Kaiji's eyes twitched at the surprised looks on Ren and Hiroshi's faces.
He mumbled, "Have some trust in my strength, you two..."
Takeshi was also surprised.
After all, he had been their Chūnin instructor during their academy days and knew their strength well.
But this also made him proud of Kaiji's growth.
He thought, 'Looks like he truly worked very hard after graduation. Kenjutsu and even defeating Ryū.'
The others were stunned by Kaiji's win.
Meanwhile, Reeku and Renji were not very surprised.
Renji had already sensed that Kaiji's chakra reserves were higher than Ryū's.
This gave Kaiji a big early advantage.
Though he knew Ryū's strength as his teammate, but he also felt that Kaiji's chakra growth might have come from hard training.
From the start of the spar, he had thought that either of them might win, and no one had a major edge.
This was his thinking because he did not know about Kaiji's already learned the technique unknown to the world for now "Seven Heavens Breathing Method"
Even though Kaiji could only use its 'First Activation,' that alone could increase his overall strength by almost two to three times.
With this temporary, big boost, Kaiji could defeat Ryū much more ease.
Kaiji also understood this too.
He thought, 'Hm, at least this spar makes me understand that my strength has indeed improved a lot. Even without the Seven Heavens Breathing Technique, I can defeat Ryū. But, can I do the same against Renji?'
His gaze landed on Renji, thinking about asking him for a spar.
But then he shook his head and thought, 'I shouldn't rush. Renji has trained under Pakura and a sensor ninja. Without 'First Activation,' I might not be able to defeat him. Maybe I'll ask him for a spar some other time.'
Next, Kaiji's gaze landed on Reeku, the only Jōnin on this training field right now.
Reeku was also looking at Kaiji.
When their eyes met, Reeku nodded at him.
Kaiji understood his meaning.
Reeku was nodding at Kaiji's performance.
During that last strike, Kaiji had felt something grab his arm just as his sword was going toward Ryū's neck.
Kaiji's first thought was to stop just one inch away from Ryū's neck.
But Reeku's chakra thread made Kaiji's attack stop a few more inches away.
Kaiji thought that Puppetry also had its advantages.
He mused, 'And Reeku might be even proficient at puppetry arts. Ren told me that he was even Sasori's Jōnin sensei. Maybe, besides Chiyo, Sasori also learned some puppetry arts from him.'
Ryū came forward and said to Kaiji, "Well, that was a good duel. I understand my weak points here. Thanks, and maybe we can spar some other time too..."
Kaiji nodded with a smile and said, "Alright. If we ever get time, we can definitely spar again."
Hiroshi, standing to the side with his hands behind his head, said, "Even though Ryū lost, his speed was faster than Kaiji's. I also want that kind of speed. But can I become that agile...?"
Ren, standing beside him, shrugged and said, "Of course you can. All you need to do is lose unnecessary fat from your body, and you can also become more agile."
Hiroshi's eyes twitched, and he glared at Ren.
But before he could say anything, Kohaku spoke, "Um, but he looks so cute with this baby fat on his face."
Hiroshi's mood changed at once.
He started smiling mockingly at Ren.
Ren looked away, little jealous and thought, 'How did this even happen? Is there something wrong with Kohaku's head?'
Shōko and Sayo giggled at Ren and Hiroshi's antics at first.
But they also had the same thoughts as Ren once Kohaku said she liked Hiroshi's baby fat.
Maki, however, ignored them.
She went to Ryū and asked, "Didn't Sensei tell you to practice more? See, you even lost to Kaiji now."
Ryū sighed and said, "Yeah, yeah, I understand. I will train extra hard from now on. And Maki, Kaiji isn't weak either. Don't judge him by his academy record."
Maki glanced at Kaiji, who stood in front of Reeku and Takeshi, talking to them.
She then recalled his recent fight against Ryū and thought, 'He indeed has improved more than when he was at the academy.'
Then Maki looked back at Ryū and scoffed lightly, "Even then, he can't defeat me and definitely not Renji."
Ryū chuckled, shaking his head, but did not say anything.
"Kaiji, when did you start learning Kenjutsu?" Takeshi asked.
Kaiji replied, "Just a few months ago. But I only learned the basics, as for Chakra infused strikes, I'm still learning them."
Reeku nodded.
He put his hand on Kaiji's shoulder and said, "Even so, your basics are solid. But tell me, would you like to join the Puppetry Brigade Department?"
Kaiji shook his head no and replied, "Sorry, but I cannot. I am thinking of joining the Sealing Department. Besides, even without that, I have little interest in puppetry."
Reeku thought for a moment and then asked, "Well, that's your choice. But why do you wish to join the Sealing Department? They are not ninjas of direct combat style, and believe me, you are not very suited for the Sealing Department."
"Well, it's not that I want to join the Sealing Department because I like them," Kaiji replied.
"It's just that I want to learn sealing techniques, but without joining the Sealing Department, they say I cannot learn them, though I don't know why!"
Reeku put his hand on his chin, thinking.
Then he said, "Hm, yes, for learning sealing techniques, you have to join the department. It's because you are from the Genin Corps department. Genin from there are considered weaker. And Fūinjutsu is not only difficult but also a complex ninja art.
So they would not believe that a Genin from there can learn sealing techniques by themselves. So, unless you join the Sealing Department and learn directly from there, you might not get any scrolls of sealing techniques."
Kaiji listened to him, nodded in understanding, and thought, 'So that's the reason, huh? I was confused about why Akane from the Medical Department gave me Medical Ninjutsu scrolls.
Maybe it's because they are difficult, not complex like Fūinjutsu, or maybe Akane is just a nice medical-nin and that Chūnin from the Sealing Department is a jerk.'
"Well, if you want to learn sealing techniques, I can have and give you a few scrolls," Takeshi said to Kaiji.
"But for that, you first have to learn the basics of Fūinjutsu. As Reeku-san said, Fūinjutsu is not only difficult but also a complex ninja art. Without good understanding and talent, it's hard to learn that."
Kaiji nodded and said, "I have already learned the basics."
Then Kaiji took Takeshi's hand, put a sealing design on it with chakra, and then took Takeshi's other hand, putting the same sealing design.
With attractive force, both of Takeshi's hands slammed and stuck together as if tightly glued.
Takeshi's eyes widened.
He had to use more force just to pull his hands apart from each other.
Reeku was also surprised and muttered, "Temporary Adhesion Technique, huh?"
Kaiji heard him and said, "Yes, this is a low-level sealing technique I learned while learning the basics of Fūinjutsu."
Takeshi nodded and said, "Well, that's good, I will definitely give you sealing technique scrolls. But know one thing , I myself can also provide you some basic but mid-level ones."
Kaiji bowed and said, "Thank you, Takeshi-sensei, for your help."
Takeshi waved his hand and said, "Oh, no, no, you were my student, and I am more than happy to help you grow."
...
Later, everyone went back to Kohaku's house, sat, and chatted.
Ren then asked Reeku, "Sensei, what was that Fire Release Jutsu that Ryū used? You said you would tell us..."
Maki spoke eagerly before Reeku could say anything, "Let me tell you, that's actually a Fire Release Jutsu series created by Pakura-sensei a few years back. She's a genius, you know."
Reeku smiled off Maki's fangirling over her sensei Pakura and added, "As you know that she is famously known as Pakura of Scorch Release, right? This Fire Release Jutsu she created when she was trying to create the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai..."
"Hm, Fire Release Jutsu 'Series'? What does that even mean...?" Kohaku asked.
Other's also confused.
Kaiji mused, 'Series Jutsu? Is it similar to the Third Raikage's Hell Stab, Jigokuzuki, which also has different forms based on the number of fingers used...'
"It's called Series Jutsu because as the fingers used in this Jutsu decrease, the power output increases, making different forms." Reeku replied.
"The one Ryū used is a D-rank version, 'Four-Finger Flare Jutsu.' There are C-rank, then B-rank, and at last, an A-rank version."
Kaiji thought, 'Oh, so it's indeed similar to the Third Raikage's Lightning Spear. But since it's Fire Release, not Lightning Release, its applications are more like Bazz-B's Burner Finger Technique.'
Maki said, still enthusiastically praising her sensei, "Yeah, Pakura-sensei is a genius, you kno..."
Kaiji cut her off and asked, "But why aren't they in the village's Library Archive? You said she created them a few years back, but I never heard of them?"
Maki glared at Kaiji for interrupting her, but didn't say anything.
Others also nodded and looked at Reeku, who replied, "Because this actually is a dangerous Jutsu. Only D-rank and C-rank ones can be learned by anyone. But higher ones are very dangerous and difficult to learn."
"They need a pure affinity for Fire Release Chakra and higher Chakra Control, which not everyone can have." Reeku added.
"So Kazekage-sama let Pakura-san teach these only those she deems worthy of them, and not put these Jutsu as general Ninjutsu."
Ryū then said, "But Sensei actually taught all of us in the team. Maki and Renji also can use Four-Finger Flare and learning Three-Finger Burst Jutsu..."
Everyone nodded and continued to chat while eating.
Once evening descended and the sun went down, coloring the sky orange shades, everyone went their own ways.
•••