Go On, Scream!

After training ended and they were dismissed, Orochimaru left as if nothing had happened.

After saying goodbye to Mikoto, Nawaki and Satoru quietly returned to the riverbank.

"Satoru, what was that about? What did Teacher Orochimaru say to you just now?"

Nawaki had held it in all afternoon, but he could not anymore.

What he was curious about was what Orochimaru had said.

"Nothing much. Teacher said he'd let me participate in his ninjutsu research projects later on."

Satoru waved a hand dismissively.

"Come to think of it, Teacher just wants free labor. This so-called research assistant is basically some poor sucker who carries samples, hands over equipment, and runs errands."

"And getting your name on the research results would already be Teacher showing mercy."

"Uh..."

Nawaki looked utterly confused.

"That sounds exhausting. Is ninjutsu research really like that...?"

"We can talk about that later. All of Teacher's original ninjutsu are snake this, snake that, snake something else. Just looking at them gives me the shivers. I need to persuade him to change his style!"

Satoru ground his teeth, then brought up why he had kept Nawaki behind.

"Nawaki, you have the bloodlines of both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan. In theory, you might be able to inherit Wood Release... But even the exceptional stamina and vitality of those two clans aren't very obvious in you, right?"

At the mention of this topic, Nawaki's expression fell.

"Yeah... My sister at least has powerful Medical Ninjutsu. Grandma once said that talent might have come from Grandpa's special physique."

"But I have neither the talent to become a Medical Ninja nor the Wood Release bloodline limit. The Uzumaki Clan has tremendous vitality, which usually manifests as great stamina and massive Chakra reserves, but I'm not that exaggerated either."

Nawaki pointed at his brown hair.

"Grandma said only red hair means the Uzumaki bloodline has taken the dominant position.

My sister and I both inherited it across a generation. In truth, we only have a quarter Senju blood and a quarter Uzumaki blood, so this is pretty normal!"

"Mm... That's true. But even so, your Chakra reserves are still much greater than an ordinary person's."

"The Senju and Uzumaki are distant relatives, and both bloodlines share the trait of powerful vitality. Strictly speaking, more than a quarter of your constitution comes from those bloodlines."

Satoru nodded. The inheritance across generations made Nawaki and Tsunade's bloodlines rather subtle. Their stamina and Chakra were fine, but they had not inherited Wood Release.

"If... I mean, if I could strengthen your body and further guide the power of your bloodline, what would you think...?"

"Huh?! Really?!"

Before Satoru could finish, Nawaki was already excited. Training with Satoru and Uchiha Mikoto lately had made Nawaki increasingly doubtful of his own talent.

If Satoru could really do that, perhaps he could catch up to them!

"Uh... Strengthening your body won't be a problem. I have experience with that. But guiding your bloodline will require further tests and your cooperation."

Without changing expression, Satoru brushed aside Nawaki's excitedly reaching hand and took half a step back.

"I'm much younger than you, but my physical abilities might even surpass yours. The Body Tempering Technique is one reason why."

"But the Body Tempering Technique used on you can't be as effective as it is on me. Still, as my strength improves, there'll be chances to make it stronger later."

"Wow! Satoru, you're incredible!"

Nawaki had indeed noticed that Satoru possessed remarkable stamina, but he had overlooked Satoru's age... Spending enough time around Satoru gave everyone that problem.

"When do we start?"

"Right now. We'll strengthen your body first, then talk about your bloodline later!"

Satoru led the beaming Nawaki to the place where he had strengthened Might Duy's body last time and drew the magic array according to the same specifications.

Duy had recently risen to fame. Relying on his overwhelming offensive power, he had completed several highly difficult missions in succession and had long since been promoted to chunin.

As Satoru made preparations, he silently thought to himself.

This way, Duy's chances of survival should be better. And now, it was time to increase Nawaki's chances of survival...

Satoru had no idea what kind of accident might happen on the battlefield or when it might strike.

So even though he knew Nawaki would die in an Exploding Tag trap, that knowledge was useless without knowing the time and place.

Strengthening Nawaki's own resistance was the best way to save this cheap senior disciple's life.

He did not know how powerful the trap would be either. There was not much Satoru could do; he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

If Nawaki still could not survive after this, then there was nothing more Satoru could do.

As for why he was exposing his secret to Nawaki as insurance...

Dealing with hot-blooded fools like Duy and Nawaki was still better than teaming up with those crafty bastards.

The battlefield changed in an instant. Having reliable companions watching your back was a completely different matter from fighting alone. Mages were fragile in the early stages!

In the fading light of the sunset, brilliant purple radiance rose amid the mountains.

"Enchanting Body Tempering Technique—complete!"

"Crack!"

The magic array shattered into drifting arcane fragments and slowly faded away. At its center, Nawaki slowly opened his eyes.

"This feels... so strange!"

Nawaki pinched his arm in shock.

"Th-this is my arm?!"

"I feel like I could beat up two of my old selves!"

"It's just the illusion caused by your body suddenly becoming stronger. It's not that exaggerated."

Satoru waved a hand, signaling Nawaki to stand up.

"Come on, I'll spar with you... At the very least, before tomorrow, you need to get used to the discomfort brought on by your enhanced body."

Nawaki was different from Duy.

Duy specialized in taijutsu and had extremely strong control over his body. Therefore, after the Enchanting Body Tempering Technique was complete, he could easily control his body and use the opportunity to break through in one go.

But Nawaki did not have that ability. He still needed training, otherwise he would end up like this...

"Whoosh—"

"Wah—"

"Bang!"

Satoru watched with a dark expression as Nawaki tried to jump, used too much force, flew straight over his head, and crashed to the ground while flailing wildly.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to get used to it first? Why did you use so much force?!"

Dazed and disoriented, Nawaki crawled up from the ground and carefully steadied himself.

"Hehehe... I was too excited and didn't control it properly. Now there definitely won't be any—ah!"

"Smack!"

Nawaki tried to take a step forward and, as expected, lost his balance and fell.

"I'm doomed, Satoru! I can't walk anymore!"

With a miserable face, Nawaki carefully stood up again.

"When will I be able to fight like this?!"

Satoru shook his head helplessly. Seeing Duy master it so quickly before, he had thought ordinary people would not struggle this badly even if they needed time to adjust.

Now it seemed that a ten-percent all-around enhancement to the body was truly not something ordinary people could adapt to.

"Then I'll have to get rough!"

Satoru revealed an evil smile, making Nawaki shudder violently.

"What terrible thing are you thinking about?!"

"Since you can't get used to it in a short time, I'll beat you until you do..."

Satoru chuckled as he clenched his fists, producing a series of cracking sounds.

"Senior brother... Your junior brother is doing this for your own good. Otherwise, you won't even be able to hold a bowl and chopsticks at dinner. Wouldn't that be a problem?"

"There's still an hour until dinner. I'll help you adapt as quickly as possible. Hehehehe..."

"N-no! Don't come over here!!"

Nawaki watched Satoru approach with a wicked grin, cold sweat pouring down his face. But how could he run when he could barely stand?

"I-I'm going to scream!"

"Go on, scream! Scream your throat raw... Pah! What kind of stupid line is that? Take this!"

"Aah!!!"