"Take a break."
Sakumo Hatake sheathed his blade and stepped back as he spoke.
Kakashi Hatake collapsed to the ground, panting heavily without a shred of decorum.
Every sparring session with his father felt like hell-level difficulty.
Even as a genius among geniuses, he was facing the legendary White Fang of the Leaf — a name that made the entire shinobi world tremble.
"Is that your classmate?"Sakumo looked toward the jogging figure of Yukawa and asked.
"Yeah."Kakashi exhaled and replied, "His name's Yukawa. He's got decent talent in genjutsu."
"Only genjutsu?"Sakumo asked with a hint of skepticism.
"You noticed something else?"Kakashi blinked, momentarily surprised.
He knew his father had eyes that could see through people better than most.
"His stamina's impressive,"Sakumo stroked his chin and added, "And he has the same confidence as you."
"He already beat Asuma. It's only natural for him to be confident."Kakashi didn't seem the least bit surprised.
"I see."Sakumo smiled. "He might become your rival."
"He won't,"Kakashi replied bluntly.
He wasn't Sarutobi Asuma — he wouldn't fall for a genjutsu that easily.
Sakumo didn't press the point.
Geniuses often had their pride.And his son was practically unmatched among his peers.
Some time later, Yukawa finally came to a stop.Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he mentally tallied the time.
Thanks to acquiring the trait "Robust Physique," he had managed to keep running for an extra half hour.
At some point, Kakashi and Sakumo had already left without him noticing.
Yukawa didn't linger either. He turned and headed home.
Time passed quietly.
Another week neared its end.
In these seven days, Yukawa focused on only two things —Running at Training Ground 4 and practicing ninja tool throwing in the small grove behind his house.
Sunday morning.
Yukawa woke early and jogged over to Training Ground 4.
Suppressing the anticipation in his heart, he steadied his breath and began his laps.
About ten minutes in, a tall and short pair of white-haired figures appeared —Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake had arrived.By now, both were used to Yukawa's presence.
There was a mutual understanding between the three: they each trained on their own.
"Hmm?"
Sakumo let out a small murmur.
He noticed Yukawa suddenly speeding up — about 10% faster than before.
Was he sprinting?
No — that wasn't it.
Sakumo's gaze sharpened.
He's broken through.
He judged it based on Yukawa's breathing.Even with the increased speed, Yukawa's rhythm remained just as steady as before.
"Kakashi,"Sakumo said in slight surprise,"Looks like I was right. He is going to become your rival."
Yukawa's speed was now on par with a regular genin.
But that wasn't the key point — it was how fast he had improved that was truly shocking.
"Final exams are coming up soon,"Kakashi said, his competitive spirit sparked by his father's repeated comments."I'll defeat Yukawa and apply for early graduation."
"I'll be looking forward to that,"Sakumo said with interest."I'll make sure to attend."
"I won't let you down."Kakashi drew a short sword with confidence.
He didn't believe he would lose.
The father and son's training session officially began.
An hour later, Yukawa let out a long breath.
[E-Rank Trait Acquired: Swift Stride]
Condition: Reach the peak speed of a standard genin.
Effect: Increases leg power by 10% based on current capability.
He had just tested the effects of the new trait — "leg power" enhanced not just strength, but also speed.
A 10% boost might not seem like much, but to him, it was a significant leap in combat potential.
Yukawa opened his system interface.
He was currently progressing three active traits:
E-Rank Trait: Top Student — Requires first place in the written portion of the final exam.
E-Rank Trait: Seven Ninja Tools — He had already mastered four: shuriken, kunai, senbon, and the Fūma shuriken.
D-Rank Trait: Medical Ninja — This one was still in its infancy compared to the other two.
Staring at the stack of medical textbooks gave him a headache.
He finally understood why medical ninjas were so rare — it was just too hard to learn.
Still, no matter how difficult, he wasn't giving up.
After all, Tsunade's allure was too great.
Today's physical training was enough. Yukawa closed the system and headed home.
He reached out and opened the door — only to see Kurenai Yuhi standing in front of him.
Click.
A cabinet behind her moved slightly.
Genjutsu: Release!
Yukawa disrupted his chakra flow, instantly breaking the illusion.
"What?!"Kurenai looked genuinely disappointed.
"Ambushes won't work on me,"Yukawa said calmly, reaching out to pat her head.
"How did you figure it out?"Kurenai didn't mind the headpat, but asked curiously.
"The illusion world you created lacked detail,"Yukawa explained offhandedly.
Genjutsu users were a bit like 3D modelers from his previous life — the more detailed the illusion, the less suspicious it seemed.
(Of course, the Uchiha clan were exceptions.)
As long as their ocular power was strong enough, you couldn't break their illusions — even if you knew you were caught in one.
Take Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi, for example.
"I'm gonna take a shower,"Yukawa said as he kicked off his shoes."I'll teach you some genjutsu after."
"Okay."Kurenai replied absently, still pondering what detail she missed in her illusion.
Steam rose as hot water filled the room.
Yukawa let out a contented sigh.There was nothing like a shower after a workout.
"Yukawa, you smell nice,"Kurenai said, sniffing the air instinctively.
Fresh from the bath, Yukawa nearly broke character.
Please let her mean the soap scent, not something like 'Uncle Snake'…
"Hair dryer,"Yukawa said, lounging on the sofa.
"Why don't you go get it?"Kurenai asked, hands on hips.
If this kept up, forget being the cool big sister — she'd soon turn into a maid!
Yuhi Kurenai wasn't someone who'd accept playing second fiddle for long!
"It's the price of me teaching you genjutsu,"Yukawa replied with a smile.
Now that they were used to each other, teasing like this was common.
"..."
Kurenai opened her mouth but couldn't find a good comeback.In the end, she reluctantly handed him the hair dryer.
"Don't think I'm going to dry your hair for you!"She took a step back, raised her chin, and declared proudly.
"I wasn't even expecting that,"Yukawa said with a laugh as he turned on the dryer.
"You're the worst!"Kurenai glared at him with ruby-like eyes.
Yukawa leisurely dried his hair.
Once done, he casually pulled out a lollipop and offered it to her."Here, for you."
Kurenai's eyes instinctively locked onto the lollipop.But thinking of his earlier teasing, she huffed and said,"Don't want it!"
"Really?"Yukawa unwrapped it and moved to eat it himself.
"Hey!"Kurenai panicked and called out.
The next moment, she felt something sweet in her mouth —Yukawa had already popped the lollipop in.
"Let's go,"Yukawa stood up."I'll teach you genjutsu now."
Kurenai's lips curled into a slight smile as she cheerfully followed him.