Shimura Kentei had long expected Jiraiya's doubts and patiently explained, "To change the shinobi world, there must be powerful strength to support it. By powerful, I mean strength on the level of the First Lord and that member of the Uchiha Clan.
Only strength of that level can suppress the entire shinobi world, make the ninjas of every village heed his views, and thereby bring peace to the shinobi world.
Among all the ninja clans in Konoha, and even the entire shinobi world, only the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan have the potential to reach that level."
Those words made Jiraiya fall silent. He agreed with this cheap disciple's analysis deep down, but he was still unhappy.
"Why does it have to be someone born into a ninja clan? Can't a commoner do it?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Jiraiya knew he had misspoken. It truly was a stupid question.
Shinobi training placed great importance on bloodlines and origins. Without a good bloodline inheritance, one was practically cut off from the word "strong."
Shimura Kentei looked speechlessly at Jiraiya lying on the hospital bed, folded his arms across his chest, and said, "Jiraiya-sensei, don't tell me you don't know the essence of shinobi training. Although you and Orochimaru-senpai are known as commoner geniuses, are you really commoners?
"Jiraiya-sensei, you possess all six innate chakra attributes—Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang—and your chakra reserves are immense, far greater than those of elite shinobi born into ninja clans. You became a Quasi-Kage Level expert before even reaching twenty. Is that something an ordinary commoner shinobi could achieve?
"Orochimaru-senpai is even more outrageous. He possesses chakra with all seven innate attributes—Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, Yin, and Yang. And could a commoner possess those snake eyes of his?
"Even Tsunade-senpai, the First Lord's granddaughter, only possesses five innate chakra attributes."
Jiraiya fell silent again. He knew his own circumstances well. He was indeed an orphan, but he was not truly a commoner. Otherwise, he would never have achieved what he had today.
"Tsunade sure got lucky this time, taking in such an outstanding disciple!"
A deeply magnetic voice sounded just then. A handsome young man with long, straight black hair walked into the ward, carrying a bag of fruit. His golden snake eyes studied Shimura Kentei with great interest.
"Orochimaru-senpai!"
Shimura Kentei stood and nodded in greeting, though he felt somewhat apprehensive toward this Snake Uncle.
Although Orochimaru was still only Snake Bro and had yet to evolve into Snake Uncle, much less reach his ultimate evolution into Snake Auntie, he already showed that potential. Kentei had to stay on guard.
"Orochimaru, can't you stop Tsunade? And here I thought you were my brother."
Having recovered his senses, Jiraiya shot him a resentful look. After that earlier analysis, he had become even more satisfied with this disciple.
Unfortunately, such an outstanding disciple had been snatched away by that woman Tsunade.
Ignoring Jiraiya's complaints, Orochimaru placed the fruit on the small table beside the bed. His gaze never left Shimura Kentei, and his interest in this junior only grew stronger.
"What did you mean by innate chakra attributes?"
Licking his lips, Orochimaru was extremely interested in what he had just heard, especially the new terminology within it.
Though he had roughly guessed the meaning of the term, he still wanted to hear this youngster explain it.
"This is a classification developed within the Shimura Clan. Chakra attributes one possesses from before birth are called innate attributes, meaning they existed before one was born into this world.
"Chakra attributes cultivated through effort after birth are called acquired attributes, meaning they were obtained after being born into this world."
Shimura Kentei naturally shifted the blame onto his own clan. That was the only way to make it seem reasonable.
After all, no one would believe him if he claimed he had come up with the classification himself!
And if they did believe him, it would only bring a whole series of troubles. It was better to push the blame onto the clan.
"A perfect description!"
Orochimaru licked his lips again, his interest growing even stronger. However, it was not interest in Shimura Kentei, but in Shimura Danzō, the Shadow of Shinobi.
The Shimura Clan's foundation was deeper than he had imagined. That old man surely possessed quite a few good things.
Those were all things he needed!
"Stop daydreaming all the time. Strength like the First Lord's cannot be replicated. It would be a miracle if one appeared in a thousand years."
Orochimaru glanced sideways at Jiraiya and offered that reminder before turning to leave without lingering.
Jiraiya had boasted to him about the Sage of the Toads' prophecy ever since they were children. He did not believe a single word of that so-called prophecy. Only an idiot like Jiraiya would place such blind faith in it.
"Jiraiya-sensei, get some good rest!"
Shimura Kentei did not linger either. After calling out a farewell, he left the ward.
"The seed of doubt has been planted. Now I just have to wait for it to take root and sprout!"
After leaving the hospital, Shimura Kentei turned back to look at the window of Jiraiya's ward. He had no idea when the foreshadowing he had planted this time would take effect, or whether it would work at all.
Still, it was only a casually planted setup. It would naturally be good if it worked, and there would be no loss if it did not.
"Whether that giant toad can really foresee the future or is merely fooling people will depend on this time!"
A smile appeared on Shimura Kentei's face as he hurried toward his clan grounds to prepare for tomorrow's battle.
He had no desire to be beaten senseless by that woman Tsunade. Besides, he had been doing targeted training these past few days specifically to deal with her.
"Are you sure you want your big sister to go all out?"
Standing with her spear in hand, Shimura Keiko felt that her little man had gotten a little carried away. He actually wanted her to fight him at full strength.
If he wore that absurd suit of armor, she naturally would have no way to deal with him. Though she was a jōnin, breaking through that turtle shell would not be easy.
But now, that little man was holding only that greatsword. He was really getting carried away!
Shimura Kentei seemed to feel that this was not safe enough either. He turned and put on the inner armor placed on the rack. The Bright Silver Spear's edge was frighteningly sharp, and it would be awful if it destroyed his nest.
"Let's begin, Sister Keiko!"
After putting on the inner armor, Shimura Kentei signaled for the battle to begin.
Without a word, a smile at the corner of her lips, Shimura Keiko raised her hands and formed seals. She successively cast Wind Release Ninjutsu and Lightning Release Ninjutsu to enhance herself. A whirlwind immediately swirled around her body, lightning flashed, and her speed rose to its limit.
Her figure flashed, and she appeared before Shimura Kentei as if she had teleported. The Bright Silver Spear in her hand thrust out dozens of cold flashes.
Shimura Kentei's reaction was not slow either. Super Speed Technique and Super Strength Technique enhanced his reaction speed and power as he rapidly swung the greatsword, which also weighed one hundred and eight jin, blocking every incoming flash.
Clang clang clang...
Both used rapid offensive tactics. The spear blade and sword body collided at an astonishing frequency, and dull metallic clashes continuously echoed through the area.
This fast-paced exchange lasted a full thirty seconds before finally ending with Shimura Keiko's spear blade pressed against Shimura Kentei's throat.
"I actually lasted thirty seconds!"
Ignoring the spear blade at his throat, Shimura Kentei was quite surprised by the result. Then he figured out why.
After updating Sister Keiko's clone data before, he could only hold on for five seconds. This time, both sides had gone all out as well, yet he had lasted thirty seconds against Sister Keiko's true body—a full sixfold difference.
"Does absolute rationality increase combat power that much?"
Deep in thought, Shimura Kentei felt this was a good path toward greater strength and would have to study it in the future.
A clone had no consciousness and was equivalent to a being of absolute rationality. In battle, it could push its strength to the utmost limit and would never make mistakes. It was practically perfect.
Keiko's true body, however, could not enter that state of absolute rationality. In terms of combat performance, she was far inferior to the absolutely rational clone.
If he could find a way to attain the same absolute rationality as a clone, he could definitely raise his strength by another level.
"You managed to last thirty seconds against me, so you haven't been slacking off these past few years. But Tsunade-senpai is far stronger than I am, and information about your armor has already been leaked. She will definitely use targeted methods tomorrow."
Standing with her spear in hand, Shimura Keiko was not optimistic about her little man's assessment battle tomorrow. She estimated he would get thoroughly beaten.
"That may not be the case!"
Shimura Kentei smiled mysteriously without explaining further. He turned and put on the armor from the rack, then headed to the basement only after equipping it properly. He would conduct targeted training down there next.
"So mysterious!"
Shimura Keiko curled her lips. Though she was very curious about what her little man was tinkering with in the basement, she did not ask. Instead, she returned to studying the Body Strengthening Technique's cultivation method.
After a week of study, she had basically mastered the cultivation rhythm that Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound used on the internal organs. With another week, she would be able to turn the Body Strengthening Technique's frequency changes into an instinctive part of her breathing and cultivate continuously for twenty-four hours a day.
The Body Strengthening Technique's improvement to her body was indeed minuscule, but with round-the-clock cultivation, small gains would accumulate into something substantial. The results would be astonishing.
Not to mention the other Body Strengthening Techniques available for cultivation, which could temper and improve her body in every aspect.
An improvement in physical fitness was immeasurably beneficial for a Nintaijutsu shinobi like her.
Meanwhile, in the basement, Shimura Kentei was using a shield to brace against an iron ball—an enormous solid iron ball weighing over a thousand kilograms.
The iron ball suspended by chains swung down again. Shimura Kentei met it with his huge, heavy shield, yet strangely, no sound was produced.
When the shield collided with the incoming iron ball, Shimura Kentei controlled it to remain pressed close against the ball as he slowly moved backward. At the same time, his arms, legs, and spine bent slightly, dissolving the tremendous force of the iron ball like a spring.
Once he had fully dissipated that force, he slowly pushed the iron ball away again, minimizing the rigid collision of power.
Directly clashing against external force was the stupidest approach. Human bones and joints had limited strength, and repeated brutal impacts could easily shatter one's bones.
This was where the Tai Chi Fist he had painstakingly practiced for years came in handy. Using Tai Chi Fist's soft techniques and principles, he continuously deflected incoming violent force before counterattacking, reducing the pressure on himself to the minimum.
As long as he mastered this move, it would be enough to deal with that violent woman Tsunade—unless she shamelessly brought out strength at the Kage level.
"That woman shouldn't be that shameless, right?"
Shimura Kentei continued bracing against the iron ball as he pondered.
Although Tsunade was famous for having no integrity in the original story, especially when avoiding debts, she would resort to any means necessary. She could even transform into a little girl to deceive her creditors.
But the current Tsunade had not yet reached the peak of her bosom, and she herself was only an older girl. She should not be that lacking in integrity.
Probably!
While Shimura Kentei was pondering Tsunade's integrity, Tsunade, over at the Senju Clan grounds, heard the intelligence brought by her uncle, Senju Tōsu. She decisively headed to the clan treasury, preparing to activate the Ultimate Ninja Tool her granduncle had once used to fight against the Uchiha Gunbai.
Opening the dust-covered treasure box, Tsunade looked at the Ultimate Ninja Tool inside and smiled—a particularly bold smile.
"Hahaha... you little pervert, tomorrow I'm going to beat you into a little puppy!"
Outside the clan treasury, Senju Nawaki listened to his older sister's utterly demonic laughter from within and could not help but shiver.
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