Smack! Smack! Smack!
Early in the morning, before breakfast, Shirayuki Haruba was dragged out of bed by his uncle Shirayuki Yazan for morning training.
The two stood in the courtyard of their small home, each gripping a bamboo sword and facing off.
It was called a sparring match, but in truth, Haruba was the only one attacking. Yazan simply parried each strike without launching any offense of his own.
Even though they were only using bamboo swords, the sound of each clash rang sharp and loud. Haruba wasn't holding back in the slightest — every strike was fast, precise, and fierce. His angles were tricky, his strength anything but gentle.
After only a few dozen exchanges, a thin sheen of sweat had already formed on Haruba's forehead.
He was, after all, still a child. If not for the fact that his chakra reserves already rivaled those of most genin, he doubted he could have lasted even this long.
As Yazan blocked each blow, a look of quiet satisfaction appeared on his face. Whether it was Haruba's speed, the force behind each strike, or his timing — all of it proved that the boy hadn't slacked off in his sword training just because of those few little girls he often played with.
And more than that, Yazan could clearly sense the terrifying talent Haruba possessed.
In the shinobi world, the most direct measure of a ninja's innate talent was chakra capacity. With a few rare exceptions, any famous shinobi would have impressive chakra reserves.
And Haruba, at only five years old, already possessed far more chakra than his peers. It reminded Yazan of another once-in-a-generation genius — Hatake Kakashi.
Also a prodigy, also skilled in kenjutsu from a young age… also… Well, perhaps it was best not to keep comparing them further.
After a few more rapid exchanges, Yazan stepped back, creating some distance, and signaled for Haruba to stop attacking.
"Very good. It seems you really haven't been neglecting your sword practice. Next, you can start training in kenjutsu that incorporates chakra."
Yazan nodded in approval.
Haruba's face lit up with excitement. "Is this the technique where you can slash out waves of sword energy?"
"Hey!"
Haruba winced in pain, clutching his head.
Yazan withdrew the hand chop he'd just delivered and said seriously, "The worst thing in training is aiming too high too soon. One step at a time, you brat. You can't even walk yet, and you're already thinking about flying?"
"I didn't know…" Haruba muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head.
Seeing Haruba look so sheepish, Yazan let it go, a trace of a smile flickering in his eyes.
After returning the bamboo sword to its stand, he said, "I'll get breakfast ready. Go wash up."
Of course, "getting breakfast ready" didn't mean Yazan was actually going to cook. When he'd lived alone, he'd been constantly moving between missions and training, with no fixed home — his "meals" were mostly soldier pills.
On special occasions, he'd stay with his elder brother for a day or two.
This little house had only been purchased after Haruba's parents were killed on a mission, so Yazan could take better care of him.
So when Yazan said "prepare breakfast," what he meant was: two cups of instant ramen, plus eggs, milk, and some fruit.
Simple, but nutritionally complete.
Haruba had no complaints — truth be told, he preferred instant noodles to a standard Japanese breakfast anyway.
"By the way, for the next few days, don't go looking for those little girls," Yazan said seriously over the breakfast table.
"Why?" Haruba asked, looking up from his bowl without thinking.
While tidying the dishes, Yazan replied, "What you're about to learn isn't easy. And I won't be here for long this time, so time's short. I figure not seeing them for a few days won't damage your relationship with your little girlfriends, right?"
"…."
Haruba stared wordlessly. He'd been so serious a moment ago — why did he have to end it by teasing him?
Yazan kept a straight face and asked, "Speaking of which, between Tenten, Ino, and Sakura… which one do you like best?"
It was rare for him to show this kind of curiosity. Normally, he was serious to the point of being stern. But when it came to the future of the Shirayuki family, he figured a little gossip was in order.
Haruba might still be too young to understand, but Yazan understood — and he wanted to plan ahead.
"I'm not thinking about that right now," Haruba said around his chopsticks. He couldn't exactly say he wanted all of them.
"Then who do you like spending time with the most?" Yazan pressed.
"I like it when we're all together," Haruba replied smoothly.
He treated all three equally. While he spent more time with Tenten due to a certain "mutual arrangement," he made sure not to neglect Ino or Sakura.
As a civilian, Haruba understood the value of having many friends. And these three were destined to become important figures in the Leaf. He just hadn't expected things with them to progress quite this quickly.
"Is that so?" Yazan's expression turned unreadable, as if he were thinking about something deeper.
Haruba had no idea what that meant, and just as he was about to ask, Yazan carried the dishes into the kitchen, calling back over his shoulder, "Hurry up and eat. Rest a bit, then we start training!"
Yazan himself wasn't particularly skilled in a wide variety of flashy jutsu.
The two techniques he was known for were the Vacuum Sword and Leaf Instant Step.
The Vacuum Sword involved channeling chakra into a blade, then swinging it to unleash powerful wind blades — both offensive and defensive.
The Leaf Instant Step allowed the user to scatter into a swirl of leaves, avoiding enemy attacks.
But because the Leaf Instant Step was more difficult, Haruba's current focus would be learning the Vacuum Sword.
The very first step was to channel chakra into a blade.
If one had a sword forged from chakra-conductive metal, it was relatively easy. With an ordinary sword, however, it was far more challenging.
Before mastering the Vacuum Sword, Haruba would first need to learn something akin to the Wind Release: Vacuum Blade technique.
"Haruba, your chakra nature is Wind — and Wind is the best element for training the Vacuum Sword," Yazan explained in the courtyard.
Noticing Haruba's puzzled expression, he added, "That's because the most prominent nature transformation of Wind is cutting. Like this—"
Yazan casually picked up a stick from the ground.
With a faint whoom, the stick was suddenly wrapped in a thin layer of pale blue chakra.
Haruba's eyes widened slightly — he could feel a distinct sharpness radiating from that stick.