As Taro and Nao left the house, Taro started a conversation. "So, what do you think my training will be today?"
Nao grinned. "He'll put you in a furnace and blast you till you die!"
Taro just shook his head. "Just tell me."
Nao giggled. "I don't know. But it's most likely going to be chakra control."
As they neared the building where Mashiro's office was located, Nao turned and entered another building to the right.
"Where are you going, brother?" Taro asked.
"You can't train on an empty stomach. Mom and Dad are waiting for us. Let's go eat already."
'Ah. This is the main building where Mother and Father reside,' Taro thought.
The building Taro was currently living in was the main house for the children of the patriarch. It was located at the very center of the clan and was filled with ninjas and maids. It was the most protected and well-kept building.
The building Mashiro and his wife lived in was next to the Main Hall of the clan, where all meetings and voting were held. It was one of the most important buildings, so the patriarch always stayed close to the Main Hall.
When the two entered, a lady with fair, white skin greeted them. She wore a simple white dress that matched her white hair and black eyes.
She was the wife of the current patriarch and the mother of Taro—Katsumi.
Katsumi quickly picked up the two with ease and gave them a hug. "I haven't seen you two in a while!"
She showered them with kisses, which were not accepted by Nao. "Ugh! Mom, I'm not a baby anymore like Taro! Put me down!"
However, as he struggled, Katsumi's hug tightened, and her kisses became more aggressive.
After a few minutes of nonstop kisses from their mother, a raspy voice came from the dining room. "Stop it, honey. Let's eat—the food is getting cold."
Katsumi reluctantly put the two down and walked toward the kitchen, holding her two babies close.
As they walked, Taro used his Eye Spy skill to check his mother's stats.
[Name: Katsumi Hosai
Title: Deserter of Hatake
Rank: Jonin
Chakra Affinity: Lightning, Fire, Wind (learned)
Potential: Low-Kage
IQ: 126
Battle IQ: 123
Strength: 222
Speed: 302
Durability: 223
Chakra: 234]
Taro's eyes widened as he looked at his mother's stats.
"W-What? From my memories, my mom wasn't a fighter… Has she been lying?" Taro thought. "And from the title, is she from the Hatake Clan?? What's going on? The Hatake Clan should be in the Land of Fire."
Noticing Taro's gaze, Katsumi tilted her head. "Is something wrong, baby?"
Taro answered, "I-It's nothing, Mom. Let's go eat."
When Taro entered the dining room, he was met with a table full of plants and bread. There were no pieces of meat.
Taro sighed. "I need to make an excuse soon." He looked at the man sitting at the head of the table and thought, "Well… maybe I can tell Father that I have a way to get food, but he'll have to trust me for now. Until I can find a legitimate lie, I'll just have to hide the truth. After all, I don't want to tell anyone about my ability, especially when Black Zetsu is alive. That bastard could be everywhere, even if his main target is in the Land of Fire."
The family ate happily, even if the food wasn't that great.
After the meal, Mashiro invited everyone to the backyard, where Taro would start his training. Everyone watched as Mashiro took something from his pocket and handed it to Taro.
"That's a chakra paper. Before we train, we must first learn your chakra affinity. Your chakra affinity is the chakra nature you are born compatible with. If you have one or more chakra affinities, that means you can create a Kekkei Genkai. You can learn other chakra natures, but it'll be harder to master them, and you cannot create Kekkei Genkai using learned chakra natures."
"Yeah, yeah, old man. Those are the basics. He probably knows all of that. Start beating his ass already like you did to me," Nao yelled.
Before Nao could speak more, his mother, standing next to him, pinched his side. "Be quiet, alright?"
Mashiro glared at Nao, then spoke to Taro. "Yes, those are the very basics of chakra nature. But if you were to have more than one chakra nature, that would be a great addition to our clan."
Without wasting any more time, Taro put a small amount of chakra into the paper.
Although Taro already knew his chakra affinity, he reluctantly asked his father when the paper wrinkled.
Mashiro smiled. "That means your chakra affinity is wind, just like mine."
Nao laughed. "Hahahaha! Wind users suck! Fire is cooler, right, Mom?"
Katsumi giggled. "They're both cool, in my opinion."
Ignoring the two, Mashiro continued to explain the basics of chakra affinity and chakra control. Once he finished, he taught Taro the hand seals needed to perform ninjutsu.
"That's all the hand seals for ninjutsu," Mashiro continued as he pointed at a wall. "Climb that wall, and once you make it up at least twenty feet, we'll move on to the next training."
Taro nodded and used the Ram hand seal to concentrate chakra on his feet. Although he had good enough chakra control to not need hand seals, he still used them.
Mashiro turned around and was about to sit next to his wife, figuring it would take Taro quite a bit of time to reach twenty feet. Suddenly, he saw his wife's and second son's eyes go wide. Then he heard a voice behind him.
"I'm finished, Dad. What's the next training?"
Mashiro turned around with utter shock on his face.
"H-How did you do that?"