"Let's go."
Having finished packing, White Fang led Uchiha Kin out of the camp.
He glanced back one last time.
The camp had already vanished behind a genjutsu barrier.
He never got to ask Tsunade out.
What a shame.
"Married women are nice, but Tsunade isn't married yet—she's still a maiden," White Fang remarked casually, as if reading Kin's mind.
"She's in her twenties. Hardly a maiden," Kin scoffed.
Besides, he wasn't into married women—he just preferred mature women.
As he mused to himself, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over him.
No warning whatsoever.
Kin frowned, sensing impending doom. He didn't dare turn around and instead asked White Fang directly:
"White Fang-sama, where exactly did you coordinate with Tsunade-sama?"
"At the camp entrance."
White Fang took two deliberate steps back.
Kin looked up and was met with two towering peaks.
He touched his nose—thankfully, no nosebleed.
But if his nose wasn't bleeding, another part of him might be in danger.
"A little pervert taught by Jiraiya," Tsunade growled through gritted teeth.
"Tsunade-sama, if I said this was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
"What do you think?" Tsunade sneered, glaring down at the brat who barely reached her waist—and whose gaze had lingered where it shouldn't.
Her fist clenched so hard her veins bulged.
This brat had the audacity to say she wasn't a maiden?!
Seeing her reaction, Kin had to admit he wouldn't believe himself either.
With a furious roar, Tsunade swung her fist down.
"GO DIE!!!"
BOOM!!!
The ground cratered under her punch.
But Kin was already a blur in the distance, his voice trailing back:
"No need to see me off, Tsunade-sama!"
A vein throbbed on Tsunade's forehead.
"Damn brat."
And then—
"That bastard Jiraiya! You're dead meat!"
Over at the Iwagakure battlefield, Jiraiya sneezed violently.
White Fang soon caught up to Kin, who had bolted far ahead.
"You did that on purpose!"
Kin glared daggers at White Fang, who turned away innocently.
Yep.
Totally on purpose.
For the first time, Kin felt someone could infuriate him this much.
A vein pulsed on his forehead.
White Fang, you're really asking for it!
"Don't be so angry. A shinobi must endure all things," White Fang said breezily.
Kin clenched his teeth, barely holding back his rage. If only he were stronger—
He'd make White Fang regret underestimating him!
The two lapsed into silence as they continued forward.
Since this wasn't an urgent transfer, they took their time.
Moving through the forest, Kin suddenly asked out of curiosity:
"White Fang-sama."
White Fang stopped and turned to him.
"Why did you insist on bringing me? I'm just some random Uchiha."
White Fang pondered for a moment. "There's no such thing as 'just some random Uchiha.'"
"Oh?"
Kin studied White Fang's wooden expression—carved like a mask—and suddenly grinned.
"White Fang-sama, I heard you can see through people's hearts?"
In his past life, he'd read theories that White Fang could discern potential.
Here, the rumors were similar—except it wasn't potential White Fang saw through.
But the heart itself.
A niche piece of gossip, origins unknown, claimed White Fang's promotion to chūnin was due to his knack for catching spies.
Supposedly, spies trembled whenever White Fang returned to the village.
"Just rumors," White Fang shook his head. "Like how you'd never guess what's under a woman's heavy winter clothes."
"Imagination is key."
Kin's smile froze. He couldn't keep it up.
This trashy, perverted jōnin was beyond saving.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!"
Kin's hands flew through seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot toward White Fang, who split it cleanly with a single sword stroke, scattering the flames harmlessly.
"Keep it up! You'll get there," White Fang cheered mockingly.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Kin drew his sword and charged.
At this rate, he really would turn into Kushina!
(Kushina: ???)
As Kin chased White Fang, his mind wandered to the knowledge he'd gleaned about White Fang's insights into the third layer of the Basic Internal Energy Technique.
The Basic Internal Energy was a rough fusion of all the sealing techniques from his family. Its simplicity was deliberate—to leave room for future development.
But these shinobi, oblivious to his intent, only saw its imperfections.
Their core philosophies were too different.
Through the constantly updated data from Konoha's shinobi, he'd found a way to refine it—transforming the Basic Internal Energy into a true ninjutsu system.
Or rather, an entirely new system.
He had a direction now, but certain critical junctions required careful consideration, slowing his progress.
The available options were limited, and none satisfied him.
That was a problem for later.
What mattered was that White Fang had opened his eyes to a new approach—using sheer will to forcibly shape chakra into seals.
Wasn't human will a form of power too?
But materializing will was incredibly difficult.
Frankly, besides White Fang, he couldn't think of anyone else capable of such a feat.
The third layer's extreme difficulty stemmed from his ambition for longevity.
Its sealing technique was ten times harder than the second layer's—equivalent to an A-rank sealing jutsu.
The real hurdle was chakra. The third layer's seal wasn't formed internally but externally, requiring chakra materialization.
And chakra dispersed far faster outside the body than expected. Only tailed beast-level reserves—or figures like Hashirama, Tobirama, and Madara—could sustain it.
That was the third layer's true barrier.
Theoretically, decades of accumulated, unused chakra might suffice.
But in wartime, who could afford to hoard chakra for decades?
To truly master it, one needed White Fang's unorthodox methods.
Ironically, the most likely candidate now was Jinchūriki Kushina.
Kin's Six Treasuries Immortal Thief was another attempt to reach the third layer.
But reality proved it wasn't enough.
What he needed was a way to devour chakra.
The two continued their playful skirmish until they reached a city, where they finally settled down.
They rented two rooms.
"I'm going drinking. You coming?" White Fang asked.
Kin sweatdropped.
Wasn't this guy's wife pregnant?
The thought made his eyes gleam. He waved White Fang off dismissively.
"You go ahead. I'm too young for that."
White Fang narrowed his eyes. This brat was definitely plotting something.
Kin smiled sweetly.
Snitching was his specialty.
...
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(End of Chapter)