"Hahaha, your students are pretty excited. Looks like I'll have to get serious!"
In the next moment, the attacker shouted in an exaggerated tone, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Snakes shot out from her sleeves, lunging toward Yahiko.
Yahiko didn't hold back. In the blink of an eye, he completed his hand seals, and flames surged from his mouth, curling inward to form a massive fireball.
"What?"
Sasuke couldn't stay calm anymore. His eyes widened in shock—he hadn't expected Yahiko to be able to use the Great Fireball Technique.
Just as he was still surprised, he noticed that before the fireball reached its maximum power, Yahiko abruptly cut off the flames.
He didn't understand.
But the next second, Sasuke did.
The attack hadn't hit at all!
And more than that, Yahiko probably hadn't expected it to land in the first place.
As he was thinking this, he saw Yahiko form hand seals mid-air, creating a Shadow Clone.
Then, grabbing the clone, Yahiko flung it to the side, sending it around the fireball to charge at Anko Mitarashi from the flank.
Having just moved around the fireball, Anko raised her hand to use Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, but her expression suddenly changed as she sensed a powerful surge of chakra.
Startled, she immediately retreated.
Then—
Bang!
The Shadow Clone exploded like sparks in the air.
But that was all it was—sparks.
The anticipated violent explosion never came. The clone scattered into flickering motes of unstable light before dissolving into nothingness.
"Anko, interrupting someone's class like this isn't very appropriate, is it?"
Yahiko lowered his hands, sounding somewhat helpless.
Anko Mitarashi also withdrew, pretending she hadn't embarrassed herself, and laughed. "I heard from Hayate that you've improved a lot, especially your taijutsu. I couldn't resist testing you out…"
In the next moment, she turned to the students and waved casually.
"See? Didn't I just give everyone a practical taijutsu lesson?"
"…."
Yahiko sighed helplessly.
Anko Mitarashi had been his classmate back at the academy.
As for their relationship…
More like training acquaintances?
They would occasionally run into each other while jogging or working out, but beyond that, they weren't particularly close.
Still, in some ways, she was just like Naruto.
He sighed quietly and was about to speak when she waved him off with ease. "No need for a guest fee. Meet me at the school gate at noon—I've got something important to talk about."
With that, Anko disappeared using the Body Flicker Technique.
She came quickly and left just as fast.
Yahiko stood there, momentarily speechless, before turning to Sasuke and the others and clearing his throat. "That was a former classmate of mine…"
He sighed.
"Forget about her. Let's continue with today's taijutsu training…"
"Sensei!"
Sasuke raised his hand.
Yahiko looked over and nodded slightly, signaling him to speak.
"Sensei, when you used the Great Fireball Technique earlier, did you hold back to control its power, or did you intentionally cut it short?"
"Sharp observation, Sasuke," Yahiko replied gently. "The Great Fireball is powerful, but it's too slow. Even at full strength, it wouldn't hit, so it's better to conserve chakra."
He smiled and added, "Unless you're certain it will hit, always hold back some strength. That way, you can adapt more flexibly…"
These were principles taught by 'Young Might Guy.'
Speed was an advantage, but relying on it too much in battle could become a weakness.
One of the key principles of taijutsu combat was—
Unless you could guarantee a hit, never commit all your strength, so you could adjust your moves more freely.
The students all fell into thought.
For them, who had never experienced real combat, power and destructive force equaled strength.
Even Sasuke, the top student, had thought the same way before.
But in this exchange, neither Yahiko nor the other chunin had pursued overwhelming destructive power in their taijutsu and ninjutsu.
It was completely different from how students thought.
Shikamaru looked thoughtful.
Yahiko glanced at him and smiled. "Shikamaru, what do you think?"
"Huh?"
Shikamaru looked a bit confused.
After scratching his head, he said, "It feels like you didn't explain everything. This should be tactics for the information-gathering phase, right?"
"Tactics should adapt to the situation. They can't be rigid or fixed," Yahiko said with a smile. "For example, if my opponent were students like you, I wouldn't need to probe or hold back at all."
This wasn't the first time Shikamaru had heard something like this, so he didn't react much.
Being a ninja was such a hassle.
If possible, staying like this wouldn't be so bad.
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
As the son of Nara Shikaku, he knew he couldn't just take things easy.
He remained silent among the crowd.
Nearby, Ino was smiling brightly.
Sensei hadn't agreed that morning, but he was still paying attention to Shikamaru.
However…
Yahiko soon called on several other students as well, asking for their thoughts and discussing with them, showing no favoritism.
"Sensei is really fair and just!"
…
At noon, by the school gate.
Anko Mitarashi stood there with a blade of grass in her mouth, like a guard.
After waiting for a while, she clicked her tongue. "Tch, why isn't he here yet? Don't tell me he ran off."
Just as she was about to go inside—
"I thought you were always busy. You actually have time today to come find me?"
Yahiko's voice came from behind her.
Anko grinned and raised her hand, patting his shoulder. "It's nothing big, just hanging out."
"Really?" Yahiko smiled gently. "I don't believe you."
"Tch… don't you trust me at all?" Anko pouted, then threw an arm over his shoulder, leaning in without any sense of distance. "Come on, come on, my treat!"
She dragged Yahiko to a dango shop, ordered Mitarashi dango and red bean soup, and sat down to enjoy the food happily.
Yahiko wasn't fond of sweets, but he still ate slowly with proper manners.
After eating a bit, Anko finally spoke with a grin. "My team's short on people. You're pretty strong—interested in joining my team?"
"No interest."
Yahiko rested his chin on one hand. He wasn't brushing her off either. After taking a sip of soup, he continued, "Being a teacher is nice. My talent is average, so slowly researching and figuring things out suits me better."
"Really no interest?" Anko frowned slightly, then lowered her voice. "What about ANBU?"
Hmm?
Yahiko looked up sharply, then shook his head.
"I'll stick to being a teacher."
The hand holding the soup bowl froze mid-air.
"The future of Konoha lies with its students, its children. There are a few promising ones in this batch. If they can be nurtured well, their impact will be greater than mine as a single chunin."
He spoke with complete sincerity.
Anko froze mid-bite, staring at Yahiko in a daze.
"What's wrong?" Yahiko asked, taking another sip of soup.
Had he… overdone the act?
Anko came back to her senses and shook her head lightly. "Nothing. Just… yeah, what you said makes sense."
She swallowed the dango, but deep down, she didn't agree.
Kanzaki Yahiko…
To be honest, Anko didn't remember much from their academy days. She only remembered that he had once wanted to become a powerful ninja.
After the Nine-Tails incident, Yahiko had trained tirelessly every day, running and working hard, which left a deep impression on her.
That was why, after hearing Hayate's report, she had impulsively come to test him at the academy.
But now…
He felt unfamiliar to her.