Red Nara

Leaving the house, I headed to the training ground set up behind the house, surrounded by dense shrubbery and ordinary trees. Stopping near the training dummies, I turned around and sized them up.

"This," I said, pointing at the wooden dummy, "is Shinobi Iwagakure, who possesses the ability to strengthen his body using Earth Release techniques. Moreover, he's faster, stronger, and has enough chakra reserves to withstand our jutsu, so fighting him will require taijutsu. What are your actions?"

"I'll use Katon or Raiton techniques before he gets to me," Sayo replied, shrugging incredulously.

Hmm, so she has fire and lightning in her arsenal... I wonder what I have?

"He won't give you time to use ninjutsu, as Iwa likes to set traps and attack from underground. Your actions?"

"I'll try to close the distance, and if that fails, I'll attempt to defend myself with weapons."

"Considering his superiority in strength and body resilience, that would almost guarantee defeat," I shook my head. "For the remaining months, you'll train to increase your speed."

"Why?" Sayo asked, utterly perplexed.

"I'll show you why."

Confiscating a kunai, I slashed at the dummy, leaving a long scratch on the tree.

"That's a kunai strike."

Returning the weapon, I struck again, this time with my fist, leaving a substantial dent from the knuckles in the wood.

"That's a chakra-enhanced strike."

Raising my palm as if holding a ball, I focused, and in an instant, a glowing orb of spinning chakra formed in my hand. Without hesitation, I struck the dummy, shattering it to pieces.

"And that's a Rasengan strike."

The profound astonishment that left Sayo speechless was the best reward for me! Seven months well spent! It was precisely to replicate this jutsu that I assigned another clone beyond the three already in daily use. After all, with the upcoming war and knowing my mother's stubbornness, it could be assumed she'd return to service despite any persuasions.

So, it's better to give her a small advantage at close range, considering that the Naras traditionally aren't particularly strong in close combat. That's right, forget Minato, this is the real Rasengan! If I'm not mistaken, it'll be another ten or fifteen years before he creates this technique, if not more, so whoever gets there first wins.

And I don't care if it's plagiarism — if I knew how to use Hirashin, I'd have 'invented' that too!

"W-what was that, Ryu-kun?" Sayo recovered from shock after a couple of minutes.

"That was a Rasengan — a close combat technique capable of pulverizing not only wood but also practically any strength of stone in an instant. I created it myself!" I grinned, yeah, created! "And now you'll learn to use it. Since this jutsu can only be used up close, you'll need considerable speed to prevent the enemy from dodging. Also, the creation time should be no more than one second, ideally even less..."

I didn't get to finish because I was suddenly being embraced, squeezed, and kissed in the most banal way possible.

"My little genius! Just think, my son, at not even eight years old, created such a powerful technique!"

Huh... who would've thought my mom could still squeal happily like a girl — I definitely wouldn't have believed it. I wonder, is creating a technique really such a big deal? Although, if Kakashi was considered a genius just for creating Raikiri and Chidori, then maybe it is a significant achievement.

Hah, I could even stir up some trouble with them since the one-eyed cyclops and duck butt, who are responsible for creating and further developing these Lightning Release techniques, haven't even appeared yet!

"By the way, it's purely chakra manipulation, so the Uchihas won't be able to steal Rasengan," I informed, escaping from the overly excited embrace of Sayo. "And I'm not a genius, I'm just smart."

"Ryu, I haven't heard of any shinobi who created techniques at such a young age," mom said seriously. "And just that alone will elevate our clan in the eyes of all other shinobi."

"Well, and if she calls me a genius, the Hokage herself might suddenly decide that I should enter the academy, and with my abilities, I'll finish it in a couple of years and smoothly go to war at eleven-twelve years old to prove my genius," I grimaced.

"And don't you want to enter the academy?" Sayo was surprised. "Just turning eight would be a good time, especially considering that the Senju are now seriously taking up training."

"No, thanks, I plan to train in the clan until I'm eleven, and then enroll in the final year to meet other clan kids besides ours, Akimichi, and Yamanaka," I shook my head. "Considering my internship at the hospital and other training, I simply won't have time for the academy. Besides, it's only the heirs who need to establish strong connections among other clans, and I don't really need that. Our allies are enough."