Hours later, Yohei found himself lying on his bed, contemplating death – and how its sweet relief might honestly be a better state of affairs than his current situation.
The injuries he'd accrued during his training with Gōdō had already been healed by his mom after he got home. Or, more accurately, after he'd been dragged home by Souma, since he'd been too weak to move under his own power. He'd fallen asleep while they were discussing Souma's lightning release training and had only woken up long after his teammate had left, roused by his mom calling him to eat dinner and take some medicine before sending him back to bed.
Where he had promptly fallen asleep again.
Now, however, he was suffering the consequences of having utterly destroyed his sleep schedule, waking up-
"Fuck," he muttered, staring at his bedside alarm clock.
A whole two hours before the already early alarm he'd set for himself recently.
He wasn't sleepy anymore, but he was exhausted, which felt like a particularly cruel contradiction. His injuries – already mostly healed the previous day – still stung and pulsed with every heartbeat, a strange kind of phantom pain that made him feel as if he were still being struck by that accursed rod of compressed earth.
"What are the chances I manage to go back to sleep and wake up feeling dandy?" he asked himself quietly, eyes fixed on the wooden ceiling above.
…
Silence was the only answer his walls and furniture had to offer.
He sighed and closed his eyes, resigned, until a sudden thought snapped through his mind. His eyes flew open as he sat up sharply, one hand going to his chest.
An incredulous laugh slipped from his lips on a breath, twisted and breathless, as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I can't believe that guy beat me up so hard I forgot I got a new reward."
Snorting softly, he pushed the covers aside and slipped out of bed, padding over to his desk and switching on the study light. He went through the now-familiar motions of biting his finger and summoning the Chaos Scroll – and soon had it in his hands. He spread it open to reveal two new fuinjutsu seals glowing softly in silver.
Activating them, the seals resolved into two scrolls. One was a familiar shade of gray, marking it as a D-rank ability.
The other-
"White?" he whispered, brow furrowing. "That's new. Is that higher than green… or lower?"
He was tempted to open it first, curiosity burning, but after a moment's consideration he set it aside. If it turned out to be something complicated – like Mugetsu had been – he didn't want anything else cluttering his thoughts.
Better to save it for last.
[硬化刃爪 – Kōka Jinsō – Hardened Blade Claw]
|D-Rank Jutsu|
This jutsu allows you to grow your nails into razor-sharp claws capable of tearing through flesh and metal with ease. As long as chakra is supplied, the claws will not dull.
"Oh, nice!" Yohei said, grinning as he read. "Another Yang Release – and one that's reasonably simple to explain, especially compared to something like Thousand Sound Perception."
Then he paused, head tilting.
"Wait a minute… enhanced hearing, enhanced biting, claws, and a canine partner..." He squinted at the scroll. "Is this thing slowly turning me into an Inuzuka?"
Amused, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, tilting his head side to side as he imagined slit pupils, sharp fangs, and the distinctive clan markings on his cheeks.
"I mean… as long as they let me paint them blue instead of red, I wouldn't really mind it."
Huffing a quiet laugh, Yohei rolled the scroll closed and set it aside to study properly later. He then picked up the white scroll, hesitating briefly before undoing the latch and pulling it open.
[五大国手語手典 – Godai-koku Shugoten – Hand Language Codex of the Five Great Nations]
|F-Rank Manual|
This manual records the basic communication hand signs taught to the genin of the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations.
"…Oh."
Reading the description again, Yohei opened the scroll further and found it divided into five sections, one for each village. Konoha's came first, displaying mostly signs he already knew – or ones he vaguely remembered having learned and then promptly forgotten.
Skimming through the other sections, he noted that the signs were largely the same across villages, with only minor variations. Most of those differences applied to code-specific terms like Ally, Enemy, and Home.
"Okay, this isn't entirely useless," he decided. "Not particularly useful either, since I'm pretty sure this is public knowledge for any interested ninja at this point… but at least it'll save me a trip to the library someday in the future."
He closed the scroll with a sigh and set it down, then leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes.
"So, what can I take from this?" he muttered.
"Well, first of all, F-rank rewards exist – and they're apparently pretty mundane. Good to know." He paused, thinking. "What else…?"
"The Chaos Scroll only activated once yesterday – when I punched Gōdō." He frowned slightly. "That means both rewards came from that single moment. So one action can result in multiple rewards."
He nodded to himself. "Not exactly new information – I already knew that from the end of the genin exam – but it's good to have confirmation."
"Next: reward types." He counted them off mentally. "A jutsu and a manual. I thought jutsu rewards came from defeating opponents, but was injuring Gōdō enough for it to count as a 'defeat'? Or is the system's definition just… broader than I assumed?"
"My first jutsu was from killing the monster boar. The second came from passing Sensei's test." He tapped his fingers against the desk. "So maybe it's anything sufficiently impressive with a martial component?"
"And manuals?" he continued. "The first was from winning that bet on our first mission. The second from successfully converting my chakra into Water chakra. And this one today came from…"
He trailed off, brow furrowing.
"…What the hell did I do that was reward-worthy besides hitting Gōdō?"
He pursed his lips, tapping a finger against the tabletop as he replayed the moment in his mind.
"Was it… my bootleg attempt at Lady Tsunade's technique?" he muttered.
Extreme Muscle Assault: Megaton.
A wildly inefficient, outrageously costly, and frankly dangerous technique that combined the strongest jutsu in his current arsenal with his amateur understanding of human anatomy and biology, all to deliver a single punch that pushed his body to the absolute limits of what it could currently manage.
It wasn't particularly useful in the field. It demanded complete focus just to avoid injuring himself, and even when executed properly it left him weakened afterward. On top of that, the attack was telegraphed as hell – he could only perform it with both feet planted, from a very specific stance, and the actual strike was a textbook haymaker.
'But I suppose it's still impressive for a genin to be able to pull it off,' he thought.
"And what does that have in common with the other times?" Yohei continued aloud. "I mean, it's easy enough to correlate it with the Nature Transformation training – those were both new techniques I implemented for the first time much earlier than I probably should have. But what does that have to do with winning a bet?"
He frowned, running his tongue idly over his teeth as he thought – then blinked, eyes widening slightly.
"Maybe it wasn't the bet itself that earned me the reward," he said slowly, "but how I won it."
"What I was doing was basically just cutting off trees… but I did it in a way no other genin in my position could replicate. Something impressive."
He leaned forward, fingers tapping faster now.
"So… I get new manuals – or skills – from demonstrations of skill." He paused. "Does that logic apply to everything else too?"
"I get jutsu – power – from demonstrations of power. Breaking through the defenses of someone much stronger than me. Defeating a dangerous opponent." He nodded slowly to himself. "Yeah, that tracks."
"But then what the hell are the conditions for Bloodline Limits and Contracts?"
The question sent a spark of excitement through him. Grinning, Yohei grabbed an empty notebook and began jotting his thoughts down in Portuguese, the pencil scratching rapidly across the page.
"If the theme holds," he murmured, "then Contracts would come from… what? Domestication feats?"
He snorted. "Yeah, no. I definitely didn't do that during the test."
"Maybe it's broader than that. Teamwork? Companionship? Interpersonal bonds in general?" He nodded slowly. "That actually sounds plausible."
He paused, chewing on the end of the pencil.
"But I still have absolutely no fucking idea what kind of feat would qualify for a Bloodline Limit."
After a few moments, he clicked his tongue and leaned back.
"No point in breaking my head over it," he decided. "One example is nowhere near enough data to make a decent guess. I'll just have to wait until I get another and compare."
He tossed the pencil onto the desk, spun his chair, and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling.
'That was still very useful,' he thought with a grin. 'Now I more or less know what kind of feats I should aim for if I want a new jutsu or a manual.'
Thinking about possible opportunities to test his theory, Yohei's thoughts drifted to the training session his sensei had planned for Team 5 that afternoon. His smile widened.
'Guess I'll get to test it soon enough.'
-~=~-
When he was done, Yohei pushed his chair back and stood up. A quick glance at the clock told him that barely a few minutes had passed since he'd woken up, so he resigned himself to starting the day early and getting in more Total Concentration Breathing training before meeting his team for their daily D-rank mission.
Before leaving the house, he briefly considered taking some painkillers to deal with the lingering aches from the previous day. After a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea.
If he was going to survive and thrive in shōnen-land – where people stabbed their own hands to extract venom, snapped bones back into place and kept fighting, or got impaled clean through the torso and stayed sane instead of breaking down – then he needed to learn how to deal with pain.
He promptly regretted that decision about six minutes into his sprint.
Every movement had him wincing, and every thunderous footfall sent a fresh, jolting wave of pain racing through his body. He was sorely tempted to give up, turn back, and take the medicine – telling himself that the Chaos Scroll would eventually give him something that let him work through pain anyway.
But he was already far enough from home that doubling back felt unappealing. By the time he finished his first lap around the village, his blood was running hot enough that the pain had dulled into something more manageable.
So he kept going.
He didn't even make it to three full laps before the sky began to brighten, and he decided it was time to move on to the next stage of his training. Panting like a dog and sweating like a pig, Yohei made his way to the base of the Hokage Rock and started climbing.
This time, he leaned more heavily on chakra enhancement – less out of desire and more out of necessity. He doubted he could manage the ascent on raw physical strength alone in his current condition.
After a few more torturous minutes, Yohei once again found himself atop Hashirama's head. He gazed out at the village below as it was slowly illuminated by the first rays of sunlight, focusing on calming his breathing before beginning work on expanding his lung capacity.
By the end of it, he had nearly doubled the amount of time he could maintain that fully expanded state. It made him wonder whether his growth would continue linearly, or if later stages would slow down – or perhaps accelerate.
Once finished, he shifted into another breathing method – one meant to teach a prospective Slayer how to cope with a sudden influx of oxygen in the bloodstream. Combined with how much he'd already expanded his capacity, it still didn't come close to replicating the effects of true Total Concentration Breathing…
…but it did leave his entire body tingling, energy humming through his limbs.
'I wonder how much oxygen there actually is in my blood,' he thought.
Then he blinked, and a smile slowly spread across his face as an idea took shape.
After one last long, steady inhale followed by a quick, explosive exhale, Yohei pushed himself up from where he'd been sitting atop the First Hokage's head. He hopped in place a few times, rolling his shoulders and shaking out his arms, idly noting how the aches in his body had dulled even further after the training.
That realization only made him grin wider. His shoulders shook with silent laughter as he turned and began climbing back down the Hokage Rock.
The idea itself was simple. Short of drawing his own blood and testing its oxygen levels with medical equipment, the only way to measure it was through practice. He could've stayed still and counted how many seconds passed before he needed to breathe again – but that sounded painfully boring.
Not to mention, he needed to start moving toward the Academy if he didn't want to be late.
So he decided to leave the more academic testing for the peace of his room later. For now, he'd test a much more practical question:
'How far can I go before I need to breathe?'
The answer?
Really far.
He didn't feel the slightest bit winded by the time he reached the base of the Hokage Rock. He still felt fine as he started leaping across rooftops, though he did notice the pleasant tingling in his body slowly begin to fade.
His teammates found it a little strange that he didn't say a word when greeting them, but a few casual gestures reassured them that everything was fine – even if they kept shooting him puzzled looks. Their sensei merely raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head and heading inside the building.
Yohei felt no need to breathe as they climbed the stairs. Nor while they waited for Hayama-sensei to select their mission for the day.
It wasn't until they'd already left the Academy that he felt the faintest hint of strain – and even that felt like an exaggeration. It was less discomfort and more the sensation of having burned through the surplus energy in his body, returning to his normal reserves.
Only when they were about halfway to the building housing Konoha Public Library – the target of that morning's mission – did he finally feel the burn in his chest, the tightening signal urging him to inhale.
Which he did.
No coughing. No desperate gasps. Just a smooth, normal breath.
"I was starting to get worried," Hayama said, his quiet, amused voice snapping Yohei out of his awe. "There are Wind-nature techniques that let ninja go a long time – technically indefinitely, as long as they keep feeding them chakra – without breathing. But I doubt that's what you were doing."
He glanced sideways at Yohei. "New technique?"
With no time to cook up a decent lie – and unwilling to try a bad one on a jōnin – Yohei simply shrugged and smiled.
"Kind of."
Hayama hummed, studying him for a long moment, lips quirking slightly.
"Back on your first mission," he said at last, "was that a technique you created too?"
Yohei blinked, then his eyes widened as he let out an awkward chuckle.
"No, not really," he said, scratching the back of his head. "That was… my teeth are just like that, honestly. I haven't found anything I can't bite through yet."
"Ah, a mutation, then?" Hayama said with a light chuckle. "Perhaps some distant Inuzuka ancestry."
He waved the thought away casually. "Then again, new bodily mutations are fairly common among those with high Yang affinity. I once heard from a friend in the Research & Development Division that, until a few centuries ago, white hair was incredibly rare – and blue hair didn't exist at all. Can you believe that?"
Yohei's eyes widened as he turned the idea over in his head.
'So… that's the origin of Anime Hair here.'
He had already read hints of that sort of thing. Small discrepancies in anatomy texts his mother had given him – details that didn't quite line up with what he remembered from his alternate life. He just hadn't dug deeply enough yet to really notice the pattern.
"That's… kind of amazing, actually," he said honestly.
Hayama nodded, humming happily. "It is. That's where the Inuzuka traits come from – and why the bodies of the Aburame are already suitable as nests from birth. Many shinobi from the Hidden Mist also display aquatic traits. Sharper teeth, eyes adapted for underwater environments, even gills in rare cases."
He glanced at Yohei. "Have you noticed anything else like that, aside from your teeth?"
Yohei thought about it.
'Is there? Or better yet… is there anything else I got from the Chaos Scroll that I could take the opportunity to pass off as a genuine mutation right now?'
There wasn't.
But at least now he knew this could serve as a perfectly reasonable justification for future developments.
Though that meant even more –
'Research,' he thought with a grimace. 'Kami, I'm really starting to hate that word.'
He shook his head. "Not that I can think of, sensei."
"And the whole 'not breathing' thing just now was…?" Hayama prompted.
"A technique-" Yohei started, then stopped and 'corrected' himself. "Well. The start of a technique. Maybe. Hopefully."
He gestured vaguely as he spoke. "The way you made us train with the chakurami, and the lessons on physical and spiritual energy, got me thinking. If the basic state of my body and mind defines how much chakra I have and how much I can enhance myself with it, then what can I do to improve that baseline?"
"Training," Hayama replied dryly.
Yohei laughed. "Well, yeah. But a ninja has to 'look underneath the underneath' and all that."
He smiled, warming to the topic. "So I came up with an idea. Just like Extreme Muscle Assault was kind of inspired by the Multi-Size Technique, I started thinking about how I could replicate something similar to the other Akimichi hidden technique, Calorie Control."
Growing more animated, Yohei turned fully toward his sensei as they walked, lowering his voice to avoid being overheard.
"Basically, what I came up with is a breathing technique meant to increase my oxygen intake and my body's resistance to carbon dioxide buildup," he explained. "The goal is to keep my blood's oxygen saturation at peak levels even during extreme exertion, so my body can operate at maximum capacity."
His eyes gleamed.
"And if I can push it further – draw in excess oxygen without suffering from hyperoxia – then maybe I can convert that surplus directly into fuel for chakra."
That… was only partially true.
The most basic part of the concept he'd just explained did line up with how Total Concentration Breathing actually worked, yes – but the real thing was also a genuinely supernatural technique. One that outright increased the body's ability to absorb and utilize oxygen beyond normal human limits, using it as an energy source to fuel a Slayer's superhuman abilities when they accelerated their heartbeat and metabolism.
Not to mention the fact that it had absolutely nothing to do with chakra.
Still, he could "discover" that part later – after conveniently "failing" at trying to convert oxygen directly into physical energy for chakra.
Hayama was silent for a moment, studying Yohei intently.
Then, slowly, he asked, "Yohei… that was just two days ago."
Yohei stiffened.
"Are you telling me you came up with the theory and developed it to the point where you were able to go for minutes without breathing?" Hayama continued, disbelief creeping into his voice. He frowned, gaze drifting into the distance. "And you also changed your breathing patterns on the very same day I told you about the chakurami."
He turned back sharply, eyes wide.
"Are you saying that within minutes of that lesson, you were already thinking about – and implementing – this idea?"
Caught completely off guard, Yohei stared back at him with equally wide eyes.
'Shit.'
The shift in mood didn't go unnoticed. Ren and Souma stopped their own conversation, both glancing over with concern, though they relaxed when Yohei waved them off.
Letting out an awkward laugh, Yohei scratched his cheek. "I… guess so? Thinking back on it, I was probably being pretty reckless about it. Sorry."
Hayama held his gaze for several long seconds.
Yohei felt sweat bead at his temple and swallowed, forcing himself to breathe evenly.
Then Hayama sighed.
"Yohei," he said quietly, "how many Yang Release jutsu have you created so far?"
'What the hell am I supposed to say now?!' Yohei panicked internally – then froze. 'Wait. No. That's actually… a good opportunity, isn't it? Yeah. Let's do this.'
"Well…" he said aloud, choosing his words carefully, "so far, only Extreme Muscle Assault, honestly. I don't really consider this breathing technique finished enough to call it 'ready' yet."
He shrugged. "Besides that, I've been working on a few others. One to turn my nails into claws, one to harden my skin and flesh, and another to enhance my hearing. I'm pretty close to finishing the first one, but the other two still need a lot more research." He lied like a lying liar who lies.
Then his eyes lit up as he 'remembered' something.
"Oh! And I've also been studying a jutsu my mom gave me that lets me grow my hair and turn it into needles – but I didn't create that one myself, so I don't know if it counts."
"Hmm… Ren. Souma."
Hayama called out to his teammates, who had been very obviously pretending not to listen in.
"Please continue to the library and wait for us outside," he said calmly. "I need to have a talk with Yohei."
The two hesitated, but seeing that Hayama looked more pensive than anything else – and that Yohei didn't seem particularly worried – they nodded and moved on.
"Right. Follow me," Hayama said, springing up onto the rooftops.
Yohei followed a moment later.
They hopped across several buildings before stopping atop a taller one, its height and surrounding walls making it difficult for anyone to observe them unnoticed. Hayama formed a short sequence of hand seals, then swept one hand through the air with his fingers curved like claws.
The space around them visibly distorted, rippling with the unmistakable signature of Wind chakra.
The result was a barrier of sorts – one that muted the world beyond it entirely. No sound from the outside passed through, and from what Yohei could tell, nothing inside would escape either.
Curious – and a little awed – Yohei reached out and brushed a finger through it, only realizing after that this might have been a terrible idea. Thankfully, whatever technique this was, it felt less like slicing pressure and more like a strong breeze pushing against a flexible membrane.
"I'm going to be direct, Yohei-kun," Hayama said flatly, though not unkindly. "You're neither stupid nor ignorant. You know that what you just told me is not, in any way, normal. Right?"
Yohei nodded, shrugging with a helpless smile. "Yeah. I figured that out when my mom nearly freaked out over just me creating Extreme Muscle Assault."
"So when you said she helped you create that jutsu…"
"That was a lie," Yohei admitted with a wince. "Sorry."
Hayama waved it off with a shake of his head. "There's no need for that. I understand why you'd be worried."
He paused, choosing his next words carefully, then sighed.
"Prodigies have always been a cornerstone of ninja history. Lord First and Madara Uchiha were both prodigies without equal even today. They didn't just change the ninja world – they redefined what it meant to be a ninja."
"Each of the first Kage was a prodigy, capable of unifying warring and isolated clans under a single banner. Lord Second was a prodigy who revolutionized ninja training and created techniques that still form the backbone of Konoha."
"Lady Tsunade advanced the field of iryoninjutsu by decades – perhaps centuries, had others been capable of fully reproducing her work."
"And Itachi Uchiha…" Hayama's gaze hardened slightly. "Alone, he destroyed one of the oldest and most powerful clans in the world in a single night."
He looked directly at Yohei.
"Prodigies are loved. Prodigies are feared. Prodigies are protected – and resented. They are the strongest among us. They also rarely live long enough to die of old age."
Hayama held Yohei's gaze, voice low but steady.
"And you, Yohei… are most definitely a prodigy."
'I'm really not,' Yohei thought.
"What should I do?" he asked instead.
Hayama chuckled softly. "What should you do? That's for you to decide, my dear genin." He paused, then smiled more warmly. "I will say this, though – your chances of achieving your future dream are much greater than I originally thought."
His expression sobered, though the encouragement remained. "I can't tell you what path to take. But as your sensei, I can give you the knowledge you need to make your own choices… and offer advice, if you want it."
"Please," Yohei said, nodding firmly.
"Hmm. Very well." Hayama took a moment to think. "How have you been finding your training? Do you feel under-stimulated?"
"Nope," Yohei replied immediately. "Between your training, studying at home with my mom, and waking up an hour early to work on that breathing technique… I'm already at my limit. I honestly don't think I could add anything else without getting overwhelmed and having to cut back on something I'm already doing."
Hayama nodded in approval. "Then that's good. Do tell me if that ever changes – I can always arrange something more demanding. Your current regimen suits your strengths well, so I don't see any immediate adjustments needed."
He paused. "In that case, let's talk about other considerations. Specifically, how you should treat this… secret of yours."
"You don't think I should keep it hidden?" Yohei asked, tilting his head.
Hayama considered the question before answering. "It's more complicated than that. As ninja, it's essential that the full extent of our strength and capabilities remain hidden. An opponent who knows exactly what you can do is an opponent who's already halfway to defeating you."
He continued evenly, "Fighting someone fully prepared for you is the same as walking toward your own grave."
"But," he added, "there are also very real advantages to letting some of your abilities be known. Reputation, for instance, is a powerful tool – for both you as an individual and the village as a whole."
"How so?" Yohei asked, brow furrowing.
"For one, it makes it easier for clients – especially wealthy ones – to commission you directly," Hayama explained. "That brings not just money and resources, but also connections and higher-ranking missions on your record. You'll need those if you ever want to advance beyond chūnin."
"Reputation is also a weapon in combat," he went on. "Your opponents, even in they are in superior numbers or are actually stronger than you, are far more likely to make mistakes if they're afraid of your name."
"And for the village?" Yohei prompted.
"The same principles apply, but on a broader scale," Hayama said. "If your name spreads, more clients will want to send missions to Konoha. You become proof of the village's quality.
"The nobles and the daimyō allocate more funding when our fame rises – both as reward and as incentive. That funding lets us expand, improve care for our shinobi, and prepare for the next major conflict."
'The next Great Ninja War,' Yohei thought.
They were the natural consequence of the world as it stood – born from the chaos of the Warring Clans Era and the abrupt transition into the Village System. No one truly believed the last war had been the last. Peace, after all, was seen less as a natural state and more as a brief lull between conflicts.
"And there's another benefit," Hayama added, a small grin tugging at his lips – one Yohei immediately recognized. "One that's particularly relevant for someone with your… specific talents."
"And that is…?" Yohei asked, wary.
"Marriage proposals."
"…Really."
Hayama laughed at the flat response. "I'm serious. You're unaffiliated with any clan. The last time someone like that showed promise on your level was Lord Fourth – and for a while, every clan in the village went feral trying to outdo each other with marriage offers. Even the Uchiha and the Hyūga got involved."
"Sensei," Yohei said incredulously, "why the hell would I want that kind of chaos in my life?"
Hayama met his gaze, amusement still present but his tone serious. "Because it would be legitimately useful to you, given your specialties."
He held up a finger. "If your main talent were Nature Transformation, you could train that on your own. If it were fūinjutsu, you could search for masters across the nations – or hunt down old Uzumaki scrolls. If it were taijutsu, you could simply seek out stronger opponents."
Then he leaned in slightly. "But Yang Release? That's different."
Yohei stilled.
"You do have excellent talent for Water Release," Hayama continued, "but it pales in comparison to your affinity for Yang. And that, my genin, is an incredibly niche branch of ninjutsu. You won't find many scrolls, teachers, or established techniques for it just lying around."
"Don't misunderstand me," he added. "You're doing remarkably well on your own. But that's no reason not to stack your advantages. Konoha has more clans with Yang-focused techniques than almost any other village – possibly the most. Ignoring that would be a waste."
He smiled knowingly. "The Akimichi and the Inuzuka, in particular, would be very interested in you."
"I'm…" Yohei hesitated, a hint of distaste creeping into his voice. "I'm not sure I want to marry someone for something like that."
Hayama nodded. "That's fair." Then he added, casually, "But even adoption into a clan would already grant you most of the benefits."
At Yohei's still-reluctant expression, Hayama chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Relax. There's no need to rush a decision like that. These are simply things to keep in mind – we can discuss them again in the future."
He straightened, tone turning instructional once more. "In general, my advice is this: don't hide the fact that you're a prodigy, and don't be afraid to show your skills and jutsu."
"But," he said pointedly, "always keep their full extent and inner workings hidden. Leave something in reserve. You want enemies to think they've figured you out – right before you prove them wrong."
"I can do that," Yohei said, nodding firmly.
"Again," Hayama said calmly, "this is only advice. I'll support you even if you decide to keep your abilities hidden as much as possible. But if it's not too much to ask, try to be more open with me and your teammates."
Yohei listened intently.
"I can plan your training far better if I know what tools you already have and which ones still need sharpening," Hayama continued. "And you need someone you're not hiding them from – someone you can actually practice with."
He paused, then added more seriously, "As for your teammates, them knowing what you're capable of can be the difference between life and death on a future mission."
Hayama's gaze sharpened. "You told me you're developing a defensive jutsu that hardens your flesh, didn't you? Imagine this scenario: an enemy ninja faster than you throws a kunai straight at your chest. You know that if you activate that jutsu, you'll be fine."
He let the silence stretch.
"But your teammates don't know that. Souma, being faster than you, throws himself in the way – believing he's saving your life. And he dies."
Yohei stared at Hayama in horror. "No! I – I wouldn't – of course not!"
Hayama nodded, his voice gentle but unyielding. "I know. And I'm not asking you to explain every single detail of your techniques. Kami knows Ren won't do that either, given his family's ambitions to form a clan."
He looked at Yohei steadily. "But just like you trusted them enough to tell them about Extreme Muscle Assault, I'm asking you to share information that would be vital to both your survival and theirs on the battlefield."
"I will," Yohei said firmly. "I'm sorry – I hadn't…"
'Hadn't wanted to consider the possibility,' he admitted to himself, guilt twisting in his chest. 'I wanted to keep the safety of anonymity for as long as possible. Even now, I'm still hiding far more than what you've uncovered. I don't think I can be fully honest, sensei. I'm sorry.'
"…I didn't think about that," he said aloud. "I was trying to avoid attention and trouble. I didn't consider the consequences. I promise I'll be more open from now on."
'That, at least, is true,' he thought. 'And like I suspected, this conversation creates the perfect alibi. If anyone ever asks Hayama-sensei, he can honestly say I was already showing signs of a bloodline limit and prodigious talent – so no one starts wondering if there's some mastermind secretly feeding me techniques or experimenting on me.'
"That's all I can ask," Hayama said with a grateful smile. "We can leave the rest for another time. Your teammates must already be getting frustrated trying to listen in."
He glanced to the side.
Perched on the edge of the rooftop were two birds: a large red one that looked suspiciously like a falcon, and a smaller white, owl-like one. Both were very clearly not staring at Yohei and Hayama.
Yohei blinked, then stared at them incredulously. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest – one that had nothing to do with the Chaos Scroll. He laughed in disbelief, covering his face with his palm.
"Couldn't they at least have chosen normal birds?" he asked between laughs.
Hayama chuckled. "Every day that passes, I grow more convinced that none of you qualify as anything close to 'normal.'"
As he spoke, he dismissed the wind barrier. At the same time, the two birds dispelled their transformation jutsu, returning to human form – Souma looking relieved, and Ren wearing a smug, if slightly sheepish, grin.