Sizzle~ sizzle~ sizzle~
The sound of grilled meat crackling on the oiled paper filled the air, releasing an irresistible aroma of seared fat that wafted into everyone's nose.
The six of them were seated in an orderly fashion. The extended grill gave everyone plenty of room to enjoy the experience comfortably.
They sat across from one another—Uchiha Mikoto and Uzumaki Kushina side by side, with Senju Nawaki on the outer edge. Across from them were Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Kaien, and Namikaze Minato.
It was practically the ideal seating arrangement—natural, non-awkward, and considerate of everyone's relationships.
Kushina and Nawaki were close, and she was also in the same class as Mikoto. Sitting with them gave her plenty of chances to chime in on any topic.
On the other side, Kaien sat in the middle, which was the obvious choice. Fugaku and Mikoto faced each other, allowing Fugaku to keep an eye on her as well.
Still... something's off, Kaien thought to himself.
With this many people around, it's not exactly easy to help Minato make a move, huh?
And besides—why the hell are you guys trying to serve me food? I'm in the center seat, yeah, but that doesn't mean I need you two to keep picking stuff off the grill for me!
A stoic face and a blond-haired dope—your crushes are sitting right across from you, and you're here stuffing my plate?
Hopeless.
Seriously, with your cluelessness, maybe "saving the damsel in distress" is more your style, blondie. Kaien cast a sidelong glance at Minato, who hadn't made a single move on Kushina the whole time.
Well, at least the two of them had the decency to only sneak meat onto his plate when Mikoto and Kushina weren't looking.
Nawaki, on the other hand, was refreshingly open about it. Sharing good food with a younger fellow student wasn't anything strange to him. As Kushina's older "brother," he also naturally took care of her, piling her plate with meat.
Optimists really do have it easier in life, Kaien mused quietly.
Eh, screw it. No point overthinking. Might as well relax and enjoy a good meal.
So Kaien started eating without guilt, chiming in now and then to keep the mood lively.
The only one at the table who didn't know him that well was Mikoto. But with Kaien's smooth way with words, it didn't take long for her to warm up to him. The gap between them shrank quickly.
The topic soon shifted to graduation. Mikoto and Nawaki were both sixth-year students, only a month or two away from finishing school, so they were naturally curious about Kaien and Minato's early graduation.
Kushina also brought up stories from class. As expected, a bunch of students from shinobi clans had applied for early graduation.
At the top of the list were the two Hyūga brothers. The Hyūga clan had always competed with the Uchiha for the title of Konoha's strongest family. As soon as Hyūga Hiashi heard that some Uchiha had already applied to graduate early and become genin, he and Hizashi were immediately ordered to do the same.
Then came the Ino–Shika–Chō trio. Since they'd always been assigned to the same team, it was inevitable they'd graduate together. Their early graduation wasn't surprising at all.
All in all, quite a few students applied to graduate early. Because of this growing trend, Hiruzen Sarutobi had officially approved early graduation from the Ninja Academy.
With war looming, it made sense to let genin grow faster. Even if they weren't immediately sent to the front lines, they could still be trained and prepared.
Kaien and Minato's tales of encountering high-level opponents on their missions shocked everyone. No one had expected the world outside the village to be so dangerous.
When Fugaku heard that Kaien had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the thought of undergoing trials outside the village crossed his mind.
The Uchiha only grow stronger through battle—Fugaku was reminded of that once again.
Outside of her daily life at the academy, Kushina spent the rest of her time learning sealing arts from Uzumaki Mito. Mito wasn't too harsh on her. Whether she could master the techniques now or not didn't matter—what was important was remembering the formulas. There would be time to learn them properly later.
By the time the meal was over, Kaien had earned himself a decent amount of affection points. With five other people at the table who could all offer affection, he made quite the gain.
As soon as he got home, Kaien couldn't wait to use his [draw]. He was in such a good mood, he didn't bother saving up for a ten-pull. One shot—go big or go home!
Maybe it was his lucky day, but on his very first pull, a glowing purple orb appeared.
Kaien thought back for a second. Oh... right, this was the guaranteed reward. The excitement instantly dipped.
Still, he opened the orb without hesitation.
C'mon, this is a purple-tier reward. Who cares if it's the guaranteed one? It's still something that strengthens you and patches up your weaknesses. Anything that boosts your strength is worth it—why complain?
[Seed of Perception]: The seed of perception has taken root. Drawing strength from the earth, it will grow and mature over time. You've acquired the ability to sense chakra. This ability will develop further as time passes.
A growth-type trait—just like Kaien had hoped for. And better yet, it was the perception trait he'd been dreaming about.
Unlike before, when he had to use the Phantom Beast to borrow a black cat's senses, Kaien now had the ability to sense chakra on his own. His sense of security grew instantly.
Even if the description was brief, the fact that it was a purple-grade growth trait spoke for itself. Kaien trusted its potential.
Technically, space-time talents are also perception-based, aren't they?
You need an incredibly refined perception of space to master space-related jutsu.
[Seed of Perception]—the key word is seed.
A seed needs time to absorb nutrients and sprout. And given enough time, it'll grow into a towering tree!
Kaien's eyes lit up with excitement. His biggest weakness—perception—was finally addressed. Combined with the dynamic vision and insight of the Sharingan, if someone still managed to sneak up on him now, that would really be something.
...
Of course, when someone's happy, someone else is bound to be frustrated.
And right now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very frustrated.
The Land of Rain had finally declared war on both Konoha and Sunagakure, turning it into a chaotic three-way battlefield.
That small country was now split into three separate war zones: Amegakure versus Sunagakure, Amegakure versus Konoha, and Konoha versus Sunagakure.
Hanzo the Salamander made his debut with overwhelming force. With his deadly salamander poison and his summon backing him up, he inflicted massive casualties on both enemy sides in a matter of moments.
It was like he was rushing from stage to stage—fighting Chiyo of Sunagakure, then immediately clashing with Sarutobi's three-man team. While the top-level shinobi didn't suffer serious injuries, the lower-ranked ones took heavy losses.
Tensions were also rising along the Konoha–Sunagakure border. Sakumo Hatake fought Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, and although his blade techniques usually let him dominate standard puppet users, this couple was a different story.
Their puppets could be controlled in sync, working seamlessly as one unit. Their coordination gave Sakumo real trouble for once.
Hiruzen's expression was grim as he reviewed the intelligence reports. Then he turned to the ANBU beside him and gave the order:
"Bring me Elder Danzō."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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