Ryoji shot Aida Sui and Suzune a quick glance before walking off without so much as a goodbye.
Uh... well..." Aida Sui had planned to say something to Suzune but found himself swallowing his words when faced with her cold, beautiful face. He quickly left the ramen shop, feeling embarrassed.
"Thank you for the meal," Suzune said politely as wiped her mouth and was ask to leave.
"This kid... Sigh..." Teuchi, the owner of the ramen shop, sighed as he watched Suzune walk away.
She was such a good kid, but why was she so cold and distant? Was it because of her family, or was there something else?
"And Xin too-he's a teacher, but he doesn't seem to care about his students," Teuchi added.
"Ow!"
Suddenly, Teuchi stumbled, almost crashing into the counter. His father had just walked out from the back and smacked him on the back of the head.
"You're in charge of the ramen shop, not in charge of sighing over other people's lives! Who says Xin doesn't care about his students?" His father scolded.
"He's a genius, one of the village's strongest ninjas. Do you really think he needs advice from a ramen cook?"
"But I..." Teuchi wanted to argue but quickly closed his mouth when he saw his father's giant fist twitch. Without another word, he got back to cleaning the dishes.
As night fell, Suzune slowly made her way back to the Hyuga compound, walking at a leisurely pace.
While walking, she noticed a familiar figure in the distance.
Aida Sui?
That wasn't the direction of his home. Where was he rushing off to?
Without even thinking, Suzune started following him.
"Captain!" A voice called out, and Xin, who had been on his way to grab hotpot with Tsunade and Kushina, turned around.
"Aida Sui, what's up?" Xin asked.
Out of breath, Aida Sui stopped in front of him, taking a moment to catch his breath. His face, darkened by the sun, turned red with embarrassment.
"Captain, um... I wanted to ask... If I'm going to exchange for a new jutsu, which one should I go for?" Aida Sui asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Did you run all this way just to ask that?
Xin couldn't help but laugh.
"Do you remember what I told you last time?"
Aida Sui nodded quickly.
"Yes, you said that at this stage, I should focus on taijutsu, not ninjutsu."
Nawaki had already proven this to be true.
Just because you knew more jutsu didn't mean you were stronger.
Even someone like Orochimaru, known as a walking jutsu library, or the Third Hokage, who was hailed as a ninjutsu master, didn't use that many jutsu in battle.
Having more techniques didn't automatically make you stronger.
What's best for you is what fits you the most.
Of course, learning more jutsu wasn't a bad thing, but trying to specialize in everything would only spread you thin. It was better to find a balance rather than develop too many weaknesses.
Nawaki had leaned too heavily on ninjutsu, and when he was on the battlefield in the Land of Rain, he ended up getting hacked at by the enemy.
He was a perfect example of what not to do.
To put it bluntly, for a fresh genin, it was more practical to throw a few well-aimed shurikens than to rely on fancy ninjutsu.
Trying to master ninjutsu at such a young age was something only a rare few could pull off.
And Aida Sui wasn't one of them.