Nara Shikaku's heart pounded.
If this technique could truly be completed, the Nara clan's role on the battlefield would be elevated by an entire tier—far stronger than before.
There was only one problem.
Chakra pathways.
And beyond that…
He also had to consider the Hyūga clan's reaction.
After pondering for a moment, Shikaku turned to Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru, does the medical division have any semi-public chakra pathway texts?"
"Uh… Dad, asking me this out of nowhere…" Shikamaru sighed helplessly. "It's not like I can run to the medical division right now. Yagyū Souma should know this better than me, right?"
He glanced at Yagyū Souma.
His old man was clearly asking the wrong person—deliberately, at that—and using him as a mouthpiece to probe for answers.
What a pain.
Shikamaru sighed again.
"I understand Lord Shikaku's concerns," Yagyū Souma said calmly. "This is hard for me to answer directly, but there is a version. I researched it myself back when I was with the medical division. It has nothing to do with the Hyūga clan."
"..."
Even knowing it was a statement of fact, it still sounded irritating.
Shikamaru fell silent for a long while before finally looking at his father.
Shikaku coughed awkwardly. "Thanks, Souma."
"It's nothing," Yagyū Souma replied. "As you said, our two families have cooperated for a long time. This little bit of help is only right—and it's no real loss for me."
In fact, there were decent gains.
As he recalled the effects of Shadow Possession, Souma's thoughts stirred. This technique was something he personally couldn't learn right now, but with certain special methods, he might be able to use it indirectly.
But—
He quickly dismissed the idea.
Shadow Possession was strong, but meaningless for him.
If something could be solved with a single slash, why bother with shadows?
With his speed, if a blade couldn't handle it, Shadow Possession wouldn't change much either.
In truth, Shikamaru's future direction was far more suitable—
Using chakra weapons in conjunction with Shadow Possession to immobilize the enemy with minimal chakra cost, then following up with a full combo.
Another thought crossed his mind.
The person best suited for this style was actually Tenten.
Unfortunately…
The Nara clan trusted Souma and his intellect enough to directly show him their secret techniques, but teaching them to Tenten would be another matter entirely—psychologically, they likely couldn't cross that line.
Souma felt a trace of regret.
Shikaku stood up and walked around with Souma, chatting about recent business developments.
At first, Shikamaru followed along, but Shikaku eventually sent him away.
Only then did Shikaku lower his voice.
"Souma, there's something I've always wanted to ask. Is the Sakuraba family working for you now?"
"No," Yagyū Souma replied. "But one of their key people is on good terms with me."
"I see."
"Does it affect your clan?"
"Not really." Shikaku shook his head with a smile. "With our medicinal supplies, they've completely stabilized themselves in the capital. But recently, it seems they've made another breakthrough."
"Kabuto probably gave them some pointers in the capital," Souma said plainly, without trying to hide it.
This kind of business was common. It wasn't weapon trafficking or selling secrets—being evasive would just make him look small-minded.
Shikaku chuckled knowingly. "That clears things up. Don't worry, we'll keep supporting her."
"Oh? Someone trying to bypass her?"
"Yeah."
Shikaku nodded.
Noble tricks were always the same—intercepting deals, stealing results, picking peaches after others planted the trees.
Especially when the head was a woman.
But with Souma involved, the Nara clan had no intention of changing partners. Whoever had that idea was simply mistaken.
...
On a small road outside Konoha, three figures were still running.
"I—I can't anymore! Let's… let's take a break!"
Atsui felt like knives were slicing his throat.
Too exhausting!
These two were monsters—utterly insane in taijutsu training.
He couldn't even finish half their routine.
Might Guy laughed loudly.
"Youthful passion never says no, young man!"
"So hot!"
Atsui suddenly felt energized again.
Rock Lee looked ahead, his eyes lighting up.
"Up ahead is Life Curry! Let's eat there—Atsui will definitely love it! It's incredibly delicious!"
"There's a shop out here in the wild?" Atsui exclaimed.
"Yes! Grandma's curry is amazing—it lets you feel the power of life! That's why Guy-sensei and I call it Life Curry."
Lee grinned brightly.
"Power of life? I'm fired up! Let's go!"
Atsui instantly forgot many things.
For example—
That he'd snuck out.
"Excellent!" Guy declared passionately. "I'll treat! But first—one final duel! Whoever reaches it first gets more curry!"
"I'm not losing!"
Atsui's confidence surged.
Their speed exploded.
Atsui really didn't want to lose—but he did.
After waiting a long time, he finally tasted the Life Curry they praised so highly, and then—
He collapsed onto the table.
A few seconds later, Atsui sprang back up and began devouring it.
"So hot! So good!"
"..."
Back at the lodging, Samui stared at the open window, frowning deeply.
She didn't believe Konoha would abduct Atsui with such clumsy methods—and she distinctly remembered closing the window before leaving.
Which meant this was entirely his own doing.
And worse—
He still hadn't come back.
Samui took a deep breath. When he returned, she was definitely going to beat him senseless. Otherwise, he'd cause real trouble in Konoha sooner or later.
Konoha right now was terrifyingly strong.
Way too strong.
New ninjutsu kept emerging one after another, and even various civilian industries were developing at an incomprehensible pace.
Why was Konoha growing this fast?
She sighed softly.
"If only Darui had come instead… Atsui is completely unreliable."
...
Samui's worries were something Yagyū Souma couldn't empathize with—but he did know she was furious.
Because—
Even from across the street, he could hear Atsui's miserable screams.
Too tragic.
Souma shook his head and returned to his book.
Recently, he'd been researching nature transformations.
They weren't very effective against the Ōtsutsuki, but their everyday utility was undeniable—and occasionally, they produced surprising results.
What he truly cared about was Yin–Yang Release.
Unfortunately, Konoha had no reference materials, and creating something from nothing was far too difficult. In the end, he had no choice but to take a step back.
After a day or two, he still gained something.
At the very least—
He now had a clearer direction for Fire Release.
"Water Release, Fire Release, oil transformation…"
He quickly pulled out a scroll and began writing down his sword-art concepts.
The next day, another ninjutsu scroll appeared on Tsunade's desk.
She didn't even need to open it to know who submitted it.
Tsunade sighed softly.
With Souma in the village, being Hokage was both painful and joyful.
Any Hokage would dream-smile with a genius like him helping—but thinking about his relentless obsession with chakra metal gave her a headache.
The landlord truly had no surplus grain left!
Even so, she opened the scroll.
Souma's demands were hard to satisfy, but his techniques were always practical. Take sound-wave detection—Konoha hadn't perfected it yet, but early tests showed—
Extremely feasible.
They could already detect material differences within ten meters underground. Deeper detection still required better instruments—Tenten's research—but even so, the value was obvious.
Tsunade had already ordered the ANBU intelligence division to master it as quickly as possible.
Opening the scroll and reading through it, she fell into deep thought.
This technique…
Its principle wasn't difficult, but it required mastery of Fire Release, Water Release, and oil transformation, and then applying them to sword arts or ninja tools.
One hand used Fire Release swordsmanship.
The other used Water Release plus oil transformation.
The collision and reaction of the two chakras triggered a powerful explosion.
Compared to ordinary Fire Release or sword techniques, this was far harder to defend against.
But two problems remained.
First—how to lower the difficulty.
Second—how to protect the user.
As Tsunade recalled Souma's recent techniques, understanding dawned.
Chakra armor.
As for difficulty, that was manageable. One person couldn't do it? Use two. One handles Fire Release, the other Water Release and oil transformation.
More cumbersome, but the effect was similar.
"Tsunade-sama, why are you sighing?" Shizune asked curiously. "Isn't the Cloud Village issue already half resolved? They can't find a reason to make trouble now."
Tsunade shook her head. "I'm not worried about Cloud Village. They won't dare act until they reassess our strength."
"Then…?"
"Souma," Tsunade groaned. "He submits ninjutsu after ninjutsu, and I don't know how to reward him! I can't give him chakra metal!"
She grabbed her hair in frustration.
If she'd known, she wouldn't have handed all her techniques to him at once. At least she could've rationed them—but then how would she be any different from the old man?
She shook her head. No regrets.
Giving those techniques to a genius like Souma created far more value than hoarding them ever could.
As she thought further, her mind drifted to the Scroll of Seals, and eventually—to a forbidden technique created by the Second Hokage.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
It was originally designed to be used with Edo Tensei—and Tsunade had witnessed it firsthand.
For ordinary people, she'd never dare teach such a technique. In the wrong hands, it was a suicide bomb.
But Yagyū Souma?
Maybe he could modify it into something safer and more widely applicable.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Tsunade's eyes lit up.
"Shizune, I'm heading out. Handle the paperwork for me."
"???"
Shizune was completely stunned.
She was about to object when Tsunade had already jumped out the window. Two seconds later, she came back, pulled out a massive scroll from the corner—
"Tsunade-sama, that's the Scroll of Seals! It's full of—"
"I know. Forbidden techniques," Tsunade said without looking back. "But there's one I can give Souma to improve. Leaving it sealed forever is just letting it rot."
After memorizing Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, she put the scroll back and leapt out the window again.
Shizune stood there, feeling that something was off…
Wouldn't it have been easier to just call Souma over instead of going out herself?
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