The clattering of weapons echoed in Nojuro Ryun's spacious courtyard, where Tenten was currently sparring with Ino and Sakura.
Although Tenten, fighting one against two, looked relatively relaxed, she actually felt immense pressure.
She had witnessed firsthand the rapid growth Sakura and Ino had undergone recently.
The current spar was only in taijutsu, and Tenten knew that both Sakura and Ino had already learned some ninjutsu and genjutsu.
That is to say, if they were to go all out, Tenten would definitely not be a match for them in a two-on-one fight.
Even in a one-on-one match, she would feel the pressure.
"Alright, let's stop here."
Ryun clapped his hands; continuing might damage their camaraderie, and Tenten's expression was clearly off.
Ino also noticed this and took the initiative to speak, "Tenten, you're really amazing. You're only one year older than us, after all."
"That's right, that's right. We're different now, our talents are really, really good."
Sakura chimed in, her words carrying a hint of self-praise, but she wasn't lying.
In Team 7, she had a good benchmark: Sasuke.
At the academy, Sasuke was someone Sakura could only look up to; she couldn't understand how someone the same age could be so strong.
But now, Sakura felt she had caught up.
From chakra control to physical strength, and even to her ninjutsu level, Sakura felt she was no longer inferior to the current Sasuke.
These were all changes brought about by the True Spirit Seal and talent power Ryun had given her.
Although Sakura secretly wished to monopolize this privilege, since even Ino had received the True Spirit Seal, Sakura felt Ryun should quickly bestow it upon others as well.
That way, she would remain the first person Ryun had favored, with Ino merely being an unremarkable second.
"Once you have the same talent, Tenten, you'll definitely be able to surpass us again."
Comforted by Ino and Sakura, Tenten breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Ryun a bit shyly.
Having soaked in the hot spring at Ryun's place more than once with Ino and Sakura, she had naturally seen the True Spirit Seal on their stomachs.
The thought that she would also have such a seal made her feel weak.
However, her feeling was more of anticipation, as she desperately wanted greater power to better protect Ryun—the incident where Ryun had caused trouble for the Yamanaka clan was naturally not something Ino had told others.
Even the Yamanaka clan themselves never mentioned it, after all, the Ino–Shika–Cho clans were the type to keep a low profile and profit silently; if more people paid attention to Ryun, their position as investors would become unstable.
Seeing the anticipation in Tenten's eyes, Ryun smiled slightly and said, "Tenten, are you ready?"
Tenten immediately jumped up excitedly, wrapped her arms around Ryun's neck in front of the other girls, and gently kissed his cheek, saying, "I can't wait."
"Ah, jumping the gun!"
"Tenten, we never said you could do that!"
"That's right, that's right, come back down and let's continue fighting!"
Tenten stuck her tongue out at the girls, took Ryun's hand, and headed towards the living room.
Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance, didn't follow them, and instead brandished their kunai at each other.
With the True Spirit Seal, they could eat to their heart's content; any excess would be converted into vitality, giving them endless energy to train all day long.
Tenten pulled Ryun to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and asked with sparkling eyes, "Ryun, when do we start?"
"Well... how about tomorrow?"
"Before that, there's something I want to discuss with you."
Since Ryun hadn't simulated Tenten yet, he naturally couldn't proceed immediately.
Also, there was a question he wanted to ask Tenten: the issue of her developmental path.
As everyone knew, Tenten was obsessed with ninja tools and treated them as both a hobby and a career.
And this determined that Tenten's future development would hit a huge bottleneck.
After all, future wars were clashes of gods and immortals, where ninja tools could play a very limited role.
Even if someone used something resembling a ninja tool, it would be a transformation of Yin-Yang Release chakra, or tools left behind by the Six Paths.
If Tenten remained fixated on ordinary tools, she was destined not to make it to the final battlefield.
Therefore, Ryun wanted to discuss her future development with Tenten.
He wanted to ask Tenten if she was willing to adopt other methods to increase her strength, or if she still wanted to focus solely on ninja tools.
Then, Ryun voiced his concerns.
Tenten was moved and began to seriously consider the question for the first time.
The reason she used ninja tools, besides her family's weapons shop business, was also because it was her only talent.
Now that Ryun seemed able to change her talent, allowing her to fight in other ways, should she change herself?
Tenten hesitated over this question for a long time, still pondering it even after Ino, Sakura, and Hinata had finished their baths and taken their leave.
"Want to go soak in the bath together and think it over slowly?"
Ryun whispered softly in Tenten's ear. Tenten subconsciously replied, "Okay!"
Only after saying it did she realize what she had agreed to, quickly shaking her head to refuse, but Ryun had already picked her up and was heading towards the bathhouse.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already sitting beside Ryun in a bathrobe, actually soaking with him.
Although Ryun didn't do anything strange, Tenten's mind still went blank, as she was just one step away from crossing the line.
Thinking this, Tenten instinctively looked down at Ryun, who then gently poked her eyes with his finger.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
"If you tease me again, I'll attack you!"
"Bring it on, who's scared of who!"
Tenten used her hand as a kunai and jabbed at Ryun. Ryun continuously blocked, and as they play-fought, Tenten ended up sitting on Ryun's lap.
Feeling the springy resilience of Tenten's skin and her toned figure, Ryun couldn't help but hug her waist, pulling her into his arms.
He liked Tenten, liked her without any conditions.
This woman had given him hope and was also worthy of bearing all of Ryun's affection.
Tenten initially tried to struggle, but then she felt Ryun's genuine emotion, and her body and mind slowly melted. She hugged Ryun back, and the two of them just nestled together in the warm water, reminiscing about their past together.
After a long while, Tenten spoke.
"Ryun-kun, I still want to use ninja tools. Maybe this will cause my strength to lag behind yours, but... this is my ninja way!"
Ninja way... Ryun savored Tenten's resolute ninja way and nodded, saying, "I'll help you."
"Mm!"
After seeing Tenten off, Ryun began to seriously consider how to enhance Tenten's strength.
Previously, Ryun had considered having Tenten switch to practicing elemental releases, but since Tenten had already shown him her ninja way, Ryun could only respect her ideals.
Now, he needed to consider how to increase the power of ninja tools.
Firstly, there was the power of projectile weapons.
Using monstrous strength to throw tools was undoubtedly a straightforward method.
Secondly, the tools themselves could possess explosive and sharp attributes. The former could draw inspiration from fragmentary kunai, and the latter could introduce chakra nature transformation, strengthening tools with Wind Release and Lightning Release.
The awkward part was that Ryun currently lacked talent in Lightning and Wind Release.
He could obtain Lightning Release from Hinata, and Wind Release from Temari during the Chunin Exams.
Besides these two, Ryun could only consider two other methods.
One was the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the other was the Six Paths Tools.
Ryun planned to teach Tenten the Flying Thunder God Technique; after all, it was Tenten who gave him his space–time ninjutsu talent, so it was only right to repay her.
Moreover, with this technique, Tenten could use her tools more flexibly, and might even eventually add things like chakra cannons to her collection and use them as tools.
Who said tools couldn't include cannons?
Ryun was determined to forge a Tenten proficient in all forms of weaponry!
As for the Six Paths Tools, naturally, he wanted to collect the complete set for his wife Tenten, who loved tools.
In the original storyline, Tenten had already obtained four of the Six Paths Tools, with the last one, the Seven-Star Sword, remaining in Darui's possession.
This time, Ryun wanted Tenten to obtain all the Six Paths Tools, which would elevate her strength to at least the Super Elite Jōnin level.
Having figured this out, Ryun began this simulation.
[Simulation Start]
[Remaining simulation attempts: 28]
[Simulation target: Tenten]
[Initial relationship: You have mutual affection for each other.]
[The Chunin Exams are about to begin. On your suggestion, you and the girls around you start a training camp.]
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