After Natsuhiko distributed the 'compensation card packs ', a form of reparation for a previous incident, the tavern players happily opened their packs.
Some were even comparing whose luck was better and who could pull epic cards or even legendary cards.
But after opening the packs, the competition became more grounded, turning into who could draw more rare cards.
In a corner of the tavern, a 'punk version' of Shikamaru, a rebellious and edgier version of the original character, murmured.
"I didn't expect Uchiha Shou to leave obediently after Boss Natsuhiko said a few words. Something must have happened."
"Inoichi, did you notice anything?"
The punk version of Ino focused and pondered, nodding slightly before shaking her head.
"I only sensed a surge of chakra in the tavern just now, but I'm not sure about the specifics."
"Also, don't call me by my name here, Shikamaru."
"What should I call you then?"
"Petty guy."
Shikamaru looked at Ino speechlessly for a moment, then returned to the topic, stroking his chin.
"It seems the two of them have already clashed, unbeknownst to us... and Uchiha Shou seems to have come out on the losing side."
"And Uchiha Shou ended up on the losing side."
"It seems that our tavern owner and sealing technique teacher set up quite a powerful sealing technique barrier in this tavern."
He quickly reached this conclusion.
Otherwise, Natsuhiko would have needed help to make Uchiha Shou back down.
"Although he has the home advantage, it's still quite rare."
"I didn't know we had such a formidable person among our peers."
Ino shrugged.
"After all, he wasn't in our class before, and there was nothing special about him in the Ninja Academy."
"Plus, sealing techniques are the type that requires accumulated knowledge and skills. So It's surprisingly early for him to shine now."
"To be honest, his talent and background remind me of someone from our generation."
"I just wonder if this late-blooming Saiyan can compete with that Golden Saint Seiya." (stories learned from Natsuhiko's lectures, and those punk versions are probably the parents of Shiki and Ino)
Ino felt she had said something quite clever but didn't get a response from Shikamaru, so she turned to look at him curiously.
She saw Shikamaru still frowning, lost in thought.
Knowing each other well enough to judge each other just by glancing, Ino knew Shikamaru hadn't figured something out yet.
So she asked, "Is there anything else bothering you about that just now?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "No, I just have other questions."
"Oh, what questions?"
"It's just that since sealing technique ninjas are so formidable on their home turf, how were the Uzumaki clan exterminated back then?"
Inoichi: "..."
Why are your thoughts so erratic?
And that matter is quite sensitive even in Konoha; it's better not to delve into it.
Just as Inoichi was about to advise Shikamaru not to overthink, a skinny punk dashed over, waving his hand and shouting:
"Inoichi, Shikamaru, come open your packs quickly. Let's see who gets more rare cards."
Inoichi and Shikamaru immediately widened their eyes, gesturing for him to be quiet.
"Dude, shh!"
...
"Sorry, Natsuhiko-sensei, I couldn't stop that guest from causing trouble."
Behind the counter, Might Duy, wiping glasses, looked somewhat bleak, regretting his moment of hesitation.
Natsuhiko waved his hand. "It's okay. That guy was waving the flag of the police department; it's normal for people to hesitate."
"But speaking of which, Mr. Duy, your expression just now seemed like you were planning to use some ultimate move?"
Might Duyi widen his eyes. "Natsuhiko-sensei, you noticed that too?"
Of course, he noticed. Your eyes were practically on fire at that time.
Might Duy put down the cleaned glass, smiling bitterly. "Forgive me for the show. I was impulsive just now, thinking that my hard-trained technique, the 'Eight Gates Released Formation,' could deal with the genius of the Uchiha clan. It was wishful thinking."
No, no, no, that wasn't wishful thinking; that was a pipe dream.
Natsuhiko internally mocked, feeling the need to correct Might Duy's self-perception lest he cause harm someday.
"Mr Duy, we're in the business of hospitality after all; it's best to resort to force as a last resort."
"More importantly, Mr. Duy, you may not realise it, but you're actually quite strong."
"So it's better to refrain from using forbidden techniques..."
"Me? Strong?"
Might Duy chuckled, but his smile quickly turned bitter.
"You don't need to comfort me, Natsuhiko-sensei. If I were firm, I wouldn't still be a genin."
Natsuhiko was a bit puzzled at this point. "Mr. Duy, didn't you participate in the Chunin Exams?"
If he did, he would quickly know his strength.
"I've wanted to participate every year..."
Might Duy look bitter? "But everyone says I'm too weak, that I'd only drag them down. No one wants to team up with me."
Natsuhiko: "..."
He actually forgot that, under normal circumstances, the Chunin Exams require teams of three to participate.
Might Duy usually carries a lot of weight and has yet to show extraordinary strength.
Plus, with his striking appearance, no one naturally wants to team up with him.
Seeing Might Duy like this, he probably wouldn't refute being called weak.
He'd probably say, "Thank you for your support!" and then go home to train harder.
As a result, without participating in the Chunin Exams, he couldn't know his strength.
Not knowing his strength also meant he couldn't participate in the Chunin Exams.
This damned cycle!
It's just like that player in The Legend of Sword who couldn't find the main quest and only levelled up unquestioningly in Shili Slope...
If the Third Hokage knew that a ninja with the potential of a shadow level wasn't being discovered due to a small exam rule, he'd probably be infuriated.
What's wrong with this village? The civilians always seem to get the short end of the stick. Natsuhiko thought deeply; there must be something wrong with the system.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to take a detour to let Might Duy know his strength.
But with his current self-perception, Natsuhiko worried that Might Duy might accidentally kick him to death without restraint.
To avoid such a ridiculous death, Natsuhiko decided to take a circuitous route.
So he smiled at Might Duy and said, "Mr. Duy, are you free in a few days? I have a small task I'd like to entrust to you..."
---
"Goodbye, Natsuhiko-sensei."
"Goodbye, don't wander around on your way home."
"Yes—"
The next afternoon, Natsuhiko had just finished work and was bidding farewell to the students who were heading home from school. He walked out of the Ninja Academy.
As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, his eyebrows raised slightly.
But he quickly suppressed his emotions, not pausing his steps and heading towards the tavern as usual.
Not long after he entered an alley and took a few steps, a familiar figure blocked his path.
Uchiha Shou!
When Natsuhiko saw the other's appearance, his head throbbed.
The clan is not infamous for no reason.
Once you get involved, it's hard to shake them off.
At this moment, Uchiha Shou leaned against the wall of the alley, arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes closed, his face stern.
It was as if he had already anticipated that Natsuhiko would take this route and was waiting here.
However, what he needed to know was that Natsuhiko had recently made progress in perception formation.
That was a new technique called "Art of the Mini-Map."
As the name suggests, it displays any creatures with chakra around Natsuhiko in a mini-map window within a 100-metre radius.
You could call it a budget version of Sage Mode.
In fact, Natsuhiko had conceived of this technique long ago.
However, at that time, due to his insufficient understanding of perception formation and his inability to solve the problem of excessive chakra consumption, he had to shelve it temporarily.
Now that the conditions were ripe, he picked it up from the scrap heap of unused techniques.
To solve the issue of excessive chakra consumption, Natsuhiko didn't integrate it into the form of rune ninjutsu but instead integrated it into the chakra intellect.
Instead, he chose to miniaturise perception formation and connect it to the chakra intellect through external hardware.
Although Natsuhiko couldn't control this technique with his chakra, he could use external chakra capacitors to power it, achieving uninterrupted monitoring for twenty-four hours.
Moreover, this technique would also sound an alarm when a creature with a large amount of unmarked chakra approaches.
So, Natsuhiko knew from the moment he left school that someone had been following him.
He also knew that when that person saw him entering this alley, he quickly took a detour and ran ahead to wait for him.
I was creating the illusion that he had been waiting for a long time.
As a result, Natsuhiko felt no fluctuations in his heart at this moment, and he even felt like laughing.
Is this the Uchiha clan, which is good at pretending to be mysterious?
Adorable!
You never know how much effort they put in behind the scenes to pretend to be excellent.
Uchiha Shou didn't know that Natsuhiko had seen through everything and continued to act according to the script.
A playful curve formed at the corner of his mouth as he casually straightened up, taking out a kunai and tossing it up and down:
"I've been waiting for you here for a long time..."
Natsuhiko: Nah, you haven't
(End of the Chapter)
Chapters 92 and 93 are up on Patreon.
pat reon.com/ReidAstrea