Instead of taking Ebisu to one of the perfectly good training grounds nearby, Uchiha Ren led him deep into the trees beside them.
“Ebisu, what I’m about to teach you is the ultimate form of the Transformation Jutsu—a forbidden, S-rank secret art!” Ren sounded so serious that Ebisu immediately grew suspicious.
Since when was Uchiha Ren kind enough to teach him an S-rank technique?
His own father headed the Academy’s fundamentals department, and even he had never mentioned some hidden ultimate form of the Transformation Jutsu.
“Watch closely, Ebisu!
I’m about to reveal the greatest treasures from my previous life!” Ren formed the hand seal with a flourish.
“The ultimate Transformation Jutsu…
“SEXY JUTSU!” Poof!
When the smoke cleared, a succession of scantily clad adult women appeared before Ebisu, each one more shamelessly alluring than the last.
Ren cycled through every glamorous face and figure his old-world memories could still dredge up, muttering to himself the entire time.
“I don’t care what anyone says.
Yui was still the gold standard…” Ebisu had never seen anything like it.
At first, he merely stood there in stunned silence.
Then blood began trickling from his nose.
Ren nodded to himself.
‘I knew I hadn’t misjudged you, Ebisu.
Under those sunglasses, you really are a closet pervert.’ A long while later, Ebisu finally emerged from the woods with one hand clamped over his nose.
Ren patted him encouragingly on the shoulder.
“Well?
Do you finally understand the true beauty of the Transformation Jutsu?” Still dazed, Ebisu nodded.
“Can that technique really make an enemy lose focus?” “Absolutely!
Trust me.” Ren gave him a confident thumbs-up.
“And because you’re such a repressed little creep, your version will be far more powerful than anyone else’s.
Use it during tomorrow’s sparring lesson and show everyone what you can do.
Nobody will stand a chance!” He leaned closer.
“Even I would have to give you eight points of respect.” “Eight out of what?” Ebisu asked.
“A hundred?” “Ten, obviously!” Ebisu stared at him.
“You’re that vulnerable to the Sexy Jutsu?” “I wouldn’t call it vulnerability.
You’re simply too talented.” Ren placed both hands on Ebisu’s shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
“You captured Yui perfectly.
That expression, that little tilt of the head—who could possibly resist?” His voice grew passionate.
“Ebisu, you are not merely Fundamentals-for-Brains.
You have talent!
A rare, highly specialized talent!” Ren pointed dramatically toward the village.
“Go!
Embrace your gift!
The path of seduction was made for you!” Ebisu felt a surge of confidence.
So he really did possess a special talent after all?
“One more thing,” Ren added gravely.
“You absolutely cannot tell anyone that I taught you this S-rank secret art.” “Why not?” “Because people get jealous of S-rank techniques.
Telling everyone you have one would be like walking through a crowded market while waving ten thousand ryō over your head.
Someone would beat you up and steal it before you made it home.” Ebisu nodded solemnly.
“Understood!
I won’t tell anyone!” …
During the next day’s sparring lesson, Akimichi Takashi was still the first student to challenge Uchiha Ren.
Ren spent the entire match leading him around the field until sweat poured from the Akimichi boy’s face.
Once Takashi had worked up a respectable amount of sweat, Ren nodded in satisfaction.
“Takashi, do you secretly enjoy humiliating yourself?
You still can’t touch the edge of my clothes, and I’m pretty sure you were a normal person last year.” Takashi glared at him while gasping for breath.
“Tomorrow morning, six o’clock.
Pick any spot beneath Konoha’s outer wall and wait for me.
Then you’ll finally understand why the gap between us is so enormous.” Among the watching students, Might Guy’s eyes lit up.
Every morning, Ren ran laps around Konoha with him.
Was Takashi going to join them?
‘Wonderful!
Our circle of burning youth is expanding!’ Several more pairs completed their matches before Yamano-sensei announced the seventh.
“Seventh match!
Ebisu versus Shiranui Genma!” Shiranui Genma ranked among the top five students in the class.
His skills were well-rounded and reliable, and he already had the habit of carrying a senbon between his teeth.
Ren caught Ebisu’s gaze and gave him a meaningful nod.
It was time to unleash the S-rank secret art.
Ebisu nodded back.
With Ren’s guidance, he would stun the entire class!
The two boys rushed forward and exchanged punches and kicks.
Ebisu was no match for Genma.
After only a few exchanges, Genma kicked him backward.
Ebisu hit the ground, immediately scrambled to his feet, took a running start, and leaped through the air toward him.
Yamano-sensei shook his head.
Ebisu’s training appeared to be going backward.
Jumping recklessly during a fight was one of the most dangerous mistakes a shinobi could make.
Once airborne, he had nothing to push against and no way to change direction.
Yamano glanced toward the Academy building.
He did not know whether Eishirō-sensei was watching today’s lesson from one of the faculty-room windows, but he hoped Ebisu’s father corrected this mistake quickly.
Civilian-born shinobi like them possessed no kekkei genkai and no secret clan techniques.
They had almost no room for error.
A mistake in a real battle meant death.
Still flying through the air, Ebisu brought his hands together in the Ram seal.
“S-RANK ULTIMATE TRANSFORMATION JUTSU!” Genma watched him approach with the senbon still between his teeth, his face full of mockery.
Did Ebisu seriously intend to win with the Transformation Jutsu?
While leaping helplessly through the air?
That was practically suicide.
Their instructor had already explained how fragile the Transformation Jutsu was.
Even the slightest impact could disrupt the chakra maintaining the disguise.
Poof!
White smoke exploded around Ebisu.
A voluptuous adult woman emerged from it, covered only by strategically placed wisps of smoke.
The senbon in Genma’s mouth slowly drooped before falling to the ground.
He stood there with his mouth hanging open.
The flushed cheeks…
The inviting gaze…
The flawless skin…
Those impossible curves and long bare legs…
‘WHAT?!’ Genma had never encountered anything remotely like this.
A fist smashed straight into his nose before he could recover.
There were simply too many details demanding his attention.
His six-year-old brain had completely overloaded.
Genma toppled backward, blood streaming from his nose and his expression frozen in a vacant daze.
Ren watched from the sidelines with narrowed eyes.
‘Well, well, Shiranui Genma.
You always looked like such a respectable kid.’ ‘One punch shouldn’t have caused that much bleeding.
Don’t tell me your nose started bleeding before Ebisu even hit you.’ [A nearby shinobi has suffered severe emotional damage.
The Emotional Damage System is now activating…] Ren’s heart leaped with delight.
He eagerly waited to see what reward Genma might offer.
Chakra reserves would be ideal.
At this age, Genma probably had not learned anything particularly valuable yet.
[Eishirō has suffered emotional damage.
Extracting abilities associated with Eishirō.
The host may select one of the following three rewards.] ‘Huh?’ Ren blinked.
‘Eishirō?’ That was Ebisu’s father.
This reward had not come from Genma at all.
Ren immediately turned toward the row of faculty-room windows in the Academy building.
A man stood behind one of them, his face so dark that it looked ready to swallow sunlight.
‘Oh, crap.’ ‘I corrupted the child, but it was the parent who broke first!’ Some parents were surprisingly fragile.
Then again, whenever a child turned out this weird, there was always a chance the kid was the most normal person in the entire family.
Ebisu was definitely getting the belt when he went home.
Ren quickly dismissed the thought.
The belt would be landing on Ebisu, not him.
There was no reason for Ren to worry.
[Option One: Konoha Senpū.] [Option Two: Substitution Jutsu proficiency.] [Option Three: Advanced Body Flicker Technique proficiency.] The first option was Konoha Senpū, one of Might Guy’s signature taijutsu techniques.
It used consecutive spinning kicks at different heights to launch an opponent into the air.
Ren had little interest in it.
He trained taijutsu so it would never become a weakness, giving him the speed and reflexes needed to dodge or escape in an emergency.
He had no intention of building his entire fighting style around flashy kicking combinations.
The second option offered proficiency in the Substitution Jutsu, but he could learn that when they reached the upper-year curriculum.
The third option immediately caught his attention.
Advanced proficiency in the Body Flicker Technique.
The technique itself sounded simple: gather chakra in the legs and feet, then release it in a single burst to move at extreme speed.
However, an advanced version would require far more precise control.
It was probably one of the few higher-level skills Eishirō-sensei had developed despite being known primarily for his flawless fundamentals.
Ren selected the third option.
A flood of knowledge and experience poured into his mind.
‘So that’s how it works…’ A pleased smile appeared on his face.
‘Very nice.’