Developing the reverse Eight Gates would be work for the future.
She had only been in class two days. When it came to ninjutsu, she still knew little more than theory and had no business trying to invent or rewrite an S-rank secret art.
Thanks to taijutsu she could already match a typical jōnin, and with the Eight Gates open she could even trade blows with some elite jōnin. But in ninjutsu fundamentals and day-to-day chakra control, she probably knew less than Shikamaru and the others.
First things first. Build the basics.
The twelve standard hand signs, the seven chakra natures of Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Fire, Yin and Yang, and the countless ways to shape chakra. All of it would take time in the traces.
It would not spike her combat power overnight, but it would fill the gaps that mattered and lay the groundwork for Bloodline Brocade.
Konome set her next phase:
Put taijutsu on simmer for now. Move ninjutsu fundamentals and nature transformation to the front burner.
Reverse Eight Gates would need Yang Release. She had no method for training Yang yet, so she would start with Wind Release instead.
Right. When the bell rings, grab a few leaves off the crooked tree by the practice yard.
Recalling how Naruto trained in the original, she decided to begin at the beginning: cutting leaves.
Ring, ring, ring.
The bell saved Iruka Umino from his own enthusiasm for the Will of Fire, and he dismissed the class.
The room swelled to a fresh-market roar.
Konome blinked back from her thoughts and glanced at her desk mate. Naruto was still wearing the weighted bag. His brow was barely damp.
She had underestimated Uzumaki vitality.
"Looks like you're handling it. You can strap them to your legs now. No need to keep them in the bag."
"Heh-heh!"
Praise from Konome lit him up. Those sky-blue eyes sparkled.
"Morning, Konome."
"Morning."
Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Kiba Inuzuka drifted over. Konome chatted easily. With any luck she could borrow help from these three later for her Yin and Yang training.
Kiba threw out a tidbit first.
"Hey, did you hear? A house in the east residential block caught fire last night."
He had already reported Konome's feats to his mother, Inuzuka Tsume, and gotten the green light: befriend her, do not cross her. So now he was both currying favor and flexing the clan's feelers. As the heir who managed the village's strays, his news pipeline was real.
"No one got hurt, right?" Choji and Naruto blurted together.
"Not sure."
Stray dogs carried messages, but untrained ones were patchy. He knew just enough to preen.
"No casualties," Konome said, and the smile slid off her face as she spoke. "A passing Water Release shinobi put it out. The house is basically a shell."
The glow of mastering the Eight Gates ebbed. The pain of losing nearly a billion hit all at once.
It hurt.
Worse, as an academy student she was now technically a reserve shinobi and could not just walk out of the village. Every casino in Konoha demanded identification, and no minors allowed. She had heard a Hyuga once tried a Transformation and used the Byakugan to cheat, and still got caught.
She had no idea how the house had spotted it.
Either way, a perfect moneymaker had just vanished.
"How do you know all that?" Kiba asked, surprised.
"Duh," Shikamaru said. "Konome lives on the east side too. Right, Konome?"
Naruto and the others found that perfectly convincing and nodded along.
Konome did not bother to answer. She could only hope Guy sold enough of her intel to the Third to cover this month's meals. She had burned through a lot of brain cells dressing that report up so it would fetch a better price.
Across the room.
"Ino, where are you going?"
"Huh?"
Sakura Haruno stepped in front of Yamanaka Ino, who hastily hid the snack box behind her back and darted a look at Sasuke Uchiha, still by the window, writing steadily.
He had been humiliated yesterday by a transfer student who caught a Fireball bare-handed.
He must have taken it hard.
And here he was, studying even at break. As the class's number-one Sasuke fan, she had to show up and soothe his wounded soul.
"Sasuke is studying. Do not bother him."
Sakura struck a noble pose, arms wide. Inside, Inner Sakura roared her battle cry. She would not let Pig Ino take advantage of the moment.
"Wide forehead. Since when do you get to decide."
Ino stopped pretending, hugged the snack box tight, and lowered a shoulder like a power forward.
"Ino pig."
Sakura refused to yield and cut her off.
They ended up chest to chest, one cradling a snack box trying to drive the lane, the other spreading out to defend. If Sasuke was the hoop, they were mid-game.
"Could you move. You are loud."
The hoop spoke.
And stood up.
Judging from his tone and face, this was not the time to shoot. The two rivals fell back at once and let him through.
Sasuke walked past them, toward the knot of kids at the back.
"Wait. That house that burned was yours?"
Shikamaru and the others blurted in unison when they put it together.
Kiba grimaced at Konome's expression. He had only wanted to show off the Inuzuka grapevine, and instead had ripped open someone's wound.
Choji understood instantly too. No wonder Konome had not brought the snacks she promised him. He had been low-key disappointed until now.
They all started offering clumsy comfort.
"Konome, do you have somewhere to stay? My place is pretty big."
A chorus of boys hissed in a breath and stared at Naruto. He was just staring at Konome, eyes guileless and worried.
Konome's mouth twitched. Either she had read too much of the internet in another life, or Naruto had grown up with too little. He really was that innocent.
She was about to refuse when her Byakugan pricked.
Down the aisle, a handsome boy with a ping-pong paddle strapped to his back stopped short. Hands clenched so tightly his knuckles blanched, he hesitated, then looked straight at her.
"Konome… I need to talk to you. Could you step outside for a moment."
Heads turned from Naruto to Sasuke.
Even the classroom noise seemed to drop at once.
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