Chapter 36: Not Again

I’ll spare you guys from the nightmares, be grateful.

Yujin hadn’t planned on eating before, but he invited Duy to dinner; Ramen. After sitting down and choosing their meals, Yujin turned to Duy and spoke.

“I’ve been curious about you for a few days. You train every day, quite admirable.”

Duy smiled upon hearing that and replied in a slightly louder voice than usual.

“I need to put in the effort if I want to get somewhere. I don’t have as much talent as others.”

“Hope you don’t mind, I asked Tsunade about you.”

Duy nodded as if he didn’t mind at all and commented.

“I’ve been curious about you too. I don’t feel ... Wait. Now I’m sensing your Chakra.”

He raised his head and looked confused at Yujin. Duy had heard about Yujin from friends, an outsider who came to the village with Tsunade. He usually didn’t care about such gossip, but occasionally some news reached him, and this was one of them.

One day, during his training, he spotted Yujin in the distance, and the two briefly locked eyes. Duy felt a strength within him, a kind of strength he had never felt before. At the same time, he also noticed that Yujin seemed like a civilian, which was incongruent with his strenght.

Since then, he had been curious.

“I recently acquired Chakra, an unusual case, I must say.”

Duy squinted his eyes upon hearing this, but after a few seconds, he sighed and asked.

“You didn’t invite me to eat just because you’re interested in my training routine, I believe.”

“No, I wanted to ask you something.”

Duy waved his hand again, feeling that Yujin’s politeness was a bit awkward.

“You’re the only ninja in the village who can’t use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. In return, you’re a Taijutsu specialist. I admire that ... As you know, I didn’t have Chakra, but I was already strong before obtaining it, as you noticed that day.”

Seeing Duy nodding in agreement, Yujin continued.

“That’s because I train something different from Chakra, called Qi. It’s an energy similar to Chakra but with different properties. For someone like you who has issues with Chakra, I suppose learning Qi from me would be interesting, what do you think?”

Duy became curious about Qi, especially when reminded of the struggles he went through to use Chakra. Yujin continued when he saw Duy contemplating.

“Qi training is called Martial Arts, and it’s quite similar to Taijutsu, so I believe you’ll pick it up quickly. Unlike Chakra, Qi can be accumulated over time and diligence. You’re not limited by your body’s potential.”

Yujin knew exactly what to say to pique Duy’s curiosity, and it worked. He was a bit resistant to the idea since he had been training with Chakra for over ten years, so starting something new, especially when he hadn’t mastered the old one, seemed strange to him. However, Yujin knew how to convince. At the same time, he also thought it wouldn’t hurt to learn. If he didn’t like it, he could always stop Martial Arts training and go back to training his Eight Gates.

“Alright, Yujin. I can feel your sincerity, and I’m curious. When do I start?”

Yujin smiled, seeing how eager Duy was to learn, but managed to convince him to meet him an hour before sunrise the next day.

The two spent the rest of the time casually chatting about their training routines while eating. In the end, Yujin returned home to rest.

Arriving home, he wiped himself with a wet cloth and lay on the bed. He thought about the day, what he did. It was a long but interesting day.

The conversation with the Hokage was better than he expected. Although the man was clearly paranoid, Yujin couldn’t judge, as he led a nation of ninja experts in disguises, assassinations, information gathering, and espionage. If the leader of this group wasn’t the most suspicious man in the village, he would find it strange that the village was still standing.

Of course, it was annoying to receive suspicion. He also didn’t like the little test the man did by attacking him suddenly.

After thinking for a while, he picked up a book to read. It had become a habit for Yujin to read a book before bedtime. Especially now that he had a new book.

This was a new book from that cursed shelf, called “Between the Sheets.” It looked a bit like the novels Yujin had read before.

A man meets a woman in a bar, they talk, arrange to meet days later for a date. Each had their problems. The man had just come out of a difficult relationship, and the woman was having trouble at work; her boss constantly harassed her.

They went on a date and enjoyed each other’s company. At first, they didn’t talk much about their problems, but as they saw each other more often, they began to confide in each other.

On the fifth date, they slept together for the first time, and Yujin read attentively. A series of sexual scenes later, the man seemed happy and satisfied with life, hopeful for a better future. He had finally overcome his ex-girlfriend and was happy in his new relationship.

One day...