"Sort of."
Mikami Yuu nodded.
Setting aside the newly acquired target Hatake Swordsmanship, he also genuinely wanted to shore up his weakness in close combat. Compared to fist styles and the Eight Gates, which needed much longer practice before producing real results, improving his combat ability through weapons was clearly the faster route.
At this point in time, Kakashi was still fully committed to inheriting the Hatake family sword style, so letting such a perfect sparring partner go to waste would be a shame.
"I got it."
Kakashi's tone stayed as flat as ever. "Then come with me later. I've got a few old swords at home that I'm not using right now. No point letting them sit around. I'll lend you one for now. Once you buy your own, return it to me."
"Huh?"
Mikami Yuu was a little surprised.
In a ninja's daily expenses, weapons took up a huge share. Consumables like kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags aside, good blades were expensive too, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of ryō. If it was a special ninja blade forged with chakra-conducting metal, the price would be even higher, and the performance better as well.
With Mikami Yuu's current savings, at most he could afford an ordinary iron blade and make do.
Since Kakashi was willing to let him freeload, there was obviously no reason to refuse.
"Then thank you, Assistant Instructor Kakashi."
"…Mm."
Kakashi nodded blandly and said nothing more.
Off to the side, Obito looked annoyed. "Hey, Kakashi, why don't you ask me?"
"You? Focus on getting your ninjutsu in order first."
"…"
By evening,
Mikami Yuu followed Kakashi to the old Hatake house. He waited outside while Kakashi went in alone for a while. When he came back out, he was holding a white short sword, which he handed over together with the scabbard.
"This blade and the one I carry were forged at the same time. This was my father's backup blade back then. You'd better not disgrace it."
"Of course."
Mikami Yuu took the sword.
[Ding! Detectable gift for Hatake Swordsmanship: old blade of the Hatake clan!]
"…?"
Wait, this counts too??
Mikami Yuu hesitated and didn't choose [Give Gift].
After all, this sword was only on loan from Kakashi. He'd have to return it later. It wasn't like a ninjutsu scroll—if that got consumed as a [Gift], he could still buy a blank scroll and copy it out again himself.
Besides, even ignoring the fact that this blade had once been the White Fang's backup sword, the price alone was probably far beyond what Mikami Yuu could afford.
Still…
"If an old Hatake clan blade can be gifted to Hatake Swordsmanship, then… I wonder whether other things, like training notes or swordsmanship experience, would count too?"
Looks like there might still be a lot of treasure to dig out of Kakashi's house. If he ever got the chance, he should take a look inside.
Mikami Yuu studied the old Hatake residence carefully and made a mental note.
…
"Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!"
In the yard,
as Mikami Yuu cast Clone Technique once again and completed today's [Practice], the galgame text box appeared—
[Water Clone Jutsu (Clone Technique) (Affection: 100/100 — Hearts Aligned)]
(Stage rewards obtained 4 times: Constitution +4; Trait: One Man Army — Your Clone Technique has reached perfection. You can freely distribute chakra among your clones, and fully share their senses and awareness. At the same time, whenever one clone is defeated, all remaining clones and the main body gain one stack of "A Cornered Army Must Win," greatly boosting speed, strength, and neural reaction speed for a short time.)
And with that,
all three of Mikami Yuu's basic body-replacement jutsu had reached max level.
Just like Transformation and Substitution, Clone Technique had also changed after maxing out.
The "freely distribute chakra" part wasn't that surprising—it was basically similar to Shadow Clone—but it would make Mikami Yuu's future tactics more flexible. As for the "A Cornered Army Must Win" effect… that part was worth talking about.
"So if I split off eight or ten clones first, then destroy them all myself…"
Wouldn't that let him generate buffs out of thin air??
Well, no—not entirely. Using Clone Technique still cost chakra in the first place. But if the buff was strong enough, the trade would still be worth it overall.
Mikami Yuu wanted to try it, but the idea of making clones just to smash them himself felt a little weird, so he decided to test it with Kakashi later.
Also…
there was one more thing bothering him: with all three of the basic body-replacement jutsu maxed out, how come that didn't unlock some kind of combo technique?
Or was that just another hidden function that hadn't triggered yet?
"Forget it. Combining them myself works too."
Mikami Yuu had already thought it through:
His Substitution Technique now activated in just 0.2 seconds, so in theory, he could combine it with Clone Technique to create something similar to Shisui's phantom body flicker. And Transformation Technique could be added in too, letting him build a strange formation within an 80-meter radius—one where there were clones everywhere, and yet the real body could be anywhere.
Maybe he could call it…
Shadow Clone Prison Phantom Kill Formation!
After that,
Mikami Yuu spent a little more time reviewing the rest of his jutsu besides the basic three:
[Current romanceable targets]
[Great Fireball Jutsu (switchable skin: Fire Formation Wall) · Infatuated (81), Healing Technique · Intimate (65), Wild Water Wave Jutsu · Intimate (60), Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu · Stranger (13), Eight Gates · Stranger (8), Hatake Swordsmanship · Stranger (1)]
Of these, Phoenix Sage Fire and Hatake Swordsmanship were both recent additions, so Mikami Yuu hadn't spent much time practicing them yet. But Phoenix Sage Fire's affection was rising pretty quickly. He wondered if that was because it had Great Fireball as an "older sister," and was benefiting from some kind of hidden bonus.
In the short term, Mikami Yuu planned to max out Great Fireball first, then think about raising Healing Technique and Water Release.
He also had to keep training taijutsu, of course. As for which to max out first, that would depend on which was easier to romance.
Still, Mikami Yuu guessed Hatake Swordsmanship would probably be easier to raise than Eight Gates…
"Yuu-kun, are you there?"
The sound of fingers tapping the fence came from next door.
Mikami Yuu turned his head and saw Rin standing in the neighboring yard, hands behind her back, smiling at him.
When he walked over, she pressed her lips together, then quickly stuffed something into his hand. It was a small cloth charm. The plain-colored fabric was embroidered with a few green leaves and the traditional character 悠, the stitching neat and careful—clearly something she'd put real effort into.
"It's a charm. I made it myself… This time when you go out, I hope it brings you good luck."
Rin said softly.
"A charm, huh…"
Mikami Yuu spread his palm and looked at it. "Is this just for me, or did everyone on the team get one?"
~~~
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