Taking a small bite of the snacks she had in the box, Hanabi savored some chopped vegetables while looking at Toru, who was currently fighting Yamato.
Although the difference in strength was obvious, Yamato needed to measure Toru's skills, so he could use the training plan more efficiently. In addition, this would also be able to measure the limits of Toru's body, after all Yamato wanted to see the chakra capacity of his student.
"You can Nii-san! You are very strong!"
Raising her arms with her chopsticks between her fingers, Hanabi spat out a few words in order to encourage Toru, but he only looked at her for a second before turning his gaze back to Yamato.
(I guess he's too concentrated).
Hanabi was right about this, Toru had already faced a powerful ninja, that was Orochimaru, and right now he was facing a ninja with similar combat experience, that's why he was concentrating. Toru is certainly faster than his sensei, but Yamato surpasses him in many other aspects.
This was the line that separated master and student. Combat experience and skills that can only be learned over the years was something that gave Yamato a great advantage.
"Speed won't always work, you need to coordinate your attacks better, you also need to make sure you don't waste your chakra, otherwise you will end up tiring very quickly, this will give your enemy the advantage."
Giving some recommendations, Yamato took some distance and sighed. He thought that his student has a lot of things to improve, yes, Toru has a good taijutsu that complements his physical skills, but he still lacked experience and coordination.
That night, during the research mission, Toru seemed to channel his anger to attack, this made Yamato draw some conclusions. Because Toru is still a child, his emotional state can change a lot, that's why he thought of the third phase of this training, somehow, Yamato wanted Toru's mind to be at peace when fighting.
"That's enough, good job."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yamato looked at Hanabi. This girl had been watching them for some time now. It was a little strange, as she had her gaze on Toru, it was as if she had stars in her eyes.
"Nii-san, you are very strong. Someday we should train together."
Wrapping Toru in her arms, Hanabi looked into his eyes, there was a slight blush on her cheeks. Because Toru was taller, Hanabi had to look up to see him in the eyes.
"If it looks good to you, I have no problem with that."
Responding with an emotionless expression, Toru stroked Hanabi's hair. For a moment he felt himself back in the past, when the Asahi clan was not yet exterminated. At that time, Toru met Hanabi.
He could still remember it as if it was yesterday, when Hinata followed Toru everywhere. He always accompanied that girl home, since Hinata had been kidnapped before, so in order to stay out of trouble, he would take care of dropping Hinata at the door of his house.
One of those days, a girl came out from inside the house. That girl had a neutral expression on her face, she also looked a bit like Hinata. Toru felt a little confused when he saw her, and more so when this girl approached him while asking something.
"What's your name?"
That was how Toru met Hanabi, who as time went by became more extroverted and cheerful. Every time she saw Toru she ran out and hugged him tightly, for her that boy who stayed at the door of her house every day was like a big brother.
But that day, Toru stopped going to that place, he never appeared in front of the door of her house again.
(But now it's different!)
Letting Toru stroke her hair, Hanabi closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't know how, but Toru's hands always felt good to the touch.
"Oh, now that I remember. I brought lunch, would you like some?"
With a kind smile on her face, Hanabi looked at Toru, but the words the boy used ruined the mood completely.
"Don't you think it's too early for lunch?"
Toru wasn't wrong, it was barely nine in the morning, so a lunch at this hour would be called breakfast.
Yamato on the other hand, had been silent as he looked at those two. Toru is twelve years old, Hanabi is seven years old, the age difference wasn't that big, so Yamato thought that if in the future these two become more than friends it wouldn't be illegal, maybe.
"Well, I must interrupt."
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Yamato sighed and moved a little closer, touching Toru's shoulder.
"We mustn't waste time, it's time to start the real training. I have already assessed your physical abilities, so it will be easier to train."
"I understand, sensei. Hanabi, can you let go of me?"
Looking at Hanabi, Toru grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away a little. She looked a little disappointed after that, but Toru was focused on other things, so he didn't notice the expression on that girl's face.
Hanabi understood this, she couldn't be glued to Toru as if she was a chewing gum, so she sighed and sat down on a nearby rock.
"Well, the first thing we have to take into account is the strength and accuracy of the blows. Normally you use daggers, but you should also use your own hands, you never know when you're going to lose your weapon, so knowing how to melee without using weapons is something all ninjas should know."
Approaching the ninja tools that were carefully placed on the floor, Yamato took the training weights that went on the ankles, but there were also some more, well, no one has four ankles, right?
"Guy's student used these all the time."
"Yes, I remember."
Watching intently, Hanabi crossed her arms and turned her full attention to Yamato, she was sure this could be of use to her in the future, so she listened carefully.
"Well, the training weights Rock Lee had were only on his ankles, but for you it will be different. You will use the training weights on your ankles and wrists."
Hearing this, Toru tilted his head slightly and tried to think.
"Why?"
This question made Yamato question this boy's mental capacity. At times Toru could be extremely intelligent and clever, but there were also times when he would ask questions that were a bit cheeky. Yamato couldn't blame him though, after all he is just a kid.
"Unlike Rock Lee, you use your legs and arms equally. You remember Lee's fighting style, don't you?"
"Hm... now I understand. Lee mostly used his legs to attack, I use weapons that require great mobility when using them."
"Yes, the goal is that you can increase the speed you can achieve, and incidentally fix the little mistakes your taijutsu has."
Understanding his sensei's words, Toru sighed and took the training weights, but when he held it between his hands, he could feel a great weight, as if gravity had suddenly increased.
Seeing this, Yamato smiled in amusement. The training weights lived up to their name, for they were indeed heavy.
(These are heavy, but they don't seem to be as heavy as the ones Rock Lee had on his ankles. Will Sensei have something planned?)
Toru was very perceptive about this kind of thing, as he instantly realized that this training will become more difficult as the days go by.
"You noticed that, didn't you?"
With a smile on his face, Yamato felt satisfied, apparently Toru was appearing to be something he is not.
"Sensei, can I ask something?"
As if she was at school, Hanabi raised her hand and looked at Yamato. The man was confused for a second, but then responded with a slight nod of his head.
"Can I add this training to my routine? I think my taijutsu might improve if I do it."
"That's a good question, but I think in your case it's not necessary. Hyuga specialize in causing internal damage, unlike Toru, who specializes in causing external damage."
"Hm... I get it."
Hanabi frowned, she thought that by asking this question she could join the training, in the end her plan failed. Still, she was also fine with it to watch Toru train.
-Hours later
Walking beside Hanabi, Toru had many bruises on his body, Yamato had not held back with his training. It was seven hours of torture for Toru, he didn't even know how he survived it all. It could be said that Yamato was worthy of holding the Jounin rank.
On the other hand, Hanabi was eating an apple while looking forward without a care in the world.
(Nii-san... How did she survive all that?)
Recalling what had happened a few hours ago, Hanabi swallowed saliva. Yamato was very strong, he repeatedly hit Toru in the face, stomach and many other places, but it wasn't that troublesome either, after all Toru is used to being hit when training.
"Here we are..."
With his hands in his pockets, Toru stood at the door of the Hyuga house. It had been a few years since he had been in that place, somehow it was nostalgic.
(Hm...)
Closing his eyes, the slight breeze caressed Toru's face, making his hair and scarf dance to the rhythm of it. Hanabi watched this with a smile.
(Nii-san is very handsome, I wonder why no girl has approached him in all these years).
If Hanabi knew about the attitude Toru has with anyone who approaches him, she would only feel shame and sadness. While it is true that Toru is a handsome boy, he has healthy and shiny black hair, although it is always messy. His eyes that are gray in color made him look mysterious somehow, plus the red scarf and claw-shaped earring gave a warm feeling, like drinking hot chocolate in the middle of a cold snowy winter.
Not to mention his body, which was very normal for a boy of his age, although he had some muscles a bit defined due to the physical effort of training for so long.
"Thank you for bringing me, Nii-san. I'll bring you lunch again tomorrow. Well, if that's what you want."
With a smile on her face, Hanabi looked at Toru, at the same time, the boy thought it would be a good idea, Hanabi cooks very well, it's like she had trained to be able to cook delicious things. But it was also strange, why does Hanabi insist so much on this kind of thing? The answer is simple, it's because Hanabi wants to be together with her Nii-san, just like that.
"If you want, you can do it, I don't mind."
With that answer, Hanabi sighed in relief before entering the house, but not before saying goodbye to her Nii-san by giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"See you tomorrow."
With a flushed face and a smile on her mouth, Hanabi entered the house, leaving Toru thinking about what had just happened.
-An hour later at Toru's house-.
Taking a screwdriver between his fingers, Toru tightened the screws of the device in front of him.
This was the ninja tool he had been working on earlier, though he was unable to finish it due to lack of time.
"The conductor cable must be at a 47 degree tilt, I must secure any leaks the container may have."
Moving his hands back and forth, Toru connected, assembled and prepared the first piece for his future ninja weapon.
"Chakra battery, capacity... 87%, hasn't exploded yet."
Making his chakra flow through the container, Toru was ready to explode along with his work, but to his good fortune, the artifact seemed to work.
There was no chakra leaking from the conductors, it didn't seem to overheat either, the battery had been a success.
"I made it~"
Sighing in relief, Toru wiped away his sweat and lay back on the ground. It had been so long since he had felt like this, the feeling of a job well done.
But this was only the beginning, as the battery was the power source of something else Toru was building.
"The chakra flows through the conduits and is stored in the water box."
Although his research had lasted a few years, the battery structure was only a prototype, as it used a small container with water that stored chakra in the form of electrical waves. This battery was small enough to be carried in a pocket, so it was easy to transport. In addition, it could store enough chakra to perform a basic jutsu more than twenty times.
This was obviously a great discovery, but Toru never told anyone about this, as they might try to tamper with it in order to discover the plans of such a strange artifact, but this was only the beginning, as the battery was only the power source of the real artifact, although it was less exciting than it sounds.
"Hanabi was doing that sort of thing?"
To Toru, having a girl younger than him do that sort of thing was strange, he could imagine Ino trying to kiss Sasuke, but never Hanabi or Hinata.
"Now that I remember... tomorrow I have to go to that place, I should ask Yamato-sensei for permission."
Letting the heavy thoughts wash away from his memory, Toru closed his eyes and fell asleep.
______
Author's note: Ha~ I'm sleepy, but I must keep writing! Anything to keep my readers entertained!
Now that I remember, whose feet do I have to lick for my fanfic to get stars?