Tobirama Senju showed a rare look of astonishment. There were very few things left in this world that could truly surprise him—but the child standing before him had once again overturned his understanding.
That taijutsu just now clearly didn't belong to any school he had ever seen before.
It was a completely new style.
"How old is he, and he's already created his own taijutsu system?" Tobirama murmured to himself. The way he looked at Chu Yang changed noticeably.
This kid has terrifying potential.
Still, admiration was one thing—Tobirama would never allow Chu Yang to grow arrogant. He walked over and said calmly, "Your taijutsu is passable. You'll need to keep strengthening it in the future."
Chu Yang let out a long breath. Passable was good enough. At least the notoriously strict Second Hokage hadn't scolded him.
He asked eagerly, "Then… does that mean I can start learning ninjutsu from you now?"
Tobirama nodded slightly. "Before that, I need to reorganize and review everything you've learned so far. A tall building rises from the ground up—the foundation must be solid."
From there, Tobirama began again with the most basic Three Body Techniques, adding in explanations involving Shadow Clones as well.
With his tripled talent, Chu Yang reviewed these fundamentals at an astonishing speed. He constantly drew inferences from examples, frequently prompting satisfied expressions from Tobirama.
What kind of student does a teacher love most?
The kind who understands the moment something is explained—who doesn't require excessive effort to grasp key concepts.
And Chu Yang wasn't just fast at learning; his practical ability was equally shocking.
As long as he understood something, he could usually do it.
The further Tobirama taught, the faster Chu Yang absorbed everything.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Yang had fully digested all the foundational material Tobirama intended to review.
Even with a large amount of "private material" and advanced insights mixed in, Chu Yang had no trouble at all understanding them.
"He's not just talented in Wood Release…" Tobirama felt his palms sweat—nervous, but also excited.
He had the sudden urge to teach Chu Yang everything he knew.
He wanted to see just how far this child could go.
But after the excitement faded, Tobirama forcibly suppressed the thought. Chu Yang was still a teenager. Without sufficient mental maturity, being exposed to too many techniques too quickly would be extremely harmful to his growth.
As a ninjutsu researcher, Tobirama knew all too well how terrifying it was when someone's world contained only ninjutsu.
With that in mind, Tobirama deliberately slowed the pace.
Even so, in just a single day, Chu Yang still absorbed an enormous amount of knowledge.
Tobirama felt both gratified—and deeply uneasy.
As night fell, Chu Yang freeloaded dinner once more before being unceremoniously kicked out by Tobirama. The Second Hokage immediately went to find Hashirama Senju and reported Chu Yang's situation.
Hashirama set aside the intelligence report he'd just received, his expression grave.
By Tobirama's assessment, Chu Yang was a once-in-a-century super genius of the Senju Clan.
Hashirama had thought he already valued Chu Yang's talent highly enough—yet he had still underestimated him.
"How did we never notice before…" Hashirama muttered with a bitter smile.
"He's an orphan," Tobirama said after some thought. "He's only ever learned the most basic things. No one paid attention to him, and he had no access to advanced ninjutsu. He simply didn't have the resources."
Hashirama looked at his brother and asked, "Will he become the future of the Senju Clan?"
Tobirama shook his head. "That's impossible to say right now. Dead geniuses have no value—only those who survive can truly be called geniuses."
Hashirama immediately felt a splitting headache. It was like holding a priceless yet extremely fragile work of art in his arms.
"Should we temper him… or protect him?" he murmured.
"Temper him, of course!"
A ruthless glint flashed through Tobirama's eyes. "If he breaks during the tempering process, that only proves this is the limit of his ability. Someone like that isn't worthy of carrying the future of the Senju Clan!"
"Well said, but…" Hashirama scratched his head. "If something really happens, are you sure you won't regret it?"
Regret?
Of course he would!
Tobirama had never seen a child with talent like this. Losing such a successor would be enough to make him wake up crying at night.
But he still shook his head firmly.
A gem that isn't polished will never shine. If Chu Yang stayed forever under the clan's protection and never even stepped onto a battlefield, how could he shoulder great responsibility in the future?
"Then keep him by your side and give him appropriate tempering," Hashirama emphasized repeatedly. "Remember—I said appropriate!"
The brothers once again launched into a heated discussion about Chu Yang's future training.
That night, back at home, Chu Yang began researching Haki.
He personally felt that Haki had excellent compatibility with Wood Release.
Even basic Armament Haki reinforcement could raise the power of Wood Release techniques by an entire tier.
The problem was—
The amount of Haki he possessed was still far too small.
Covering his entire body was already difficult, let alone coating any Wood Release technique.
So how could Haki be improved quickly?
Ninjutsu could be strengthened through refining hand seals and chakra flow—but Haki?
Haki had none of those fancy mechanics. At its core, it was the manifestation of spiritual will.
Once a person could sense Haki, they could use it—the difference lay only in proficiency.
Trying to study Haki through ninjutsu methods would lead nowhere. The two weren't even on the same path.
If one were to be precise, Haki was actually closer to genjutsu—both belonged to the realm of the mind.
That thought sparked a new idea.
"Could stimulating the spirit through genjutsu achieve the effect of tempering Haki?"
Eager to test the theory, Chu Yang began asking around the next morning about who in the clan was best at genjutsu.
"Genjutsu isn't something the Senju Clan excels at. It's the Uchiha who love studying that stuff."
"A lot of our people have suffered losses because of Uchiha genjutsu."
"If you're really curious, go check the dungeon. There are quite a few Uchiha prisoners there."
The moment Chu Yang heard that, his interest was ignited. He headed straight for the dungeon.
Elsewhere, when Tobirama heard the news, he was utterly baffled.
This little brat finally has access to proper ninjutsu and taijutsu… and now he's going to mess with genjutsu?
Can geniuses really do whatever they want?
"Learning is one thing—but why the hell is he going to the dungeon?" Tobirama immediately got up and headed out.
The Uchiha imprisoned there were all valuable, capable individuals. Anyone without value had long since died on the battlefield.
(End of Chapter)
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