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"Shikaku-sensei, so what exactly are you planning to teach me?" Akio asked, looking directly at him.
"Well, let's start with chakra control, I guess," Shikaku said after thinking for a second.
"If that's it, I've already got it down." As Akio spoke, he jumped straight up and stuck himself to the ceiling.
"Oh? Didn't expect you to be that good," Shikaku said with a grin.
"Let's just get to the real reason the Third asked you to train me," Akio said as he dropped from the ceiling and stood in front of Shikaku.
Shikaku suddenly looked a bit uneasy. This kid... Just like the Third said—definitely not ordinary, he thought to himself.
"Seriously, just say what you mean, Shikaku-sensei. I'm not into all that beating-around-the-bush stuff," Akio continued.
"Alright. The Third wants me to train you into a top-tier strategist, so that one day you can fully support the future Hokage," Shikaku said honestly.
"So that's why he got the smartest clan in the Leaf to handle it," Akio said with a smile. He kept up the casual tone, but inside he was thinking, They want to limit my strength and only develop my mind, and later rely on my foresight to help the next Hokage? Trying to tie me down in Konoha, huh? That old man… Even if he didn't do all this, I never planned on betraying Konoha anyway.
"You're sharp. Definitely got what it takes to be a strategist," Shikaku said with a nod.
"I want to learn the Shadow Possession Technique," Akio said straight to the point.
"Huh? Man, you really don't beat around the bush, do you? That's a secret jutsu of the Nara clan. How could I just teach you that?" Shikaku looked shocked. He knew Akio was direct, but this was next-level.
"Come on, relax. I'm not gonna leak your clan's secret jutsu or anything. I mean, it wouldn't benefit me either way."
"That's like asking the Hyuga for the Byakugan, or the Uchiha for the Sharingan. You know they'd never agree to that," Shikaku said, giving an example. And it was true—there was no way anyone would hand over a kekkei genkai.
"You expect me to protect Konoha, but won't even teach me anything? What, are you gonna transplant your brain into me?" Akio muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Haha, yeah, that's not happening." Shikaku chuckled. "Still, having me as your personal trainer is a big advantage for you. I may not be able to teach you the shadow technique, but I can teach you my combat strategies, how I think during battles, and how I approach tactics."
"What about ninjutsu?"
"Uh... aside from my clan's secret techniques, I don't really have much to teach there. You already know the basic stuff like the Three Basic Jutsu, right?" Shikaku said, scratching his head a little awkwardly.
"Eh, alright then." Akio sighed.
"Don't look so disappointed, jeez!" Shikaku barked. Tons of people wanted him as a teacher and he usually turned them down!
"If you don't want me to be disappointed, then just teach me the shadow jutsu. Who knows, maybe I'll develop something even more advanced."
"Huh?" Shikaku was taken aback again. "Impossible. Our clan has been using that technique forever, and we've never been able to improve it. What makes you think you can?"
"If you don't believe me, that's fine. If you won't teach me, I'll figure it out myself," Akio said with a shrug. "But if I do come up with a stronger shadow technique, don't expect me to teach you."
"Heh, you're pretty confident, huh? Alright then, show me what you've got. If you really do manage to create your own shadow jutsu, I'll let you see our clan's secret scrolls," Shikaku said with a smirk.
"Deal." Akio replied without hesitation, full of confidence.
"Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow, we'll meet at Training Ground 3," Shikaku said, getting ready to leave. But to his surprise, Akio was already gone—in a flash of black light.
"Wha… Flying Thunder God?" Shikaku stared at the spot where Akio vanished, finally realizing just how insane this kid's potential really was.
After a moment of shock, Shikaku gathered himself and left the classroom.
Meanwhile, Akio had already teleported home using the Flying Thunder God Technique. He did it on purpose—to send a little message to the Third Hokage. He wanted to remind him: I'm the Fourth Hokage's son. I inherited Minato's legacy. There's no need to keep your guard up around me.
Sure enough, when Shikaku told the Third about Akio using Flying Thunder God, the old man was shocked—but then he smiled.
"So, you've turned into Akio's little messenger, huh?" the Third chuckled.
"I knew that's what would happen, but I had no choice. This kid… he's top-tier, both in strength and smarts. Honestly, he'd make an ideal candidate to train as the future Hokage's right-hand man," Shikaku replied seriously.
"We may know where this kid came from, but we still don't know whether the Ensoro clan has any ambitions."
"Akio ran into Konoha right after he was born. He grew up here, and all he knows is that his last name is Ensoro. He doesn't even know what the Ensoro clan is, so how could he have any ambitions?" Since Shikaku was going to be Akio's teacher, the Third had told him about the boy's background.
"We know almost nothing about the Ensoro clan, and Akio's talent has always been off the charts. A few days ago, Kakashi told me that he learned Wind and Lightning jutsu just by looking at them. Even if the power wasn't quite there yet, that's still scary."
"What? He learned them just by seeing them?" Shikaku was stunned. What kind of monster of a student did I end up taking in...?
"But… Akio told me his dream is just to live a quiet, peaceful life," Shikaku said after a pause.
"Well, it's too early to say for sure. He's still young. Just focus on training him properly for now," the Third said, waving his hand.
"What about our clan's secret jutsu…" Shikaku asked, watching the Third's expression. It was a clan secret, sure—but if the Hokage gave the go-ahead, Shikaku might be willing to teach it.
"No rush. Let's wait and see what Akio figures out on his own," the Third replied with another smile. What an interesting kid...
"Yes, sir," Shikaku nodded and left the office.
Back on his side, Akio had already started experimenting with the Nara clan's secret techniques.
"In this world, all jutsu use chakra. So that means shadow manipulation must just be injecting chakra into your own shadow." Akio stared down at his shadow, mimicking the Nara clan's hand signs.
Then he began trying every possible way to channel chakra into his shadow...
"....."