When they returned home from Konoha Hospital, the moment Gekkō Hayate stepped into the courtyard, he was instantly surrounded by his clanmates like a hero returning from battle. Questions flew at him from every direction.
"Hayate, did you really awaken a kekkei genkai?"
"What kind of kekkei genkai is it? Could it be the Sharingan?"
"You idiot, the Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha clan!"
"Who knows, maybe it's something even stronger than the Sharingan!"
Heh.
From the corridor, Gekkō Samukaze let out a cold little laugh, as though he were some great philosopher standing on the shoulders of giants, gazing into the future.
In truth, Hayate's kekkei genkai was indeed impressive in a certain sense—an ability that erased his presence and rendered his entire body transparent. An absurdly "broken" power: Transparent Release.
Perfect for sneaking, stealing, or—let's be honest—peeking into the women's bathhouse.
The tragedy, however, was that in direct combat Transparent Release was practically useless. Otherwise, in the original timeline, Hayate wouldn't have been killed by Baki of Sunagakure without even the chance to run away.
Still… even if it was just a technique fit for petty theft, in the right hands…
Samukaze's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help recalling the Hokage Tower's Scroll of Seals. His heart began to burn with restless heat.
Meanwhile, faced with the flood of enthusiasm from his brothers, Hayate scratched his head in embarrassment, grinning sheepishly.
"Hayate, you may still be young, but you're becoming more reliable by the day!"
"From now on, we may all be depending on you. Don't let us down!"
At those words, Hayate bobbed his head eagerly like a pecking chick. "Yes, I understand! I'll do my best!"
"All right, enough chatter. Everyone, back to training!"
With a stern face, Gekkō Hoshino cut off the discussion, then turned to Hayate. "Hayate, come with me. We need to tell Father about your kekkei genkai."
"Mm!" Hayate's eyes shone with anticipation, clearly eager to see the look on their father's face when he heard the news.
Samukaze watched coldly from the sidelines, shaking his head. Still just a child at heart.
Unlike him—whether he had a "cheat" or not, he remained unchanged. That was temperament. True composure was standing calm even if a mountain crumbled before you!
Samukaze sat cross-legged in the corridor for a while, but before long his restless nature got the better of him. He scampered into the yard, cornered one of his older clan brothers, and immediately began probing to "learn" the final piece of the Three Basic Techniques: the Substitution Jutsu.
But this time, something went wrong.
The collection failed.
Samukaze froze, staring at his brother's faintly impatient expression, then quietly retreated to a corner to reflect.
He had successfully collected techniques from Gekkō Suzukaze three times in a row. Yet with this other boy, he'd failed outright.
If the problem wasn't with himself, then the issue lay with the target.
Thinking back, when guiding Suzukaze, his cousin's attitude had been calm and even-tempered. No matter how many times Samukaze bothered him, Suzukaze never showed resistance. In contrast, this other boy's face had been clearly annoyed from the start—his whole expression screamed that Samukaze's requests were nothing but a nuisance, disrupting his training.
Which meant…
The will and attitude of the target greatly affect the success rate of my Collection Technique!
If the target was wary or hostile, even a hundred attempts might not yield a single success. But if the target was warm and open, the chances rose dramatically.
He remembered that his very first attempt with Suzukaze had succeeded without even a word exchanged—earning him the Chakra Refinement Technique on the spot.
Samukaze rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I need to summarize these experiences.
His eyes narrowed as he organized everything he had learned, and three key points emerged:
When the target's strength far exceeded his own, the success rate dropped sharply.
If the target harbored strong resistance toward him, success was nearly impossible; the friendlier the target, the higher the success rate.
With proper guidance, he could deliberately collect the specific technique he wanted.
With these principles in mind, Samukaze now had a clear sense of the path forward.
He scanned the courtyard where eight clan members were still training. Excluding Suzukaze, and the one who clearly disliked him, that left six viable targets.
Samukaze squinted, picking out the most good-natured-looking one among them. Then, with bold determination, he approached.
"Big Brother, you're so handsome!" Samukaze blurted shamelessly, ignoring his conscience. "In all my life, you're the most handsome person I've ever seen!"
"Huh?"
Gekkō Yuki blinked, looking bewildered. "Samukaze… are you feeling all right?"
"Big Brother, you're amazing!" Samukaze doubled down. "In all my life, you're the most amazing person I've ever seen!"
Wait… didn't I just say that?
He blinked twice in confusion, then shrugged it off. Whatever, keep going!
"Big Brother, you're incredible! In all my life, you're the most incredible person I've ever seen!"
"…."
Yuki's face twisted into an odd mix of amusement and disbelief. At last he chuckled helplessly. "So… do you need me to help you with something?"
Samukaze gave a knowing little smile. As expected—no one in this world could withstand his relentless flattery. And if they could… he'd just pile it on even thicker!
"I want to learn the Substitution Jutsu. Big Brother, would you teach me?" Samukaze's eyes sharpened as he asked. This was his last Collection attempt for the day—he couldn't afford to waste it.
"All right," Yuki agreed with a smile. "But you only have five minutes. And tell me, why not ask Suzukaze again? Why me this time?"
"Because you're more handsome!" Samukaze replied without a hint of shame.
"Haha! Samukaze, you really are adorable."
Yuki laughed heartily, then led him to a quiet corner. Forming seals, he began his explanation. "These are the seals for the Substitution Jutsu. As you weave them, you need to circulate chakra. One more thing—before using the technique, you must prepare a replacement in advance, like a log or a rock. Understand?"
Yuki explained patiently, and Samukaze listened with rapt attention. Then—
Collect!
Green light surged in his mind, swirling violently before condensing into a faint blue point of light.
Success!
Samukaze's consciousness wrapped around the light. A grin tugged at his lips.
The Substitution Jutsu was his!
With that, he had mastered the entire set of the Three Basic Techniques!
"Thank you, Big Brother. I've memorized everything," Samukaze said sincerely.
"Samukaze, you're really clever," Yuki replied warmly. "If you ever have more questions, you can always come to me."
Samukaze nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Big Brother."
Looking around, he realized the Gekkō clan was actually full of good-hearted people.
As for that one cousin who'd rejected him earlier…
Samukaze shot him a sidelong glance and smirked coldly. Today you looked down on me. Tomorrow you'll be the one reaching for me, unable to catch up.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate the poor youth!
…There was another line that fit, wasn't there?
Damn. He regretted not reading more of those "face-slapping counterattack" novels in his previous life. At moments like this, he couldn't even come up with the perfect quote.
Frustrating.
…
Please give me a recommendation!
(End of Chapter)