Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 30 30 : Ask Uzuki Yuugao About Swordsmanship

Riku laughed. "Pakkun, what do you think would happen if word got out that I killed a Jōnin today?"

Pakkun squinted. Upon hearing Riku's words, he half-opened one eye and thought for a mont. "It'd probably cause a lot of trouble for you. Otherwise, Kakashi wouldn't have left by your side this whole ti."

"But don't worry. With his skill, he'll take care of it."

Riku sighed. "Maybe I really shouldn't have followed her today. But you know what? Because I did, I got to witness ANBU swordsmanship. It's an incredibly powerful style. It's a sha, though—she couldn't bring out its full potential with her current strength."

"I used that sword technique to kill the Jōnin. If I hadn't learned it, I don't think I could've taken him down so easily."

Had he relied on ninjutsu alone, Riku wouldn't have been able to kill a Jōnin so easily.

Pakkun frowned. "Swordsmanship? Uzuki Yuugao's kenjutsu is good, but… she taught you?"

Riku laughed. "So her na is Uzuki Yuugao. No, she didn't teach . I watched her use it when she fought that ninja—I picked it up just by observing."

"If she had used the sa force I did back then, she probably could've killed that enemy without my help."

Pakkun was stunned. "You're telling … you copied Uzuki Yuugao's technique just by watching her use it in battle?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. Why's that so strange?"

Pakkun's canine mouth twitched. "It's not that strange, I guess. Kakashi did say your talent surpasses his."

"I didn't believe it much before, but now? Yeah, I believe it."

"It's honestly kind of ridiculous."

"But that's exactly why he's so cautious. Today was the most anxious I've ever seen him. Maybe he really does see you as his student."

"He's never even done this much for Guy."

Riku smiled faintly. "Maybe he just doesn't want to end up like him."

"I've always understood him, actually."

Pakkun was still reeling—even though Kakashi had told him about Riku before, he hadn't expected this level of talent.

To master a sword technique after watching it just once...

No wonder Kakashi was so serious about him.

Riku wasn't surprised when no one ca to question him that night.

He'd spent the night sleeping in the corridor, expecting soone to show up—but morning ca and no one did.

When he woke up the next day, Riku smiled. "Looks like Kakashi-sensei handled it well."

He went to the Ninja Academy as usual.

While sitting in class, Riku kept thinking that soone might burst in at any mont to drag him off for questioning.

But from the ti class started to when it ended, nothing unusual happened.

Sitting at his desk, Riku let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Seems like it's over. I wonder how Kakashi managed it."

anwhile, Ino and Hinata were eyeing Pakkun with great curiosity.

After school, Pakkun stayed tucked inside Riku's bag.

Ino and Hinata walked beside him, both sneaking glances at the dog.

"Riku-kun, do you like dogs?" Hinata asked softly.

Ino giggled. "Yeah, Riku-kun, if you want a dog, you should've gone to Kiba's clan to pick one! Why'd you choose such an ugly one?"

The two girls leaned in and ruffled Pakkun's fur. Ino in particular looked baffled by Riku's taste.

Seeing Pakkun's increasingly grumpy expression, Riku gently batted their hands away. "Don't be rude. Pakkun's a ninja dog—way stronger than an ordinary one."

Ino and Hinata looked even more curious.

"A ninja dog? I guess Akamaru is one too. But Akamaru is so cute... why is this one so ugly?" Ino said bluntly.

Pakkun was clearly offended.

Riku just smiled. "Different people have different tastes. I think he looks cool."

Pakkun gave Riku a long, unimpressed look—he rembered very clearly that Riku himself had called him ugly the night before.

The three of them walked together for a bit before parting ways.

Riku reminded them not to co looking for him if it got too late, so Hinata and Ino didn't follow.

Riku wanted to know how Kakashi had dealt with everything, so he headed straight to the back mountain.

He found Kakashi standing in the grass, reading one of his little orange books.

Riku walked up. "Kakashi-sensei, did you take care of what happened last night?"

Kakashi closed the book and gave a calm smile. "It's done. Yuugao agreed to keep it a secret for you."

"Also, the death of that ninja was officially recorded as being caused by her technique. I made sure there was no suspicion."

Pakkun popped out of the bag just then. "So... can I go ho now?"

Kakashi looked slightly surprised at the resentnt in Pakkun's voice. "What's wrong?"

Riku smiled. "Hinata and Ino kept calling him ugly. Hurt his pride."

Pakkun gave Riku another deadpan look—you said that too.

Kakashi chuckled softly. "Alright, Pakkun. You can go."

At that, Pakkun lit up. "Aweso. See you, Kakashi! Later, Riku!"

With that, he vanished.

Once Pakkun was gone, Kakashi looked at Riku with astonishnt. "I was really shocked when I saw that ninja's corpse yesterday. You actually learned Yuugao's sword technique?"

"That Crescent Moon is her ace—when did you pick it up?"

Kakashi was genuinely surprised. Sword techniques were different from ninjutsu, and Crescent MoonTechnique was an advanced style of kenjutsu.

It was powerful—more so than people gave it credit for—but Yuugao hadn't yet mastered its full potential.

Riku smiled and explained everything that had happened the previous day.

Kakashi was stunned. "You're terrifying. You learned that technique just by watching once—and when you used it, it was even stronger than when Yuugao did."

"She's going to be so pissed."

Riku thought back—Yuugao hadn't said anything about him copying her swordsmanship last night.

"I told her I picked it up just by watching. She didn't seem to react much."

"Doesn't seem like she minded."

"But honestly, there are still parts of the technique I haven't fully grasped. I'd like to ask her for guidance."

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh. "You copied her technique like a thief and now you want her to teach you? She's definitely going to be even more pissed."

"No way. She seems like a generous person."

Riku figured that since he'd already learned the swordsmanship, he could fill in the details with a bit more practice.

So in his mind, there was no reason for Yuugao to be angry about it.