For the next several days, Aoba devoted almost all of his energy to the training of wind attribute chakra nature transformation.
Sometimes, a single strand of hair, a book in his lap, hands pressed together—he would sit like that for an entire day.
During this time, Uzuki Yugao, who also had no missions, would come over to accompany him.
Whenever she was with Aoba, she would stay for the entire day.
Aoba often complained that Konoha's Chunin had it too easy. He couldn't understand how she always had the time to come to his house.
Konoha was just too urbanized. Unlike Sunagakure, where mission quotas were probably so scarce that each person might not even get a single one.
Not working would literally mean starving.
Seeing that Aoba had Yugao as a small mentor guiding him, Hayame didn't interfere too much.
There were still a few days left until the next mission. During this time, while resting, he went to the training grounds to train on his own.
Given his current strength, this small courtyard was simply not a suitable place for training. A few sword swings, and this little home would be reduced to ruins.
———
"It looks like little Aoba has already grasped the basics of chakra nature transformation."
"Much faster than I did back then."
Seeing the broken strands of hair in Aoba's hands, Uzuki Yugao was genuinely happy for him.
Looking at the hair split into two in his palm, Aoba felt as though all the fatigue from the past few days had been instantly wiped away.
Excited, he quickly plucked a few more strands of hair to try again.
One strand, two strands, three strands...
He was getting more and more proficient, and his cutting speed was increasing rapidly.
A few minutes later—
"Hmm?"
Feeling the empty spot near his forehead, Aoba finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Pfft!"
Seeing Aoba suddenly freeze, Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but let out a crisp laugh.
Then, she reached out her slender, soft hand and helped him adjust his sideburns, covering up the slightly bald spot.
"It's fine, you can still hide it."
Watching Yugao struggling to hold back her laughter, Aoba's face darkened.
Feeling slightly dissatisfied, he said, "I've already mastered chakra nature transformation. Can I move on to the next step now?"
Uzuki Yugao took a few deep breaths to adjust herself before responding.
"Yes, the next step is to infuse wind attribute chakra into your sword."
"This is different from regular chakra infusion. Since it's wind attribute chakra, which has a cutting property, it can easily damage your sword during infusion."
Uzuki Yugao took out a bamboo sword she had prepared earlier and handed it to Aoba.
"Practice with this bamboo sword first. When you can infuse chakra without leaving any cutting marks, then you've succeeded."
Aoba took the bamboo sword from Yugao and had just begun channeling chakra into it—
Sure enough, a small, fine cut immediately appeared on the surface.
After several attempts, he finally felt his chakra starting to run low and had to stop.
In the end, the bamboo sword suffered greatly, with several new cut marks covering its surface.
Seeing this, Uzuki Yugao quickly reassured him.
"Failing at the start is completely normal. Just practice more, and you'll get the hang of it naturally," As she spoke, a sly glint flashed in her eyes.
"So, little Aoba, for now, you should continue training at home. You wouldn't want anyone interfering with your progress."
"Phew—"
"I understand."
Aoba took a deep breath and answered seriously.
At the same time, he took a bite of the fruit that Uzuki Yugao handed him.
The main issue was that he currently had no way to make big money.
To make big money, he needed strength.
But to quickly gain strength, he needed to draw cards.
And to draw cards, he needed money.
A vicious cycle.
So for now, he decided to focus on sword training. At the very least, the power of his Vacuum Blade was nothing to scoff at. Especially once his chakra reserves increased in the future, it would become even stronger.
———
While Aoba was immersed in training—
"Aoba isn't coming again today?", Tenten sat at the entrance of her family's ninja tool shop, resting her small face in her hands as she watched the people passing by.
"If you don't show up again today, I won't talk to you anymore!"
Tenten and Aoba technically had an employer-employee relationship, but they were also very close playmates.
Because of her background, Tenten had been learning about ninja tools from a young age, and she hardly had any friends in the village.
Aoba could be considered her only friend at the moment.
Ever since they met, the two of them had never gone this long without seeing each other.
In short, Tenten was feeling extremely uneasy right now, as if something was off, 'Could it be that Aoba is mad at me for getting angry last time?'
'But that was because Aoba was being too much! He actually likes money more than me…'
Tenten blushed, making all sorts of guesses in her head.
After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out a reason.
'He wouldn't have gone to find Ino and Sakura instead, would he?'
'Forget it, I'll just go find him myself.'
Worried, Tenten decided to take action.
With a "whoosh," she stood up from her chair.
She had only run a few steps when she suddenly stopped.
After a moment of thought, she ran back to the counter and took a few explosive tags, leaving a note behind, [Dad, I'm going to practice my throwing techniques!]
Then, she dashed away like the wind.
Watching this unfold, Tenten's father, who had been polishing a sword, froze mid-motion.
Several veins popped out on his forehead.
———
Meanwhile—
"Aoba isn't coming again today?", A small figure, Ino, rested her chin in her hands, bored, at the flower shop counter.
'Could that rich girl Tenten have bribed Aoba with money to keep him from playing with us?', A sudden sense of crisis welled up in her heart.
Glancing around the shop, she saw that there weren't many customers today.
Ino patted her backside and stood up.
She called out loudly to her mother, who was arranging flowers in the back.
"Mom, it's so quiet today. I'm going to find Sakura!"
After calling out, she ran off faster than a rabbit, afraid her mom would object.
"Eh? Sakura?"
Not far from the shop, she suddenly ran into a pink-haired girl with a red ribbon tied around her head, her smooth forehead exposed.
"Ino?"
Sakura was startled by the sudden appearance of her friend.
"Sakura, were you coming to find me?"
Ino noticed that Sakura was walking in the direction of her house.
"Uh… um… um…", Hearing this, Sakura's gaze darted around, her words stammering as she avoided eye contact.
Seeing this, Ino's eyes sharpened.
She grabbed Sakura's face, forcing her to look at her directly, "Sakura, were you going to check if Aoba was at my place?"
"Ughhh…", Sakura's face was squeezed in Ino's hands, her lips pouting, her words reduced to muffled sounds.
Seeing her friend's pitiful expression, Ino sighed and let go.
"S-Sorry, Ino…", Sakura looked embarrassed.
But before she could react, Ino took her hand and started running, "Forget it, let's go find Aoba together."
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