20 New Ideas

Still at Ichiraku Ramen.

Kaito had lost count of how many ramen bowls he, Ryuji, and they had eaten. On the other hand, the girls had already finished their ramen and were just chatting.

"Man, I'm starting to feel full, how about you, Ryuji?" Kaito asked as he finished another bowl of ramen.

"I'm definitely full, there's no room left in here," Ryuji replied, patting his now-enormous belly.

Hikari and Ino stopped their conversation and looked at the two of them.

"Finally, huh? I thought you guys were going to eat Ichiraku's entire stock," Hikari said with a sarcastic tone.

On the other hand, Ino didn't comment and just observed.

"Well, now that you've eaten, I think it's time to go, don't you, Ryuji?" Hikari said as she elbowed Ryuji.

Ryuji quickly understood Hikari's intentions.

"Yeah, let's go. We have something to take care of," he replied.

Saying this, he and Hikari got up and started to say their goodbyes.

"But already, Hikari?" Ino said hurriedly.

"Yeah, I remembered that I still need to stop by the library to borrow some books, but you can stay and chat here," Hikari said as she pulled Ryuji away.

Kaito sighed again; Hikari and Ryuji's actions were so obvious.

"So, it's just us left here, Ino. Do you still want to eat something?" Kaito asked.

"No, thank you. I've eaten enough," Ino politely declined.

A silence fell between the two of them again.

"I think it's time for me to go as well. It was really nice talking to you, Kaito. You can invite me over for food or a chat anytime you want," Ino said with a slight smile, to which Kaito agreed while looking at her.

"Alright, Ino, can I walk you home?"

"Sure, that would be nice, actually," Ino nodded and got up.

Kaito then paid the bill and also stood up. The two of them started walking through the streets of Konoha, chatting along the way. Sometimes Ino would smile slightly at something Kaito was saying, and other times, it was Kaito who would smile. Without realizing it, they had already arrived in front of Ino's house.

"Well, thank you for walking me home, Kaito. I'll see you again sometime. Take care."

"Sure, we'll meet again another time. Goodbye, Ino," Kaito and Ino bid farewell to each other.

Kaito turned around and began walking through the streets.

'Ino seems to really like me, but I'm not interested in her at this age. Maybe a few years down the line, she might be able to win my heart. Well, it's still early; I think I'll head into the forest to practice.' After reflecting for a while, Kaito turned around and walked toward Konoha's forest.

Meanwhile, Ino watched Kaito's back as he walked away.

...

On a random street in Konoha.

Haruki was heading back to his house after visiting the Hokage's office when he saw Kaito walking between the buildings and heading toward the forest.

'What is he up to?' Haruki wondered and decided to follow Kaito to see what he would do in the forest.

...

Kaito entered the forest, searching for a suitable training spot.

A few minutes passed as he searched for the ideal location, and finally, he found it: a small lake surrounded by many trees, perfect for training.

Whoosh!

Kaito appeared on top of the lake.

Without wasting any time, Kaito began his training.

"Hyouton no jutsu. Multiple Ice Bullets Jutsu," Kaito then expelled a barrage of ice fragments that flew at high speed and hit a tree.

The tree was pierced by several ice bullets, leaving dozens of holes in its trunk and several layers of ice where they struck.

'Hehe, I have an idea'. Kaito thought. He crossed his fingers and said, "Domination."

The lake beneath his feet began to freeze, but the freezing progress was slow because chakra had to travel from his body to his feet in the wind element, which was highly inefficient.

After some thought, Kaito crouched down and placed his hand in the water, which proved to be much more efficient. However, it still lacked something, and despite being faster, it left him vulnerable, signaling his actions.

'I think I know what's missing.'Kaito had a moment of insight.

Taking his katana from the sealing scroll, Kaito began to coat it with chakra. It was a bit challenging at first, but Kaito quickly learned how to do it, and soon, his katana was entirely covered in chakra.

'First step completed. Now, let's move on to the second step.' Kaito then began to transform his chakra into ice, covering his sword with a nearly transparent layer of ice.

'Ready, second step completed. Now, for the third and final step'.Kaito placed the tip of his sword in the water.

"Domination, First Form," ice continuously flowed from his sword, rapidly freezing the lake he was on.

'Now that's more like it. The speed has increased, and it's much more viable than putting my hand on the ground in a fight, and it's far more impactful too, hahaha. But I believe with training, I can achieve the same without even moving' Kaito laughed cheerfully.

"Now, let's go," Kaito began to attack with his katana. With each swing of his weapon, ice spikes emerged from the ground toward the point where his katana cut.

"Let's try something else," Kaito stopped moving.

"Ice Hand!" A massive ice hand formed in front of him, and Kaito swung his arm, making the ice hand mimic his movements.

As Kaito was about to test more maneuvers, he realized that his chakra reserves were low, so he decided to stop and rest.

...

One minute earlier.

'This darn kid came here to train in secret.' Haruki sighed as he watched Kaito jump over the water.

Haruki observed as Kaito began his training until he started using his Kekkei Genkai.

Haruki was surprised by Kaito's power.

'That 'domination' he mentioned has quite some strength. If he were to face an opponent and use this 'domination,' there's an 80% chance he'd win. Of course, that's if the opponent is a Chunin. Against a Genin, it would be a guaranteed victory. And this seems to be just the basics; there's probably a lot more to it.'

'Now, I think I'll give him a little scare, hehehe.' Haruki smiled as he watched Kaito take a break.

...

Kaito leaned against a tree to rest and began to think about his "domination."

'The first form is alright; it lacks range, but that's because of my chakra. It could still be a trump card, but I have many ideas to implement in my 'domination' Kaito sighed and tried to relax completely.

Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!

Right at that moment, three kunai came at high speed and hit a tree right beside his face. Kaito's heart raced; he barely saw those kunai coming.

Quickly getting up and going on high alert, Kaito searched his surroundings but found no one.

Kaito took out his katana again and assumed a combat stance.

Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!

Three more kunai came in his direction, and this time, Kaito managed to figure out where they came from.

Trin! Trin! Trin!

Kaito used his katana to change the direction of the kunai, causing them to embed deep into the trees.

"Show yourself! Let's have a face-to-face fight!" Kaito shouted as he continued to look around with a vigilant gaze.

At that moment, a bush started to rustle, making Kaito tense up.

A man with green hair emerged from the bush.

"Hahaha, you should have seen your face, kid; you looked like you were about to wet your pants," Haruki began to tease.

Kaito quickly felt relieved and surprised; he didn't expect his father to show up here.

"What 'scared' look? I was demonstrating vulnerability to catch the enemy off guard. Ruuuum," Kaito tried to argue.

Haruki didn't buy into Kaito's nonsense.

"Well, how about taking advantage of the fact that we're here and doing a bit of training?"

"That's a good idea," Kaito's eyes lit up.

"Get ready, then," Haruki drew his katana, while Kaito prepared himself.

Haruki advanced toward Kaito and struck, watching his father's attack, Kaito decided to dodge to the left.

Taking advantage of his successful evasion, Kaito counterattacked, delivering a strong horizontal strike that forced Haruki to duck to avoid it. Haruki smiled at Kaito and attacked from that lowered position. His sword swiftly moved toward Kaito's neck, and Kaito was still in the midst of his attack, unable to block with his own sword.

Kaito created an ice shield in front of his hand, successfully blocking Haruki's attack. Smiling at his father, Kaito attacked again with his katana, targeting his father who was still crouched down.

Haruki tried to pull his weapon to defend against the attack, but he found himself in a difficult position because the ice shield had trapped his sword.

'Smart little brat.' Haruki thought as he withdrew his second katana to defend.

"Now the show begins," Haruki said as he began his sequence of attacks on Kaito, unleashing a flurry of strikes. Kaito struggled to defend himself, at times using his katana or his ice shield, yet he was still under heavy pressure.

'Damn, he's not giving me any openings.' Kaito thought as he faced his father's relentless assault.

Whoosh!

At that moment, his father disappeared from his view, and Kaito felt a chill down his spine.

Without even looking back, Kaito rolled forward, but he still felt his hair being cut.

Kaito then placed his hand on the ground, and several ice spikes shot up from the ground right beneath Haruki, who had to leap to evade them.

'Hehe, this is what I was waiting for,' making a hand seal, Kaito spat out several ice bullets.

Haruki cut down all the ice bullets that came his way, but right at that moment, Kaito appeared beneath his location.

Kaito then infused his katana with ice chakra, causing it to grow in size. It was now a nearly transparent blade that extended to 2 meters, attacking Haruki, who was taken aback. He hadn't expected his son to use it in this manner.

Haruki defended himself with both of his katanas. Seeing this, Kaito wondered when his father had retrieved the second katana.

Kaito's attack sent Haruki crashing to the ground, and upon touching the ground, Haruki felt something wet. He was thrown towards the lake.

Kaito smiled, and a giant ice hand captured Haruki.

"You got me, son, hahaha," Haruki smiled.

"Haha, you're taking it easy on me, Dad," Kaito then clenched his fist, and the ice hand did the same.

Crack!

A loud cracking sound echoed, but all that was in the giant ice hand was a broken log.

Haruki then pursued Kaito with a katana pointed at his neck.

"You fought well, son; you've definitely grown. Let's finish here for today," he said, sheathing his weapons.

"I had an excellent teacher in ninjutsu and kenjutsu," Kaito said proudly.

Haruki ruffled Kaito's hair, causing him to remember something.

"You nearly changed my haircut, Dad," Kaito joked.

"Hahahaha, I was aiming for your neck," Haruki laughed.

"That's not a joke, man," Kaito protested.

"It sounded good to me."

"Let's head home now; I'm starving," Haruki said as he walked towards their house.

"Great, I'm famished," Kaito's eyes gleamed as he followed his father.