Chapter 27: Gale: Something has come up, I must be going.

Chapter 27: Hayate: Something’s come up, I’m off.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Just as he was deep into his training, a violent fit of coughing broke out.

If it were anyone else, Chiba might have wondered if he had been getting too close to Uzuki Yugao, causing someone to feel displeased. But here, at the Gekko household, he didn’t overthink it.

Because… this man was truly frail.

What a terrible complexion.

Chiba observed him closely, unable to hide his astonishment. Good heavens, that someone with this constitution could still serve as a ninja was a miracle of the shinobi world; even Tsunade would likely be at a loss.

"Uncle, these are my new teammates. His name is Yagyu Chiba, and she is Tenten. I brought them here to practice swordsmanship."

Uzuki Yugao smiled sheepishly.

Hayate gave a slight nod and said, "Practice diligently. Don't let down the swordsmanship of others."

"Yes!"

Yugao stood her ground.

Gekko Hayate looked toward Yagyu Chiba, a smile appearing on his pale face as he said, "Do you have a moment?"

"Uh, yes."

"Come with me. *Cough, cough.* Yugao, Tenten, you two keep practicing."

Gekko Hayate turned, coughing as he walked away. Chiba hurriedly followed.

After walking a short distance, Hayate finally spoke: "The Hokage asked me to let you see a notebook left by the Second Hokage. I had intended to find you in a little while, but I didn’t expect you to show up today."

"The Second Hokage’s notebook?"

"It’s a notebook on swordsmanship. You probably won't have much use for the specific techniques," Hayate said, his voice strained and weak. "By the way, thank you for your help with Yugao’s swordsmanship."

"Just helping each other out." Chiba didn't take credit for it.

Hayate took out the notebook and handed it to him, then added, "If you have any questions, you can come to me."

"Thank you. And regarding what I mentioned earlier, you could consider it as well."

When Chiba finished, Hayate was visibly stunned.

He… did he really need that, too?

"However, I suggest you stop taking on missions so frequently. Your physical state is already very poor. If you stop going on missions, you might live a bit longer."

"What would living longer even accomplish?"

Hayate’s smile was quite open-minded. If he had wanted to live a long life, he wouldn't have become a ninja in the first place, given that he was born with a weak constitution unsuited for the path.

Having chosen this road, he wouldn't regret it.

"I’ll go back and prepare some medicine for you to try. Even if it can't provide a complete cure, it should help with the symptoms. And once we find Lady Tsunade, it’s not impossible that you could be healed," Chiba urged.

Of course, he knew perfectly well that Hayate’s illness was persistent and difficult; even Tsunade would likely find it hard to manage. Besides, the current Tsunade was suffering from hemophobia and had no capacity to provide treatment.

But this would at least give him a glimmer of hope.

Furthermore, it would be a shame for such a beautiful wife to be left a widow.

"Thank you."

A prescription… Gekko Hayate couldn't refuse. He scratched his head, forced to think about how to repay this favor.

By the time he snapped back to reality, Chiba had already opened the notebook and started reading. He nodded as he went, appearing to gain quite a lot. After reading for a long while, he sat there, turning the pages back and forth, deep in thought.

The Second Hokage’s approach to swordsmanship was simple: Deceptive, Fast, Precise.

Use genjutsu and clones for misdirection, then launch a rapid assault and strike to hit the opponent's blind spots accurately.

Chiba didn't know genjutsu, but the many techniques and ideas mentioned within were incredibly useful. He pondered for a long time, eventually settling on a direction for his own research: Iaijutsu and dual-wielding.

The second blade didn't necessarily have to be a real sword; it could be a chakra blade or chakra needles. That way, he could compensate for any lack of "deception."

However, did such a style have any value for mass instruction?

Chiba thought about it and shook his head slightly.

Regardless of whether it was worth teaching to others, he was going to learn it himself. He couldn't learn solely for the sake of teaching; creating techniques was meant for personal growth.

Techniques with high difficulty were the ones truly suited for him.

Chiba went back out to practice. Hayate had intended to leave to attend to his own matters, but at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a deep interest in this child.

The Third Hokage said the complete swordsmanship wasn't meaningful to him, so… what kind of sword style could he create on his own?

Hayate watched from the side.

At first, he could see that Chiba was practicing Iaijutsu, but as time went on, he began to find it harder to follow.

This swordsmanship…

"Uncle, what is he practicing? Why does it look so strange?" Yugao crept over and asked in a whisper.

She had already given up on comparing herself to Chiba; that guy was no ordinary person, and comparing herself to him was just a blow to her own confidence.

Gekko Hayate pondered for two seconds and said, "It looks like dual-wielding."

"Dual-wielding?"

Yugao blinked, then turned to look closely.

It really was!

Chiba’s blade path only attacked from one side, while his other hand seemed to be performing some sort of coordination. Normally, dual-wielding involved one blade for offense and one for defense, but his method… it was hard to describe. It was just one word: strange.

"Did you understand it?"

"Hmm."

"Uncle?"

"It seems to be a coordination with an assassination style. Right, I have business with the Hokage. You look after them."

Gekko Hayate fled in a panic.

He truly didn't understand Chiba’s swordsmanship, but he felt that the boy had his own logic behind it, so it was better to offer no critique.

If you don't understand, you don't understand—why hide it? It’s not like we don't know that.

Yugao curled her lip, ignoring her uncle who had fled to save face, and returned to the training ground.

Seeing Tenten, she let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, not everyone in the team was a monster; having someone as normal as herself meant she didn't look too incompetent.

After a day of training, when Chiba demanded more the next day, both Tenten and Yugao pulled long faces.

There was no helping it. Being with Chiba was just too discouraging.

But Chiba wasn't training every single second; during breaks, he would point out their shortcomings, especially techniques for when muscles were pushed to their limit. So… they were suffering and enjoying it at the same time.

Three days later.

"Yo, you guys are training quite hard, aren't you?"

Kakashi was crouching on a tree branch, holding that copy of *Make-Out Tactics* in his hand.

"That's for sure. Though, as for a certain teacher who hasn't appeared lately, it feels like Chiba-kun has almost become our teacher instead," Tenten retorted, hands on her hips.

"Hahaha, the capable take on more work. Ready to go on a mission?" Kakashi said with a smile.

"A mission?!!"

"We’re going! Of course we’re going!" Yugao nodded repeatedly.

Chiba was indifferent. As for missions, the early ones were likely just helping people fetch water or chop wood; at most, they might be catching cats for wealthy ladies. There was no challenge to speak of.

"Hehe, I'm starting you guys off with a C-rank mission. Will that be too much pressure?" Kakashi asked with a grin.

"Not at all!" all three replied.

Chiba didn't want to do chores, but he was very interested in a C-rank mission.

Such missions generally didn't involve real combat—and even if they did, it was usually against ordinary people or samurai—but to accept higher-level missions, one had to build up their "resume."

Moreover, for a team of rookies like them to land a C-rank mission, there must have been some pulling of strings from above; they couldn't ask for more than that.

"Then gather at the Hokage building!"

"Yes!"

As the voices faded, with a "whoosh," all four figures headed toward the Hokage building at once.