Shikamaru: Popping Champagne Before Crossing the Finish Line? Who Else Would Lose but You!

Late at night.

The window of Hagoromo's room was still lit.

Hagoromo leafed through a scroll, jotting down the points he found in his notebook.

He had recently been using Yang Release Chakra to nourish his body, and he had noticed that his own recuperative ability, bolstered by Yang Release Chakra, seemed to have grown stronger.

The reason he noticed this

was that he had recently been using Shadow Clones frequently to teach Naruto and the others. After dispelling them,

he found that, unlike before, he no longer had trouble taking in the enormous amount of information all at once.

After that, Hagoromo embarked on another trip to the library.

This time, however, he was looking for everything he could find about the First Hokage.

After all, no one had wielded Yang Release Chakra more masterfully than the First.

"Just as I thought. There's hardly any useful information."

Hagoromo put down the scroll and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself.

Lately, he had come close to searching the entire Konoha Library, yet he still hadn't found anything he wanted.

The information about the First only covered how he had stood against the many warring clans and founded Konoha.

There was almost nothing about his battles and the like.

Hagoromo couldn't help finding it a shame. If the Sawada Clan hadn't lent its documents to the Second back then,

he might still have been able to dig them out and look through them.

Still, Hagoromo hadn't come away completely empty-handed.

After all, the library's catalog was constantly updated, but entries were never removed.

He had searched through it and found that many books had disappeared.

Other books were still there, but some of their pages had been torn out.

And when he thought about it, of all the subjects used for research into activation or human cloning, the First Hokage was unquestionably the most frequently used in all of Naruto.

Danzo's arm, Tenzo, the sole survivor of human embryo cultivation, and the First's face on Madara Uchiha's chest.

It was just like how Pangu had to be dismembered in every primordial myth.

Here, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, received the same treatment.

More extreme treatment, really. A tiny piece of flesh or a few dead skin cells could be used for research.

Regeneration, Wood Release, Yang Release, sage techniques.

Hagoromo leaned against the wall behind him as one term after another associated with Hashirama Senju surfaced in his mind.

He had a faint sense that he was about to grasp something.

That's it!

Tsunade's Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth and Strength of a Hundred Technique.

Everyone knew Tsunade's ultimate was Hashirama's passive.

Tsunade's strongest Ninjutsu had only been created by drawing on one of her grandfather, the First's, passive abilities.

Regeneration, Yang Release.

The two terms gradually overlapped.

Hagoromo took out a Kunai and slashed his palm.

Within a few breaths, the wound healed.

It had taken about as long as the light cut last time to heal, confirming what Hagoromo had been thinking.

Suppose Hashirama Senju was a monster born with a flawless Yang Release Chakra constitution.

Yes, a monster. After all, being Transcendent already meant no longer being human.

And after Hashirama Senju gradually mastered the water and earth attributes later on, he instinctively combined them to create the Kekkei Genkai known as Wood Release.

Even a Tailed Beast Bomb required the right proportions to form, let alone a Kekkei Genkai like Wood Release.

Then, with the aid of Wood Release and his own Yang Release Chakra constitution, he developed a Perfect Sage Mode unique to him.

Instinctive, unique to him.

Was it because of Asura Chakra?

After all, bloodline inheritance in Naruto really didn't follow any logic.

Hagoromo fell silent at that thought.

After all, gathering all those elements would be harder than having him form a Rasengan and use it to beat Princess Kaguya to death right now.

With the latter, at least he had a chance.

But if I can't manage Sage Art: Wood Release, there's no reason I can't pull off Yang Release Nintaijutsu.

After abandoning his unrealistic ideas, Hagoromo instantly felt his thoughts grow clearer.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye, bringing the sweltering heat of July.

At the training ground where Hagoromo practiced every day.

The sounds of Wind Release raging and heavy impacts echoed from the training ground from time to time.

On the field, Naruto and Choji stood facing each other, their clothes both covered in dust.

Hagoromo stood nearby with his arms folded, ready to step in at any moment.

Off the field, Shikamaru sat to one side, yawning a little boredly, though his eyes remained fixed on Naruto and Choji.

Ino, meanwhile, was busy cheering both of them on nonstop.

Seeing that Naruto was still standing, Choji, who could feel his Chakra running low, gritted his teeth and raised his hands to form Hand Seals again.

"Partial Multi-Size Technique: Arm: Pitcher!"

As the technique was completed, Choji's right arm gradually expanded until it was several times larger than his body.

His enormous arm then easily picked up the huge chunks of rock scattered around him and, taking the stance of a baseball pitcher, rapidly hurled them one after another at Naruto.

Faced with a sky full of flying boulders, Naruto seemed to have no answer but to jump around and dodge them.

"Haha! Naruto, I win!"

Choji shouted, his face alight with delight.

Off the field, Shikamaru covered his forehead, speechless. "Idiot, popping champagne before crossing the finish line? Who else would lose but you!"

"Naruto! Get out of the way!"

"Huh?"

Ino, who had been worried that Naruto would be hit by the rocks, shouted for him to dodge.

Then she heard what Shikamaru had said, and just as she was about to ask him about it—

Poof!

The sound of a Shadow Clone dispelling rang out.

On the field, Naruto was struck by a rock while dodging and instantly burst into a cloud of smoke.

Seeing this, Choji immediately dispelled the Multi-Size Technique and looked around warily.

Bang!

The sound of earth breaking rang out.

Naruto burst out of the rubble beneath Choji's feet, driving a straight punch toward his chin.

Choji instinctively tried to raise his hands to block, but it was already too late.

Naruto's fist struck him squarely on the chin, sending him flying.

He then crashed heavily to the ground, his eyes on the verge of turning into spirals.

Hagoromo used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Choji's side, Chakra glowing around his hands as he used it to nourish Choji's injured areas.

He helped Choji up into a sitting position as he did so.

"Teacher! I lost again!"

After a while, Choji came to his senses and looked at Hagoromo with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

"It was just a boxed lunch. Did you two really have to take it so seriously?"

Hagoromo looked a little helplessly at Naruto, who was walking over, and Choji as he asked.

Judging by the way Naruto and Choji had just faced off, it had looked as though they were ready to fight for their lives.

Who would have thought it was all over a boxed lunch?

"Of course!"

"We had to!"

Naruto and Choji said together, "Only the ones you make yourself taste good, Teacher Hagoromo! The ones your Shadow Clone makes taste completely different!"

Hagoromo's number one Shadow Clone, who had been about to set down the lunch box nearby, froze on the spot upon hearing that.

(╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Seriously?! How about I just leave, then?!