"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
During the holiday, Yagyu was diligently training at home.
With a series of soft puffs, the living room filled with white mist.
As the mist dissipated, two identical clones of Yagyu stood beside him.
The two shadow clones immediately got to work.
One sat cross-legged on the tatami, practicing hand seals. The other flipped through books, studying.
The original Yagyu began warming up, preparing to train his body.
"Yagyu, are you home?"
"Yagyu, we came to play!"
A familiar voice called out from the balcony.
Hearing the voices, Yagyu's face showed a resigned smile.
He didn't ignore them but instead opened the balcony door and looked toward the gate.
There stood two small figures, wrapped warmly in winter clothes, waving gloved hands at him.
Both were girls his age—one with blonde hair, the other with pink, their green eyes varying in shade.
Indeed, they were Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, members of the Twelve Konoha Guardians and part of Yagyu's social circle.
As the saying goes, cast a wide net to catch more fish.
Before awakening his golden finger, Yagyu's goal was to live as a side character—leaving a lasting impression on Naruto before graduation, surviving the chaos of Shippuden, and securing a respectable position in Boruto, perhaps even marrying a beautiful and well-endowed supporting character.
But surviving, even with knowledge of the plot, required both luck and skill.
Thus, the generation's golden flowers had become Yagyu's focus.
Ino and Sakura were just the start.
When he was three years old, Yagyu had even stood out in the snow for days, hoping to have a chance encounter with a certain lost "princess" and leave a good first impression.
These girls, future noblewomen and disciples of the legendary Sannin, would eventually bring countless benefits to him if even a bit of goodwill could be earned.
And if he could latch onto a bigger "thigh" to enjoy the rewards, even better.
Now that he'd turned the tables, there was no need to desperately curry favor. Yet, Yagyu saw no reason to cut off ties.
After all, he had worked hard to build these connections; why give them up halfway?
Those authors who wrote off potential romantic leads deserved to be burned at the stake.
With power came confidence, and with confidence came bolder ambitions.
Seeing the two girls below, faces flushed and grinning brightly, Yagyu suddenly recalled a "Santa Claus" moment.
He raised his hand and waved. "Wait a moment; I'll be right down."
After a quick change into his winter clothes and ignoring the disdainful looks of his shadow clones, Yagyu exited his home.
"Yagyu, let's find people to have a snowball fight with!" suggested Ino enthusiastically.
"Let's not. Wet clothes are such a hassle to clean."
"No problem! I'll wash them for you."
"That's even worse; your dad might kill me."
"Huh? Why would my dad kill you for washing your clothes?"
"…"
Walking through the snow-covered streets, lively Ino chatted away while Sakura, quieter and more reserved, walked alongside them, listening.
As Ino rattled off childish game suggestions, Yagyu's gaze fell on villagers shoveling snow, and an idea struck him.
"I've got it! I thought of a really fun game. Do you want to try it?"
"Sure!" Ino immediately agreed, her excitement not even needing to know the game.
"Mm-hmm." Sakura nodded along.
Seeing their eagerness, Yagyu led them out of the central street to a wooded area.
Stopping at a large tree with thick snow gathered below, Yagyu turned to them with a smile.
"Let's climb trees."
"Huh? What's so fun about climbing trees?"
Ino's face instantly fell with disappointment. Sakura mirrored her reaction.
Yagyu chuckled. "This isn't just ordinary tree climbing."
As the girls looked on in confusion, Yagyu formed a Ram hand seal and walked toward the tree.
To their astonishment, his body seemed to defy gravity, his feet sticking to the tree trunk as he walked upward, his body parallel to the ground.
Seeing this impossible sight for the first time, Ino and Sakura's jaws dropped in disbelief.
When Yagyu finally came down, the two snapped out of their daze, their sparkling eyes fixated on him.
"Yagyu, how did you do that?" Ino asked excitedly. "Is it a jutsu?"
"Nope. It's just a method of chakra control," Yagyu lied without hesitation. "While cleaning my house, I stumbled upon my father's ninja journal. It recorded his adventures and explained how ninjas use chakra to walk on walls.
"It took me a long time to learn it, though."
"Wow!"
Ino and Sakura nodded in understanding.
"Channel chakra to your feet? Let me try!"
Ino eagerly formed the Ram seal, imitating Yagyu's movements. She attempted to walk up the tree but fell backward almost immediately.
Before she hit the ground, Yagyu's hand was already behind her, catching her fall.
"Focus on maintaining chakra flow to stick to the tree trunk," Yagyu advised with a smile. "Don't worry about falling—I'll catch you."
"Okay!"
Encouraged, Ino kept trying. Again and again, she fell—sometimes caught by Yagyu's hand, other times landing directly in his arms.
Finally, just as her chakra reserves ran low, Ino managed to walk a few steps up the tree before falling.
"I did it, Yagyu! I did it!" she shouted in excitement, sitting safely in Yagyu's arms.
"Impressive. It took me two days to get off the ground; you've already done it on your first try," Yagyu praised sincerely. Then, pouring a bit of cold water on her enthusiasm, he added, "But this is just the beginning. True mastery means being able to walk freely on trees, walls, or even water."
Hearing this, Ino sobered up but quickly grinned. Her sparkling eyes locked onto Yagyu as she declared, "Yagyu, this game is so much fun!"