Chapter 3: A Bold Idea

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

During the holiday break, Yagyu, as usual, was diligently training at home.

With several poof sounds, white mist filled the living room.

When the mist dissipated, two identical versions of Yagyu appeared beside him.

The two shadow clones immediately got to work.

One sat cross-legged on the tatami, practicing hand seals, while the other flipped through books, studying.

As for the real Yagyu, he began warming up, preparing for physical training.

"Yagyu, are you home?"

"Yagyu, we came to play with you!"

Just then, voices called out from the balcony outside.

Recognizing the familiar voices, Yagyu showed a helpless smile.

He didn't ignore them but instead opened the balcony door and looked toward his house's entrance.

There he saw two small figures wrapped tightly in winter clothes, waving their gloved hands at him.

The two figures were girls the same age as Yagyu.

One had blonde hair, and the other pink, with varying shades of green eyes.

Yes, they were none other than Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, members of Yagyu's current circle of friends.

As the saying goes, cast a wide net, catch more fish.

Before he had awakened his cheat ability, Yagyu's goal had been to live as a supporting character. He aimed to make a strong impression on Naruto before graduation, survive the events of Naruto Shippuden, and secure a good position in Boruto, perhaps even marrying a beautiful supporting character with generous assets.

But to survive, even knowing the plot's course, one still needed a bit of luck and skill.

So the girls of this generation became Yagyu's targets.

Ino and Sakura were just two of them.

When Yagyu was three, he even spent several nights in the snow hoping to "accidentally" meet a lost little princess and make a good first impression.

These young ladies and future apprentices of the Three Legendary Sannin could offer Yagyu great benefits later on if they ever gave him even a small favor.

And if he could latch onto a strong connection and live off it, that would be even better.

Now that he had reversed his fate, there was no need to win their favor just to survive, but Yagyu had no intention of cutting ties.

He had worked hard to build those relationships, so how could he give up halfway?

Authors who write stories where characters give up relationships should be punished!

With strength comes confidence, and with confidence, bolder ideas should follow.

Looking at the two girls below, their faces flushed red and adorned with bright smiles, Yagyu's mind suddenly recalled a famous "Santa Claus" scene.

He raised his hand and called out, "Wait a minute, I'll be right down."

After speaking, Yagyu returned to his room, put on his winter clothes, and ignored the disdainful looks from his two shadow clones as he quickly stepped out of the house.

"Yagyu, let's go have a snowball fight!" Ino eagerly suggested.

"Better not," Yagyu replied. "It's hard to wash wet clothes."

"No problem! I can take your clothes home and wash them for you," Ino offered cheerfully.

"That's even scarier. I'm afraid your dad will kill me," Yagyu teased.

"Huh? Why would my dad kill you if I washed your clothes?" Ino asked, confused.

"..." Yagyu remained silent.

Walking along the snowy street, lively Ino chatted with Yagyu, while Sakura, who likely hadn't awakened her second personality yet, remained quiet and shy, watching the two of them.

Rejecting all of Ino's childish game suggestions, Yagyu's eyes suddenly lit up as he watched villagers shoveling snow. He exclaimed, "I've got it! I just thought of a fun game. Do you two want to join?"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Ino immediately raised her hand, agreeing without caring what the game was, as long as she could play with Yagyu and Sakura.

Sakura also nodded enthusiastically.

Seeing their eager agreement, Yagyu led them out of the central street and into a nearby forest.

They came to a large tree covered in snow, and Yagyu smiled at Ino and Sakura. "Let's climb the tree!"

"Eh… What's fun about climbing a tree?" Ino's face, initially filled with anticipation, quickly turned to disappointment.

Sakura seemed to feel the same.

In response, Yagyu smiled and said, "This isn't just any ordinary tree climbing."

Under their curious gazes, Yagyu suddenly made a hand seal.

Then, he calmly walked toward the tree.

An incredible scene unfolded before Ino and Sakura's eyes.

Yagyu's body seemed to defy gravity as he walked freely up the tree trunk, his body suspended in midair.

Seeing this ninja technique that wasn't even taught in the academy, Ino and Sakura were left speechless, their mouths wide open in astonishment as they stared at Yagyu.

When Yagyu finally came back down, Ino and Sakura's eyes sparkled with excitement as they looked at him.

"Yagyu, how did you do that?" Ino asked excitedly. "Is that a jutsu?"

"No, it's just a chakra control technique," Yagyu lied without hesitation. "A while ago, while cleaning the house, I accidentally found my father's ninja diary. It recorded his life as a ninja, and that's when I learned that the trick to walking on walls and roofs is to gather chakra at your feet."

"I had to practice for a long time before I finally learned this technique."

"Oh, I see," Ino and Sakura exclaimed in realization.

"Gathering chakra at your feet? I want to try too!" Ino eagerly declared. She then made a hand seal like Yagyu and tried to gather chakra in her feet before walking toward the tree.

However, as soon as she stepped on the bark and lifted her other foot, she immediately fell backward.

Before Ino could scream, a hand pressed against her back, catching her mid-fall.

"You need to focus and control the chakra to grip the tree," Yagyu reminded her, smiling as he reassured her, "Don't worry about falling—I'll catch you."

"Okay!" Ino, who had been a little frightened, quickly became excited again.

She kept trying over and over, each time either being caught by Yagyu's hand or falling into his arms.

Finally, just as her chakra was nearly depleted, Ino managed to lift both feet off the ground and walk a few steps on the tree before falling again.

"I did it! Yagyu, I did it!" Ino shouted excitedly as she fell into Yagyu's arms.

"Impressive! I didn't manage to lift both feet until the second day. You're much faster than me," Yagyu praised her generously. Then, with a bit of teasing, he added, "But that's still not true success. You'll only be successful when you can walk freely on trees, walls, and even water."

Hearing that, Ino quickly calmed down, but her eyes still shone with determination. She turned to Yagyu and said, "Yagyu, this game is so much fun!"