to try and avenge himself.

Of course, he didn't succeed and got beaten once again. Nawaki couldn't help but cry as he heard Mito laughing again. He said, "It's not fair, Grandma. Haru bullied me and then beat me, and you are still laughing. Shouldn't you do something?" Mito just shrugged and replied, "Well, it's none of my business. You were the one who accepted his offer in the first place, but you are right, I should do something." Nawaki's hope rose again until she said, "Haru, you should have called me. How can you let me miss such a funny thing? Even at my age, it's my first time hearing someone getting beaten up by his clones." Nawaki's hopes were shattered again. Out of anger, he gave them both his back and decided to ignore both of them from now on.

Haru and Mito looked at each other and smiled at Nawaki's childish attitude. In the end, it was Haru who broke the silence and said, "Come on, Nawaki, don't be a kid. Don't you want to hear why you lost? I thought you would be interested." Nawaki's ears perked up, and he faced them again, but he wasn't going to let his guard down this time. He knew how much they loved teasing him.

Seeing Nawaki's cautious attitude, Mito and Haru found it amusing. But this time, Haru didn't tease him and said, "Well, you were outnumbered. Even if the clones can't take much damage, they can still keep you busy. My plan was simple: two of them would fight you, not letting you use your ninjutsu while the other would lay in ambush and join them once you started doing your seals to stop you in the middle. Your chakra control is just average, and your hand speed isn't fast. And you can't use any ninjutsu with one seal or one hand. So, once they got close to you and kept you from using ninjutsu, it was game over. Even with your physical strength, you couldn't break free. It was really simple."

Nawaki listened to Haru attentively and couldn't help but feel some guilt as he looked at Haru's expression. In the past, Haru had told him multiple times about training his hand speed so he would be able to do seals faster, but he didn't listen. It was the same about decreasing the seals for some ninjutsu. He didn't know how fast Haru's hand speed currently was, but he knew that Haru was able to do most E-ranked ninjutsu with just one or two seals. If Nawaki had done the same, he wouldn't have been in trouble earlier. Today had helped him realize his shortcomings, so with some embarrassment, he went to Haru, hoping to get some help.

Haru knew how effective fast seals could be in combat, so he had already been training and trying to do them at the fastest time possible. After Nawaki begged him a little, he decided to help the annoying kid, but for the last time, he said, as he had said many times before.

Upon seeing Nawaki's guilty look, Mito was pleased. She understood Nawaki's personality well and approved of Haru's attitude toward him. Although their relationship was strong, Haru could be harsh with Nawaki at times, but it was for his own good. Nawaki didn't listen to advice, so it was necessary to show him his flaws in reality for him to learn. That's why, even if Haru beat Nawaki until he was hospitalized one day, Mito wouldn't mind, as Nawaki wouldn't progress much without Haru pushing him and never letting him be lazy. Although Nawaki was not as talented as Haru or Tsunade, with Haru's guidance, he would become an excellent ninja. In their hands, the Senju clan would be safe. Mito had no hope for Tsunade, as she was sure that the clan would go bankrupt with her gambling alone. Mito smiled as she reminisced about the past. Her smile grew even warmer as she watched Haru teaching Nawaki. Haru's presence with her and Nawaki was a blessing. His character made her worries decrease, and she could live her last few years in peace, knowing that someone could take care of their family after she was gone.