Hearing Tsunade's words, Rorin froze for a moment, and the battle intent that had just surged up instantly faded.
He had thought he would be fighting either Hyūga Hiashi or Might Guy, one-on-one. He really couldn't tell if Tsunade had lost her mind—she actually wanted him to take on both of them at once.
Let alone facing both at the same time—even going against either one individually, Rorin felt his current self would struggle.
Looking at the three people in front of him, all smiling, Rorin couldn't help but grumble inwardly: Tsunade, if you don't want me to join you, just say it outright. Should I just leave?
Seeing Rorin's frustrated expression, Tsunade burst out laughing, then explained,
"Don't worry. You don't have to win this spar. Just go all out. Oh, and your Shikotsumyaku is unrestricted for this match—but I still need to remind you: don't use large-scale power, got it?"
Hearing that, Rorin snapped back to his senses. His fighting spirit surged again as he looked at Hyūga Hiashi and Might Guy, firmly replying, "Understood."
Tsunade nodded to the two of them and stepped out of the battlefield. Rock Lee followed her.
Might Guy and Hyūga Hiashi stepped forward and stood in front of Rorin. The battle was about to begin.
Bone spikes shot out from Rorin's palms. In the next instant, his figure flashed forward, charging straight at Hyūga Hiashi.
Standing calmly, Hiashi had already activated his Byakugan. Watching Rorin rush in, he remained composed, circulating his chakra.
Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!
Struck by the force of Rotation, Rorin was blown backward. At that moment, Might Guy appeared behind him, launching a flying kick. Noticing Guy's presence, Rorin extended several bone spikes from his arm and blocked the attack.
The strike failed, and Guy immediately shifted his stance.
Leaf Great Whirlwind!
At the same time, Hyūga Hiashi used Body Flicker to close in.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
Caught off guard and attacked from both sides, Rorin could only give a wry smile. Was this really too much after all?
Knocked to the ground, Rorin was relentlessly pursued by the two. Their continuous attacks left him overwhelmed. He barely managed to block part of the assault with the bone spikes on his hands. Seizing a brief opening, he quickly retreated out of their attack range.
Panting heavily, he said with admiration, "As expected of Hiashi-san and Guy-sensei."
The two stopped their movements. Hiashi smiled and asked, "What? Ready to admit defeat?"
"Heh, not a chance." Rorin straightened up, then in front of everyone, pulled off the upper half of his kimono, revealing his well-built torso.
Tsunade and the others were puzzled. What was he doing—why strip now?
Without further explanation, Rorin pulled out a bone blade from his shoulder. Bone spikes sprouted across his chest and back. Looking at their astonished expressions, he smiled.
"Now I'm getting serious."
Hyūga Hiashi and Might Guy snapped back to attention, their expressions turning serious.
Suddenly, Rorin moved—wielding his bone blade as he charged at them.
Dance of the Camellia!
His dazzling barrage of attacks forced both Hiashi and Guy into constant defense, pushing them back step by step. Soon, the bone blade began to cut into their skin, and the relaxed expressions they had before disappeared completely.
Might Guy had no choice but to use Body Flicker, while Hiashi used Rotation again to create distance. But Rorin didn't stop.
Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
Seeing the incoming finger bones, the two had to focus fully on dodging.
Watching from the side, Tsunade now had a clear assessment of Rorin's strength. When using Shikotsumyaku, his combat level reached that of an elite jonin—at least in taijutsu.
Up to this point, he hadn't used a single ninjutsu.
Tsunade glanced at Rock Lee beside her, then back at Rorin. Both of them… ninjas who couldn't use ninjutsu?
Rorin, growing more excited as the fight continued, suddenly accelerated and launched a fierce assault on Hiashi using his bone spikes and blade.
Hiashi prepared to counter with Rotation—but just as Rorin was about to reach him, he abruptly changed direction and rushed toward Might Guy instead.
Startled, Guy hesitated for a split second before retaliating.
Leaf Strong Whirlwind!
Bang!
Their attacks collided. Rorin's eyes sharpened as he closed in. The bone spikes on his body suddenly extended.
Dance of the Larch.
After landing the hit, Rorin retreated. That was everything he could use for now. The exhilarating battle left him filled with a sense of satisfaction.
"Alright, stop."
Tsunade stepped in, halting the fight and standing between them.
Rorin retracted his bone spikes, put his clothes back on, and walked up to Hyūga Hiashi and Might Guy, bowing deeply.
"Thank you, Hiashi-san, Guy-sensei, for your guidance."
Both men smiled with satisfaction.
"Rorin, your strength is impressive. You've already reached jonin level," Hiashi said softly.
Might Guy nodded in agreement.
Tsunade said nothing. She walked over and began examining Rorin.
After finishing, she nodded. "No immediate issues. But you still need to limit your use of Shikotsumyaku. By my estimate, you can only use it for about ten minutes a day under normal conditions. Otherwise, your previous condition will return. Keep that in mind."
Rorin froze slightly, clearly deep in thought.
"By the way, Rorin, you can't use ninjutsu?" Tsunade asked.
Rorin shook his head. In Kimimaro's memories, the only ninjutsu was Dance of the Seedling Fern—but that required the natural energy from the Curse Mark to activate. That meant he currently couldn't use any ninjutsu at all.
Tsunade sighed. She hadn't expected it to be true—he really couldn't use a single ninjutsu. So all this time, he had relied entirely on Shikotsumyaku. No wonder his body had been pushed to such a state.
"So you're unable to use ninjutsu?" Rock Lee couldn't help but ask. Looking at Rorin, he felt like he had found a kindred spirit.
Rorin scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I'm not sure. I've never trained in ninjutsu since I was little."
The four of them were stunned, then quickly understood.
Tsunade took out a scroll and handed it to him.
"These are the basic three techniques every Hidden Leaf Village ninja learns. See if you can master them."
Rorin took the scroll and opened it. Following the instructions, he quickly learned the three techniques and demonstrated them on the spot.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Rock Lee's eyes—but it soon faded. Since Rorin could use ninjutsu, he should be happy for him.
Seeing Rorin use ninjutsu normally, Tsunade nodded.
"You should focus more on learning ninjutsu in the future. Try not to rely on Shikotsumyaku unless absolutely necessary."
"Got it." Rorin nodded.
Finally, Tsunade took out a Hidden Leaf forehead protector and smiled.
"Welcome, Rorin."
He accepted it without hesitation and tied it around his forehead.
Seeing him like that, Tsunade froze for a moment. His figure overlapped with someone deep in her memories… Dan—
Realizing her lapse, she coughed lightly and turned away.
"That concludes today's test. Rorin-kun, go register your ninja information tomorrow."
With that, she left.
Rock Lee gave Rorin a thumbs-up. "Congratulations, Rorin-kun! From now on, we're teammates!"
Rorin nodded, then turned to Hyūga Hiashi and Might Guy. Walking up to them, he bowed respectfully.
"Hiashi-san, Guy-sensei, I have a request."
The two exchanged a glance. Hiashi spoke, "Go ahead."
Rorin bowed deeply. "I want to take both of you as my teachers and learn taijutsu."
Hiashi looked at him apologetically.
"I'm sorry. The Gentle Fist of the Hyūga clan cannot be taught to outsiders."
Rorin hadn't expected much from that anyway. What he truly wanted was Guy's Eight Gates.
He lifted his head and looked at Might Guy with burning determination.
Guy gave a thumbs-up and said loudly, "No problem! Let's work hard together! That's youth!"
Rorin finally relaxed.
As for his plan to obtain Ao's Byakugan—after a month of thinking, he knew he had no advantage in ninjutsu, and even less in genjutsu. Ao's Byakugan countered genjutsu, and he himself didn't know any. That meant only taijutsu could defeat him. And the fastest way to grow stronger in a short time… was the Eight Gates.
Hiashi, seeing Guy agree, also felt happy for Rorin. After saying goodbye, he left.
Now that Guy had accepted Rorin as a student, he began considering his training.
"Rorin, your taijutsu has a flaw. Do you know what it is?" Guy asked seriously.
Rorin thought for a moment. "Guy-sensei… is it that my strength is lacking?"
Guy nodded firmly. "Exactly. Your taijutsu focuses too much on technique and neglects the most important factor—power."
Rorin reflected on this. Wasn't that exactly why he wanted to learn the Eight Gates?
Does that mean… I'm about to learn it already?
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Guy.
Guy nodded seriously. "So first, you must strengthen your body. I'll have a set of weighted leg bands made for you."
…
So that's how it is.
Rorin thought it over—Guy was right. Without improving his base strength, even opening the Eight Gates wouldn't yield much. Only with a strong foundation could it reach its full potential.
As expected of a taijutsu expert.
So the three of them headed to a ninja tools shop in the Hidden Leaf Village. The owner greeted Guy and Lee warmly—they were clearly familiar. This was Tenten's family shop.
After explaining their purpose, the door suddenly opened. A girl with twin buns and a cheongsam rushed in.
"Guy-sensei! Lee! You're here!"
Tenten greeted them cheerfully, then looked at Rorin curiously.
Rorin smiled shyly. "Hello, I'm Kaguya Rorin, Guy-sensei's new student."
"Eh?" Tenten blinked, imagining him with a bowl haircut, then shook her head.
"Just call me Tenten, Rorin-kun."
Hearing they came to make weighted bands, she got excited—circling Rorin and inspecting him.
"So, how heavy do you want them?"
Rorin stroked his chin and looked at Guy.
Guy smiled. "How about starting with the same as Lee? 500 kilograms?"
Rorin turned to Lee. "Can I try yours first?"
"Ah? Sure."
Lee removed his weights and handed them over.
Feeling the weight—250 kilograms each—Rorin strapped them on. At first, it was difficult to move, but after adjusting, he could walk normally. Jumping a bit, it wasn't as hard as expected.
Returning them, he said, "Guy-sensei, let's make 250 kilograms each—but I want four. Two for my arms as well."
Both Tenten and Guy were shocked.
Guy laughed and gave a thumbs-up. "As expected of you, Rorin! Passionate and strict with yourself—that's youth!"
Tenten sighed. "Taijutsu users really are monsters…"
Soon, the plan was set. Tenten and her parents began crafting the weights.
After four hours of effort, they were completed. Guy reinforced them and handed them to Rorin.
The three said goodbye and left.
It was already late, so Guy treated them to dinner.
Afterward, they went their separate ways.
Back home, Rorin lay on his bed, gazing at the night sky, looking forward to tomorrow.
As for the weights—they were on the floor. 1000 kilograms on his body? No way he could lie on the bed like that.
Thinking about how inconvenient it was, he decided he'd go to Tenten's place tomorrow and have a reinforced bed made.
Otherwise, he'd have to take off the weights every time he wanted to rest. What a hassle.