Although the Hyūga clan lacks an absolute top-tier powerhouse, they occupy an enormous share of Konoha's mid-to-upper combat strength.
So when Hiashi claims the Hyūga are Konoha's number-one clan, that's no exaggeration.
Below Kage level, the overall quality of the Hyūga clan is extremely high.
Sitting on a tree branch, Yagyū Souma pondered for a long time.
Then it hit him—
What exactly was he worried about?
If Shikotsumyaku were really transplanted and Neji's bloodline or power underwent a qualitative transformation, the Hyūga clan might end up begging him and Kimimaro instead.
By then, who needed whom was far from certain.
The only issue was that within Konoha, cell and bloodline transplantation was a taboo.
For something like this to happen, Neji and Kimimaro themselves would need to cooperate fully.
After thinking it through, Souma already had a fairly complete plan in mind.
Neji and Sasuke took turns sparring.
Yet even when they pushed their abilities to the limit, neither of them could defeat Kimimaro alone.
As for going all-out together?
As geniuses, neither of them even considered that option.
This training was meant to hone individual ability, not teamwork.
Even if they somehow won together, it would mean nothing.
Besides, the original goal of the fight was to test Kimimaro's strength.
Now that they'd clearly seen he was more than capable of teaching them, there was no reason to go any further.
Both of them accepted defeat wholeheartedly and began learning swordsmanship and taijutsu in earnest.
Kimimaro's style was both simple and complex—
Decisive and clean, yet precisely because of that, it demanded extreme battlefield awareness and judgment, ensuring every strike hit a vital point without wasting strength.
Byakugan and Sharingan were both top-tier in that regard.
His techniques suited the two of them perfectly.
As for future development of swordsmanship and taijutsu—that was up to them.
Souma wasn't their father; he wasn't going to prepare everything for them.
He had his own matters to attend to.
He didn't know the exact situation with the Yamanaka clan yet, but judging from the feedback of the bodhi bead, his mental energy had been growing at an unusually rapid pace lately.
The Yamanaka clan clearly hadn't slacked off—they'd maintained high-intensity training the entire time.
At most, a few more days…
His next pattern should awaken.
The only uncertainty was which one.
That aside, Souma felt a faint sense of unease.
Recently, his mental power had surged dramatically, but while his body had also improved, the increase was far smaller.
On top of that, he'd been slacking on taijutsu training lately, so physical progress lagged behind even more.
If his mental power really underwent a transformation—
Would his body be able to keep up?
Just like Kimimaro… or Itachi.
"Other areas need to catch up too. Good thing I planned ahead—if anything feels off, I can go give some guidance…"
And besides—
Souma still had a trump card.
The Yin Seal.
Excess mental energy could be temporarily stored inside it, solving any urgent imbalance.
That was exactly why he'd gone out of his way to improve the storage of mental energy.
Leaving the training ground, Souma headed to the Forest of Death.
Shukaku was being very well-behaved.
It understood its situation clearly.
After what happened with Sunagakure, it knew that returning to the kind of total freedom it once had was basically impossible.
The entire shinobi world knew how powerful tailed beasts were.
Every village wanted one.
Compared to that—
This human from Konoha didn't shackle it completely, only restricted its range slightly.
That was already exceptionally good treatment.
"Hey, Souma, when are we going to meet that Kyūbi?"
"Don't rush. Before Naruto leaves the village, I'll arrange for you to meet Kyūbi."
Souma smiled meaningfully.
Shukaku didn't understand.
"Why?"
"He's about to leave the village with Jiraiya for training. He'll be gone for a while. Think about it—
you're free in the forest, while the Nine-Tails can only stay sealed, watching you, completely unable to talk back."
Souma's smile narrowed.
"Doesn't that sound delightful?"
"…When you put it that way, it kind of does."
Shukaku thought it over carefully.
"And," Souma added calmly,
"don't give him any chance to retort. Brag, curse him out, then leave immediately. While Kyūbi's stuck inside, the more he thinks about it, the angrier he'll get."
"…You humans are vicious."
Shukaku raised a claw in what looked suspiciously like a sarcastic thumbs-up.
Souma chuckled.
This was nothing yet.
If he didn't play dirty, Kyūbi would never soften its attitude—and Souma would never get what he wanted.
Nine tailed beasts.
He wanted a piece of every single one.
Just imagining Nagato's expression when he realized all the tailed beasts he collected were incomplete copies—
That alone would be priceless.
Even if he couldn't get all nine, getting a few was far better than letting them fall into the enemy's hands.
The Nine-Tails was relatively easy.
The real problem was the other villages.
Fortunately, he had Otogakure as a perfect "alternate account," and Kabuto's identity was still hidden.
Souma could easily pose as Kabuto's "assistant."
Silently, he refined his plan.
With the boosts from these patterns, even if he didn't undergo a qualitative transformation on the fifth one, he'd still be strong enough to clash directly with tailed beasts.
As for Kyūbi—
In the short term, even if Kyūbi wanted to cooperate, Souma couldn't help it.
Jiraiya wasn't Rasa.
He was a Sage.
His perception was far too sharp—half a Nine-Tails' chakra would never slip past him.
Unless—
Kyūbi willingly created a tiny alt with only ten percent of its chakra.
At that thought, Souma glanced at Shukaku.
With fifty percent of Shukaku's chakra plus sealing techniques, suppressing a Kyūbi was basically guaranteed.
Souma smiled faintly.
"Hey! That creepy grin—are you plotting against me?"
Shukaku tensed up.
"How could that be? I'm seriously thinking about how to help you get revenge. If you manage to vent that anger later, you should thank me properly."
Elsewhere.
"Now then, it's your turn."
Jiraiya looked at the ninjas standing before him.
Special jōnin weren't full jōnin, but in practice their status was high, and their numbers limited.
Many of them had fixed duties and couldn't easily be reassigned.
So only four stood here:
Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, Aoba Yamashiro, and Ibu Tatewaki.
Promoting special jōnin wasn't easy.
Jiraiya needed to understand each of them well and give advice tailored to their strengths.
Fortunately—
The answers were already written very clearly in Souma's materials.
"Genma," Jiraiya said,
"your ninja tools are excellent, but your biggest weakness is your lack of a decisive finishing move. You're strong when paired with Tatewaki, but on your own you often fall short."
"That's the key reason you haven't become a full jōnin."
"Yes, Jiraiya-sama."
Genma nodded.
"I understand my flaw, but I've always struggled to find the right direction."
"Puppets. Puppet techniques."
Jiraiya spoke without hesitation.
Genma froze.
"Puppet techniques? Aren't those from Sunagakure?"
"They were. Souma has already researched them and even created a 'puppet taijutsu' system. If you're interested, you can exchange for it through the Research Department."
Jiraiya paused briefly.
"If you want, you can arrange it in advance. I'll personally guide you for a while."
"Yes! I understand!"
Joy flashed across Genma's face.
"Next."
Ibu Tatewaki stepped forward.
"Tatewaki, you're good at blade techniques, but they're too straightforward. You need to strengthen both your swordsmanship and taijutsu to handle more complex situations."
Jiraiya hesitated slightly, then continued.
"A summoning contract—or space–time ninjutsu—would suit you well."
"Space–time ninjutsu?"
Tatewaki froze.
"But my talent… isn't enough to learn Flying Thunder God."
"Of course I'm not telling you to learn that," Jiraiya replied flatly.
"If you could, you wouldn't still be a special jōnin."
"…"
That hurt.
"Tenten has a space–time application that's perfect for your situation."
"Tenten?"
Tatewaki thought for a second, then his expression changed.
Wasn't she Souma's teammate?
A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl?
"Is there a problem?"
"No—well, I just meant… isn't she Souma's—"
"Mm-hm."
Jiraiya coughed.
"Everyone has their areas of expertise. Being inferior in an unfamiliar field is normal. If you can't let go of that bit of pride, then you really don't have the capacity to become a jōnin."
"Yes… I was wrong."
Tatewaki bowed and stepped back.
Aoba Yamashiro came next.
Jiraiya relayed Souma's advice as well—and Aoba was already actively training ninja crows.
Finally, it was Anko's turn.
"Jiraiya-sama… your advice seems to be, more or less…"
She hesitated.
…All from Souma, right?
Jiraiya's old face flushed, irritation flashing briefly.
This girl really had no sense—
Couldn't she see the other three were all pretending not to notice?
But Anko—
She was Orochimaru's former student.
Jiraiya sighed.
"To be honest, I don't have a good solution for you. You should probably go ask the creator of these materials directly."
As expected—Souma.
The four of them reached the same conclusion at once.
As special jōnin, their sensitivity to information was sharp.
They'd already sensed something odd starting with Tatewaki—no one had called it out.
"I understand. Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."
Anko bowed.
"It's nothing. I didn't help much anyway. I was just relaying Souma's words."
Jiraiya laughed softly.
"If you want to thank someone, thank that brat. Though he's incredibly busy. If you need guidance, I'll be in Konoha for a while."
"Yes!"
The four of them were overjoyed.
They never expected Souma to guide them personally.
Rumor had it he could create a high-difficulty ninjutsu in a single day—wasting that kind of genius's time felt like a crime.
But Jiraiya?
Though he was a respected elder, his usual habits and reputation made him… easier to bother.
Using his time even helped public order.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Jiraiya grew serious.
"If you plan to go to the Research Department, ask around for the safest route first. The Forest of Death isn't what it used to be."
He spoke from experience.
The last time he went there—
He'd been robbed three times in a row.
The fastest route had become downright lethal.
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