A Gentleman Strives Unceasingly for Self-Improvement

"Oh! Not bad. You actually figured out that the second stage of water-walking training also required weighted assistance."

Having arrived at the Death Forest and found the two little girls practicing water-walking by the river, Shimura Kentei smiled.

The two girls were each holding up a log while standing on the water. The immense weight of the logs made it difficult for them to maintain a steady water-walking state, and ripples spread across the surface beneath their feet.

"We're not idiots!"

Uchiha Mikoto, standing on the water, rolled her eyes cutely. With the second stage of tree-climbing training as a precedent, how could they not figure out the second stage of water-walking training?

"Hmm? You're injured?"

Just as Shimura Kentei was about to say something, he suddenly sniffed and turned his gaze toward the two girls.

He caught the scent of medicinal ointment. Clearly, these two girls had likely been injured.

His gaze finally landed on Uchiha Mikoto's left calf, wrapped in bandages, and he roughly guessed how she had been hurt.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your weights at one hundred kilograms?"

His sword-like brows furrowed slightly. Shimura Kentei disliked people who disobeyed orders.

He had determined that one-hundred-kilogram limit based on the girls' physical condition. Going beyond it would inevitably damage their bodies, and their ankles were the most vulnerable.

After all, tree climbing required them to walk vertically up a trunk. By the principle of leverage, anyone could guess how much pressure their ankles had to bear. It would be stranger if they had not gotten hurt.

Under Shimura Kentei's sharp stare, Uchiha Mikoto turned her little head away, refusing to admit that she had done anything wrong.

"Stop. Rest for three days first. Three days from now, I'll teach you the real second-stage water-walking technique."

After coldly giving the order, Shimura Kentei turned and returned to the base beneath the cliff.

He strongly disapproved of the overload training methods used by Might Guy and Rock Lee in the original story, especially training while utterly exhausted or seriously injured.

Doing that too often would easily leave behind hidden injuries that were difficult to heal, or even cripple someone outright.

Of course, if someone possessed the freakish self-healing ability of Senju Hashirama's Body, then by all means, train yourself half to death.

Clearly, Uchiha Mikoto did not possess that freakish self-healing ability. If she kept this up, she might end up lame in the future.

"Isn't this how the second stage of water-walking is trained?"

Hyuga Suzune blinked her bright eyes blankly, looked at the log she was holding, then at the river beneath her feet. It seemed right to her!

"Let's go back first and see what he says!"

Uchiha Mikoto casually flung the log onto the riverbank and leaped after it. However, the moment her foot touched the ground, her delicate brows knit slightly as the swollen pain grew even more intense.

"I'll help you!"

Seeing that her best friend was in bad shape, Hyuga Suzune hurried forward to support her as they walked back to the cliff where their base was located.

"Apply this, and practice the Bone Forging Technique and Muscle Tendon Changing Technique at the same time!"

Shimura Kentei tossed over a small bottle and instructed her.

It was an ointment the Shimura Clan had specially developed to complement Body Strengthening Technique training. It could slightly improve training efficiency.

Of course, the Shimura Clan really had developed it. It had nothing to do with him.

Though she did not want to accept it, the ointment she had brought with her had already run out. Uchiha Mikoto could only take the bottle.

She removed her ninja sandals and unwrapped the bandages. Seeing her swollen, reddened ankle, Uchiha Mikoto realized how serious the problem was.

She had already used up that entire bottle of ointment over the past two days. Not only had it not improved, it seemed to be getting worse.

"Tsk, tsk... it's swollen like a pig trotter!"

Shimura Kentei clicked his tongue as he looked at the girl's red, swollen ankle.

"You're the pig trotter!"

Mikoto glared at him indignantly. Pouting, she pulled out the stopper, poured out the thick ointment inside, and applied it to her ankle. The cool sensation eased much of the swelling pain.

"Teacher Tsunade is far too petty. You were hurt this badly, yet she still wouldn't show herself to treat you. I really overestimated her magnanimity before. In the end, she's just a woman!"

Shimura Kentei shook his head slightly, displeasure rising in his heart.

"You little pervert, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to speak badly about people behind their backs?

"And it isn't that I didn't want to treat that girl. I just wanted her to learn a lesson, so she'd take better care of her body in the future instead of acting so recklessly."

Tsunade's Shadow Clone appeared, equally displeased.

"Can you honestly say that your delay in showing up had nothing to do with your prejudice against the Uchiha, and that you didn't want that girl to suffer a little more?"

Shimura Kentei shot her a sidelong glance. He no longer needed to be polite to this woman.

He had already latched onto Miss Mido's thigh. This woman's value had plummeted, and once he found a chance to copy her body data, he could kick her aside.

"I..."

Tsunade opened her mouth but did not know what to say. Deep down, she really had wanted that little girl to suffer a little more.

After all, her grandfather's death had been connected to Uchiha Madara. She instinctively hated and detested the Uchiha Clan. Though she would not take it out on this little girl, letting her suffer a little was acceptable.

Tsunade's silence made Uchiha Mikoto's expression darken. She lowered her little head and quietly rubbed her swollen ankle, helping the ointment seep in faster.

However, Shimura Kentei's next words made her glare at him again. She nearly could not stop herself from forming hand seals and blasting him with a Great Fireball.

"If you want her to learn a lesson, you should first consider what kind of person she is. Do you think someone with an Uchiha's temperament would learn a lesson just because she suffered?"

Shimura Kentei looked disdainful. He understood this point clearly. That girl's future second son, Second Pillar, would earn the title Sage Mode. He was absolutely not someone who learned lessons; all he did was press forward in the face of hardship.

Most members of the Uchiha Clan had that sort of temperament. It was related to their extreme personalities and the negative effects of the Sharingan. There was basically no way to change it.

"One day, that mouth of yours is going to get you killed!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes irritably, then crouched down and pressed her palm tightly against Uchiha Mikoto's swollen ankle. While using Medical Ninjutsu to heal her injury, she apologized, "Sorry. Your teacher was wrong before. It won't happen again."

"It's all right. That man really was in the wrong back then, but we Uchiha severed ties with him long ago. We will always be Konoha's Uchiha!"

After a brief daze, Uchiha Mikoto smiled brightly, her little face full of determination.

Girl, that way of thinking is dangerous!

Shimura Kentei silently mocked her from the side. He remembered that in Naruto, Uchiha Itachi had once said that no matter how dark the village became, he would always be Konoha's Uchiha Itachi.

Then, guided by that belief, he personally killed his father and mother and slaughtered his entire clan.

Of course, the girl's thinking itself was not wrong. Unfortunately, she lived under the rule of the four fools of Konoha F4, and then the Uchiha were ruined by them.

"Kid, come here. I have something to ask you."

Seeing that Uchiha Mikoto's ankle swelling had mostly subsided, Tsunade stood and gestured to Shimura Kentei before walking toward the nearby woods.

Some things were not suitable for Uchiha Mikoto and Hyuga Suzune to hear.

With a faint smile on his lips, Shimura Kentei rose and followed her.

He had guessed before coming that Tsunade would not be able to resist asking about the flower tree, and he had already prepared an explanation.

"You must have guessed what I want to ask. Go on, tell me!"

With her arms crossed, Tsunade leaned against a large tree, compressing those two most terrifying weapons in the ninja world into an even more fearsome sight. She got straight to the point.

They were both smart people. There was no need to beat around the bush.

"It's nothing much. I just discovered that the flower tree's petals and stamens contain pure life force. If they were made into medicine, they could greatly improve my body."

Shimura Kentei answered casually. He was not exactly lying. The stamens on that flower tree truly did contain pure life force; even the entire flowers possessed that power.

"Only that?"

Tsunade stared suspiciously at the little pervert before her, trying to see whether he was lying.

"What else do you expect? Do you think a First Hokage would grow out of that flower tree? You people inspected that thing before, didn't you? You should understand its condition better than anyone."

Shimura Kentei rolled his eyes without the slightest trace of guilt.

As the Child of Darkness, he had long trained his skin to be thick. Lying had already become instinctive.

"You little pervert, I've noticed that you seem to have no respect for my grandfather!"

Seeing Shimura Kentei actually use her granduncle's name as a joke, Tsunade's expression turned unfriendly. This little pervert needed a good beating.

"To be precise, I object to him. I don't agree with his theory of mutual balance. Only complete unification can bring peace to the ninja world.

"Look at things now. One Ninja World War has already happened, and the Second Shinobi World War is probably not far off. Its scale will also far exceed the Warring States Period."

Shimura Kentei did not hide his opinion. He no longer needed to curry favor with this woman. He only needed to hold tightly to Miss Mido's thigh, so there was no need to be polite.

"What would unification accomplish? Humanity's flaws cannot be changed. Look at the Feudal Lord's Government. That is still under the pressure of countless external enemies.

"Once the ninja world is unified and the pressure from external enemies disappears, it will inevitably descend into darkness quickly and bring an even greater disaster upon the ninja world."

Tsunade gave him a cold sidelong look. She still upheld her granduncle's ideals. This was already the best system available at this stage.

Shimura Kentei shrugged and did not intend to argue further.

She was an adult with a resolute will. Convincing her would be far too difficult.

Perhaps only massive blows like those in the original story—her clan members dying in large numbers, her family declining, and her younger brother and lover dying one after another—could possibly convince her. For now, he would let it go.

However, he truly did not agree with Senju Hashirama's theory. It was like the nuclear peace of his previous life: the world's peace rested upon nuclear weapons, world-ending weapons of mass destruction.

Though nuclear peace prevented major powers from casually starting wars, once war broke out, it could easily escalate into a world-ending nuclear conflict.

A great man once said that he did not know what weapons would be used in the Third World War, but the Fourth World War would certainly be fought with stones. That showed just how terrifying nuclear war was.

But he felt that statement was not entirely accurate, because there might not even be a Fourth World War.

Although the nuclear arsenals of the nations in his previous life were insufficient to break Earth apart, they were enough to completely destroy its surface. Under massive nuclear radiation, no living thing could survive. Humanity would be wiped out completely, even more thoroughly than the dinosaurs of prehistoric times, perhaps even turning Earth into a dead planet.

The Naruto world faced the same danger. The tailed beasts and the Ten-Tails' Divine Tree were one factor, while ninja themselves were another.

After all, Kumogakure would eventually develop a super cannon capable of destroying the moon, practically a Star Annihilation Cannon.

It was foreseeable that the power of the major ninja villages would grow increasingly terrifying. If another Ninja World War broke out, it might directly destroy the planet beneath their feet.

Therefore, the strategy of balance was not viable in the Naruto world. Only unification was the true future.

As for the claim that losing external enemies would cause internal rule to decay, that was not a problem either. There were still external enemies here, and they were exceptionally powerful—world-ending demon king types.

Only by unifying the strength of the ninja world could they develop themselves as quickly as possible and confront those external enemies.

After all, they could not place all their hopes on that entire family of Otsutsuki cheaters. For humanity to truly rise, it had to strengthen and stand on its own, achieving overall improvement. Relying solely on the strength of a handful of individuals was not true strength or prosperity!

Just as the old saying went: As Heaven moves ever onward, so too must a gentleman strive unceasingly for self-improvement!

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