At this moment, Hirofumi had already entered the summoning space.
Madara lay sprawled in a rocking chair, lazily gnawing on a pig's trotter. Life inside the summoning space was peaceful but painfully dull for someone like him. With no other living soul around, there wasn't much to do apart from devouring pig trotters and resting.
"Kid, you're here again?"
Still chewing, Madara cast a glance at Hirofumi.
But that one glance made him pause, eyebrows raised in mild surprise.
"How did this kid's chakra increase so much? In just one day, his chakra has grown significantly... Based on the level of chakra alone, he's now at the standard of a qualified Genin, isn't he? Could it be that this brat is some kind of genius?"
"Hey, Madara, did you eat all those pig trotters yourself? You sure can put them away, huh? That was an entire kitchen full of pig trotters! And by the way, what did you need that blank scroll for? The one I got you?"
Madara's face turned slightly red at Hirofumi's casual question. Of course, he hadn't eaten all the pig trotters yet; he'd turned the blank scroll into a sealing scroll to store the rest for later. But there was no way he'd admit that to the brat. Otherwise, Hirofumi might start calling him something embarrassing, like 'The Man Who's the God of Ninja and Pig Trotters.'
"None of your business, brat... Now, what do you want this time? If there's nothing important, stop bothering me."
"This is my turf too; why wouldn't I come here?" Hirofumi casually retorted as he plopped down in another rocking chair nearby.
Madara clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn't press further.
"Madara... you could say I'm kind of your half-student, right?"
"What are you getting at now, brat?"
Madara didn't dispute the claim. In his mind, it wasn't far from the truth. Hirofumi shared a similar mindset to his own, something he rarely found in others. And the kid definitely had some potential—more than Madara had initially thought. Besides, Hirofumi hadn't outright claimed to be a full disciple, so there wasn't much reason to correct him.
Noticing that Madara didn't reject the idea, Hirofumi grinned, his confidence boosted.
"Our class is organizing a ninja combat training session this afternoon," Hirofumi continued.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Madara responded lazily, still rocking in his chair.
Slap!
Hirofumi slapped the armrest of his chair, his voice suddenly booming.
"Of course, it matters!"
Madara raised an eyebrow at Hirofumi's sudden intensity.
"Think about it, Madara. You've acknowledged me as your half-student, right? That means I represent you. Your reputation. The reputation of the Shura of the Ninja World!"
Madara's interest was piqued, but he remained silent.
"So, if I fail during this training session, or worse, get absolutely crushed by someone, whose face gets smacked in the process? Not mine, no, no, no. It would be yours! How can the half-student of the great Shura of the Ninja World get beaten by a bunch of low-level mobs? Can you stand for that?"
Hirofumi's eyes burned with intensity as he continued. "If I get my butt kicked during training, it won't just be me getting humiliated... It'll be like they're slapping you in the face!"
(AN: Ah, great face slapping.)
Madara sat up straighter, clearly taken aback by Hirofumi's odd logic.
"Wait a sec, kid. What do you mean by 'kicking your butt is like slapping my face?' Are you saying my face is your butt?"
"Don't worry about the specifics, Madara. The point is that if I lose, people will think less of you too. It'll reflect poorly on you as my teacher."
Madara blinked. He felt like Hirofumi was playing with Madara but to be fair, he still got a point.
"Hmph... you may have a point," Madara admitted reluctantly.
"So, teach me a couple of techniques then. Help me out."
Madara let out a sigh, realizing that the brat had used this entire elaborate argument just to ask for training. Yet, despite the long-winded approach, Hirofumi's reasoning had some merit.
If the boy—someone Madara had taught—couldn't even hold his own against a bunch of academy students, it would be embarrassing. And knowing his old rival Hashirama, that fool would never stop teasing him if he found out.
Not to mention, Hirofumi did have potential. In just one day, his chakra had grown noticeably. It wouldn't hurt to help him sharpen his skills.
"Hah...! fine. Since you've put it that way, I'll teach you a few things today. Your chakra has grown enough for me to show you some ninjutsu."
Hirofumi was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief. He hadn't expected Madara to agree so quickly. It was a pleasant surprise. Even though his family possessed basic ninjutsu scrolls, his father and grandfather hadn't allowed him to practice them yet, believing it was too dangerous for someone who hadn't graduated from ninja school.
However, Hirofumi hesitated for a moment. "I'd love to learn ninjutsu, but... I don't even know what my chakra nature is yet. Shouldn't I test it first?"
Madara let out a low scoff, filled with disdain. "Hah, what a boring trick. I've already sensed your chakra. You have all five nature transformations innately. Not bad, brat. You've got luck on your side. Most people have to train for years to change their chakra nature, but you're already there."
Hearing this, Madara felt a brief pang of envy. Even he hadn't been born with all five chakra natures. He had to train rigorously to change his chakra and learn new ninjutsu. Meanwhile, this brat had an innate advantage that put him far ahead of most ninja.
"Wow, Madara, you can even sense that?" Hirofumi asked, clearly impressed. He knew chakra nature was typically tested using chakra paper, but it seemed Madara's power far surpassed the need for such a tool.
"Hey, enough chatter. Let's begin your training."
Boom!
Before Hirofumi could react, Madara, who had been lounging in the chair just moments ago, felt like a blur. In a flash, he reappeared beside Hirofumi, delivering a swift kick that sent both the boy and his chair flying across the room.