"It's true," Souma admitted. "Oh, and I think he's taking Shikamaru's team."
"My daughter will be on Shikamaru's squad," Haichi said, nodding. His face grew serious. "Give them a harsh lesson. They've never seen war. They don't understand what real pressure is. That's not a good thing."
Souma thought for a moment, then shared what he'd been mulling over.
"I've been considering it for days now, trying to figure out what kind of test to give them."
"Any conclusions?" Haichi asked.
"Shikamaru's smart. So I want to give them a problem his brain can't solve."
"Good!"
Haichi clapped once in approval.
Crushing intellect with overwhelming power—
it was the best way to deal with genius-level strategists.
And Souma was only a year older than them.
The sense of defeat would hit even harder.
He fully agreed.
"I support you completely. Need any help? For instance… some insight into our three clans' secret techniques…"
"Huh? You're allowed to talk about those?"
Souma was a little surprised.
Haichi looked faintly embarrassed.
"Our techniques have existed for a long time. In recent years, there hasn't been much innovation or change."
Of course, anyone who took that at face value and assumed the Ino–Shika–Chō combo was that simple…
would probably end up flattened by a Human Bullet Tank.
The trio hadn't thrived for generations by individual prowess alone.
Their real strength lay in how their clan jutsu interlocked—
three techniques combining into something far greater than the sum of their parts.
So—
Not changing was good.
Each generation maintained that synergy, carrying the Ino–Shika–Chō formation forward.
That was enough.
After parting ways with Haichi, Souma suddenly remembered something—
Today was Shikamaru's graduation exam.
Which also meant…
Today was the day Naruto failed the test, then got manipulated by Mizuki into stealing the Scroll of Seals.
The Scroll of Seals…
Probably a piece of bait the Third deliberately threw out.
Anyone who wasn't Naruto and dared touch it?
Dead.
Souma frowned.
He decided not to intervene tonight.
Let them play out their script.
Back home, he was just about to cook when—
Knock, knock, knock.
Hm?
Souma extended his senses.
Tenten.
He walked over and opened the door.
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, I was just going to start cooking."
Souma glanced back toward the kitchen.
"Come on! Eat at my place."
"???"
Why are we randomly eating at your house?
Souma didn't get it.
Tenten coughed lightly, cheeks faintly red.
"You asked me to help forge a chakra weapon, remember?"
"You finished it?"
"Not completely, but it's almost done. Only the final step is left, and my father's handling that tonight. So we thought we'd invite you over for dinner."
She explained.
Chakra metal was expensive and rare.
Very few people got to work with it, and her family hadn't originally mastered the techniques for forging it.
Souma letting her practice on his commission was something her parents were extremely grateful for.
"Let's go!"
Tenten grabbed his wrist.
"All right, let me at least tidy up the kitchen first."
"I'll do it!"
She dashed inside and furiously cleaned up.
Souma felt a little guilty.
He had to admit—
girls cleaned differently.
His own standard was "as long as nothing obvious is dirty."
They left his place and headed toward Tenten's home.
Her family had already prepared the meal.
Half an hour later—
"Well?" her mother asked.
"Auntie, the food is delicious. It really reminds me of some things from my memories," Souma said, genuinely moved.
It had the flavor of his past life's Huaxia-style home cooking.
After coming to the ninja world, he'd almost never tasted something so familiar.
Tenten giggled.
Then she picked up a sheathed blade and handed it to him.
"Here—your chakra weapon. It's not all my work, but I guarantee it's good."
Souma accepted it and slowly drew the blade.
Shing!
Under the moonlight, the gleaming white blade flashed coldly.
He poured chakra into it.
Different from chakra wire—
The sword was larger, heavier.
A thin layer of chakra instantly coated the edge.
Souma tried to make the chakra vibrate.
Vmmm…
The steel hummed in his hand.
Tenten's eyes lit up.
She had trained with every kind of weapon from childhood—
of course she recognized that technique.
Vibration let the chakra edge slice far more cleanly—
This was the difference between a chakra blade and an ordinary sword.
"Name it?" Souma asked, looking at her.
Tenten blinked, then thought for a moment.
"The hilt and the blade are both white. I designed it based on a white fox motif. Let's call it… White Fox Blade."
"Good name."
Souma slid it back into the sheath.
A small tassel like a fox's tail hung from the pommel, blending seamlessly with the hilt and the blade's design.
A White Fox indeed.
He was very satisfied.
"You'll become an amazing ninja smith," he said.
"I'll take that as a blessing," Tenten replied, palms together with a bright smile.
Souma shook his head, smiling.
The two of them walked along the street, chatting idly, not in any rush.
Just then—
"Catch him!"
"Over there!"
"Naruto, stop running!"
"…?"
Souma frowned and turned toward the noise.
A squad of ANBU was chasing Naruto.
But…
They weren't even trying.
It was obvious they were holding back.
"Tenten, should we…" she began.
"Keep watching."
He gently tugged her hand to stop her.
She paused, then focused on observing for a while.
Gradually, she noticed something was off.
These ANBU… were way too weak.
She knew who Uzumaki Naruto was—his taijutsu wasn't bad, but there was no way he should be outperforming trained ANBU.
They looked more like they were herding him than arresting him.
"What is this…?" she muttered.
"We don't need to get involved," Souma said. "But you should head back. If something really does go wrong, there'll be no one to protect your parents."
"…You're right."
Tenten thought it over.
She didn't know exactly what was happening, but it was clear the village had its own plan.
Charging in blindly would only make things worse.
Souma watched her go, then turned to leave as well.
But—
"Souma-kun, could you help us chase Uzumaki Naruto?"
"…"
Souma half-lidded his eyes and looked at the "ANBU" who had approached.
"Tenzo-senpai, you can chase him yourselves. Why drag me into it?"
"Well, Haichi-senpai said your sensory ability is extremely precise. With you helping, nothing can go wrong."
Tenzo coughed lightly.
"And… we just happened to run into you."
Souma sighed and followed.
What could he do?
The man was his future captain.
"So what's going on exactly?" Souma asked.
"Naruto took a scroll."
"Heh."
Souma gave a dry laugh and refused to dignify that with a response.
Tenzo smiled awkwardly.
"The Third wants to see who's behind Mizuki."
"Mizuki?"
"Yeah. Naruto was egged on by him. But how would some random teacher know the locations of the Scroll of Seals and the Book of Creation?"
Tenzo lowered his voice.
Obviously—
Orochimaru.
Souma supplied silently.
He understood now.
The Third wanted to see if anyone would show up to receive Mizuki.
ANBU already had their own plans, but since they'd happened to meet Souma, they decided to piggyback on his skills.
Why was he so unlucky?
"Hold on," Souma said suddenly. "The Scroll of Seals and the Book of Creation are two different things. Which one did Naruto steal?"
"The Book of Creation."
"Then why aren't you running faster?! That thing is full of Konoha's hard-earned research and classified techniques!"
Souma instantly sped up.
So much for the Scroll of Seals.
Preconceptions really could mess people up.
"…There's no need to be that anxious—"
"No need? I can already sense them!"
"Huh?"
Tenzo was stunned.
There really was a big fish on the line?
The next moment, he sprang forward as well, matching Souma's pace.
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