Now, it seemed another candidate had appeared.
Raizen, who had only recently returned to the village, would likely be far more receptive to the Will of Fire than most other Uchiha.
…
Evening.
Sarutobi Asuma returned home in low spirits.
The thought of losing face in front of Yūhi Kurenai made him feel like the sky had collapsed.
The tough-guy image he had spent so long building was probably ruined.
"No way. I have to prove myself to Red!"
Sarutobi Asuma clenched his fists tightly.
He admitted defeat in genjutsu.
He had underestimated Raizen's strength, and even without the Sharingan, Raizen's genjutsu was overwhelming.
Next time, he would bring out his true specialty.
Sarutobi Asuma glanced at the knuckle blades in his room—half chakra-conducting metal, half ordinary steel.
He planned to eventually replace them entirely with special chakra metal and forge a set of personal weapons.
"Chakra Flow. There's no way I lose to you in that."
Sarutobi Asuma muttered to himself.
To be safe, he decided to continue special training for a while longer.
When the time was right, he would challenge Raizen to a pure taijutsu duel!
…
Konoha streets, 7 p.m.
Last night had brought another autumn rain.
Raizen exhaled a puff of visible breath.
Yesterday had been the final autumn rain. Today marked the true start of winter.
On both sides of the street, the withered yellow leaves of trees drifted in the cold wind.
Some time had passed since Raizen defeated Sarutobi Asuma and gained the new entry.
"I'll take this, and this."
Raizen pointed at some ingredients. The shopkeeper quickly wrapped them up.
Living alone meant Raizen handled everything himself—grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning.
"You're useless! You can't even buy dessert right!"
A sharp scolding voice rang out.
Accompanied by a crisp slap.
The sound drew curious glances from passersby.
Raizen followed the noise and saw Hyūga Natsu, whom he had met once before at the third training ground.
At this moment, she stood with her head bowed.
Her dark green short hair concealed her white eyes, and her body trembled slightly.
"Yes, Lady Ginka."
Hyūga Natsu replied respectfully to the noblewoman in front of her.
Even beneath the heavy robe, the woman's graceful curves were perfectly outlined as she swung her hand.
"Buy it and bring it back. And get some fresh squid sushi too."
Hyūga Ginka ordered arrogantly.
That new sushi shop with its unique flavors had been quite impressive lately.
Other shops didn't have anything like it.
As soon as she turned her head, the curious onlookers quickly averted their eyes, unwilling to meet her gaze.
This was a member of the Hyūga main family.
The Hyūga were one of Konoha's two great dōjutsu clans, and their members were clearly divided into two groups:
The main house and the branch house.
There was no need to guess—the one being slapped was from the branch family.
Passersby tightened their collars and hurried along.
This was internal Hyūga business. Better to stay out of it.
Raizen, however, kept watching the scene.
"Gentle Fist… could that drop an entry?"
Raizen thought to himself.
He had always been envious of the Hyūga clan's abilities.
Take the "Chakra Flow · Fire Release" he had just gained—it allowed him to infuse weapons with chakra.
But attaching chakra to the body itself was far beyond his current capabilities.
Even jōnin couldn't do it freely; at most, they could release chakra from their hands or feet.
Releasing chakra from other parts of the body was extremely difficult.
Moreover, maintaining Chakra Flow on the body surface for long periods placed immense strain on the chakra points, causing pain to the user.
Only the Hyūga could freely release chakra from every point in their body, enabling techniques like "Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin."
"Squid sushi…"
Hyūga Natsu glanced at the sky. The horizon had already darkened.
It would soon be night.
But that sushi shop didn't open in the evening. How was she supposed to explain this to Hyūga Ginka?
"Having some trouble, Hyūga Natsu?"
"Ah… Raizen-kun."
Only after confirming that Hyūga Ginka had walked far away did Hyūga Natsu raise her eyes to see who had spoken.
It was Raizen, someone she barely knew.
"You're looking for squid sushi?"
Raizen asked.
"Yes."
Though she didn't know why Uchiha Raizen had approached her, Hyūga Natsu still nodded.
"Come on, I'll take you there."
Raizen waved casually and gave her a small smile.
"Eh… but the shop should be closed by now."
Hyūga Natsu sighed, a trace of melancholy in her eyes.
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