Chapter 196: I'll Follow Master Forever
The weather in Konoha Village had warmed up as March arrived.
Outside Tsunade's house.
Hoshikawa looked at the rock formation before him.
Lava Release: Rasengan!
Chakra surged, and a rapidly spinning orb of molten rock quickly manifested in his right palm.
The surrounding air twisted, and waves of intense heat rolled out.
Hoshikawa slammed the technique into the rock.
Boom!
The rock splintered and was instantly coated in magma, leaving a scorched, blackened surface.
Hoshikawa could only imagine how terrifying it would be if this hit a person instead of a rock.
Simply put, compared to the original Rasengan, the new Lava Release: Rasengan inflicted dual damage: shredding and searing. An ordinary shinobi wouldn't be able to endure it.
Hoshikawa raised an eyebrow.
A few lines of text suddenly appeared in his vision; the perk system notified him that he had acquired a new perk. He was surprised that the Lava Release: Rasengan was actually classified as an S-rank Ninjutsu perk.
Thinking it over, it wasn't a huge surprise. The Rasengan itself was an A-rank Ninjutsu perk, and combining it with a Kekkei Genkai naturally elevated its power.
There are gaps even within the same rank, he mused.
Hoshikawa didn't dwell on the ranking; as long as it increased his strength, it was worthwhile.
Just then, the sound of air being sliced signaled the arrival of an ANBU operative named Haru, who appeared before him. She handed him a scroll, then vanished without saying a single word, which was typical of the ANBU style.
Hoshikawa opened the scroll and began to read. It contained intelligence regarding the current movements of Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
After reading it, Hoshikawa sank into thought.
Kumogakure's forces were currently split into two groups.
One group, led by A and Killer B, was fighting the joint forces of Konoha and Suna, led by Orochimaru, Yūra, and Rasa. With similar numbers and strength, the battle in the Land of Frost was a grueling stalemate.
However, the second group of Kumo shinobi, commanded by the Third Raikage, faced a completely different situation. They were up against ten thousand Iwa shinobi personally led by Ōnoki. Outnumbered, Kumo was slowly being pushed back.
Hoshikawa felt that the fateful event from the original story would happen soon: the Third Raikage being surrounded by ten thousand Iwa shinobi and ultimately fighting until he succumbed to exhaustion.
It had to be said that Kumogakure was formidable. Surrounded by three Great Nations, they had held out this long without collapsing. Ōnoki and Iwagakure must have been getting desperate. They had planned to swiftly defeat Kumo, but their goal remained elusive. It wasn't entirely their fault; the Third Raikage was an upgraded version of Minato Namikaze, certainly one of the strongest people in the current Shinobi world. Ōnoki's Dust Release (Jinton) was arguably more destructive, but his speed couldn't match the Raikage's.
Hoshikawa put away the scroll and continued his training.
This time, it wasn't the Lava Release: Rasengan, but the Strength of a Hundred Technique (Byakugō no Jutsu). Although it was an S-rank Ninjutsu, after this long period of focused study, the progress bar was nearing completion. Hoshikawa estimated he would master it in a week at most.
Possessing the Strength of a Hundred Technique was like having an infinite short-term resurrection cloak. It would be extremely useful if he faced a genuinely lethal opponent.
As dusk approached, Eichirō came by. His purpose was simple: to remind Hoshikawa not to forget the graduation ceremony.
"Master, are you going?" Hoshikawa brought up the topic with Tsunade at the dinner table.
"He invited you, not me," Tsunade paused, then smiled and asked, "Besides, aren't you afraid I'd steal your thunder?"
While Hoshikawa 's reputation was huge, her own was even greater.
"It's fine," Hoshikawa said dismissively. "What's mine is Master's."
"What are you talking about?" Tsunade glared at him. "Are you suggesting you'd give me your money too?"
"If you want it, I can give it to you," Hoshikawa stared back. "Do you want it?"
"Alright, enough with the nonsense," Tsunade shifted the conversation uncomfortably. "What do you think I should lecture them on?"
Hoshikawa smiled but didn't press. He had noticed subtle changes in Tsunade recently, which was undoubtedly a good sign.
"You could follow the Old Man and lecture them on the Will of Fire," Tsunade said casually.
"That's so boring," Hoshikawa refused without thinking. "I'm not talking about that."
"What else is there besides the Will of Fire?" Tsunade asked, chewing on fried shrimp.
"Something useful," Hoshikawa considered. "I'll tell them to focus more on improving their strength."
"You certainly worked hard when you were at the Academy." A look of nostalgia crossed Tsunade's face.
In truth, a large part of Hoshikawa 's diligence was due to the perk system. Seeing tangible progress always motivated him greatly.
"So, you're really not going?" Hoshikawa asked one more time.
"No," Tsunade shook her head. "I'd rather go to the casino with that time."
"Very well." Hoshikawa didn't insist.
Five days later, it was the Ninja Academy's graduation ceremony.
Hoshikawa ate breakfast, greeted Tsunade, and left.
"Hoshikawa -nii!"
Just as he arrived at the Academy gates, he heard someone call out to him. Hoshikawa turned to see a purple-haired girl waving enthusiastically. He recognized her after a moment: it was Yūgao Uzuki. She had grown quite a bit since he last saw her.
"Hoshikawa -nii, you're amazing now!" Yūgao's face was filled with admiration.
"You can be too, one day," Hoshikawa patted her head.
"I heard you defeated a Tailed Beast. What does a Tailed Beast look like?" Yūgao asked curiously.
"The Four-Tails is just a monkey with four tails," Hoshikawa answered casually.
"Eh?" Yūgao blinked. "That doesn't sound very evil?"
"Whether it's evil or not depends on the wielder," Hoshikawa changed the topic. "Are you graduating today?"
"No," Yūgao thought for a moment. "I don't know when I'll graduate. Probably two or three more years."
During wartime, students often graduated early. Aside from war, being scouted by a Jōnin could also lead to early graduation—like Anko Mitarashi, who stopped attending school after becoming Orochimaru's student. Students could also apply themselves. But Yūgao's talent was average, so she wasn't planning on graduating early.
"It's good to learn more at school," Hoshikawa nodded. If she waited two or three years to graduate, she would perfectly miss the dangerous Third Shinobi World War.
"Mm!" Yūgao suddenly remembered something. "I heard the teacher say you're giving the speech today?"
"That's right," Hoshikawa smiled. "Hokage-sama couldn't make it, so I'm giving the speech."
"That's great!" Yūgao hummed happily. "Hoshikawa -nii's speech will definitely be more interesting than the Hokage-sama's!"
Hoshikawa couldn't help but inwardly complain that the Will of Fire was truly detrimental to a good speech.
"Are you Hoshikawa -senpai?!" a startled voice rang out.
Hoshikawa followed the voice and saw a young boy who looked somewhat familiar.
"That's Iruka Umino," Yūgao introduced. "He's in my class."
Hoshikawa remembered: he had met Iruka Umino when the boy first enrolled.
"Hoshikawa -senpai, it's an honor to meet you!" Iruka Umino walked up to him and immediately bowed deeply.
"There's no need for such formality," Hoshikawa said, momentarily stunned.
"I apologize!" Iruka Umino quickly said. "I was too excited!"
"It's fine," Hoshikawa said with a smile.
How else could he describe it? Becoming the idol of the original series' characters was actually quite interesting.
"Time is almost up. Let's head to the training field first." Hoshikawa remembered the important matter.
"Hoshikawa -nii!" Yūgao grabbed his hand. "I'll show you the way!"
Hoshikawa was dragged by her to the training field, where he was immediately surrounded by a throng of younger students.
"Are you Hoshikawa , the one who captured the Tailed Beast?"
"Hoshikawa -senpai, I want an autograph!"
"I'm Izumo Kamizuki! Do you remember me, Hoshikawa -senpai?"
"And me, Kotetsu Hagane!"
Hoshikawa instinctively glanced over and saw the future Gatekeepers of Konoha desperately waving at him. They were a step too slow and couldn't squeeze through the crowd. Hoshikawa offered them a smile, which made Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane even more excited.
"Quiet!"
Just then, Eichirō noticed Hoshikawa 's predicament and rushed over. "Everyone return to your classrooms!"
The children reluctantly dispersed.
"Hoshikawa -nii, goodbye." Yūgao followed them back to the classroom.
"I apologize for the trouble, Hoshikawa ," Eichirō said awkwardly.
"It's nothing," Hoshikawa replied easily. "Talking to them was quite fun."
"I told you before, they're all huge fans of yours," Eichirō smiled. "Do you believe me now?"
"Their enthusiasm is certainly palpable," Hoshikawa sighed. He hadn't realized it before, but now he definitely felt like a big celebrity.
However, it had been over a month since the Tailed Beast capture. Only the children at the Academy were still this frantic. Ordinary villagers and shinobi had grown accustomed to it. When they saw him, they acted normally, only with an added measure of respect. After all, Hoshikawa 's strength now superseded his status as merely Tsunade's student. Their previous courtesy to him had been out of respect for Tsunade; now, it was for his own power.
"The graduation ceremony starts at nine," Eichirō checked the time. "The students from each class will be assembling on the field in about ten minutes."
"Then let's head to the platform," Hoshikawa nodded.
"I'll take you to meet the Vice Principal," Eichirō gestured.
Hoshikawa didn't stand on ceremony and walked ahead. His reputation and strength were directly proportional to his status, which was soaring in Konoha.
Hoshikawa met the Ninja Academy's Vice Principal, a Jōnin who was never mentioned in the original story. The Vice Principal was extremely friendly towards Hoshikawa , even voluntarily introducing himself as having lineage from the Senju clan, albeit a distant branch. Hoshikawa recalled a rumor that many of the missing Senju clan members had gone on to serve as teachers at the Academy.
Nine o'clock arrived.
The training field was filled with students from first through sixth grade. Hoshikawa glanced over and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He spotted Tsunade.
That woman is so contradictory. It's endearing.
"Hello, everyone, I am Hoshikawa …"
The moment Hoshikawa spoke, the students erupted in cheers.
"That brat is certainly popular," Tsunade muttered. She had originally intended to go to the casino, but somehow ended up walking to the Academy. It's definitely because I wanted to wait for the speech to end so I could take Hoshikawa to the casino, and then I wouldn't lose money.
As Tsunade listened to his speech, her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts.
Hoshikawa 's speech wasn't long, lasting only half an hour. In his view, anything longer was meaningless; people wouldn't remember it anyway. He certainly wasn't going to emulate Hiruzen Sarutobi, who often spoke for two or three hours.
After his speech, Hoshikawa descended the platform, leaving the rest of the time to the Vice Principal and the teachers. He decided to take a quiet, less-traveled path that looped behind the field. If he got surrounded again, he didn't know how much time he would waste.
"Master."
Hoshikawa walked up and asked with a smile, "Didn't you go to the casino?"
"It was on the way," Tsunade replied without batting an eye.
"Is this really on the way?" Hoshikawa blinked.
"I say it's on the way, so it is on the way," Tsunade glared at him, speaking unreasonably.
"Yes," Hoshikawa said, beaming. "Master is right."
"Come on, let's go to the casino!" Tsunade felt a flicker of panic at his smile, turned, and walked away.
"Oh, and Master," Hoshikawa followed her, saying, "I've already mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique."
He had initially estimated a week, but he ultimately did it in only five days. It was a good thing; the sooner he learned it, the better.
Tsunade froze slightly. With Hoshikawa having mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique, she no longer had any Ninjutsu left to teach him. She recalled their very first meeting, feeling a sense of having lived through a lifetime since then.
"You can officially graduate from my tutelage now. Congratulations," Tsunade recovered and said with a smile.
"Graduate from what tutelage? I'll be with Master forever," Hoshikawa shook his head.
"I can't teach you for a lifetime," Tsunade averted her gaze.
"It's fine," Hoshikawa said seriously. "Then I'll teach you."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Tsunade unhesitatingly raised her hand and flicked his forehead. "Do you have any respect for your teacher?"
"The respect Master taught me," Hoshikawa took her hand. "Come on, let's go to the casino."
Tsunade paused, letting him pull her along instinctively.
The graduation ceremony was followed by April. For the entire month, Hoshikawa focused on training his Wind Release Ninjutsu and the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Then, on the first day of May, a major event that shook the Shinobi World occurred.
The Third Raikage was attacked by ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi. To cover the retreat of his own forces, he fought for three days and three nights, eventually succumbing to exhaustion and dying.
While Kage of the Five Great Nations had fallen in battle before, such events were rare. The death of any Kage would profoundly affect the entire Shinobi world.
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