"Souma, you could help out once in a while too!"
"I will, I will—I'm just going out to deliver some materials…"
"I'll do it!"
Yamato's eyes sharpened.
No way was he giving Souma a chance to make excuses!
Souma went silent.
After a brief pause, he said, "I still have a few things I need to explain to them."
"I'll pass it on!"
Yamato looked like he was about to cry, his face full of pleading.
It wasn't hard to imagine how miserable his last two days had been. And yet—
Everyone in the research institute was thrilled.
Especially the ninja researching taijutsu and kenjutsu.
Before, they could only spar with stationary targets, or at best practice against themselves. The results were mediocre at best.
But now—
They had a jōnin-level Wood Release clone as a sparring partner.
The training efficiency shot through the roof.
They wished Yamato could run on infinite stamina every day.
Unfortunately.
Even with chakra supplements, the exhaustion from repeatedly draining his chakra was hard to offset.
Seeing how pitiful Yamato looked, Souma finally nodded. "Alright. Wait a moment—I'll write two instructions. You can hand them over together."
"No problem!"
Yamato instantly perked up.
Souma took out pen and paper and began writing at speed. In no time at all, he finished.
"This one goes to Inuzuka Kiba. If you can't find him, give it to Inuzuka Hana or Inuzuka Tsume."
"And this one goes to Akimichi Chōji."
The former might be out on a mission, but the latter was definitely still in the village—after all, even Ino hadn't left yet.
Yamato nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they get it!"
"Then I'll leave it to you, Captain Yamato."
"No problem!"
Yamato grabbed the papers and bolted, not wanting to stay in the research institute a single second longer.
Once he ran out of the Forest of Death, he suddenly felt something was off.
I'm a jōnin… So how did I end up running errands for the research institute?
He pondered for a few seconds.
In the end, between turning back and continuing forward, he chose the latter.
Delivering messages didn't quite fit a jōnin's status, but if he treated it as a mission, it wasn't that bad.
As for the Wood Release clones…
He really needed a few days off. Otherwise, with how feral those people were, he was afraid he'd literally drop dead one day.
Souma shook his head and walked toward the training ground.
A group of people were already waiting eagerly.
When they saw it was Souma instead of Yamato, they looked surprised—and disappointed.
"Souma, where's Captain Yamato?"
"Yeah, isn't he coming today? We were waiting for him to spar with us."
The speaker was from the Inuzuka clan, part of the guard unit.
"You can't keep demanding Captain Yamato help you," Souma said flatly. "His role is to verify the practical application of ninjutsu and taijutsu—not to be your personal trainer."
He glanced at them and sighed inwardly. "There's only one Captain Yamato. You should learn how to use him sustainably."
"But…"
They looked toward the corner.
Two girls were sparring against four of Yamato's Wood Release clones.
An absurdly luxurious setup.
"Kazusa is a squad member. With the Chūnin Exams approaching, Captain Yamato is helping them train."
Souma at least gave them some face, not phrasing it too harshly.
Yamato was their captain.
A captain helping his subordinates train—what were they jealous for?
The crowd fell silent.
"Captain Yamato has also complained to me that too many people need his help every day," Souma continued. "As the head of the research institute, I'm setting some rules for everyone's reference."
He knew this had to be addressed.
They were starting to treat the 'benefits' as something they were entitled to.
"First: if you want to apply for Captain Yamato's clones, you must first submit a ninjutsu concept and complete an initial version of your creation."
Souma scanned the crowd. "If Captain Yamato isn't available, my shadow clones will help instead. Any objections?"
"Uh… no."
Even though they privately doubted whether Souma's shadow clones would be as durable.
No one dared say it out loud.
When Souma got angry, his presence was overwhelming—nothing like his age suggested. And frankly, they were in the wrong.
"Good. The rules are set. I'll formalize them later."
With that settled, Souma headed toward the corner.
Tenten and Kazusa had just finished a round against the Wood Release clones. The result spoke for itself.
Tenten wiped her sweat, panting alongside Kazusa.
"All done?"
"More or less. Just talked with everyone a bit."
Souma didn't elaborate.
Ninja had sharp ears—this wasn't the place for that discussion.
He looked at Kazusa.
He'd been watching their performance. They'd improved a lot recently, especially Kazusa. She'd clearly absorbed some of his sword techniques.
But—
"Kazusa, your swordsmanship is excellent. You're flexible, not bound by fixed forms. You've also mastered my Spiral Blade Force quite well. But there's one problem."
"Yes, please instruct me."
Kazusa immediately straightened up.
"Your Lightning Release chakra isn't being used efficiently," Souma said. "You don't need to force yourself to learn my techniques. I enhance chakra vibration because I lack elemental transformation—but you have it. Wouldn't it be simpler to use Lightning Release directly to create the vibration?"
"Use Lightning Release… to create vibration?"
Kazusa froze.
What was the difference?
"Can't picture it? Try it. Feel it."
"Alright."
She nodded and moved aside to practice.
Tenten, meanwhile, nervously took two steps forward, stopping right in front of Souma. She swallowed hard.
"As for you, Tenten—your ninja tool throwing is already flawless. Across all age groups, almost no one can beat you in that regard. Even—"
"Souma, we're close enough. Just say the 'but' already."
Tenten cut him off impatiently.
Souma went silent again.
This girl really didn't understand the importance of buildup.
Left with no choice, he went straight to the point. "You're strong in many ways, but your weakness is obvious—you lack a finishing move. Don't you think so?"
Tenten fell into thought.
She knew it herself.
Her ninja tool control was powerful, but she lacked a decisive technique—something like Raikiri or true swordsmanship.
Especially against Wind Release users—even with Earth Release, she was often still at a disadvantage.
Earth Release…
She could reshape terrain to her advantage, but the core problem remained.
"Well? Thought of something?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Your sealing techniques and space-time ninjutsu are quite good, and you've been training them consistently," Souma said. "Why not start from there?"
"But I haven't mastered them yet," Tenten said helplessly.
Forget Flying Thunder God—she'd only just barely grasped the basics of the Flying Thunder Formation.
As for sealing techniques…
With her current level, using them in combat would be laughable.
Wait.
Tenten looked at Souma, eyes widening. "You mean… using sealing scrolls in combination with space-time ninjutsu?"
"Yes."
Souma nodded.
Tenten thought hard, and her eyes gradually lit up.
That's it!
Her Earth Release wasn't refined enough to produce offensive techniques like Earth Flow River—but sealing and space-time techniques could achieve similar effects.
For example—
Storing water!
Earth Release combined with a large volume of water could suppress Wind Release. Add her ninja tool suppression on top of that, and even that fan-wielding girl from Sunagakure wouldn't be a problem.
The more she thought about it, the more promising it sounded.
"This works! I'll try it right now!"
Tenten grabbed Souma's hand excitedly, then immediately sprinted toward the river.
Souma brushed the dust off himself.
See?
Problem solved.
Simple.
With the Wood Release clones already dispersed, he sat down nearby and took out his notebook.
The Inuzuka and Akimichi tasks were handled.
Now he had to figure out Wood Release for Yamato—or Yamato really would explode someday.
But…
"How do you even strengthen Wood Release?"
Souma frowned.
He didn't understand Wood Release, and Senju Hashirama never seemed to rely on technique either—just clap his hands and unleash a world-ending move.
The difference was physique and chakra reserves.
Unless—
Sage Mode?
That seemed like the only option.
Fire Temple had already loosened its restrictions, and Shiraishi happened to be in Konoha. Getting permission for Yamato wouldn't be hard.
The real question was whether Yamato himself could learn it.
If he couldn't, then the only remaining option would be tailed-beast chakra.
Sealing techniques weren't a problem.
But chakra-wise, Naruto would have to cooperate.
"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll write down both plans and discuss them with Yamato later."
"He'll probably choose the first one."
Souma didn't think Yamato would willingly pick the second option.
Tailed-beast chakra wasn't easy to control—especially the violent Nine-Tails chakra. Even Souma wouldn't dare say he could manage it flawlessly.
With Wood Release tentatively sorted, Souma returned to his own research—
Mental attacks and defenses.
Defense, especially, was the top priority.
As long as he could block genjutsu and mental attacks, he'd have plenty of ways to defeat his opponents.
But making that happen…
He thought for a long time, then tried layering mental energy onto the chakra membrane covering his body.
Still, this probably wouldn't even block the most basic genjutsu.
"No good."
"I need to consult a specialist."
There weren't many genjutsu experts in Konoha.
Yakushi Kabuto counted as one, but the truly professional—and easily approachable—option was only one person:
Yūhi Kurenai, the jōnin leading Team Eight.
Asuma had been "studying" with Kurenai recently.
At least, that's how Asuma put it.
Whether he was actually studying or doing something else… Souma had no idea.
Probably both.
"Kazusa, how's it going? Any ideas?"
"Kazusa?"
"Souma, if you have things to do, go ahead. The guidance you gave earlier is already more than enough."
Kazusa wasn't great at talking to strangers, but she was good at reading the room. She'd noticed Souma was deep in thought.
He was busy.
That guidance alone would help Kazusa and Tenten avoid countless detours and save enormous amounts of time before the exams.
"If Tenten runs into trouble, have her come find me at my place."
"Alright, no problem."
Kazusa nodded repeatedly.
Souma gave a few more reminders, then suddenly thought of something as he was leaving.
"Oh right—there are only two of you taking this exam. Any ideas about a third member?"
"Uh…"
"…Yeah, asking you is pointless. I get it. I'll ask the Hokage later."
"Hehe, please do, Special Jōnin Souma."
Kazusa rubbed her hands together.
Who else would they even know?
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