"Captain Yamato, Souma-kun—when we get back, could we trouble you to give us some special training? I feel that Kazusa and I are still far too weak."
On the road back, Tenten clasped her hands together and bowed lightly toward Yamato and Yagyū Souma.
Kazusa did the same.
Souma was advancing too quickly.
If they didn't chase after him now, it wouldn't be long before Souma no longer needed their help at all. And neither Tenten nor Kazusa was willing to become dead weight. If that day came…
They would rather step aside quietly.
After discussing it together, the two had decided to ask.
Yamato thought for a moment, then said, "Kazusa uses Lightning Release, right? I'm not very familiar with Lightning Release ninjutsu. But Tenten—your Earth Release—I can help with that. As for space–time ninjutsu, I'm afraid that's beyond me."
Space–time abilities were exceedingly rare.
Otherwise, Flying Thunder God wouldn't still be shelved to this day.
"For space–time ninjutsu, train with me," Souma said. "I happen to have a few ideas I want to test."
He didn't refuse.
If he wanted to create a simplified version of Flying Thunder God or Flying Thunder Formation, experiments and verification were unavoidable. Tenten was, in fact, a very suitable candidate.
Before, she'd been too busy with ninja tool forging. Now that she herself was eager to grow stronger, their goals aligned perfectly.
As for Tsukimi Kazusa—
Souma thought for a moment, then said, "As for swordsmanship, I'll write up some notes once we're back. You can take a look—and let Hayate-senpai review them as well."
"Yes."
Kazusa nodded.
"Haha, no need to be so formal. We're teammates. With Hayate-senpai, that is more like a transaction."
Souma waved his hand.
He didn't want the bond between the three of them to slowly turn into a strict superior–subordinate relationship.
That wasn't his intention.
Yamato, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "What I can offer isn't much. If I had to say… I can provide some rather durable sparring partners."
"Captain, that's a bit much, isn't it?"
Tenten scratched her head.
Yamato made himself sound pitiful.
Souma, however, smiled and picked up the thread. "No, Captain Yamato isn't being modest. Wood Release clones have low consumption. Unlike shadow clones, they don't disappear immediately after taking heavy damage. They're excellent practice targets."
"Cough… that's about all I'm good for."
Yamato wasn't being humble. In front of Souma, he genuinely felt he had no room to be proud.
He knew his own limits.
His strength came from circumstance. Souma came from himself.
The gap in talent was enormous.
"Wood clones?"
Tenten and Kazusa suddenly understood.
Indeed.
Wood Release clones were far superior in both combat ability and durability.
"Oh right, Tenten—how's that ninja tool research going?"
"Mm. Some parts need to stay confidential, but I can say this: most of it's finished. A special prototype has already been produced."
Tenten answered.
At the institute, many chakra ninja tools were made with Konoha-provided materials. She handled research and forging, and the rules were far stricter than before.
But Souma understood.
The chakra ninja tool was complete.
He chuckled softly. "Captain, I have a cooperation proposal I'd like to discuss with you."
"Hmm?"
Yamato looked Souma up and down, feeling uncomfortable all over. "What kind of cooperation?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not me—it's the institute. Some sword and ninjutsu experiments inevitably require testing their power and effects. When the time comes, I'd like to ask you to help."
"..."
Yamato's eyebrow twitched. In the end, he took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to explode.
Don't get angry.
Anger clouds judgment.
After several deep breaths, Yamato finally calmed down.
"Even if it's me, I can't serve as the entire institute's sparring partner alone, can I?"
"And that brings us to something Tenten and I created."
Souma snapped his fingers.
Tenten moved in perfect sync, spreading open a sealing scroll and summoning a large cylinder-like device, carrying it as she walked and showing it off.
Well—fortunately, they were ninja.
Otherwise, the scene would have looked rather strange.
Yamato glanced at it. Not long after, Tenten sealed it away again.
"What was that?"
"You've used a similar technique before, haven't you? This is a ninja tool based on the same principle. It can gather chakra from multiple people and supply it for others to use. Also—once we're back, I'll immediately optimize that technique further."
The absorption barrier already saw widespread use, and its physical enhancement effect was quite practical.
Now that Souma had mastered chakra absorption techniques, it could be refined even further.
Yamato stared, dumbfounded.
Good grief.
There was even a ninja tool like that?
So this was all prepared in advance—how long had this kid been plotting against him?
After thinking it over, Yamato said gloomily, "First it was the Four-Pillar technique, then planting trees in the forest, and now this… I feel like my reputation as a ninja is being ruined by you."
In his mind, a future scene played out—
"That's the Wood Release user. Aside from building houses and landscaping, he's only good as a sparring partner. Not even close to the First Hokage."
His reputation—gone!
He scratched his head.
"Your imagination is a bit too vivid,"
Kazusa couldn't help but comment. "Isn't it more likely people would just be envious?"
"Impossible!"
Yamato shook his head.
At this rate, he felt he was becoming the least serious jōnin in all of Konoha.
"Captain Yamato, how about this—you help me, and I'll pay you back with ninjutsu."
Souma said calmly.
"That's not what I meant—"
"I'll help you research Wood Release."
"…Alright. I just want to help everyone."
Yamato immediately changed his tune.
He knew he'd never compare to the First Hokage—but he still wanted to achieve something with Wood Release.
As expected—
Most of the time, refusal simply meant the offer wasn't good enough.
Souma sighed inwardly.
With everything settled, they hurried back at full speed.
That night, they returned to Konoha.
"After being away, home really is the best!"
Tenten shouted at the village gate.
Even at night, there were still many people on the streets, with stalls lining both sides.
Compared to this, the Land of Grass was worlds apart.
"The Land of Grass is a small country, stuck between two great nations. Life there is extremely difficult. Reaching its current level of development isn't easy at all."
Souma shook his head.
Tenten grinned. "Maybe so—but I'm a Konoha ninja, not a Grass ninja."
"Fair enough."
"Then—see you all tomorrow morning at the Hokage Building."
The Next Day
At the Hokage Building, Team One gathered once more to report to the Third Hokage.
The Third read through Yamato's overnight report thoughtfully. After a long while, he looked up and smiled.
"I understand. Souma, stay behind. The rest of you may go."
"Yes!"
Yamato, Kazusa, and Tenten exited the office.
Once they were gone, the Third spoke again. "Souma, you must have discovered some very important intelligence at the base, didn't you?"
"How did you know?"
"Just some guesses from an old man."
The Third chuckled.
Souma nodded and took out the information he'd retrieved from Tenten earlier.
"This data is too important. I didn't dare transport it with Flying Thunder God. There were also three computers—I'm not sure if their data was wiped."
"You've worked hard."
The Third nodded and took the documents.
After reading for a short while, his expression changed drastically.
Research on Hashirama's cells?!
"So he never abandoned this research… If only I had known back then—"
The Third's face turned ashen.
Research on the First Hokage's cells inevitably involved human experimentation. Orochimaru's actions after leaving Konoha were easy to imagine.
He deeply regretted his past leniency.
"Third Hokage, please keep reading. And… given your age, do try to control your emotions."
Souma reminded him.
The Third had only read the opening and was already this angry—if he fainted later and blamed Souma for it, that would be troublesome.
"Could there be anything worse than this…?"
The Third continued reading.
As he reached the later pages, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he stood up abruptly.
The records showed that Orochimaru's research had succeeded.
Someone had fused with Hashirama's cells—without any obvious backlash.
How was that possible?!
Souma kept his eyes down.
After his initial shock, the Third calmed himself and kept reading. Then his breathing grew rapid with anger.
An arm… cut off as a "gift"?
Madness!
He slammed his hand down on the stack of papers.
After several deep breaths, the Third finally regained his composure. "Souma—aside from you, who else has seen this?"
"Only me."
"I understand. You may go."
The Third's voice was calm, but veins bulged on his forehead.
Clearly, his emotions were anything but calm.
After Souma left, the Third sat heavily in his chair, trembling as he picked up his pipe.
He considered consulting Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, but after thinking of their personalities, he sighed and abandoned the idea.
After a long silence—
"Go fetch Hayate for me."
"Yes!"
"Souma-kun, the Hokage has instructed us to keep Kimimaro alive and contained—no escape, no death. Are you taking him now?"
"Inoichi-senpai, I'll have to trouble you to keep him a bit longer. Give me a few days—once I'm finished with my affairs, I'll come take him."
"No problem."
Inoichi nodded and saw Souma off.
If he had a choice, he'd prefer Souma to take Kimimaro away as soon as possible.
The Fire Country had no Shikotsumyaku, but legends about that clan were widespread—
They were all battle-crazed maniacs.
In their eyes, nothing existed but combat. Let loose, such a person would indeed be, as the Third said, a massive threat to Konoha.
A walking time bomb.
Souma understood this well.
But before that, he needed to visit the Hyūga clan.
Not to seek their assistance.
Although the Kaguya clan and the Hyūga clan shared distant ties, that relationship wasn't nearly enough for Hiashi to part with the Byakugan or secret techniques.
If Hiashi spat on the ground, that alone would already be generous.
However—
Souma knew very well that Kimimaro had no attachment to the Kaguya clan at all.
That route wouldn't work.
Therefore—
His reason for visiting the Hyūga first was mainly to deliver a Dance of the Larch, pick up some benefits from Hiashi along the way, and, more importantly, to think about how to approach Kimimaro.
For now, he still hadn't figured out how to deal with him.
The Hyūga Clan
One thing Souma particularly appreciated—
Others might be busy and hard to find, but Hyūga Hiashi was always at the main house.
Just like now.
"My apologies for the sudden visit. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all. I'm delighted you came. Please—sit, have some tea."
Hiashi said with a warm smile.
Souma took a seat as instructed.
Hiashi asked with interest, "Souma-kun, you just returned to Konoha and came to see me immediately. That surprises me."
"I arrived last night. I'd just finished meeting with the Third Hokage, so I stopped by on the way."
Souma answered calmly.
That didn't surprise Hiashi.
What did surprise him was—
Souma had come of his own accord. Previously, it had taken repeated invitations to finally get him to visit.
While guessing Souma's purpose inwardly, Hiashi casually asked, "Souma-kun, after reviewing Gentle Fist theory last time, have you gained any new insights?"
"I have," Souma replied smoothly. "That's actually why I'm here."
Hiashi's face filled with shock, then delight.
"You've developed a new technique?!"
"Before that, I'd like to ask—do you know of the Dance of the Larch?"
Souma didn't answer directly.
"Dance of the Larch? Of course. It's an ability of the Shikotsumyaku," Hiashi said, taking a sip of tea. "You may not know this, Souma-kun, but historically, the Hyūga clan and the Kaguya clan shared blood ties. Sadly, they later belonged to different nations—and eventually, the Kaguya were wiped out."
"That makes things simple," Souma said. "While observing the Dance of the Larch, I thought of your clan's Rotation technique."
He opened his notebook.
"Rotation is vital to the main family. Then why not create a slightly inferior defensive technique?"
"Combining Rotation's principles with the Dance of the Larch? But we don't have Shikotsumyaku… Using chakra needles and rotation instead?"
Hiashi immediately grasped Souma's intent.
It wouldn't be as comprehensive as Rotation, but for the branch family, it would be an excellent option.
And even the main family could learn it.
"Chakra points are extremely small. How would you condense chakra needles within them?"
"The same principle—just add a few hand seals."
Souma answered.
Hiashi fell into deep thought.
What should I trade in return?
No—wait.
The Kaguya clan had been wiped out.
Souma was still so young—
how could he have even seen the Dance of the Larch?!
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