So far, Mikami Yuu's "harem group" had grown to fifteen members.
He also had a dozen or so skins.
As for Fire Release, it was more or less complete. With two max-affection techniques, Great Fireball and Phoenix Sage Fire, plus their skins and variations, Yuu's Fire Release mastery was enough to look down on all of Konoha. Aside from a few Kage-level figures, few people could surpass him.
If he wanted to expand his Fire Release repertoire further, then in Yuu's opinion, only techniques like Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, Dragon Flame Release Song, Great Fire Annihilation, and Dust Concealment were worth learning. Everything else would be hard-pressed to bring him a major increase in strength.
For close combat, the combination of Hatake Swordsmanship, Monster Strength, Cell Activation Technique, and Shadow Prison Phantom Kill Formation was gradually taking shape. If he maxed all of these out, Yuu could briefly unleash three to five times his normal strength.
In that state, an ordinary jōnin would have a hard time surviving one slash from him. As for Kage-level opponents, it would depend on the situation; if their reaction speed wasn't fast enough, they would also be in trouble.
In addition, although progress with the Eight Gates was relatively slow, it had now unlocked the first-stage trait at 25 affection, allowing Yuu to open two or three gates.
In that case…
"The main task for the next stage is to raise the average affection of all techniques above 50 and increase my constitution."
Yuu thought.
After all, chakra quantity was the foundation of all techniques.
If an ordinary Hyūga clan member possessed Ten-Tails-level chakra, then a casual Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm would be equivalent to Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack. Although raising his chakra to tailed-beast level through the galgame system would be difficult, Yuu figured getting a few Kakashis' worth should be no problem.
At that point, he could start focusing on Water Release, which required more chakra intensity.
Yuu estimated that once the number of max-affection Water and Fire Release techniques was high enough, it should unlock a new Bond. He just wasn't sure exactly how many were needed.
He could explore that later.
And then there was…
"Cell Activation Technique works pretty well, but the 45-second duration is really too short. I need to find a way to piece it together further… I wonder if Pakura's blood samples and complete data set are enough to exchange another 'arm' from Orochimaru…"
"As for sealing arts, I should find a chance to ask Minato or Kushina…"
In theory, most of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques should belong to the same system, which meant they could be treated as skins for Binding Formula Seal. So as long as Yuu raised its affection to the stage where he could give gifts, he could learn one and understand many.
"And Transparent Escape… I'll unlock its trait first and see."
…
A full day passed slowly in training.
During this time, Yuu even tried Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson.
Mm… to put it simply, this technique combined Phoenix Sage Fire Technique with shuriken throwing. The principle wasn't too difficult, and simply combining the two was easy, but to bring out both their strengths required excellent dynamic vision.
Under normal circumstances, only Uchiha clan members and a small number of exceptionally gifted people could use this ninjutsu well. But now, Yuu wanted to try using Cell Activation Technique with it.
Only when the sun was setting
did Yuu slowly finish his practice, wipe the sweat from his forehead, collect all the kunai and shuriken scattered around him, and head back toward the residential district.
After returning home,
Yuu first took a bath and changed into clean, refreshing clothes.
At that moment, Mikami Tajima and Mikami Aoi also returned together from outside.
"Huh, Yuu-chan is already home? Hurry and get ready. We're going to eat with Hiroshi and the others later. Don't keep them waiting."
"Okay."
Soon,
the Mikami family of three and the neighboring Nohara family of three met in front of their homes, then headed to Yakiniku Q together. Compared with yesterday, Rin had clearly dressed up a little too. She wore a simple, elegant, light-colored kimono. When she saw Yuu, she waved gently, her eyes curving into crescents.
Along the way,
the two families chatted and laughed, talking about their recent situations.
Yuu and Rin walked side by side at the back.
When they arrived at Yakiniku Q,
Nohara Hiroshi took out the meal voucher he had reserved in advance. Under the server's guidance, they came to a corner of the shop. He greeted Yuu and the others to sit, then waved with heroic generosity.
"Ten plates of premium beef belly first! Five plates of pork tenderloin! And some assorted vegetables too! We're happy today, so everyone eat as much as you like!"
"Coming right up!"
The server cheerfully agreed.
Mikami Tajima coughed lightly. "Hiroshi, isn't that a little too much?"
"It's fine. There are so many of us. Surely we can finish this much, right? Besides, Yuu and Rin are both still growing. They need to eat more. Otherwise, how will they have the strength to go to the battlefield and kill enemies?"
Nohara Hiroshi laughed loudly.
Just as the server began bringing out the meat and the charcoal grill started sizzling,
the curtain at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant was lifted again. This time, a father and daughter came in.
The father was tall and serious-looking, around his thirties by appearance. The daughter had naturally curly black hair, fair and delicate features, and lively red eyes. After glancing around the shop, she quickly noticed the table where Yuu and the others were sitting.
"Huh, Yuu, Rin? You're here too! What a coincidence!"
"…It's Kurenai."
Yuu and Rin looked up at the sound and almost immediately recognized her. It was Yūhi Kurenai, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, along with her father, Yūhi Shinku.
Mm… speaking of which, this family's names were rather interesting. He wondered if Kurenai's grandfather was named "Yūhi Tokubeni."
Also, although they had known each other for a long time, Yuu had only rarely seen Yūhi Shinku. He seemed to have appeared during the Ninja Academy graduation, but Yuu had been called away by Sarutobi Hiruzen to learn ninjutsu at the time, so he hadn't paid attention.
Nohara Hiroshi seemed to recognize him too and quickly stood to greet him.
"Huh, Jōnin Shinku, you're here for dinner too? What a coincidence! Why not share a table? It'll be livelier. What do you think, Tajima?"
"He's one of the village's jōnin, and also the father of Yuu and Rin's classmate? Of course there's no problem."
Mikami Tajima did not know Yūhi Shinku and his daughter, but he immediately nodded.
Yūhi Shinku hesitated briefly, then gave a slight nod.
"Then pardon the intrusion."
And so,
the six people at the table became eight.
After Kurenai greeted the adults, she did not sit together with her father, Yūhi Shinku. Instead, after hesitating slightly, she walked to the empty seat beside Mikami Yuu and sat next to him. Together with Rin, they flanked Yuu on the left and right, surrounding him in the middle.
Yūhi Shinku: "?"
~~~
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