Chapter 5: Senju Miyuki
Senju Miyuki carefully inspected the ninja tools in the bag. "Mm, all of them are high quality. No problems here."
After speaking, she handed a small wooden token to Yamamoto Shuichi, which was likely the voucher to collect their payment.
Senju Miyuki then noticed Yamamoto Ryusei standing beside him. "Wow... so cute! Uncle Shuichi, is this your son?"
"Yes, this is my humble son." Yamamoto Shuichi gave Ryusei a little push. "Ryusei, hurry up and greet her."
Yamamoto Ryusei bowed to Senju Miyuki and said, "My name is Yamamoto Ryusei, Lady Senju Miyuki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Smiling, Senju Miyuki bent down and pinched Ryusei's cheek. "So polite! But you should call me 'Big Sister'. You've managed to refine chakra, haven't you?"
Yamamoto Ryusei dodged her other hand, which was reaching out for another pinch. "Yes, I managed it a few days ago."
Senju Miyuki straightened up, placing one hand on her hip. "Oh, playing shy, are we? Since you've already refined chakra, how about I teach you a few ninjutsu?"
A look of delighted surprise appeared on Ryusei's face. "Really? Thank you, Big Sister Miyuki!"
He originally thought he wouldn't get to learn any ninjutsu until the Ninja Academy opened. Who knew he'd get the chance now?
Senju Miyuki pinched his cheek again. "You little rascal. You only call me 'Big Sister' when there's something in it for you. Uncle Shuichi, I'll be taking him for a bit. I'll bring him back later."
Yamamoto Shuichi bowed slightly to her. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Lady Miyuki."
Ryusei's eyes widened as he looked up at Senju Miyuki with admiration. "Big Sister Miyuki, what kind of ninjutsu is it? Is it one that lets you spit fire or water?" Since acting cute was clearly effective, Ryusei didn't mind sacrificing his dignity a little to see if he could get her to teach him a better jutsu.
"Nope! It's the Three Basic Academy Techniques," Senju Miyuki said, pulling Ryusei along with one hand while her other continued to pinch his cheek as they walked away.
Yamamoto Shuichi watched his son act cute, the corner of his eye twitching. His son had always been the serious type, so much so that it was almost worrying. Seeing him act like this, however, he finally looked a bit more like a child.
Senju Miyuki brought Yamamoto Ryusei to the Senju clan's training grounds. There were several targets set up, marked with the traces of shuriken and kunai.
She led Ryusei under the shade of a tree. "Ryusei, a ninja's jutsu are all released using chakra, which has to be coordinated with hand seals. Your task today is to memorize these twelve basic hand seals."
For the next two hours, under Senju Miyuki's guidance, Yamamoto Ryusei learned the twelve hand seals. Although his speed was slow, his form was at least standard.
Senju Miyuki then taught him ninja tool throwing techniques, having him practice until six o'clock before taking him back.
On the way, Ryusei practiced forming hand seals as he walked, trying to make his hands more nimble. Watching him, Miyuki said, "Ryusei, you're so diligent. You'll surely be a powerful ninja in the future."
After dropping Ryusei off at the blacksmith shop, Senju Miyuki told him to come to the training grounds every day after 4 PM to learn ninjutsu, and then she left.
Only Yamamoto Shuichi was left in the shop. Komiya Yuki, Yamashita So, and the three apprentices had already gone home. Because they had delivered a large batch of supplies today, Shuichi decided to close up early and they all went home together.
At home, Yamamoto Nami had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them.
During the meal, something seemed to occur to Nami and she said to her husband, "Shuichi, I saw a very good storefront today. Let's go and rent it. We can hire a few people and open for business."
Yamamoto Shuichi nodded immediately. "You decide. Shops and labor are cheap right now anyway."
Yamamoto Ryusei thought for a moment and said, "We can rent the shop for now. As for staff, let's look for people from the Senju clan's territory first. Tomorrow, I'll invite Big Sister Miyuki over for a meal and ask her if she wants to invest in our shop."
Yamamoto Nami was confused. "Ryu-chan, we have the funds. It's enough for the initial expenses. We don't need other people to invest, do we?"
Ryusei's expression was serious. "If we just want to open a small shop to make a living, then we don't. But if we want to make it big, we can't protect it on our own. We must pull the Senju clan over to be our backer."
Yamamoto Shuichi asked worriedly, "Then will it still be our shop?"
"Whether it's our shop or not isn't really important. What's important is whether we can earn money. Once the business grows, even if we only own a small share, the profits will be unimaginable. Besides, we're in the restaurant business; there's no way to hide the cooking methods from those ninjas. Rather than letting others steal the recipes, it's better to cooperate with the Senju clan, capture the market, and build our reputation before anyone else can react. Even if copycats emerge later, they won't be able to shake our position as the leaders, alongside the Senju."
Yamamoto Shuichi pondered this. "In that case, Lady Senju Miyuki's rank won't be high enough."
Ryusei waved his small hand confidently. "It's fine. Big Sister Miyuki can help us build a bridge. When the time comes, I'll make a dish and have her bring it to the Hokage-sama to taste. After he tastes it, he will naturally agree to our partnership."
Yamamoto Nami asked with a curious look, "What dish is so magical?"
Ryusei gave a mysterious smile. "You'll know when the time comes, Mom. You wouldn't believe me if I told you now."
In the world of Chinese cuisine, if one were to discuss richness and longevity of aroma, and complexity and deliciousness of flavor, the first choice would naturally be "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." In this ninja world, where simple grilled meat was considered a delicacy, the appearance of "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" would be no less than a nuclear bomb.
When that "bomb" was unveiled, the entire Senju clan—no, the entire village of Konoha—would be shaken to its core.
Seeing his son's confident expression, Yamamoto Shuichi said, "We'll do as you say. That way, your mother won't have to work so hard either."
Hearing this, Nami's face flushed red, and she looked at her husband with watery, loving eyes.
Yamamoto Ryusei was caught off guard by this public display of affection and felt his mood sour. The food on the table suddenly didn't seem so appetizing. But then he remembered he still had to refine chakra tonight, so he forced down a few more bowls of rice.
After practicing hand seals for an hour, he felt like he was running out of time more and more.
Wait... I can practice hand seals while refining chakra, can't I?
He immediately tried to do it, but things were never that simple. He couldn't synchronize the two at all. When he was practicing hand seals, he forgot to refine chakra, and when he was refining chakra, he forgot to practice hand seals.
After struggling for two hours with nothing to show for it, he concluded that it would take a massive amount of practice to reach that level.
Ryusei refined a few more batches of chakra to nourish his body and then went to sleep.
The Next Day
Yamamoto Ryusei left a note for his mother. On it, he wrote down the menu for entertaining Senju Miyuki and the ingredients needed to make "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." The plan was to first capture Miyuki with ordinary fine dining, and then, once the Hokage returned, send the "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" nuclear bomb his way. It was sure to succeed in one fell swoop.
At the edge of the forest, Ryusei was training. Komiya Yuki walked over, carrying the paper he had bought the day before.
She handed the manuscript paper to him. "Ryusei-nii, I was afraid your paper wouldn't be safe at the blacksmith shop, so I brought it home with me."
Ryusei took the paper. "Thank you, Yuki. How is your body? Is it sore?"
Komiya Yuki frowned slightly. "It's alright. It's still bearable."
At that moment, Yamashita So approached, his steps awkward and slow. Upon seeing Ryusei, he practically threw himself forward. "Ryusei-kun, this hurts so much! I almost couldn't get up this morning!"
Ryusei looked at the composed Komiya Yuki standing there and then at Yamashita So clinging to his leg. He felt that So wasn't just weak, but exceptionally so. It was one thing that he couldn't beat Yuki in a fight, but his pain tolerance was also lower than hers.
Ryusei helped So up. "Once you get moving today, it'll be much better tomorrow."
So stood up, trembling. "Really? But it hurts so much whenever I move."
"You can choose not to move. But you'll be just as sore for the next few days."
"Then I'll exercise! Ah... Ow..." So cried out with every movement he made. Annoyed by the noise, Komiya Yuki punched him, knocking him to the ground. It took him a good while to get back up.
However, after about an hour of exercise, their pain had already lessened considerably. They were fine as long as their movements weren't too intense.