"Alright."

"Our little Izumi is still adorable."

"But if you keep drawing circles on the ground like that..."

"You really will turn into a paramecium—and that's not cute at all."

The moment she heard this, Izumi sprang to her feet.

"What's a paramecium!?"

"I'm not turning into a paramecium!"

In an instant, Izumi regained her energy, stood up with her hands on her hips, and wore an expression so cute it almost made one sick.

Then she looked at Uchiha Hikaru expectantly and wrapped both arms around his right arm, pressing it tightly against her chest.

She began recalling the techniques her mother had once taught her.

"Izumi, remember—if you want a man to like you..."

"First, show him the most attractive part of yourself."

"Watch me, Kaa-san."

As she spoke, she puffed out her chest confidently—and her mountain trembled.

Izumi suddenly realized what she was doing and looked down at her chest.

...

"It's okay, Izumi. Small is cute too~"

"When you grow up, that charm fades."

That's right! Kaa-san said small ones are cute too! I can do this! I believe in Kaa-san!

However… Uchiha Hikaru didn't react at all.

All he felt was something hard pressing against his hand.

...Was that a rib?

He couldn't help but recall Mei Terumi from the night before.

Big is better…

He glanced down at Izumi, who was gazing at him full of anticipation, and could only lift his left hand and press it to his forehead.

Who taught her this...?

In truth, even Yeyue wasn't quite sure herself. Her marriage with Izumi's father had been arranged by the clan elders. Both were strong and attractive. They had no objections and accepted it matter-of-factly.

That's also why, within the Uchiha clan, it was rare for couples to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan due to each other's death.

A lack of talent was only part of it.

More importantly, the Uchiha were too proud—if their partner wasn't a strong match, they'd never truly respect them. Only the strong were worthy.

As a result, most Uchiha couples lacked deep emotional bonds. But the Uchiha's obsession with love meant they also wouldn't easily seek another after losing someone.

If their loved one died, they'd rather stay single forever.

Instead, their emotional bonds were often stronger in wills and beliefs—or between siblings, friends, and comrades.

So even though Yeyue didn't know how to pursue a man, her Uchiha pride wouldn't allow her to admit it to her daughter.

She taught Izumi based on her own interpretation of things.

But what Yeyue originally meant was: "Use your own strengths to win a man's heart."

The line "Small is cute too" was only meant to comfort Izumi temporarily.

She hadn't expected Izumi to believe it completely.

Far away at home, Yeyue suddenly sneezed.

"Hmm? The weather's warmed up... I'm not catching a cold, am I?"

Meanwhile, Uchiha Hikaru had no idea what to do next.

So—he used his ninja tactics to change the subject!

"Izumi, let go for a sec."

"Let me break things down for you."

The moment she heard that he was going to help her plan her future training path, Izumi's focus instantly shifted from seduction back to the battlefield.

After all, the Uchiha loved to fight. It was something carved into their blood and bones—unchangeable.

"You're good at manipulating shuriken and using Fire Style techniques. On top of that, you've developed your own sound-based genjutsu."

"Compared to the average Uchiha, that unique sound illusion is your true strength."

"You should focus on refining that now."

"Eventually, it'd be ideal if you could manipulate the vibrations of airborne kunai..."

"...and use the sound from your Fire Style techniques to trigger illusions."

"It'll be difficult—but if you master it, no matter who you're up against, even a Kage-level shinobi could get caught off guard."

Uchiha Hikaru drew upon his knowledge of sound-based illusions to outline a future path for Izumi.

Back then, Tayuya and Kabuto's sound illusions had massive wind-ups. If that had been a real fight—if not for plot armor—Sasuke and Itachi would've been long dead before those illusions landed.

This was the real shinobi world—not a cartoon.

If you're still pulling out a flute mid-fight, unless you're fighting across a field, only an idiot would stand still and let you play it.

In that regard, the two Great Toads were a better model—they could unleash their illusion just by opening their mouths.

Still, in actual battle, many experienced ninja deliberately avoided their opponents' voices to prevent psychological tricks or genjutsu triggers.

While it's hard, it is possible to filter out certain sounds by training your ears and subconscious mind.

It's the same as how you can't hear people speaking when you're completely focused.

But only a handful of elite Jonin bother with this kind of mental conditioning.

No one ignores the sound of kunai or jutsu.

In battle, shinobi rely on hearing and intuition to detect incoming threats. Their attention is always partially tuned to environmental noise.

That's why Uchiha Hikaru proposed this concept to Izumi—and broke down the logic behind it in detail.

After listening, Izumi couldn't help but start thinking deeply.

"That... actually makes sense."

"I only lost my cool earlier when you said I wasn't as good as Hayate."

"If I had kept a level head and analyzed the situation rationally..."

"If I had hidden the illusion within my shuriken manipulation..."

"Maybe I could've actually hit you."

Clang!

"Agh—Auntie Yeyue, what are you doing~!"

The sharp tap to the top of her head made Izumi wince as she reached up with her delicate fingers to rub the sore spot.

Uchiha Hikaru gave a small scolding in a half-exasperated tone.

"I spent all this time laying out your training path—"

"And you immediately go trying to betray your teacher with that technique?"

Watching his annoyed expression, Izumi only stuck her tongue out and made a teasing face.

"Just a little~"

"You're the one who threw me into the dirt earlier!"

"You got my clothes all messy!"

"When I master this technique—you will be the first one I use it on! I'll show you how powerful Huanyin really is!"

Hikaru raised his hand to smack her butt playfully.

But Izumi was quick this time—she twisted her waist and dodged smoothly.

Then she turned and ran.

"Hey~!"

"You missed~!"

"Catch me if you can~!"

"If you catch me~ I'll let you—"

Smack!

"Ah~!"

A sudden sting lit up her backside, and a strange tingling followed. Her face flushed bright red as she whirled around and pointed furiously at Hikaru.

"You..."

"You, you, you, you—!"

Hikaru raised his hand casually and brushed away the accusatory finger.

"What about me?"

"If you ever dare to spout such rebellious nonsense again—"

"You'll really see how I deal with you~"

With that, he turned and started walking out of the training ground, waving casually behind him.

"Come on, student. I'll treat you to a proper meal~"

Izumi trotted after him in little steps, pouting.

Hmph~ Not only am I being rebellious, but I'm going to keep leveling up, too~

The two of them walked together beneath the setting sun.

"Teacher Hikaru, do you think I'll get my own title once I become famous in the ninja world?"

"A title, huh… let's go with… K-ON!!"

"Eh? Why does that sound like some weak girl!?"

"Doesn't matter if you protest. I make the rules. You're K-ON from now on!"

...

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