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Chapter 201 - Chapter 201: Heavy Losses.

"What is taijutsu?" Madara sat on a stone bench, watching Shijō training in the distance, and said calmly, "Attacking directly with the body, without the need for hand seals, is called taijutsu."

"But taijutsu practitioners have always been at a disadvantage."

"Because they cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, their resistance to these techniques is too weak."

"If they're not careful, they can easily fall into someone else's trap." Uchiha Madara sighed and said, "Kid, I advise you to give up."

No one can become a strong warrior relying solely on taijutsu.

"Uzushiogakure seems quite good now." Madara looked at Shijō, who ignored his words and continued training. A faint smile flashed across his face before he said indifferently, "Even if you don't become a ninja, you can live a comfortable life."

"Go find a job and work."

"No!" Shijō turned his head, his eyes filled with determination as he looked at Madara. "I will never give up."

"I didn't become a ninja to live a good life, but to..."

"Protect this country!" Shijō stared at Madara firmly. "I've experienced war, and I don't want Uzushiogakure to fall into war."

"So..."

"I will become a strong warrior like Keita-nii!"

"I will become a soldier of Uzushiogakure."

"..."

Seeing Shijō's determination and hearing his words, Madara fell silent. Finally, he sighed and said, "I acknowledge your dream, kid." Then, a cold smile appeared on his lips. "Though this dream is still laughable."

Do you think this country needs your protection?

That Uzumaki brat has already...

Just like when he and Hashirama were young, they were unmatched in the ninja world.

"A dream, as long as it persists, can become reality." Hearing the old man's words, Shijō smiled and said, "This is what Jun-sama said. So I will keep persisting."

"..."

Hearing that brat's words again gave Madara a headache. Why did a genius keep feeding others motivational nonsense? Wasn't he afraid of causing problems? He said helplessly, "You shouldn't listen to that red-haired brat."

"Huh?" Shijō looked at Madara in confusion. What did this old man just say?

However...

"Your body cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu." Madara's expression turned serious. "But you can still refine chakra."

"And a ninja's taijutsu isn't just about relying on the body."

Seeing Shijō listening attentively to his taijutsu lecture, Madara continued indifferently, "Although taijutsu doesn't consume chakra to attack like ninjutsu or genjutsu, a large amount of chakra can highly activate the body, achieving speed and strength beyond ordinary people's imagination."

"So, taijutsu has weaknesses, but also advantages. While it's very dangerous against genjutsu and ninjutsu users, for enemies who can absorb chakra or nullify ninjutsu, taijutsu is the most effective way to defeat them."

"So..."

"Your body has already reached the limit of what it can endure at your age."

Madara looked at Shijō and said, "Considering the canned food earlier, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"From now on, focus on improving your chakra control. Once you can freely attach chakra to every part of your body, your taijutsu..."

"Will truly reach the beginner level."

"I see!" Hearing the old man's words, Shijō's eyes lit up as if he had found the path forward. He quickly asked, "How do I do it?"

It seemed this old man must have been a taijutsu master in his youth. Otherwise, how could he understand taijutsu so well?

Recently, he had felt that no matter how much he trained, his progress was minimal, as if he had hit a bottleneck.

Madara glanced at the nearby stream and the surrounding trees, then stood up calmly and turned around.

Just as Shijō thought the old man wouldn't teach him and anxiously prepared to ask...

A faint voice reached him.

"Water-walking. Tree-climbing."

...

"So, the old man wants you to be Nawaki's instructor?" Jiraiya frowned. "But the Senju Clan..."

"Are you sure you won't get beaten up?"

"Nawaki and Tsunade don't know yet." Orochimaru shook his head. "The old man told me to keep it a secret."

"But now Nawaki..." Jiraiya hesitated before sighing. "You can't hide it for long. Tsunade will be even angrier when she finds out."

He knew Tsunade's personality. If they told her now, she would grieve for a while but eventually pull herself together, and everything would be fine. But if they hid it from her...

Not only would they get punched, but they might even lose her as a friend.

"She might even hate you." Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru seriously. "What are you going to do?"

"I..." Orochimaru opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

He understood his teacher's intentions—to use the Senju Clan's prestige to help him secure the Hokage position.

But...

"In a few days, I'll tell Tsunade myself." Orochimaru hesitated before deciding. "As for whether to tell Nawaki, I'll let Tsunade decide."

He couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

Even if Nawaki had the potential to awaken Wood Release, he didn't want to disappoint Jiraiya and Tsunade. After all...

They were a team!

"Good." Jiraiya patted Orochimaru's shoulder and grinned. "That's more like it. Don't worry about the old man."

"Tsunade will deal with him later!"

"But..." Orochimaru sighed. "I still agree with what the old man said. In this world..."

"Only strength can ensure survival. If Nawaki awakens Wood Release..."

"Ah." Before Orochimaru could finish, Jiraiya waved his hand and sighed. "I know, but..." He glanced at the group of kids nearby, who were curiously observing the battlefield.

"I just hope they can learn later..."

"How cruel this ninja world is!"

"Naive." Orochimaru scoffed at Jiraiya. "The ninja world has always been cruel. The sooner they understand, the harder they'll fight to survive."

"Haha." Jiraiya laughed. "Whatever. We can't stop them now."

"After all, the Konoha elders sent them here to..."

Before he could finish...

"Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya-sama." A Konoha-nin rushed in anxiously. "The Suna-nin and Iwa-nin have launched another attack."

...

October, Year 32 of Konoha.

Due to the alliance between Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure, Konoha was defeated and suffered heavy losses.

Anti-war sentiments began spreading in Konoha. Many complained to the Hokage, asking why underage children were being sent to the battlefield.

So...

"Sigh." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, his back turned to Danzō, and sighed. "Konoha can't wait any longer."

"If this continues, we'll fail our teacher and the First Hokage."

And Danzō...

I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it.

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