Chapter 416

People are not machines; Uchiha Gin did not force Konan to practice paper ninjutsu to the point of neglecting sleep and food. In some things, haste makes waste.

"Konan, you are at a critical stage of growth. Get some rest early. If you stay up late, be careful about turning into a little potato or a washboard."

Seeing that it was getting late and watching the young girl folding paper with intense focus in the firelight, Uchiha Gin stepped forward and patted her little head.

Feeling the warmth coming from the top of her head, Konan bit her lip and lowered her head, responding with a barely audible sound.

"Mm."

"Gin-san! I did it!"

Just at this moment, Yahiko, who had been meditating at the cave entrance, ran in with an excited face. He raised his hand, and a faint blue glow of chakra shimmered in his palm.

Uchiha Gin raised his eyelids in surprise; he hadn't expected Yahiko's talent to be so good, learning how to refine chakra in just a few hours.

But then again, how could a disciple valued by Jiraiya be a mediocre talent?

According to the trajectory of this timeline, if Yahiko grew up along the normal path, he would at least possess the strength of an ordinary ninja's ceiling.

"I'm ready, Gin-san! Quickly teach me a powerful ninjutsu!"

To refine this tiny bit of chakra, Yahiko had almost exhausted all his physical strength. Although he was panting heavily, the light in his eyes was exceptionally bright, full of longing for ninjutsu.

"You're not afraid of pulling a muscle by taking such a big step."

Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes and gave this kid who didn't know his limits a flick on the forehead.

"Ouch~ Why did you do that!"

Sure enough, his flick could trigger a 'Kun' cry one hundred percent of the time. Uchiha Gin nodded thoughtfully.

"Go learn how to perform hand seals first."

"Huh?"

Ignoring the devastated Yahiko, Uchiha Gin turned his head and beckoned to Konan, who had been peeking at their interaction.

"You come over too."

"Yes!"

The two little ones knelt before Uchiha Gin, eyes wide, looking like curious babies.

"Hand seals are a way to control chakra. Under normal circumstances, if you don't perform seals, you cannot release ninjutsu."

As Uchiha Gin spoke, he raised his hands and performed the seals slowly, demonstrating the specific content of the twelve seals to Konan and the other.

The two sat upright and pricked up their ears, not daring to miss any details.

"Alright, you've both memorized them, right?"

Soon, Uchiha Gin, having finished explaining the twelve seals one by one, lowered his hands.

"Memorized!"

The two nodded busily, their minds filled with the flashy hand seals. Looking at the two children with furrowed brows, Uchiha Gin nodded.

"Alright, that's it for today. Go get some rest. Tomorrow I will teach you the most basic and important ninjutsu for a ninja."

Because the cave was relatively narrow, Uchiha Gin took the initiative to rest at the more spacious entrance, while Konan and Yahiko continued to stay in their old spot.

However, the blanket made of sacks had been thrown away by Uchiha Gin and replaced with a warmer wool blanket, and the ground had been compacted and raised by his Earth Style, creating two small stone beds.

Lying on the hard stone bed, wrapped in the warm wool blanket, Konan felt no discomfort. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the girl's starry eyes were filled with a faint mist.

At this moment, Konan dared not fall asleep; she was worried that if she closed and opened her eyes, she would return to that tattered sack, shivering in the cold wind in her thin clothes.

"Konan."

Suddenly, Yahiko's voice entered Konan's ears. She turned her head in confusion and saw her companion sitting on the edge of the bed not far away.

"Yahiko, can't you sleep either?"

"Mm, because all of this is too unreal."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yahiko's small eyes were filled with deep confusion. He couldn't believe he would be so lucky to meet a good person like Uchiha Gin.

Not only did he provide material aid, but he also taught them precious ninjutsu.

"Maybe Gin-san is a god."

Konan curled up in the warm blanket, recalling the scene during the day when she made a wish to a god.

Didn't Uchiha Gin suddenly appear by her side right after she made her wish!

"Whew~ No matter if Gin-san is a god or a ghost, he is our eternal benefactor."

Yahiko closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and after opening them, his gaze held some unknown meaning. He waved at Konan.

"Sleep, we have to practice tomorrow."

"Mm."

Soon, Konan, feeling much more at ease, entered dreamland. Soft snoring slowly sounded from her upturned lips.

"Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~"

In the darkness, a pair of eyes slowly opened. Watching the sleeping Konan, Yahiko tiptoed off the bed and crept toward the cave entrance.

The whistling wind at the entrance carried a biting chill, sneaking into Yahiko's thin collar, making the boy shiver. Seeing the flickering firelight not far away, his eyes were filled with even more emotion.

On such a cold day, Gin-san was still keeping watch for them. Such a hero was truly admirable.

"Roasted chicken wings~ I love them the most~"

Just as Yahiko was lost in self-emotion, an alluring aroma wafted over, followed by Uchiha Gin's flippant humming.

"Clatter!"

Yahiko stopped in his tracks and stood frozen on the spot. Looking at Uchiha Gin, who was wrapped in a large cotton quilt beside a luxurious stove, he tremblingly pointed his finger, looking incredulous.

"Gin-san, you..."

"Huh? You kid actually have the habit of getting up at night? Remember to eat more kidney tonic pills when you grow up."

Uchiha Gin was basting the shiny roasted chicken wings with sauce. Looking at Yahiko's shocked expression, he shook his head with a sigh, as if feeling sorry for his physical condition.

"Gulp~"

Yahiko, who didn't know how long it had been since he last ate meat, had his eyes fixed on the sizzling chicken wings. Unable to hold back, the sound of him swallowing saliva echoed throughout the cave.

"Hungry? Come over and eat some~"

With one hand forming a seal to control the heat, Uchiha Gin beckoned his cheap disciple to take a seat and share the late-night snack with him.

"Yes!"

Slipping over to the stove, Yahiko's saliva was almost dripping onto the ground.

"So delicious!"

Holding the chicken wings handed over by Uchiha Gin, Yahiko, who hadn't touched meat in a long time, ate with such ferocity that he polished off a skewer in no time, even chewing the bones and swallowing them.

"Gin-san, I thought you were suffering from the cold here~"

Wiping the grease from the corners of his mouth, Yahiko looked at Uchiha Gin's luxurious outdoor gear, tears of envy streaming down.

He had originally wanted to see if his teacher needed any help, but he hadn't expected to stumble upon this scene of debauchery.

"Hey, I'm already at this age, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

Uchiha Gin, eating chicken wings and drinking sweet water, looked like it was only natural. He was already in such a miserable state, couldn't he eat something good?

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't leave Konan too far behind, he would have gone to the town's red-light district for a deep investigation.

"What about you? Not sleeping in the middle of the night, don't want to practice tomorrow?"

Taking a sip of the sweet water in the yellow packaging, Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow at the bewildered Yahiko.

"I'm going to sleep right now!"

Hearing this, Yahiko stood up immediately; he was really worried that Uchiha Gin wouldn't teach them.

"Forget it, I see you can't sleep anyway. Come, let's chat."

Uchiha Gin shook his head and tossed an unopened bottle of 'Laoda' tea over. Yahiko hurriedly caught it, hesitated for a moment, and sat back in his original spot.

"Tell me, what is your dream?"

With his hands crossed and chin resting on them, Uchiha Gin looked at Yahiko, who was curiously fiddling with the sweet water, with a piercing gaze and asked a soul-searching question.

"Huh?"

Yahiko frowned. Living a precarious life before, he had never thought about such a profound question. At most, he would only fantasize about what treasures he could find in the trash can tomorrow.

"Protecting important people, I guess?"

But things were different now. With Uchiha Gin's presence, he had the confidence to face the unknown future. If he really had a dream, it should be to protect the people around him!

"Out!"

Hearing this cliché answer, Uchiha Gin raised an elimination sign.

"A person without a dream, what's the difference from a salted fish?"

"Didn't I just say I want to protect important people?"

Yahiko couldn't help but retort. He had just stated his newly born dream, and Uchiha Gin was actually going to mock him.

"Can this be called a dream? This is basic operation, okay?"

"Then am I really a salted fish without a dream?"

Hearing Uchiha Gin's words, Yahiko fell into deep self-doubt. Could it be that he really was a salted fish?

"It's okay, it's never too late for a dream to set sail. Now you can set a small goal as a direction to move forward."

Patting Yahiko's shoulder encouragingly, Uchiha Gin seduced him with earnest words.

"A small goal?"

Yahiko blinked in confusion. He didn't know what small goal he should set now.

"How about I, your teacher, help you set your first small goal~"

"Uh, okay, thank you Gin-san!"

Yahiko, dizzy from Uchiha Gin's words, could only nod in agreement.

"Very good, your first goal is to become a person who loves to help others."

Looking at the empty stove, Uchiha Gin said with a smile.

"Loves to help others?"

"Yes, after you help ten people who truly need help, then set your next goal for yourself, until you realize the dream deep in your heart."

Recalling Uchiha Gin's words, the confusion in Yahiko's eyes slowly dissipated. After some strange brain-filling, he suddenly raised his head.

"I understand! Gin-san, thank you!"

Yahiko's expression at this moment was very excited, and his gaze toward Uchiha Gin became increasingly worshipful.

Gin-san was truly painstaking, talking to him all night by candlelight, just to teach him to become a five-good youth with vision, cultivation, and ambition.

He would definitely not let Gin-san down and would become a high-quality ninja.

"Very good, you understand really fast. It wasn't in vain that I wasted so much breath."

Uchiha Gin nodded with satisfaction, then changed the subject.

"How about this, as a person who loves to help others, can you help me go to town and buy some chicken wings? I bought too few during the day, and now there's nothing left to roast~"

"Huh?"

Holding a golden bean, Yahiko, with a face full of confusion, walked in the heavy rain. His little head spun at high speed for a long time, but even until he was red-hot, he couldn't figure out the reason.

Who am I, where am I, what am I going to do?

However, listening to the singing echoing from the cave behind him, he vaguely felt that he had been tricked.

"Roasted chicken wings~ I love to eat them~"

The next day.

"Remaining time -188258s"

Uchiha Gin looked at the countdown that was still ticking, his mood becoming increasingly heavy. Looking at the two children waiting in battle array, his tone also carried a bit more solemnity.

"Today, I will train you very strictly. Are you ready?"

"Always ready!" *2

Konan and Yahiko shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Very good, very spirited!"

Feeling the determination of the two, Uchiha Gin nodded with relief.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

Raising his hands to form the 'Ren' seal, with a puff of white smoke, another Uchiha Gin, picking his nose, appeared before everyone.

"You go teach that kid, don't play him to death."

Pointing at Yahiko, who had an envious face, Uchiha Gin ordered his shadow clone.

"Tsk, look at what you're saying, how would I dare to play with him!"

The shadow clone rolled his eyes. Who was Yahiko? That was the God of Rice Carrying, rbqrbq~

"Let's go, I'll teach you how to mix sleeping black tea~"

Patting Yahiko's shoulder, the shadow clone took him out of the cave; the space outside was larger and better for performing.

"Yes!"

After Yahiko left, Uchiha Gin pointed at the paper dragon on the table.

"Konan, can you attach chakra to paper now?"

"Still a bit off..."

Shaking her head embarrassedly, Konan keenly saw a trace of disappointment flash in Uchiha Gin's eyes, and her heart immediately tightened.

"Give me another hour, I will definitely be able to do it!"

Not wanting to see Uchiha Gin show that expression again, Konan gritted her teeth and promised.

"Don't rush, I didn't mean to blame you."

Disappointment was disappointment, but Uchiha Gin couldn't blame a child who had just learned to refine chakra.

"Gin-san..."

"Don't show that expression, a smile is the standard for an angel."

Looking at the dejected Konan, Uchiha Gin stepped forward and rubbed her little face, squeezing out a smiling expression.

Feeling the warmth from Uchiha Gin's palm, a few red clouds instantly floated onto Konan's cheeks, and a faint light flowed in her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Take it slow, we won't control the paper dragon today."

For Konan, who had just stepped onto the path of a ninja, controlling complex origami all at once was indeed too difficult for her.

Uchiha Gin then pulled a sheet from the mountain of white paper and placed it in front of Konan.

"You fold something you like first."

Hearing this, Konan raised her head, her gaze sweeping across Uchiha Gin's handsome face, and then landing on the pure, flawless white paper.

"Anything is fine?"

"As long as you like it."

Taking the white paper, Konan's ten jade-onion-like fingers danced rapidly, the speed so fast it was dazzling.

After a day of origami training, Konan had improved a lot in this craft. After a few breaths, a delicate white rose appeared in her hands.

"Gin-san, for you."

Holding the rose high, Konan's face carried a trace of lingering crimson, her dodging gaze not daring to meet Uchiha Gin's.

"Very exquisite, it can already pass for the real thing."

Uchiha Gin didn't notice Konan's expression, his gaze attracted by the white rose. Looking at the familiar flower, he always felt that his transmigration had traces to follow.

"Next, try using chakra to restore this flower to white paper, and then turn it back into a flower."

Compared to the complex paper dragon, the difficulty of controlling the paper rose should be much lower, and this was something Konan had in mind, so her mental energy would be more focused.

"Yes!"

Konan bit her lip, her gaze shifting from Uchiha Gin to the paper flower in front of her. She swore she would never let Gin-san down.

Not wanting to put too much pressure on the girl, Uchiha Gin chose to leave Konan enough space. He paced out alone, standing by the cave entrance to listen to the shadow clone teaching Yahiko.

"You can't even learn the E-rank Three Body Technique, and you still want to open a Water Dragon? Are you worthy?"

The shadow clone stood in front of the flushed Yahiko, pointing at the abstract-looking clone on the ground, criticizing him mercilessly.

"Good enough is good enough, I clearly succeeded just now, let's move on to the next step!"

Yahiko, unconvinced, gritted his teeth and retorted. It was just one mistake, it didn't cause any major disaster.

"Heh~ Ninja is not a profession where 'good enough' works."

Poking Yahiko's forehead with a finger, the shadow clone had an expression of hatred for him not living up to expectations.

"Keep practicing. If you can skillfully use the Three Body Technique within three hours, I will make an exception and teach you a unique ninjutsu."

Giving a stick and then a sweet date, Uchiha Gin, who had been in the education business for many years, still understood a bit of the way of being a teacher.

"Really?"

"Absolutely real~"

"Come on! Whip me as much as you want!"

Hearing that there was a unique ninjutsu to learn, Yahiko was like he had been injected with chicken blood, and began to take the most basic and important Three Body Technique of a ninja seriously.

A day passed quickly.

When night fell, Uchiha Gin went to check the students' learning results.

Inside the cave, Konan knelt before the paper flower, her blue-glowing hands hovering. With a slight rustling sound, the rose folded from white paper was blooming at a slow speed.

"Whew~"

As the sweat on her face increased, Konan, dripping with sweat, finally lowered her hands, and the paper flower froze at the moment of blooming.

"Still a bit off."

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Konan raised her hands again, but her trembling hands began to sway uncontrollably.

"Whoosh!"

Uchiha Gin was quick-eyed and fast-handed, flashing forward to catch Konan, who was about to collapse from weakness.

"Hoo hoo... Sorry, Gin-san, I let you down."

Konan, falling into Uchiha Gin's arms, had a flash of unhealthy crimson on her cheeks. She tried to struggle to get up, but found her body limp like mud, unable to move at all.

"It's okay, you've already done very well."

To be honest, Uchiha Gin didn't expect that Konan could already control the paper flower to bloom; this could already be considered touching the threshold of paper ninjutsu.

The essence of paper ninjutsu is actually an application of ninja tools. The user uses their own chakra to modify the paper, thereby controlling and shaping it.

As long as Konan can flexibly control this paper rose to bloom and restore, she can be considered to have learned the secret technique of paper ninjutsu.

Just then, a figure walked in from outside the cave.

"Hey, main body, this kid is really desperate."

It turned out to be the shadow clone who was guiding Yahiko's training outside. He was dragging the unconscious orange-haired kid, looking helpless.

"How is it?"

"Exhausted, of course. Who trains the Three Body Technique like that? It's just like grinding proficiency."

Throwing Yahiko onto the stone bed, the shadow clone smacked his lips and reached out his hand toward Uchiha Gin.

"Considering I've been busy all day, give me one?"

"Heh, Dispel!"

Where would he have extra food for this clone?

Uchiha Gin was truly a master of killing the donkey after the millstone was done. The bewildered shadow clone didn't even have time to curse before he turned into a wisp of white smoke and completely disappeared from this world.

"Gurgle~ Gurgle~"

Just after Uchiha Gin solved his clone, a harsh sound of thunder from a stomach sounded behind him.

"So-sorry."

Konan, holding her stomach, wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. How could she let Gin-san hear such a shameful sound?

"You practiced so hard today, it would be the real problem if you weren't hungry."

Refining chakra is the most energy-consuming thing. Konan's body was already weak, and after a day of extraction, it was really hard for her that her stomach only sounded now.

"What do you want to eat? I'll make it."

It was too late to go to town to eat, so Uchiha Gin decided to cook for himself and give these two children a good supplement.

"Fish... I want to eat fish."

Living in the Land of Rain, this land of lakes and marshes, Konan grew up eating fish, but after becoming an orphan, she never saw any meat again.

Fish is a delicacy that can only be tasted when with family.

"Fish, huh..."

The purchased supplies didn't include fish, an ingredient that was hard to store, and Uchiha Gin couldn't leave Konan too far, so he handed the arduous task of purchasing fish to the unconscious Yahiko.

"Yahiko with a dream, get up and get to work~"

Giving the orange head, who was sleeping soundly, a flick on the forehead.

"Ouch~ Why did you do that!"

Holding his head, Yahiko, in pain to the point of tears, opened his eyes angrily.

"Youth who loves to help others, go buy fish!"

"Huh? You really were playing with me!"

When he went to buy chicken wings for Uchiha Gin in the rain last night, he had sensed something was wrong. He didn't expect the other party to be so shameless, tricking him again and again.

"That's right."

"You actually dare to admit it!"

"So are you going or not? Unique ninjutsu, oh~"

The annoyed Yahiko, seeing Uchiha Gin's teasing smile, instantly sobered up. He immediately put on a bootlicking expression, nodded and bowed to take the golden bean, and disappeared into the rain curtain in a flash.

"Hehe... Gin-san, you're too bad~"

Watching Yahiko's extreme face change, Konan giggled. This was the first time Uchiha Gin had seen a smile belonging to this age on the face of this miserable girl.

This is what an angel should look like.

Yahiko went fast and came back fast. The lively big fish ended its short life under Uchiha Gin's hands. With a flick of the knife, the pot was heated with oil. Years had passed, but his cooking skills hadn't regressed in the slightest.

In no time, a large plate of sweet and sour fish emitting a fragrant aroma was placed in front of the two children.

"Oishii! Oishii! This sweet and sour fish is so delicious!"

Watching the two devouring the food, Uchiha Gin's gaze fell on the paper flower that hadn't fully bloomed yet.

"The more I look at this flower, the more familiar it seems." (End of chapter)