After exchanging a few more words, Shinichi turned his attention back to Yamato and said, "Yamato, today I'll teach you another Water Style Ninjutsu, the Water Clone Jutsu. Although it's a C-rank Ninjutsu, its learning difficulty is already close to B-rank. It's one of the hardest C-rank Ninjutsu to master."
"Watch carefully."
As he spoke, Shinichi formed several hand seals.
The water around him immediately rippled, and two streams of water rapidly gathered together, transforming into two Water Clone Jutsus identical to himself that stood quietly at his sides.
After completing the Ninjutsu, Shinichi was about to explain the principles behind the Water Clone Jutsu when he saw that Yamato had already closed his eyes again.
The boy's small face was filled with concentration, as though he were carefully contemplating something.
Shinichi stopped speaking and patiently waited.
A few seconds later, Yamato opened his eyes, quickly formed hand seals with both hands, and shouted softly: "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu!"
As the chakra surged, the water beside him suddenly condensed.
A Water Clone Jutsu slowly took shape and stood firmly at his side.
Although its formation speed and appearance were still somewhat crude compared to Shinichi's Water Clone Jutsu, it was undeniably a complete Water Clone Jutsu.
Seeing this, Shinichi's expression remained unchanged.
Shizune and Kurenai, however, both visibly trembled.
'Only once? He learned it after seeing it only once?'
The two of them knew Yamato's background better than anyone.
Five months ago, he had been an illiterate beggar wandering through Tanzaku Town, and even counting generously, he had only received formal ninja training for two months.
Could the rumors spreading through the village recently actually be true? Was Shinichi really blessed by fate itself? Had the Sage of Six Paths truly favored him? Otherwise, how could he casually stumble upon a treasure worth a nation's fortune, then casually pick up a genius child while wandering around?
As for Shinichi, the person he thought of was someone else entirely, Itachi Uchiha.
The genius who, in the original timeline, had mastered the Great Fireball Jutsu at around the age of five after seeing Fugaku Uchiha perform it only once.
Now Yamato had likewise mastered both the Falling Earth Spears and the Water Clone Jutsu after seeing them only once.
Naturally, the contributions of the Jonin occupation and Mentor talent toward teaching students were indispensable.
Under the influence of those occupations and talent, the talent Yamato displayed while receiving Shinichi's guidance was completely comparable to that of the monster known as Itachi Uchiha, perhaps even slightly superior.
After all, Yamato had previously been nothing more than a wandering orphan who had never received any training, while Itachi Uchiha had been the son of the Uchiha Clan Head from birth; their childhood environments and foundations were fundamentally different.
Seeing that Shinichi remained silent, Yamato, who had initially been excited by successfully performing the Ninjutsu, gradually became uneasy and carefully asked, "Big brother Shinichi, did I... do something wrong...?"
"Yamato."
At last, Shinichi spoke.
"Well done."
Yamato let out a sigh of relief and was just about to smile when Shinichi continued.
"However, don't call me big brother anymore."
"Call me sensei instead."
"Ah?"
Yamato froze on the spot, and his mouth hung slightly open. For a moment, he had no idea how to react.
Kurenai and Shizune were also startled, but Kurenai recovered first, covering her mouth, she said with a smile, "Yamato, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and call him sensei."
"Oh... sensei!"
Coming back to his senses, Yamato instinctively moved to kneel on the ground.
This was an instinct he had developed during his time as a street orphan. Whenever he encountered someone willing to take him in and give him a meal, he would kneel and kowtow in gratitude, but this time, just as his knees began to bend, a gentle current of air steadily supported him.
"That's enough. get up." Shinichi said, withdrawing his finger. "We're ninjas, not samurai. There's no need to kneel and kowtow when taking a teacher. Your sincerity is enough."
"Oh, yes, sensei." Yamato quickly straightened up.
Shinichi gave a slight nod and continued, "Starting today, whenever I'm in the village, you'll train with me every day. However, the war isn't over yet, and there will be many times when I won't be in the village. When I'm away, I'll ask a senior with extremely high attainments in Water Style and considerable skill in Earth Style to personally guide you. To me, this senior is someone who is also like a teacher. I'll introduce the two of you to each other later."
"Yes!" Yamato answered crisply.
"Shinichi, are you talking about senior Kosuke?" Kurenai Yuhi guessed the person after a moment's thought.
When it came to a senior who excelled at Water Style and had a close relationship with Shinichi, the first person who came to her mind was the veteran whom Shinichi had once invited to join them as a teammate during the Chunin exams.
"That's right, it's senior Kosuke." Shinichi nodded.
Several months ago, when he approached Kosuke Maruboshi, besides asking him to accompany the two girls as a teammate in the Chunin exams, he had another request: To have him guide Yamato's training in the future.
In terms of Water Style mastery, throughout the entire Hidden Leaf Village, aside from the third Hokage himself, no one could confidently claim to surpass Kosuke Maruboshi.
When Shinichi was away from the village, having him take over Yamato's training was the most suitable arrangement.
At the same time, Shinichi was quietly planning Yamato's future development path.
With the dual enhancement of the Jonin occupation and Mentor talent, Yamato's rate of improvement was already in no way inferior to that of Itachi Uchiha at the same age in the original timeline.
Not to mention that every time he trained Yamato, Shinichi would specially prepare nutritious, medicinal meals he had personally made, strengthening his foundation through both training and diet.
At this rate, Yamato's strength at the same age would certainly surpass that of Itachi Uchiha from the original timeline. He might truly have a chance to become a genuine powerhouse in the future, rather than ending up doing landscaping work as he did in the original timeline.
However, the true qualitative leap in Itachi Uchiha's strength came when he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan at the age of 11.
As for Yamato, beyond the conventional training path, the only possible qualitative transformation would be…
"Once the matter of Shinichi Society's establishment is settled, it'll be time to obtain the first Hokage's cells."
Shinichi thought to himself, not only for Yamato, but for himself as well.
After finishing Yamato's guidance, Shinichi walked toward the society headquarters building together with Kurenai Yuhi and Shizune, chatting and laughing along the way.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the entrance, they ran into Shinku Yuhi.
"Father."
Kurenai quickly greeted him, and Shizune followed with a respectful greeting of uncle.
Shinichi simply nodded slightly. "Senior Shinku."
Shinku Yuhi glanced at his daughter, a trace of strange emotion flashing across his face, but he said nothing about it; he merely nodded before turning to Shinichi.
"Shinichi, perfect timing. Regarding the task you assigned us earlier, Murakumo and I have discussed it over the past few days and have come up with some ideas. Do you have time to talk now?"