"Sis, I'm back!"
"Oh, our little ninja is home! Come taste my latest soup recipe."
At Ichiraku Ramen, Ayame, busy in the kitchen, excitedly brought a small bowl of ramen to Musashi. The fragrant broth was garnished with fresh chopped vegetables and looked incredibly appetizing.
"Sis, hold off on the food for a second. Look what I brought you... Ta-da!"
Like he was presenting a treasure, Musashi revealed a small puppy from behind his back.
"Huh? Musashi, did you buy a puppy?"
"I didn't buy it. It's a gift for you. Do you like it?"
It was a small white dog, somewhat resembling an Akita but much smaller, about the size of a kitten. Musashi could hold it easily in one hand.
It had round, comical black eyebrows, and right now, it was wearing a very human-like expression of resignation.
"A puppy... I do like dogs, but... Musashi, we can't have pets in the kitchen while cooking."
"Sis, you can keep him at home. When you get off work, he can keep you company. That way, when I'm out on missions, with Pete around, you won't miss me too much," Musashi smiled.
"Tch, you brat. Who says I'll miss you?"
"Let me get him something to eat. And 'Pete' is such an ugly name. Let's change it."
"No taste at all. 'Pete' sounds incredibly handsome, okay?!" The puppy suddenly spoke in human language, causing Ayame's eyes to turn into spinning circles of shock.
"Ah! This... this puppy can talk!" Ayame pointed at Pete, shouting in disbelief.
Musashi laughed and explained, "Sis, Pete isn't an ordinary dog. He's a Ninja Hound. He's very smart—smarter than the Inuzuka clan's dogs."
"Also, you don't need to prepare food for him; I'll handle his diet. Sis, from now on, when I'm not home, Pete can protect you."
Hearing Musashi's explanation, Ayame finally calmed down.
"Musashi, seriously! You should have warned me. You scared me to death." Patting her chest, she asked, "Ninja Hounds like this are precious, aren't they? How did you manage to get one?"
"It wasn't that hard," Musashi grinned foolishly. "I asked Senior Kakashi for help. With Pete here, I can feel a bit more at ease when I'm away."
"Shouldn't Ninja Hounds be fighting alongside ninjas? If you leave him here with me, how will you..." Seeing Musashi's displeased look, Ayame smiled brightly. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll let Pete stay at home."
Musashi looked satisfied. "That's more like it!"
Ayame reached out and happily rubbed the back of Musashi's head. "It seems our Musashi has become an outstanding ninja lord."
Musashi squinted his eyes, enjoying the affection. "Sis, I will always protect you."
Pete watched the two humans displaying affection in front of him, his beautiful dog eyes rolling slightly.
Tch!~ Acting like no one else has a girlfriend. I have a girlfriend too! And her fur is incredibly shiny! ...Hey! Musashi! Don't forget the premium Ninja Hound dog food you promised me!
"Don't worry, Pete. It's already prepared. Just stay by Big Sister's side. As long as I have food to eat, you won't go hungry."
---
Over the next few days, Team Ebisu began to slowly mesh.
Although Ebisu was a bit pompous, he was indeed a responsible teacher.
Before long, he actually went to the Hokage and brought back specialized "Ink Ninjutsu" scrolls for Daiki.
Even though they were only C-rank and below, it was still impressive. Daiki's opinion of Ebisu skyrocketed.
As for Izumi Uchiha, Ebisu spent the most time teaching her.
Infiltration, disguise, tactical planning, intelligence analysis.
Perhaps good students really do get favored by teachers. Ebisu threw himself into teaching Izumi, determined to make her the most outstanding graduate of the year.
He wanted her to become a squad leader with Chunin-level capabilities as quickly as possible.
All three of them could feel that Ebisu's teaching level was far superior to what they got at the Academy.
His grasp of ninja knowledge was comprehensive and excellent.
Izumi was also very satisfied.
Although this perverted teacher was only a Special Jonin, he was no worse than the full Jonin instructors of other teams.
Of course, she kept that thought to herself.
He was her teacher, after all; she had to protect his fragile ego.
As for Musashi, things were more complicated.
The complexity lay in the fact that Ebisu wasn't as confident in training Musashi as he was with Izumi.
Musashi specialized in Taijutsu, and Ebisu admitted his own research into Taijutsu wasn't top-tier.
According to Ebisu:
Konoha has many styles of Taijutsu.
But in the ninja world, the only truly renowned Taijutsu style from Konoha is the Gentle Fist. The rest are either dead-end styles or rare Forbidden Jutsu.
He had seen powerful Forbidden Taijutsu before, but the user (Might Dai) was already dead.
The Hyuga clan, the undisputed elite clan of Konoha, used their powerful Kekkei Genkai—the Byakugan—to see through the body's tenketsu points and chakra pathways.
Relying on this, they pushed the precision and elegance of Taijutsu to the extreme.
Through long wars, the names "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms" and "Rotation" spread throughout the ninja world.
Musashi, as a commoner ninja without a Kekkei Genkai, could never compare to the Hyuga clan's Taijutsu.
On the path of a Taijutsu specialist, he could only grind slowly.
After all, in this ninja world, becoming a powerhouse through Taijutsu alone was incredibly rare.
Most powerful ninjas relied on strong chakra reserves to enhance their physical bodies for combat (Nintaijutsu).
Or like the Cloud ninjas, known for their rugged bodies.
But the Cloud achieved that through Lightning Style Chakra Mode combined with a bit of genetic difference.
Musashi didn't fit into either category.
So, in Ebisu's simple estimation, Musashi could only train his Taijutsu steadily. In the future, he might reach the combat power of a Jonin in Taijutsu if he was lucky.
If his Ninjutsu didn't stand out, he would end up as a tanky Taijutsu fighter who needed teammates to complete missions.
So, he still needed to improve his Ninjutsu methods.
Musashi listened and nodded along. Yes, yes, you're right.
Ebisu didn't know that right now in Konoha, a "Rare Beast" named Might Guy, who shouted about "Youth" constantly, was accumulating power.
Years later, when his brilliance blossomed, the history of Taijutsu in the ninja world would be rewritten.
Before the Strong Fist, the Gentle Fist is nothing.
When the Eight Gates open, one stands at the peak of the world.
There was no need to explain this to Ebisu.
Musashi wasn't even sure if he could reach Guy's height yet.
But overall, he was satisfied with Ebisu.
The man didn't lie.
His grasp of basic ninjutsu theory was indeed comprehensive.
So when he had free time, Musashi would ask questions.
"Teacher Ebisu, you said Cloud ninjas use Lightning Style to enhance their bodies. Can you explain that in detail?"
"Does Lightning Style chakra cause damage to the body? Are there side effects?"
"Teacher Ebisu, how do you combine Wind Style and Fire Style for maximum power?"
"Teacher Ebisu, do you know about the interaction between physical strength and chakra refinement? You said chakra can enhance the body to improve Taijutsu, so... does exercising to improve physical strength lead to an increase in chakra volume? Has Konoha researched this?"
"Teacher Ebisu? Kekkei Genkai are powerful, but they must have originated from somewhere. What is the principle behind passing ninjutsu through bloodlines?"
"Teacher Ebisu..."
"Musashi, that question... I might need to verify some things before I can answer you," Ebisu said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
Musashi was an anomaly among his students.
The boy always came up with brain-bending ideas that made Ebisu think, "What kind of question is that?" "How does your brain work?" "Can you even interpret it that way?"
And yet, some things that sounded like fantasy at first were oddly irrefutable upon reflection.
Ebisu felt his career as a teacher was being challenged.
Instead of saying "Young man, don't reach too high, go refine your chakra," he would go back and seriously research the archives, striving to have a logical rebuttal for the boy's whimsical ideas the next day.
---
Life as a Genin was plain as water.
Team Ebisu began taking missions.
Of course, they were all low-level D-rank missions: finding cats, walking dogs, or manual labor like weeding and plowing fields.
A large number of Genin made important contributions to the harmonious life of Konoha.
Because of them, the seedlings in the fields grew strong.
Because of them, Konoha's sewers remained unclogged.
Because of them, Konoha could be the civilized model for all ninja villages.
"This is so annoying! When will these trivial missions end?" Izumi threw her hoe on the ground in anger.
"Just wait. Every ninja goes through this," Daiki said, sketching on a canvas while he spoke.
"Wait? Wait until when?! Itachi graduated years ago and is already a ninja who can stand on his own. I'm still here doing D-rank missions. Plowing fields is work for oxen and horses, not ninjas!"
"How should I know? Go ask Itachi. He's the one who graduated early, not me. Or ask the Hokage why he issues these missions." Daiki looked indifferent. He gazed at the landscape painting in front of him, enjoying the peace.
Unlike Izumi, who clamored for high-level missions and becoming a great ninja...
Having seen the chaos of the outside world, Daiki had no interest in fighting and killing.
Entering the Ninja Academy was just to gain some power and hang out with Musashi.
Doing simple missions in the village every day and discussing art with Musashi in private—that was the life he wanted.
Go outside, risk his life working for the Hokage, all for a few measly coins?
Only a fool would want that.
His attitude made Izumi even angrier.
"Hey! You jerk! We're plowing the fields, and you're here painting and slacking off?! Do you want a beating?"
Daiki remained nonchalant. "What do you mean slacking off? Musashi is already doing my share." He pouted towards the field.
Izumi looked into the distance.
"YOUTH IS SWEAT-SOAKED TRAINING!!"
RUMBLE RUMBLE~
In the field, a green figure was shouting while dragging two wooden plows, sprinting back and forth at high speed.
The plows dug deep into the soil, churning the earth under immense force for better planting.
Musashi's face was covered in sweat, his expression one of pure joy. Gripping two plows, he ran like the wind.
Two clouds of dust billowed behind him.
One man, equal to four oxen!
"That guy!" Izumi gritted her teeth. "Does he have muscles for brains?!"
Daiki: "He has other things in there too, but you wouldn't be interested."
"Damn it. No. We have to talk to Teacher Ebisu. We need to take higher-level missions!"