"So you're saying Shinnosuke actually crafted [Frying Pan]?"
Inside the Hatake Clan Dojo.
Instead of seeking out Shinnosuke directly, Akaba had secretly come to find Nightdance.
Since Nightdance was Shinnosuke's teammate and the Gekko Clan maintained close ties with the Sarutobi Clan, he decided it better to consult Nightdance first rather than approach Shinnosuke directly.
He wasn't quite ready to face Shinnosuke yet.
"It happened two days ago. He designed a blueprint for [Frying Pan] and asked his clan to forge it. It's just..."
Nightdance stopped mid-sentence, his expression growing increasingly strange.
Clearly, there was more to this story.
Akaba sensed something amiss and carefully asked, "What happened?"
"He claims [Frying Pan] is the weapon most suited to him, and says once completed, it'll become an heirloom passed down through generations."
Hearing this, Akaba didn't know what to say about his feelings.
Nightdance had felt exactly the same way initially when he first heard this incredible news. Now though, he seemed to have grown numb to such things. He mumbled, "Well, I suppose [Frying Pan] isn't that bad. It can be used both offensively and defensively, and its compatibility with Earth Release Nature Transformation is quite good."
"Calling it an heirloom is going overboard though. The Sarutobi Clan will probably hate me forever."
Akaba looked horrified.
His decision not to go to the Sarutobi household must've been the right choice. Just imagine — as the eldest son of the Third, unless Shinnosuke turned out truly terrible, he would eventually become clan leader thanks to his father's legacy.
And then, the clan leader's heirloom would naturally evolve into the Sarutobi Clan's ancestral treasure.
The Hatake Clan's ancestral weapon has always been the tanto.
The Senju Clan had their First's necklace.
Imagine someone asking in the future, 'What's your Sarutobi ancestral treasure?'
'[Frying Pan]!'
And what if he earned nicknames like 'The Pan Ninja' or 'Panshadow'? If he ended up inheriting the Hokage title...
[Panshadow]-kage? That'd be the first time a clan leader bore the title of a kitchen utensil.
"The Third will curse my name forever."
Akaba covered his face with his hands.
No wonder he's acting like a middle-aged man going through a rough patch today. Anybody in his shoes would be in a foul mood. On top of being drawn as dead in the manga, no less — anyone else would've let loose a storm of curses by now.
"It's not like this is your first time causing trouble either."
Nightdance remarked bluntly.
"If Sakumo becomes the next Hatake Clan Leader, then the Hatake traditions won't only consist of the Hidden Blade techniques with short swords but also need to include Dual-Blade Style and Chidori."
"Oh wow, that's *so* comforting."
Akaba twitched his eyelid slightly as he leaned against a large tree, "By the way, what has Sakumo been up to lately? I've been too busy recently to visit you all."
"Sakumo has been gone for quite some time."
Nightdance glanced around before leaning closer and whispering, "Probably entered Anbu training. He's heading to the battlefield soon."
This was supposed top secret information.
Had it not been for knowing how close Akaba was to Anbu and Root, he would never have revealed this.
"Sakumo's abilities are best suited for actual combat zones. On the battlefield, he'll grow the fastest."
Heading to the battlefield!
With someone like Sakumo, after experiencing the trials of war, upon returning he might already be promoted to Jonin rank.
Akaba sighed inwardly.
Then he turned toward Nightdance, "What about you?"
"My strength isn't enough yet. Going to the battlefield would only mean getting in the way."
After Nightdance finished speaking, he stood up and continued his training.
During this time, he hadn't practiced swordsmanship but instead focused on refining his chakra control ability. Although still not as good as Tsunade or Akaba, the results had been quite significant.
At the very least, judging from the chakra thread situation, manipulating three blades simultaneously should pose no problem.
But obviously, he wasn't satisfied yet. When combined with [Dance of the Sword], these chakra threads needed to be even thinner so enemies wouldn't detect them.
"Based on your current progress," said Akaba half-jokingly, "your Sword Clone will soon be usable together with sword techniques. Who knows? It might even become a signature technique of the Gekko Clan someday."
If he could make controlling the sword clones even more concealed, those techniques could become way stronger. However, remotely manipulating bladed weapons—even if they were just sword clones—was extremely difficult.
For now, puppet techniques remained the best approach.
Nightdance trained for a while before shaking his head and saying, "I'm still far from mastering this!"
"Alright then, keep practicing slowly. I'll make myself scarce before Uncle Windseer gets back."
Akaba waved goodbye.
Recently Kakashi Windseer had also been very busy and often away from the clan. Currently, Nightdance temporarily managed the dojo.
Who knew what might happen if they kept waiting?
"Wait! The Silent Steps and Scoop Death techniques look pretty cool too. Can you tell me how you came up with them?"
Nightdance grabbed him, sat down, and pulled out a manga from inside his robe.
"The abilities of this character are all imitations of feline attacks. Cats walk completely silently, and their attacks consist of vicious claw strikes like this one."
As Akaba explained, he acted out the manga move with a sharp slash.
Nightdance didn't know what to say. Of course, he understood these moves were inspired by cats—but the real question was how to achieve perfect sound concealment combined with high-speed movement.
In ninjutsu, the Vanish in an Instant technique could accomplish high-speed movement equally well.
The problem was this:
The clones used in [Dance of the Sword] were illusions without substance, so running naturally made no noise.
That wasn't the case with one's physical body.
Even moving at high speed would inevitably produce slight sounds, which although almost imperceptible, could prove deadly in front of ninja opponents.
Assassination techniques allowed absolutely zero room for error.
To guarantee success rates, [Dance of the Sword] usually concluded its attack by leaping unexpectedly from blind spots. This finishing maneuver offered advantages: jumping increased the slash's cutting power, enabling one-hit kills.
However, if he mastered Silent Steps, then such complicated steps wouldn't be necessary anymore.
"Silent Steps is merely a concept initially inspired by [Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu] techniques," Akaba commented while glancing sideways.
Technically speaking, this skill deserved classification as at least a mid-tier jutsu—like a C-ranked one—but it was priced surprisingly low. Yet actually, it only cost 15 points.
"It might've drawn partial elements from Silent Killing Jutsu since that technique also teaches skills related to reducing footstep noises," he speculated secretly.
Nowadays because of frequent updates, despite decreased numbers of village ninjas due to war, daily earnings still totaled over 800 points.
So fifteen points didn't seem expensive at all.
Since Nightdance desired this skill and he himself could benefit from Silent Steps' capability, after thinking for a moment, Akaba decided to directly exchange the points.
Fifteen points wasn't that big a deal anyway.
"[Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu]—that makes sense actually. Looks like I should find some reference materials from the Inuzuka Clan then."
Nightdance didn't expect Akaba to know this—after all, the guy had plenty of wild ideas, but few original creations of his own. This included currently popular techniques like the Sound Trio and Chidori.
However,
"The Silent Steps are quite basic. They're easy to master."
As soon as Akaba activated the skill, a flood of memories surged into his mind, and his body instinctively grasped it.
The technique behind Silent Steps was simple: mimicking a cat's movements to reduce sound to nearly nothing. It offered some speed increase, though not a significant one.
Kuro could achieve rapid slashes because he'd trained hard to build that speed himself.
Ultimately, just like with Taijutsu.
Silent Steps weren't an ability that would greatly enhance speed just by being acquired. In contrast, something like [Tobi] might be more promising.
"You're kidding me. You actually developed your own Ninjutsu? Nice one."
Nightdance was genuinely shocked.
This time, he wasn't just theorizing—he had truly created the Silent Steps.
"Don't exaggerate. I really did master the Three-Blade Style too."
It was just that his body couldn't keep up.
Akaba secretly complained to himself. He got up and started doing warm-up exercises.
He hadn't moved much lately, and Silent Steps required considerable footwork. He didn't want to sprain an ankle or pull a muscle—that would be more than a little embarrassing.
"You really seem serious about it."
Nightdance backed away a few steps into the open. "Come at me with it."
"Alright."
After stretching properly, Akaba swiftly formed hand seals.
Silent Steps alone weren't that powerful, but combined with the acceleration from Shifting Body Technique, they should work well enough.
[Silent Version of the Shifting Body Technique!]
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
"So fast!"
Nightdance strained to sense his surroundings and listen carefully, but he couldn't detect even the slightest sound of footsteps.
Where is he?
He turned around, hoping to locate Akaba, but failed—no sounds, no visibility. He had to search differently.
Unfortunately, sensing wasn't his strong suit.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu!]
After casting Shadow Clone Jutsu, Nightdance finally spotted Akaba.
The guy had been hiding in the blind spot behind him, six or seven steps away. Every time he turned, Akaba shifted accordingly, remaining hidden in the dead zone.
"This fits me perfectly! Teach me, please!"
Nightdance's eyes lit up.
From slipping into the blind spot until now had taken at least ten seconds—in battle, that amount of time would have been enough to cut down an enemy.
"Kid, don't always expect something for nothing. Let's talk about equivalent exchange."
Akaba grinned.
"What do you want in return?"
Nightdance hesitated; everything he had, Akaba seemed to already possess. He couldn't think of anything worth the trade.
"Tomorrow, the Third will announce news regarding the Preparatory Division. The day after tomorrow, I'll be holding a job fair—you can help me man the booth and assess the practical abilities of applicants."
Though still not a Chunin, Nightdance has reached the Chunin level in overall strength. However, his performance during exams hadn't been outstanding enough to earn one of the limited promotions.
"Fine then."
Nightdance thought briefly before reluctantly agreeing.
After all, the conditions were practically a giveaway compared to the value of Silent Steps.
Top musclehead!
Akaba secretly felt delighted.
"It seems you two are really fired up, practicing on your own already."
Kakashi Windseer's voice arrived.
The next moment, he Vanished in an Instant and reappeared between Akaba and Nightdance.
"Uncle Windseer, since you heard about it, please come too the day after tomorrow. Whether it's Multiple Shadow Clones or whatever else, just be there to back us little brats so not a soul dares mutter even a word against us."
Akaba casually recruited another helper.
Although Kakashi Windseer's strength and prestige couldn't compare with the Kage's, among upper jonin ranks, he ranked quite high. With him present, not a soul would dare mutter even a word.
"Mm."
Kakashi Windseer nodded lightly, then said, "I'm also interested in Silent Steps. I'll listen in too. As for benefits—"
He took out something from his waist and casually tossed it to Akaba.
Akaba caught it. It was a very short, compact blade, only slightly longer than a kunai.
"Your physique isn't great, but your swordsmanship's solid. Maybe a tanto will work better for you. Go polish it up."
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