"Tatsuma is changing. He's starting to learn how to think in the heat of battle."
To the others, the sparring matches between Tatsuma and Minato were merely a bit of entertainment to pass the time on their journey. Initially, Orochimaru felt the same way, but after watching a few exchanges, he realized something was different.
No, it wasn't that something was off—it was that everything was suddenly right. In the past, Tatsuma's choices in combat often had flashes of brilliance, but Orochimaru would never have praised them because they were far too reckless.
Even in the battle against the Hidden Stone three days ago, Tatsuma hadn't corrected that flaw. But today was different. Tatsuma's decision-making... it almost perfectly aligned with the tactical simulations running in Orochimaru's own mind.
"That's exactly how you should fight. Logical. Efficient."
The "Professor of Pragmatism" couldn't help but offer a rare word of praise. Over the last few rounds, whether it was Tatsuma's offensive choices or Minato's counters, the flow matched Orochimaru's mental choreography to a staggering degree. It was a deeply satisfying sight.
It felt as though he had been imagining a complex, abstract masterpiece in his mind that he couldn't quite put into words—only for a master cinematographer to suddenly manifest that exact vision on screen: beautiful, shocking, and perfectly aligned with his own aesthetic.
Orochimaru's commentary drew the attention of Tsunade and Jiraiya. As they watched their students spar, a look of genuine surprise flickered in their eyes.
A street brawl is messy and chaotic, but a fight choreographed by two masters is a work of art. Previously, the matches between Tatsuma and Minato were like a street brawler clashing with a martial arts director. Minato's elegant designs would be shattered by Tatsuma's aggressive, overbearing style, making it impossible to appreciate the technical nuance. Now, however, Tatsuma had become a "director" himself. Their movements flowed with the precision of a perfectly edited action sequence.
Tsunade suddenly shot a disgruntled look at Orochimaru. "Why didn't you lecture the kid sooner? If you'd given him that wake-up call earlier, maybe he wouldn't have been so reckless all this time."
Orochimaru: "???"
He looked at Tsunade as if he were examining a piece of abstract art, fighting the urge to point at her face and shout: "Woman, he is your student! Why were you waiting for me to do your job?!"
Fortunately, Jiraiya interjected. "Tatsuma is too competitive. He hadn't tasted real failure before, so he wouldn't have listened even if you told him. It's only now that he's accumulated enough injuries and realized the danger that he's actually internalizing the advice."
All three Sannin believed Tatsuma's sudden shift was the result of Orochimaru's lecture. Given the talent Tatsuma had displayed over the years, no one considered him a mediocre shinobi. Even Tsunade, who had once harbored doubts, had long since buried those thoughts. Since Tatsuma was a "genius," the idea that he'd figured it all out in three days... well, it was still ridiculous, but it was slightly easier to swallow.
"Are there any other issues with those two? Go on, give them another hint. Maybe they'll level up again," Tsunade said, nudging Orochimaru's arm with the back of her hand.
Orochimaru's face fell. "The remaining issues aren't something they can solve at their age."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "Orochimaru is right. These two are only nine... let's call it ten years old. They haven't even hit puberty. Their bodies are growing too slowly, and their chakra reserves can't keep up with their technical growth."
"Does age really matter that much? I recall having plenty of strength and chakra when I was ten. Certainly more than these two," Tsunade countered skeptically.
The other two Sannin's lips twitched in unison. You're a Senju and an Uzumaki hybrid... you're the outlier.
"Minato, I'll be taking the win this time."
In the clearing, the spar reached its conclusion. Tatsuma's left hand parried and pinned Minato's wrists down, while his right fist rested lightly against the fabric of Minato's stomach, halting just before impact.
For the first time, Minato felt he had been completely outclassed. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come. In their previous bouts, even though he lost more than he won, their styles were so different that Minato always felt the gap was manageable—often because he chose more conservative lines.
But today, Tatsuma had beaten him at his own game: precision and tactical calculation. Minato felt momentarily lost, but seeing the genuine grin on Tatsuma's face, he eventually offered a graceful smile of his own.
"You really are incredible, Tatsuma. But don't get too comfortable; I'm going to catch up."
Tatsuma laughed and released him. They both stood straight and performed the Seal of Reconciliation, their fingers interlocking in the traditional sign of respect and friendship.
[Ding! STR +3, PHY +3, ENG +2. Pickup?]
[Pickup.]
Compared to the harvest of a real battlefield, the gains from sparring were meager, but Tatsuma wasn't complaining. It was a steady, sustainable source of growth. He wasn't in a hurry; he was only a hair's breadth away from his next breakthrough, and a few more days of practice would close the gap.
"Alright, let's get moving."
Tsunade called out as the unit finished their rest. Tatsuma nodded, declining another round with Minato. With the severely injured Jiraiya in tow, their travel speed was limited anyway.
On the road, Tatsuma and Minato constantly dissected their spar. They critiqued each other from the opponent's perspective, pointing out flaws with the brutal honesty allowed by their bond. Whenever Jiraiya needed a break, they went right back to sparring, embodying the "unity of knowledge and action." They spent the rest of the time exchanging theories on ninjutsu and sensory techniques.
As they crossed back into the Land of Fire, Minato's sensory training finally saw a massive breakthrough. While he still couldn't master the Water and Earth variants, his Wind-based Sensing flourished. The Land of Fire's climate was the key; it wasn't as arid as the Land of Wind, but it lacked the oppressive, heavy humidity of the Land of Rain that had previously smothered his chakra pulses.
Three more days passed, and the group finally arrived back at the village. Word had reached them that Hanzo still hadn't "flipped the table." Both Danzo and Chiyo had paused their hostilities, maintaining a facade of negotiation. It seemed the conflict might be stalled for a while longer.
Through the constant sparring with Minato, Tatsuma finally pushed his STR (Power) and ENG (Energy) to the 10,000-point limit. As expected, the Extra Augmentations unlocked.
ENG: 4107 / 10043 [Extra Augmentation (Pending)]
Options:
[Vast]: Permanently increases total Chakra Capacity. Scales with attribute progress. Does not affect refinement speed.
[Rejuvenation]: Permanently increases Chakra Refinement speed and physical endurance. Scales with attribute progress. Does not affect total capacity.
One was about the size of the tank; the other was about how fast the pump worked. Tatsuma chose [Vast] without a moment's hesitation.
Based on his experience over the past year, he rarely found himself in a situation where he could safely sit down and refine chakra mid-battle. In fact, he wouldn't dare try; a moment's distraction on the battlefield was a death sentence. He was always meticulous with his reserves, always keeping enough for one Rasengan and a few Body Flickers to escape. He didn't care much for recovery speed; he preferred a bigger pool to pull from so he wouldn't have to be so stingy with his jutsu.
Besides, the name "Rejuvenation" kept making him think of the "Rejuvenation Massage Parlors" Jiraiya used to drag them past. Jiraiya was a pervert, but at least he had the decency not to bring his students inside. He'd go in for "rejuvenation" while Tatsuma and Minato were left to wait in a nearby juice shop.
Next, Tatsuma turned to the other unlocked talent.
STR: 4378 / 10001 [Extra Augmentation (Pending)]
Options:
[Strongman]: Permanently increases muscular strength and physical toughness. Scales with attribute progress. Boosts base power and durability.
[Monstrous Strength]: Permanently increases instantaneous explosive power. Scales with attribute progress. Boosts muscle activation and chakra-enhanced strikes.
The choice was clear. [Strongman] would provide a constant boost to his base strength and durability, essentially shortening the time he'd need to spend on grueling physical conditioning—similar to the builds of Might Guy or the Fourth Raikage.
[Monstrous Strength], however, was all about burst. It was exactly what it sounded like: the ability to generate massive force in an instant through muscle activation and chakra discharge. It was the signature style of the Senju clan, and later, the hallmark of Naruto's "Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength."
Tatsuma initially leaned toward [Strongman] since conditioning a pre-pubescent body was a nightmare, but then he remembered his PHY (Physique) stat was also nearing the threshold. While the system's eight categories mirrored the official databooks, there were nuances. [PHY] covered overall durability, recovery, and mastery of Taijutsu, whereas [STR] was raw power.
He decided to let [PHY] handle his durability later. For [STR], he chose [Monstrous Strength]. After all, his teacher was the living embodiment of the technique. It would only be "logical" for her student to master it too.
With three of his four physical attributes now hitting Jonin-level requirements, Tatsuma finally understood what it felt like to be a true "genius." Everything—learning, moving, reacting—felt effortless and fluid.
Tatsuma's rapid growth wasn't just a personal victory; it was actively making Jiraiya and Orochimaru feel like their faces had been slapped. They had just finished claiming that Tatsuma couldn't possibly make rapid progress at his age.
Even Tsunade, who desperately wanted her student to grow, felt something was unnerving about the speed of his evolution. Upon entering the village gates, she turned to him with a narrow-eyed gaze.
"Go to my house and wait for me. Once I finish reporting to Sensei, I'm giving you a full physical. I suspect there's something seriously wrong with your body."
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