Chapter 170: The Thousand-Ninja Slain
A month had passed since the family discipline session.
Tianyu and Maki had indeed settled down a bit at the Academy—at least on the surface. They had clearly learned something about the art of the prank, as Konohamaru was currently being tormented to no end. Although Konohamaru was certain the siblings were behind it, he couldn't find a shred of evidence.
This meant a rough time for Tonbo Tobitake. He had been summoned to the Hokage's office several times because Hiruzen Sarutobi, while watching over his grandson with his crystal ball, kept catching the two kids in the act.
Tonbo was fuming. They were incorrigible. Or rather, they had "corrected" themselves, but not perfectly. The two children had decided that if they were being caught, it must be because their technique was lacking. After studying more professional espionage knowledge in Tonbo's study, they continued their mischief with even greater stealth.
Eventually, they became so hidden that they even managed to bypass the Third Hokage's observation. But it didn't matter. In the real world, some things only require logical deduction, not hard evidence. The Third wouldn't blame the children, but he certainly blamed the father.
Tonbo Tobitake felt like his reputation was no longer a blooming flower of Konoha, but a withered, battered petal.
"Curse that old man Hiruzen. With your personality, shouldn't you go talk to the kids personally? Why the hell are you always dragging me in?" Tonbo muttered. Hiruzen's behavior was unusual; was he getting revenge because Tonbo used to brag about how well-behaved his kids were?
Tonbo looked up at the sky, speechless.
He arrived at Training Ground 77 once again. It was the Team Guy's rest day, and he was back to guest-star as their teacher. After a month of training—Heaven's Descent, Water Spirit, and Earth Awakening—the students had undergone a psychological metamorphosis. Their focus and body control had improved significantly, allowing them to use chakra with far more precision.
Under Guy's guidance, they had easily mastered tree-climbing and water-walking. This was the power of enhanced focus; when your concentration improves, your efficiency in learning Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or projectile mastery skyrockets.
"Tonbo-sensei is here! What kind of training are we doing today?" Lee called out, running toward him with a smile. These past few weeks, he had felt the profound impact of Tonbo's methods. During his Taijutsu drills, he could enter a "flow state" more easily, identifying flaws in his movements and adjusting them instantly. Combined with Guy's instruction, he was learning faster than ever before.
"The previous training no longer challenges you," Tonbo began. "Starting today, we move to a new stage—training that Guy-sensei absolutely cannot provide. This is the real reason he invited me. Everything before this was just the 'basic' curriculum for a ninja."
"Basics?" Tenten's jaw dropped. If that was the basics, then what was the Academy teaching?
Even Neji had to admit that Tonbo's training was incredibly practical. Lately, he had spent less time brooding over destiny and more time trying to figure out how to overcome Tonbo's next hurdle. The Hyuga clan didn't have the resources to simulate the environments Tonbo provided.
"I'm counting on you, Tonbo. When we're finished, I'm treating everyone to BBQ!" Guy laughed.
"What is the name of this training?" Lee asked.
"This is called the Ninja: Thousand-Ninja Slain. I developed it specifically for Genin, or rather, as a 'graduation gift' for elite Genin. You're lucky; I just finished developing it, and Guy happened to invite me," Tonbo said, his expression turning solemn.
Training juniors was just the excuse. His true goal remained the collection of biological data. Only with enough data could he perfect his own evolution. Ordinary people often possessed unique talents; just as he had his sensory gift, other "average" ninjas had special physical traits. Combined with the data from Konoha's prestigious clans, this excuse was perfect.
"Thousand-Ninja Slain? Does that mean we have to kill a thousand ninjas? That's insane!" Tenten cried out. According to the records, only a few thousand ninjas died during the entire Third Great Ninja War. Where would they even find a thousand people to kill?
Neji's eyes narrowed. He didn't think it was literal, but he knew it wouldn't be far off in terms of intensity. Tonbo's training was never low-level.
"Thousand-Ninja Slain... that sounds incredibly cool!" Lee's eyes sparkled. He was addicted to the training now.
"Guy, I need you to act as an observer. Memorize their mistakes so you can review their performance with them later."
Tonbo pulled six kunai from his pouch, each with a specialized seal attached to the hilt. He tossed them out, and they thudded into the ground around the training field, forming a large circle. He began to weave hand signs. Guy watched intently—another new jutsu!
"Genjutsu: Battlefield Simulation."
Tonbo slammed his hands together. The seals on the six kunai glowed, and as the chakra linked up, a massive, illusory barrier rose. The three students were waiting to see what would happen when, suddenly, all three slumped to the ground at once.
"Where am I?"
Neji was the first to "wake up." He found himself in the middle of a dense forest. Wasn't he just at the training ground?
Byakugan: ACTIVATE.
Swish, swish!
As soon as he activated his eyes, several shuriken whistled through the air toward him. Neji sidestepped the projectiles, his Byakugan instantly locking onto the attacker—a pock-marked ninja wearing a Stone Village (Iwa) headband.
Seeing Neji dodge, the Iwa ninja smirked while forming a seal.
Thrust!
A kunai erupted from the earth beneath Neji. Reacting with lightning speed, Neji caught the wrist of the hand holding the kunai. Gentle Fist chakra surged into the attacker's body, instantly rupturing his internal organs. The ninja coughed up blood and died before his head fully emerged from the ground.
BOOM!
"Crap!"
The ninja had ignited a hidden paper bomb, blowing Neji into pieces. Lacking combat experience, Neji hadn't expected a suicidal "parting gift" like that.
After a blur of distortion, Neji reappeared at the starting point. He looked at his hands and then at his surroundings.
"I'm not dead. So I really am caught in Tonbo-sensei's genjutsu. The 'Thousand-Ninja Slain' refers to killing a thousand enemies inside an illusion?"
The moment he realized the environment felt slightly "off," he deduced it was a genjutsu. Combined with Tonbo's words earlier, he understood the training's direction. However, he was still stunned by the realism. This was an illusion so perfect that even the Byakugan couldn't find a flaw.
The Byakugan was actually countered by a genjutsu? Normally, once the Byakugan was active, illusions were laid bare. But this was indistinguishable from reality.
Inside the mental space, Tonbo felt Neji's emotions and laughed to himself. Duh. To counter the Byakugan, I used a barrier to boost the power and added specialized "flavoring" to the illusion. Unless your ocular power reaches the level of the Tenseigan or a higher purity of the Byakugan, you aren't seeing through this.
By collecting Neji's biological data earlier, Tonbo had already "pre-calibrated" the genjutsu to specifically bypass Hyuga perception.
The Thousand-Ninja Slain was a series of relentless battles. The enemies were based on Tonbo himself and the memories of countless ninjas he had read over the years. It covered every type of combat style and tactical mindset.
Furthermore, this illusion included "Neural Fraud." Even though it was a dream, the physical body in the real world would develop "muscle memory" through neural feedback. While only about 30% of the experience would translate to physical instinct, it was a massive boost for Genin. Under these conditions, Tonbo could maintain a 2:1 time dilation.
"With this, I can give every graduating class at the Academy a 'gift' and quietly collect the biological data of every student. I really am a genius."
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!