Mikami Yuu's mouth twitched.
Before he could respond, big sis Transformation Technique spoke up again:
[Transformation Technique: Clone-chan, stop it. Mikami went through all this trouble to prepare a gift for you, and you're still nitpicking. If you don't want it, Substitution and I will just take it.]
[Clone Technique: Who said I don't want it? Hmph. A "gift," huh—fine, I'll treat it as his apology for not calling me when he dealt with that cataract!]
[Clone Technique Affection +2. Temporarily unlocked the [Give Gift] option.]
After playing this galgame for so long, if anyone was the most considerate, it really was Transformation Technique.
But to be fair, Clone Technique was mostly just talking big.
Like Great Fireball, she had that classic "mouth says no, body says yes" vibe. So soon enough, "she" accepted the present—happy, but still awkward about it.
Mikami Yuu didn't care about the attitude.
He was only curious about how the gift function actually worked—if you really gave it away, what would change? Would affection reset to zero, or something?
Soon,
with a "let's try it" mindset, Mikami Yuu tapped [Give Gift].
A flash of white light—
The Water Clone scroll on the desk vanished instantly.
At the same time, the galgame system's target list updated:
Current romanceable targets: Transformation Technique, Water Clone Jutsu (Clone Technique), Substitution Technique, Great Fireball Jutsu, Healing Technique
Potential romanceable targets: Wild Water Wave, Gentle Fist (requirements not met)
Water Clone Jutsu (Clone Technique): Clone Technique wearing the limited "Water Clone Jutsu" skin gains the same properties as a Water Clone. It can create water clones with 10% of the main body's strength. The clone becomes stronger while in water, but cannot stray too far from the main body.
[Clone Technique Affection +8. Current affection: 52/100 (Intimate)]
(Stage reward obtained: Constitution +1; Trait: Visual Sharing — Your Clone Technique gains limited vision. When you concentrate, you can link your vision with two clones and share their viewpoints.)
(Note: This trait can be used under the "Water Clone" skin.)
"Holy—"
Mikami Yuu clenched his fist hard, delighted.
It wasn't that he looked down on Clone Technique, but honestly, a normal E-rank Clone Technique had limited use. It could work in genin-level fights, but above chūnin it was hard to get results. Most of the time, it was less useful than just throwing a smoke bomb.
But Water Clone was different.
It was very similar to Shadow Clone. Aside from being weaker—only one-tenth of the main body's strength—it was basically the same in every other way. And Shadow Clone was a B-rank technique, usually not learned until jōnin. Getting Water Clone at this stage was more than enough.
And with Water Clone, the Visual Sharing trait finally had a real place to shine.
"By the way…"
If "Water Clone" counted as a skin for Clone Technique, then would something like Dragon Fire Jutsu count as a skin for Great Fireball?
What about Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, Great Fire Annihilation, Great Fire Destruction… or Lightning Clone, Earth Clone, Multiple Shadow Clone…
Most of those were B-rank or higher and would be hard to obtain, but at least now Mikami Yuu had a direction to work toward.
"What a haul."
"Oh right, there's also 'Wild Water Wave'… I'll practice that tomorrow. It's too late today."
Mikami Yuu glanced at the moonlight outside the window, calmed down from his excitement, washed up quickly, and went to bed.
…
The next day,
as usual, Mikami Yuu went with Rin and Obito to Konoha Hospital and listened to classes for half a day.
Then that afternoon, he went to Konoha's main road and waited until he saw a father-and-son pair in dark-green jumpsuits—running along in handstand posture like bizarre creatures: Might Duy and Might Guy.
"Yo! Guy! Your youth still isn't blazing enough! You've only done five handstand laps around Konoha and you're already tired?!"
"I'm sorry, Dad! It's my fault! If I can't do ten laps around Konoha, I'll do 1,000 push-ups!"
"Good! That's the spirit!"
Might Duy shouted in his rough voice.
Might Guy yelled back just as loudly beside him.
Then Duy noticed Mikami Yuu standing by the roadside. He freed one hand, flashed a thumbs-up, and grinned a mouthful of white teeth.
"It's Yuu! Afternoon! Are you here to burn youth with us too?!"
"…Kind of. Do I have to do it in a handstand?"
Mikami Yuu's mouth twitched.
He considered himself pretty socially bold, but next to Might Duy, he felt socially anxious.
This man genuinely didn't care about anyone's gaze—his head was filled with only his own world. Running laps around the village in handstand posture was something most people couldn't endure.
But Mikami Yuu had a purpose.
So he didn't say much. He quietly fell into step with the Might father and son, running in a normal posture while sweating alongside them.
One lap…
Two laps…
Konoha was actually pretty big. If you counted the training grounds on the outskirts of the residential area, the whole village's diameter was dozens of kilometers. Even if you didn't hug the village's edge, a single lap was basically equivalent to two full marathons. Ten laps was simply insane.
Mikami Yuu had thought that with his +8 Constitution, he'd be fine.
But after four or five laps, his breathing grew heavy anyway. It felt like his lungs were stuffed with scorching sand—every breath burned with pain. Sweat rolled down his skin, then got dried by the sun.
"Seventh lap! Youth has to burn down to ashes like this to be satisfying! Yuu! Guy!"
Might Duy's signature rough roar exploded in his ears. He was still moving forward in a handstand, supported by those powerful arms, and his speed wasn't even much slower than Mikami Yuu's normal running.
"Yes, Dad!"
Might Guy was also handstand-running, though slower than Duy. By now he was drenched in sweat, but still gritting his teeth and pushing through—he'd been hammered into shape by this "youth-style training" since childhood.
Finally…
After staggering through the ninth lap—meaning the fourteenth lap for the Might father and son—Mikami Yuu truly couldn't hold on anymore. His vision went black in waves. His steps stumbled and he nearly collapsed, until he had to stop and tell Might Duy beside him:
"Haa… haa… Uncle Duy, Guy… I need to rest…"
Thud—!
Might Duy did a front flip and landed steadily in front of Mikami Yuu. He grabbed his shoulders, astonished.
"Yuu! Your improvement is incredible! I remember a month ago, you could barely manage two laps with us. And now you've lasted nine!"
"Haa… I can't stay dead last forever… I've been training extra lately…"
Mikami Yuu wiped the sweat from his face and forced a bright smile.