"My sensory technique isn't anything profound," Souma began. "It's really just improving control over my spiritual energy—adjusting its state depending on what I need."
At first, Yamanaka Haichi understood perfectly.
But then—
Adjusting mental states?
Reducing categories of incoming information?
Lowering information flow?
"Wait—wait! Let me process that!"
Haichi had to raise a hand to stop him.
He rubbed his temples.
After a long moment, he gradually caught up.
"So what you mean is… by filtering with spiritual energy, you reduce the types of information received. That way your ability to detect specific information becomes sharper?"
"Exactly."
Souma nodded.
Haichi fell silent.
…You could do that?
Even with the best control, wasn't that ridiculously hard?
His expression grew strange.
"So your method is to flexibly adjust your spiritual energy based on your needs, letting you get the most out of your sensory abilities?"
"Mm."
Souma nodded again and explained in detail.
Assume the brain has a constant processing capacity.
Souma's method was simply using every bit of that "computing power" in the most efficient way.
Naturally, the quality of what he sensed increased dramatically.
Haichi scratched his head.
How should he even describe this…
Monstrous?
He had never once considered that sensory perception could be manipulated with the same finesse as chakra.
But thinking carefully, he realized it wasn't impossible.
In fact, this technique was incredibly practical.
And its difficulty was extremely high.
Anyone in Konoha who could use it…
Would probably be him.
Souma didn't count.
Haichi glanced at Yagyū Souma and sighed inwardly—
Just what kind of creature was this boy?
The spiritual domain was dangerous.
Even the Yamanaka clan approached it with utmost caution, terrified of mishaps.
But Souma…
Not only had he thought up a bizarre technique—
he had actually trained it to success.
Ridiculous didn't even begin to cover it.
"This method works for anything involving spiritual energy," Souma added with a smile. "Your clan's secret techniques could use the same principle."
"That's true… but only a few of us could actually pull it off."
Haichi admitted the value—but also its limitations.
Not everyone was a Yamanaka.
He thought deeply, then asked:
"Is there any way to lower the difficulty?"
"…Teamwork?"
Spiritual power was simple—
Either you had the ability or you didn't.
Souma really couldn't think of any way to "dumb it down," so he took another route.
Division of labor.
Create a group-based mental-link technique or tool.
He remembered the Yamanaka clan already had something similar.
Let one group filter information.
Let another group handle the sensory reception.
Souma explained his idea.
"What do you think?"
"So basically… if one person's 'brain' isn't enough, we divide the work among multiple minds so the sensor can focus entirely on the sensory part?"
Haichi wanted to scream.
To learn one secret technique, they now had to invent another secret technique.
But—
Souma's proposal was undeniably good.
Haichi could think of no better alternative.
After weighing his options, he nodded.
"Then I'll entrust the group-mind technique to you as well."
"That's a different technique."
"Hm?"
"Which means—more payment."
"…"
Completely fair, brutally honest.
Haichi silently gave him points for that.
After a moment of thought, he said:
"Then our clan's entire spiritual tempering method can be shared with you—but with one small condition."
"You want shared co-development rights, right?"
Souma wasn't surprised in the slightest.
If Haichi didn't have that goal, he wouldn't have come rushing here.
The heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans were never simple men.
Haichi coughed.
"…Yes."
He wasn't embarrassed.
It was for the sake of his clan.
If the Yamanaka clan could strengthen itself further, what did a little pride matter?
Look at the Aburame clan—
After working with Souma, their status had skyrocketed.
Who would've imagined they'd become the premier battlefield medic support?
Souma smiled.
"Not impossible. But I'm not exactly gifted in the spiritual domain. I can't guarantee results."
"I have complete confidence in your abilities."
Haichi's tone was firm.
Souma's creative power was known throughout Konoha.
The Intelligence Division had been jealous for a long time—they just lacked the opportunity.
Now that they had one—
how could he let it slip away?
Haichi grabbed Souma's hand.
"And the Intelligence Division—surely you can offer us something too?"
"Actually, yes!"
Souma slapped his forehead.
He'd suddenly remembered a creative idea he'd shelved earlier.
"I was studying puppets in Sunagakure with Tenten, and we came up with a concept. If we combine ninja tools with puppets…"
He explained briefly.
At first Haichi didn't understand.
What did puppets have to do with intelligence work?
But as Souma continued—
Haichi's expression gradually grew serious.
"Using ninja tools to assist puppet control… using telescopic techniques to scout through puppets?"
Haichi tapped his chin.
"That's battlefield reconnaissance."
"Think more," Souma added, exasperated. "Add chakra markers to the puppets as monitoring relays. Solve your own relay-point problems."
Haichi fell silent.
…This child seemed determined to make him—the Intelligence Division chief—look incompetent.
Thankfully, Souma hadn't yet stepped into the Intelligence Division's core domain.
"Also, if leaks aren't a concern, I can help upgrade Konoha's barrier network. We're all on the same side, after all."
Souma had barely finished when—
Haichi pulled out a booklet and placed it in his hands.
"Done!"
It was the full documentation for Konoha's barrier system.
Souma was stunned.
This man came prepared.
He skimmed through it and began thinking.
"Well?"
"Your sensory barrier hasn't had a range adjustment in years, has it?" Souma asked.
Haichi nodded.
Souma set the booklet aside.
"Asuma-senpai mentioned this when we discussed Flying Swallow—never let the enemy know your rhythm or your range. I agree completely."
Haichi sat still for several seconds.
Then nodded heavily.
"I understand."
Any enemy who knew Konoha well probably also knew the barrier's range.
For the Intelligence Division…
That was a failure.
This suggestion was excellent.
Reasonable.
Why hadn't he thought of it?
He scribbled notes desperately.
"Anything else?"
"Not for now. Besides, you guys should handle most of it yourselves. I can't be the one doing everything for you— I'm just a genin."
"You won't be for long."
Haichi smiled.
Souma's rank wasn't finalized yet, but special jōnin was almost guaranteed.
Soon he wouldn't be calling himself a genin anymore.
Souma didn't mind.
He only wanted the rank so people wouldn't feel pressured around him.
Honestly—
Genin causing natural disasters, jōnin fighting like porcelain dishes…
Special jōnin?
The worst of both worlds.
They finished discussing clan and official matters.
Haichi led Souma out of the ANBU building and even took him on a small tour.
Just as Haichi was about to send him off, something occurred to him.
"Right—Asuma asked you to run his team's evaluation, didn't he?"
…Hm?
Even the clan heads knew about that now?
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