"Souma, why did you drag me all the way to the Forest of Death? I still have unfinished ninja tools to forge back home."
Tenten couldn't help complaining.
She'd been happily working at home when Souma suddenly appeared at her door, saying he wanted to take her "somewhere."
And then…
This was it?
"Hey, I didn't bring you here just for a nostalgic stroll," Souma said. "I brought you to see your future workplace—and to discuss how we're going to lay it out."
"My… workplace?"
She stared at him.
She didn't have anywhere you could call a 'workplace'. Every time she wanted to smith something, she could only borrow her dad's forge.
Wait—
Tenten's eyes went wide.
"Don't tell me you actually went to the Third Hokage… just for me—"
"You really think highly of yourself," Souma snorted.
He had gone to the Third, yes—but at best it was "by the way." That was very different from "specifically for you".
So he explained the whole research institute plan in detail.
Only then did Tenten understand what he'd been busy with these last few days.
She got a little excited.
"So that means… from now on we'll have a place dedicated to researching ninja tools?" she said.
"Yeah," Souma nodded.
Tenten fully understood what that meant.
Over there, for now she might be the only one skilled in forging ninja tools—but the institute would be full of experts. Any problem she couldn't solve, she'd be able to find someone to ask.
At home it was different.
If her parents didn't know something, she could only set the problem aside until she saw Souma or went to find Kakashi.
"Let's hurry up and go, then!" she said.
"Eh? It's not that urgent, is it?"
One in front, one following behind, the two of them navigated by Souma's sensory ability and the traces in the forest, heading deeper in.
They weren't even at the institute yet when—
bzzzzzz…
A low insect hum rose all around them.
Tenten instantly went on guard, hand gripping her sealing scroll.
"Souma!"
"Relax. They're the Aburame clan's kikaichū. They're actually pretty easy to get along with," Souma said, trying to calm her.
They'd had an Aburame in their class, so everyone was somewhat familiar with the idea of bug-users. Hearing they belonged to the Aburame, Tenten slowly put her scroll down.
But then—
One bug after another came swarming toward them.
Each one was about the size of a bowl. The biggest was about as large as Tenten's head.
These are… kikaichū?
What kikaichū grows like this?
And they absolutely did not look "easy to get along with."
Tenten's mouth opened, but she held her tongue and chose to believe Souma. Still, the trembling at the corner of her lips gave her away.
The bugs buzzed closer, drawn by a familiar scent.
They clearly recognized Souma, circling him, weaving around him and letting out waves of humming.
"I didn't store much today…"
"Fine, fine, I'll give you a little. Share it between you, don't be greedy," Souma said.
He drew out senjutsu chakra and let it diffuse from his fingertips.
The giant insects swarmed his hand, orbiting his fingers wildly.
A second or two later, they looked like they'd gotten drunk. Their flight turned wobbly and unsteady, as if they could fall out of the air at any time.
The sight was…
Honestly ridiculous.
Tenten's fear evaporated on the spot, replaced with barely suppressed laughter.
Once they'd been soothed, Souma led Tenten onward.
"These kikaichū are the reason you're cooperating with the Aburame?" she asked.
"Yeah."
Those ten or so just now were the most obviously "sage-touched" of this particular swarm. They could already absorb natural energy on their own—they just craved Souma's pure senjutsu chakra like connoisseurs preferring refined wine.
Not only that.
Their offspring had inherited the ability to draw in natural energy as well.
The potential of kikaichū evolution was terrifying.
As long as this swarm survived, they might well become a new "sacred land" in their own right one day—it was just a matter of time.
Of course, by the time they were that strong, the Forest of Death might no longer be their optimal habitat.
Compared to the rest of Konoha, the natural energy here was dense. But across the world, there were definitely better concentrations.
That, however, was for the future.
Souma didn't bother explaining all that to Tenten.
Even just looking at those bugs, Tenten could already imagine—
Souma's research here was definitely something incredible.
She followed in silence.
They were already deep into the Forest of Death—far beyond the areas normally used for training or exams.
Tenten remembered that this place had once been a battlefield, the ground littered with who-knew-whether-they'd-explode explosive tags.
But now…
She hadn't even reached the center and she could already see buildings.
Two to three stories high, made entirely of wood, a dozen of them at least.
Trees ringed the area on both sides. A river had been diverted from a nearby stream, its course altered to flow through this place and then back into the forest.
It was a completely different scene from the past.
Tenten's jaw dropped.
"Is this still the Forest of Death? Not a brand-new village?" she asked.
"Our research institute," Souma said, pointing at the four or five main wooden structures.
As expected—
The designer and building crew here were absolutely under Tenzō's command. The whole place screamed "three-room, two-hall house layout" aesthetics.
"And I get a share of this?" Tenten's eyes practically sparkled.
It was beautiful.
The buildings were wrapped in green, with water flowing past the front. The scenery was perfect.
"Mm," Souma nodded.
His clone had slipped over the last few days to inspect the area, so he already had a rough grasp of the place.
"There's no electricity yet," he added. "No equipment or forges installed. There is still plenty of room for improvement."
Souma stepped into the "village".
Tenten had been buzzing around him like an excited bee ever since they got close, scanning every building and mentally calculating where she'd like to be.
But once she got near—
She didn't hesitate at all.
"Can I have the one next to the river? You know forging needs water to cool metal, and if possible, later I might build water-driven mechanisms…" she rattled off.
As she spoke, she was already sketching.
She really was a born crafting genius.
In just a few minutes, she'd drafted a full plan for her future workshop. While talking, she used pen and paper to draw out a rough layout.
By the time she was done, a functional blueprint had already taken shape.
Souma couldn't help smiling.
"As long as you have a plan, that's perfect. Then this building's yours," he said.
"Can I start now?" Tenten asked.
Her hands were itching.
She wanted to start remodeling immediately.
"You brought tools with you?" Souma asked.
"I always carry a basic set with me!" Tenten said, patting her sealing scroll.
Souma spread his senses, located the workers and the ANBU in the vicinity—
And most importantly, Tenzō.
As long as Tenzō was here, Souma was at ease.
He went to find Tenzō and explained Tenten's situation.
Tenzō's reaction was… enthusiastic, to say the least.
Without a second thought, he said:
"While you're at it, could you help us remodel the whole area?"
"Huh?" Tenten froze.
She had just been planning to redo her own workspace.
This was a bit beyond her initial scope.
She hesitated.
Tenzō pressed his hands together with a serious face.
"I'm really not good at this sort of thing. I'll be counting on you!" he said.
"Souma…" Tenten turned to him for help.
Souma thought for a moment.
"I'm going to be really busy," he said. "I won't be able to take on missions for a while. And besides, Tenzō-senpai is going to be our captain from now on."
Right.
Tenten suddenly remembered.
The man in front of her was their future team leader.
She grinned.
"Leave it to me, then!"
"Great!"
Soon after, Tenzō and Tenten were huddled over layout plans, discussing arrangements.
Souma was very pleased.
Tenzō was now talking about architecture and zoning design like a professional.
Seeing his latent civil-engineering talent awaken, Souma felt oddly proud and gratified.
From now on, Konoha's building projects will be in good hands.
And with Tenten around, any field mission would feel half like a vacation.
Perfect.
Tenten stayed behind at the institute with Tenzō—she even had Souma carry a message home that she wouldn't be back that night.
Souma felt like a criminal.
He could only hope Tenten's parents wouldn't decide to beat him up…
He headed back to the village and relayed Tenten's situation.
Her parents weren't worried at all. On the contrary, they were happy she'd found work she truly loved.
Souma had the feeling they had misunderstood something.
Those smiles—
Were pure "spectator eating melon seeds" expressions.
…Whatever. Not important.
Souma had originally planned to go home and continue training in natural energy and his spiritual techniques.
But just as he was about to head out again, Asuma came looking for him.
"This is a letter from the Fire Temple," Asuma said.
"Thanks, Asuma-senpai. Sorry for making you run around every time," Souma said, taking the letter with some embarrassment.
Even with a messenger bird helping, Asuma was still the one liaising between him and Chiriku. He'd never asked for anything in return and even helped brainstorm for them sometimes.
Souma really did feel bad.
Asuma held a cigarette in his teeth.
"I happened to be in the village anyway. If I was out on a mission, I couldn't help," he said.
"How's Shikamaru and the others?" Souma asked while opening the seal.
Asuma grinned.
"They're helping transplant rice seedlings. All very capable kids. Even Shikamaru's more motivated than before."
"That's good," Souma said.
He considered telling Asuma that the three clans were all secretly scheming about Shikamaru—but decided against it.
Pig-Deer-Butterfly's family business was best handled by Pig-Deer-Butterfly.
He and Asuma were technically outsiders.
Souma unfolded the letter and skimmed it.
After a quick read, his heart settled and a smile tugged at his lips.
"As expected," he said softly.
"What is it?" Asuma asked.
"Master Chiriku says there were similar cases in the past," Souma replied. "Back then they were called 'sages'. But it's been a long, long time. That secret art was lost ages ago."
He pointed at the line as he spoke.
Asuma nodded repeatedly.
From the ancient era to now, countless secret techniques have been lost. The Fire Temple had almost been wiped out a few times along the way.
The fact that temple records had even partially survived was thanks to a few "reviver monks." Otherwise, the entire legacy might have been erased.
He couldn't help reading on.
"So what you discovered by accident is actually the core of the 'sage-lineage'?" he asked.
"Should be," Souma replied.
Asuma genuinely felt happy for him.
"With this, I bet the Fire Temple would love to invite you back as their abbot," he said.
"I'm really not interested in becoming a monk," Souma laughed. "And they mentioned you in the letter too."
He tapped the next page.
Asuma read further.
The text there said—
"They want me to learn sage transformation from you first?"
"Mm," Souma nodded. "You can already use sage-lineage power. If you can't learn this, then what I found is probably just a personal quirk—no need to send it to the Fire Temple."
"So I'm the one getting the benefits, huh," Asuma said, scratching his head, a bit embarrassed.
Heaven be his witness.
He had truly only been helping run letters out of friendship for Souma and Chiriku. He hadn't been thinking about any reward.
"So, what do we do?" he asked.
"Let's go to the Forest of Death. The natural energy is thicker there," Souma said. "Oh, and did you see Kakashi-sensei anywhere?"
The letter had also granted his earlier request—Kakashi was allowed to learn sage chakra.
Teaching one person or two made no real difference.
Might as well grab Kakashi as well.
"He's with Team 7," Asuma replied. "They've been hauling water lately. I just saw them."
"I'll go get Kakashi-sensei," Souma said, waving the letter. Asuma had already read the contents, so he knew Souma wanted to bring Kakashi in too. Naturally, he agreed.
He led the way back the way he came.
Before long, Souma could see Kakashi.
The jōnin was lying on a branch, bored, reading Make-Out Violence—
The book had clearly been reread so often its edges were practically polished smooth.
Off in the distance, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were lugging buckets of water, faces full of resentment.
Obviously…
They weren't thrilled about this kind of training.
Sensing Souma and Asuma's approach, Kakashi shifted his book aside and sat up, curious.
"You needed me?" he asked.
"Yeah. Do you remember the technique I mentioned to you before?" Souma said.
"Of course," Kakashi replied.
He thought about it—
And his expression immediately soured.
He remembered.
The hole Souma had dug for him—then ran off without waiting for an answer.
Kakashi hopped down from the tree, intending to bring that up.
But Souma beat him to it.
"I've already got the Fire Temple's permission," he said. "We can pass it on to you now."
"Uh…"
Kakashi scratched his head.
What was I about to say again?
"Master Chiriku actually asked me to teach Asuma-senpai first," Souma added. "So I figured I'd teach you at the same time."
Kakashi thought for a moment and glanced back at his students hauling water.
"But I'm responsible for them right now," he said.
"No problem," Asuma said. "Just leave a shadow clone. I did the same thing."
Kakashi hesitated for two seconds.
Then he formed a single seal, leaving one shadow clone behind while his real body followed Souma and Asuma away.
"New students treating you well, Kakashi-sensei?" Souma asked.
"…"
Kakashi gave Asuma a sideways look and sighed.
That sigh—
It was full of stories.
"Hard to teach?" Asuma asked.
"Mm," Kakashi answered shortly.
They were hard to teach.
But more than that…
The problem wasn't that they were "bad".
It was that the contrast was too big.
Sasuke was a genius.
Sakura was a top student.
Naruto… didn't have much going for him, but at least he worked hard and had plenty of energy.
But after teaching a "three-in-one Souma" once—
Going back to teaching Sasuke and the others, Kakashi just couldn't work up much enthusiasm.
Every day he'd catch himself thinking:
You guys really are the worst generation I've ever had…
Which was absurd, since—
He'd only ever had two generations of students.
"By the way, you said you checked with the Fire Temple," Kakashi said. "They agreed? You didn't pay some crazy price, did you? That wouldn't be worth it."
He turned serious.
Souma shook his head.
"I didn't pay any price. The Fire Temple is just doing me a favor," he said.
"…"
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
He realized—
In just a few days, Souma's tone had gotten a lot bolder.
Asuma coughed lightly at the side.
"Kakashi, he's not exaggerating," Asuma said. "Souma accidentally dug up a lost secret of the Fire Temple. So right now, they're the ones asking him for help."
"!!!"
Kakashi's eyes went wide.
Now his mentality was very different.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614