[Bond] Ch 8: The Ultimate Social Butterfly

— — — — — — — 

"Just a birthday present, is it really worth making a special trip?" muttered Shimura Yami, but he still opened the wooden box.

Inside lay a katana, its slender blade gleaming with a cold light, as if it could slice through anything with ease. The hilt had a texture resembling snake scales, enhancing its grip.

Yami's eyes widened. "This is... the Kusanagi Sword?"

"That's right." Shimura Danzo, though maintaining his usual stern expression, couldn't hide his satisfaction. "Orochimaru heard it was your birthday and asked me to give this to you. Consider it a gift from both of us."

Yami: "..."

Yeah, right. Like Orochimaru would just kindly give me the Kusanagi Sword.

If he didn't already know what kind of person Orochimaru was, he might've believed it.

Still, he felt touched.

Yami understood that getting this sword meant Danzo had either threatened Orochimaru or made a significant trade. Either way, the cost was definitely high.

Say what you will about how Danzo treats others, but when it comes to him, there were no ulterior motives—just genuine care.

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Danzo was stunned.

That was... the first time Yami had ever called him "Grandpa," wasn't it?

[Ding!]

[Bond with Shimura Danzo has reached Stage 3 (Final Level).]

[Reward: 1 Standard Jonin Chakra, Special Talent 'Shadow of the Shinobi World.']

[Shadow of the Shinobi World: The host can hide within any shadow, with concealment on par with the Mayfly Technique.]

Yami was taken aback.

He just called him Grandpa once, and their bond maxed out?

The two stared at each other for a moment before Danzo broke the awkward silence with a fake cough. "It's getting late. Yami, go rest. You have school tomorrow. Remember—never lose to the Uchiha."

"Oh." Yami nodded, carrying the box with the sword back to his room.

At the same time, he made a decision.

Dying on a collapsing bridge was way too embarrassing. Once he grew up a bit more, he was taking over Root. The old man could just stay home and enjoy his retirement.

Sitting on his bed, Yami played around with the Kusanagi Sword for a while before taking stock of the day's gains.

---

[Name: Shimura Yami]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 6]

[Date of Birth: April 1, Konoha Year 46]

[Chakra Attributes: Fire (Genius), Wind (Genius), Yang (Excellent), Earth (Good), Yin (Genius)]

[Chakra Reserve: 1.1 Standard Jonin Chakra]

[Chakra Control Talent: Genius]

[Mastered Jutsu: Three Basic Jutsu (Proficient), Wind Release: Great Breakthrough (Basic), Fire Release: Blazing Meteors (Basic)]

[Nature Transformation: Wind Chakra (Mastered)]

[Special Talents: Hopes of a Father, Mother's Love, Senju Bloodline (Thin, Developing), Swordsmanship Prodigy, Stealth Mastery, 1v7 Combat Genius, Shadow of the Shinobi World, Mother-in-Law's Blessing,...]

(A/N: Expert Dango Maker & Fan Crafting Beginner are in hidden mode.)

---

Yami felt his progress was insane.

Before leaving the house, he was just a talented Ninja Academy student.

Now, his chakra levels were on par with a Jonin, he had gained two additional chakra attributes, and he had unlocked two new special talents.

Earth chakra wasn't worth mentioning—if any of his talents wasn't at the "genius" level, he wasn't even interested in training it.

But Yin chakra... That was a big deal.

Yin chakra was closely tied to genjutsu and other mental abilities, representing spiritual energy and the power to create form out of nothing.

The Nara Clan's shadow techniques and the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu were both Yin-based. It was an extremely tricky attribute to deal with.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was also deeply connected to Yin chakra.

Since he was highly likely to unlock a Sharingan-related bond in the future, strengthening his Yin chakra now was going to be crucial.

However...

Yami glanced at the box containing the Kusanagi Sword.

Right now, what he needed to train most was swordsmanship. Combined with his incredibly powerful wind chakra, his cutting ability would rival high-level ninjutsu.

That said... one unit of standard Jonin-level chakra...

Yami took a moment to gauge it. It was about fifty times the amount a standard Genin had and five times that of a Chunin.

Still, it hadn't reached the ninja world's universal measurement—the "Kakashi standard."

Which made sense. Even though Kakashi couldn't turn off his Sharingan and constantly drained chakra, he was still a genius of Konoha. His chakra reserves couldn't possibly be at the absolute bare minimum for a Jonin.

"Time to grind some bonds—especially Stage 2 and Stage 3 rewards. Those would skyrocket my power."

Yami set his goal: Become the ultimate "social butterfly" of the ninja world, forming bonds with everyone.

By then, even if the Sage of Six Paths himself came back to life, he wouldn't be a match.

— — —

The next day, Yami attended class as usual.

After yesterday's stunt with the exploding tag, his name had spread across other grades. Once people started recognizing him and he learned their names, the initial lovely bonds were formed.

After school, Yami took Izumi home and trained under Ebisu's guidance.

Although the tuition fee was only meant to cover one student, Ebisu didn't dare argue with the Shimura family and had no choice but to teach Izumi as well.

With the "Mother-in-Law's Blessing" talent boosting his progress—and the added bonus of Itachi's combat talent—Yami's rapid improvement left Ebisu completely shocked. His proficiency in Konoha's basic taijutsu was already above that of most newly graduated Genin.

At this rate, Ebisu might be out of a job soon.

For a moment, he felt a mix of anxiety and pride.

Meanwhile, Izumi, unburdened by such adult concerns, simply looked at Yami with wide, sparkling eyes full of admiration.

"Yami is so amazing. The strength he showed at school is just the tip of the iceberg."

"I have to work hard too—I can't afford to fall too far behind!"

.

.

.