"Oh, I see. In that case, you should definitely thank Iruka-sensei properly," Shinai said, surprised, and then smiled.
She was also taken aback by the amount of chakra Natsuro had. She remembered that both she and his father had average chakra levels, so she hadn't expected Natsuro to be so outstanding.
In fact, it was because both of Natsuro's parents were ninjas that his innate chakra amount was fairly good. More importantly, Natsuro had never slackened over the years and had always taken good care of himself for his body's growth.
"By the way, Natsuro, you've probably gone through the Three Basic Jutsus already, right? How do you find them? If there's anything you don't understand, I can demonstrate them for you, though I'm not sure how to teach them," she said with a smile.
"I've already learned all of them," he replied.
"Hm?" Shinai nodded instinctively, but then her eyes widened as she realized the meaning behind his words. She knew her child's personality and knew he wouldn't lie about this, but it was still unbelievable that he had learned them on his first try.
Seeing his mother's surprised expression, he smiled and quickly performed a hand sign, causing a puff of white smoke.
The next moment, two figures, one large and one small, stood facing each other. He could have used more chakra to create a figure of the same height as his mother, but he only needed a smaller version for the demonstration.
She looked at the smaller version of herself, slightly dazed. Not only was Natsuro able to use the jutsu, but his skill level was also impressive. The level of detail was sufficient to be convincing, and only careful observation could reveal the illusion.
After dispelling the Transformation Jutsu, he then demonstrated the Clone Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu. His hand sign speed had improved; the Clone Jutsu took less than two seconds, and the Substitution Jutsu took just over two seconds, still not reaching his maximum speed.
This was already astonishing to Shinai because her own speed with these jutsus hadn't matched his!
At this moment, Shinai realized her child's talent in ninjutsu. She had known he was excellent, but now it was clear he was a prodigy.
However, even with such talent, the path of a ninja was fraught with danger. She sighed but didn't discourage him from pursuing this path. After some thought, she went to her room.
Puzzled, he watched his mother's back.
Then, Shinai came out of her room with several scrolls and handed them to him.
"What's this?" Natsuro asked, surprised.
"These are ninjutsu I exchanged before. They're all C-rank. The Shadow Clone Jutsu I just gave you was originally intended to be exchanged for the B-rank Wind Release technique, Vacuum Sphere, but it wasn't exchanged yet because I hadn't fully mastered the C-rank jutsu," Shinai explained, sounding accustomed to this situation. "I had planned to give them to you when you officially became a ninja, but since you have such talent, I didn't want to delay you and gave them to you early."
"With your talent, you should be able to learn them quickly. Although I don't think my little adult needs reminding, I still want to say that you should be mindful of your limits and never push yourself too hard."
"Mm, I understand." he solemnly took the scrolls and glanced through them. There were four C-rank ninjutsu in total: Wind Release: Gale Palm, Wind Release: Air Cutter, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, and Lightning Release: Lightning Rod.
The Wind Release techniques seemed to complement his deceased father's abilities well. The Great Breakthrough for wide areas, the Air Cutter for single targets, and the Gale Palm for close range made a good combination. He felt there was no need to exchange for other C-rank Wind Release techniques.
The Lightning Release: Lightning Rod seemed to be from his mother. However, this technique didn't seem very practical as most battles occurred on land, so it required Water Release to be most effective.
Currently, he didn't plan to learn these ninjutsu. His chakra reserves should be sufficient, but using them would deplete a lot of chakra quickly, making practice inefficient.
Instead of learning these, it was better to continue mastering the low-chakra-consuming Substitution Jutsu and start learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Although it was a B-rank technique, the Shadow Clone Jutsu only distributed chakra, and the amount of chakra should determine its duration. If the Shadow Clone Jutsu only used chakra for maintenance, even with a limited chakra supply, it should last for a reasonable amount of time.
"Well, Mom, I'll head out now," he said, putting away the scrolls.
"Alright, make sure to thank Iruka-sensei properly, okay? If you get the chance, you can visit the barbecue restaurant where I work, and I'll arrange for the freshest ingredients," she replied.
"That might be difficult. I'd like to, but Iruka-sensei probably wouldn't agree,".
"Mm, what a good teacher," she nodded and sighed, feeling fortunate to have such a teacher.
...…
At the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Natsuro arrived quite early, before Iruka. Looking at the bustling ramen shop, he couldn't help but marvel at the good business.
It wasn't hard to understand, as the taste was indeed excellent and the prices were reasonable. The shop's hand-made noodles master seemed younger than his anime counterpart.
"Natsuro, you're here so early?" Iruka said in surprise, seeing Natsuro's figure. He thought he had come early enough, only to find he had arrived before him.
"Mm, since I'm treating to express my thanks, I naturally had to come a bit earlier," he said.
"Actually, it wouldn't matter if you came later," Iruka said, scratching his head. He felt Natsuro really didn't act like a child.
"Iruka-sensei, let's go inside," Natsuro said, not addressing the comment.
"Okay." Iruka felt like he was talking to a peer, even though Natsuro was just a child. This feeling was a bit strange.
"Hand-made noodles master, we'll have two of the most deluxe ramen," Natsuro said.
"Alright, Natsuro. Is there a special occasion today?" The hand-made noodles master was surprised. He usually didn't order the most deluxe options, though he never ordered the cheapest either, as he had always believed in adequate nutrition for growing up.
"Yes, today there are many surprises," he said earnestly. Whether it was the Three Basic Jutsus, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, or the final few ninjutsu, they were all surprises.
"Shindōkawa Natsuro, you don't need to spend so much," Iruka said.
"Just call me Natsuro, Iruka-sensei. And even so, I feel it's not enough unless you agree to come with me to the barbecue restaurant later. You should know my mother works there, so we can get a discount," he said seriously.
"Hmm, haha, let's discuss that another time," Iruka said, scratching his head, still not agreeing.
Natsuro glanced at Iruka but didn't press the issue. He sat down and waited for the ramen to arrive.
During this time, Iruka looked at Natsuro, feeling hesitant. He had recently encountered an issue, and while it wasn't directly related to Natsuro, he was close to the person involved, so Iruka felt a bit of curious and wanted to ask.
"Iruka-sensei, if you have something to ask, feel free to do so. I'll answer if I know," Natsuro said, sensing Iruka's intent.
"Is it that obvious?" Iruka scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward. He then asked, "Natsuro, what do you think of the Uzumaki student?"