"Really gone?"
"Not a scrap," the Third Hokage sighed. "The village still has some, but we need materials for chakra tools too."
"Then split some for us," Souma said. "You know Tenten's talent. Invest now, and in the future you'll have a weapon-smith on par with legends across the whole ninja world. That's a guaranteed profit!"
"Enough, enough. The institute isn't yours alone," the Third waved him off. "If it's for Tenten to practice with, I can allocate some chakra metal your way. No need to trade a whole sword style for it."
He thought for a moment, then continued:
"Are you interested in combining ninjutsu?"
"I am!" Souma nodded immediately.
"I have some notes on a few combination techniques. I'll let you have a look later—consider it my investment into the research institute."
The Third had no intention of taking it for free.
After saying that, he held up a finger for Souma to wait and bent down to rummage through the drawers.
He dug around for a good while.
At last, he pulled out a notebook and handed it to Souma.
Souma took it, suspicious.
He flipped it open—
Whoa.
It was a notebook of Namikaze Minato's sealing studies.
Treasure.
Souma's fingers tightened around the covers, unable to stop a spark of excitement from showing on his face.
The Third waved his pipe lightly.
"Since you want to pick your own guards, you figure that part out yourself. Once you've assembled them, just submit the list. As for the Book of Creation…"
"Let's seal it here in the Hokage's office for now," Souma said.
Sealing techniques were vast and profound. Even Souma hadn't fully grasped them yet, let alone memorized them all.
Better to take the book home and read slowly.
As for the Book of Creation—
He'd glanced through it already, but didn't take it with him just yet.
The institute had probably been built by Tenzo's team, which was why progress had been terrifyingly fast. But the guards weren't in place; relying only on kikaichū and the giant ant colony as "defenses" didn't exactly inspire confidence.
Leaving the Hokage Tower, Souma thought it over.
He decided to settle the institute's security first.
Ninjutsu research could wait a bit.
His first stop was the Aburame clan.
He'd checked the location of the institute: essentially midway between the giant ants and the kikaichū habitat on the edge of the Forest of Death.
That made the Aburame the most convenient choice for guards.
The two insect clans were their natural allies.
And on top of that, both species had begun to show signs of "sagefication"…
Souma explained the situation to Aburame Shibi's brother, Shibi's relative—Aburame Shibi wasn't mentioned, but here it's Shibi's generation; in this story it's Aburame Shibi's clan head-equivalent—Aburame Shibi? In text it's Aburame Shibi "Shibi"? No, here it's Aburame Shibi's uncle—actually it was Aburame Shibi's relative, Aburame Shibi: but canon uses Shibi, here it's Aburame Shibi = "Aburame Shibi"? However the text uses Zhiwei→ we've been calling him Aburame Shibi (Shibi senior). We'll continue:
He explained everything to Aburame Shibi.
Shibi agreed on the spot, both hands raised in approval.
He even assigned a squad to Souma right there—
The leader was none other than Aburame Muta, the female bug-maniac who loved researching new species.
In addition—
"Besides them, I have a small request," Shibi added.
Souma glanced at the roster and had a guess.
"Shino?" he asked.
"That's right," Shibi said. "I know you're busy, but I hope that while you're working at the institute, you can occasionally guide him."
He bowed deeply.
"I'm entrusting him to you."
"No need to be so formal," Souma replied. "I already planned to recruit Shino as a research assistant. If you're willing to let him help at the institute, I should be thanking you instead."
He meant it.
In both reality and the anime, Shino's stats had never looked particularly dazzling. But Souma genuinely appreciated him.
Shino fought with his brain.
With some training, he was perfect researcher material.
Teaching?
Shino wasn't a mute, but he definitely wouldn't be called talkative. He rarely expressed his emotions openly.
Souma's take on Shino becoming a teacher later was—
He probably wanted to challenge himself.
In any case, he'd be much more suited to research.
"Then it's settled," Shibi said.
After leaving the Aburame compound, Souma visited the Yamanaka and Nara clans in succession.
Only then did he head to the Akimichi household.
He hadn't even stepped onto their grounds when the smell of grilled meat hit him full-force.
He looked up.
Smoke rose from a courtyard in the distance.
When he turned the corner, he saw Akimichi Chōza in the yard, grilling meat over an open flame.
Beside him, Chōji was running laps.
Souma was stunned.
That's brutal.
For an Akimichi, being surrounded by delicious food and forbidden to eat it was torture on par with high-grade interrogation.
And yet Chōji was actually enduring it.
Chōza waved him over from afar.
"Souma, over here!"
"Is this… punishment?" Souma asked, glancing at Chōji, who was still training.
Chōza chuckled.
"You said you wanted to teach him that technique, right? I can roughly guess which one, so I figured he should build up first. Don't want him to flop when it matters."
"Nothing can be hidden from you, can it?" Souma said with a laugh.
Chōza rolled his eyes and pointed to a cushion.
"Sit. Eat. Fresh beef. Butchered this morning in another village."
"Thank you, Chōza-senpai."
Souma sat with zero courtesy.
If there was one thing the Akimichi never lacked, it was food—and every one of them was a master of grilling.
The meat was excellent.
After a few bites, he finally spoke.
"That technique isn't just for Chōji. I think it's perfect for every member of the Akimichi clan."
"The muscle-control one?" Chōza asked.
"That's the one."
Souma nodded.
The Akimichi looked fat, but under the fat, they were pure muscle. You just couldn't see it.
If you added Overlimit State and Extreme State on top of Partial Expansion and Human Bullet Tank…
The power would skyrocket.
More importantly—
Souma needed it to trigger more of the Bodhi Seed's markings.
"What exactly is that technique?" Chōza asked, sitting straighter.
Chōji also looked over, though his eyes kept drifting toward the meat.
Souma smiled.
"Come here too, Chōji. Eat and listen."
"O-Okay… Father?" Chōji asked.
"Sit," Chōza said, nodding.
After Chōji sat down and had a few bites—enough to calm down—Souma went over the basics of Overlimit State and Extreme State.
Then he demonstrated the difference.
Chōza's face grew serious.
Souma's technique truly suited their clan.
Both Partial Expansion and Human Bullet Tank relied heavily on physical strength.
An Overlimit State was designed to squeeze out every drop of power the human body had to offer.
"Souma, working with you is the best stroke of luck our Akimichi clan ever had," Chōza said, slapping the table.
Souma blinked.
"You don't need to discuss this with the clan?" he asked.
"Discuss what? It's clearly beneficial—no need to waste time on pointless meetings. We're not one of those stiff old great clans," Chōza snorted.
The Akimichi way was simple.
For big issues, they listened to the Nara clan.
For small ones, they used their own judgment.
"And the secret pills?" Souma pressed.
"We already gave you part of the formula," Chōza said after a pause. "Honestly, it's not that we're stingy."
He frowned slightly.
"The side effects are huge. Even for us, taking one is nine deaths out of ten. We almost never use them."
"The core of it is turning calories into power. I don't need the pills themselves. I want to understand that conversion," Souma explained.
"If we can freely convert calories into usable energy, the side effects will shrink drastically. You and Konoha both gain a new trump card. It's a perfect win–win."
He kept it very clear—
He would be the researcher.
What they did with the result was up to them.
Chōza's eyes burned.
"Is that… actually possible?"
They'd been studying the pills for years with no real progress.
If Souma could crack it…
Of course the Akimichi would cheerfully support him.
"You only know after you research it. But I think it's doable," Souma said.
In the original story, Chōji had fully mastered that "calorie-to-chakra" mode.
If Chōji could do it, Souma could reverse-engineer it.
That was his logic. Simple and crude.
Chōza didn't hesitate.
"Say no more. When do you want the full pill formula?"
"No rush. I have another favor to ask first."
Souma told him about the research institute, then laid out his request.
Chōza thought for about two seconds.
"Just as guards? No other positions attached?"
"Right. On paper, they're under the Hokage, technically speaking. In practice, they answer to the institute."
That…
He could agree to it.
But Chōza still said:
"You probably still need the Nara clan too, right?"
Souma understood instantly.
The Akimichi didn't want to be in charge of anything that required too much thinking.
"I'll go to Shikaku-senpai then?" Souma asked.
"That's best," Chōza grinned. "You know the three clans' deal. Once you convince Shikaku, we'll help however we can."
He dropped another piece of beef onto Souma's plate.
"No need to rush off. Eat first. It's not that urgent."
"Okay."
Souma nodded.
He'd dealt with Chōza a few times and knew his temperament.
In most things, there might be a bit of polite back-and-forth. But when the Akimichi said "eat," they meant it.
Mid-meal, Chōji was banished back to training again.
Chōza ate while pestering Souma about the finer points of Overlimit State.
Souma didn't hide anything.
He advised Chōza to first master fine control over his hands, then gradually work outward to other muscle groups.
And if some places were hard to train…
You could skip those.
Chōza was very satisfied.
He might look simple, but he wasn't dumb at all.
A single practice session would tell him how real the technique was.
Not to mention—
Asuma had already used Overlimit State, after learning it from the Book of Creation, and demonstrated it for Chōza.
Definitely worth the price.
He escorted Souma out, feeling genuinely happy.
"Chōji," he called.
"Father," Chōji answered, panting mid-push-up.
"For your generation, you don't have to overthink things. As long as Souma doesn't commit some unforgivable crime, just stick with him," Chōza said gravely.
"The Akimichi clan will be fine if you follow his lead."
Chōji lay on the ground, thinking for a long moment before saying:
"But didn't you always tell me to listen to Shikamaru before?"
"…"
Chōza was struck speechless.
After a while, he waved irritably.
"That works too. Either one. Shikamaru or Souma—you just have to follow one of them. As long as you do that, our clan isn't going anywhere."
"Oh. Got it," Chōji said.
He was still too young to really understand.
All he knew was—
Shikamaru was smarter than him.
Listening to Shikamaru was definitely safe.
"In the future, we might see a new Yagyū clan rise in the village," Chōza muttered to himself. "Heroes really do bloom young…"
He turned around—
And saw Chōji sitting at the table, stuffing his face.
He nearly choked.
"Train first, then eat! Overlimit State is critical!"
"I'll start training as soon as I'm full," Chōji mumbled.
"…"
Chōza's heart felt tired.
Then he thought back to his own childhood.
Honestly…
He hadn't been any better.
Forget it.
Nagging Chōji wouldn't help.
It'd be more effective to nag Shikamaru.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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