"As for our squad's combat strength, whether it was strong or weak, I hadn't known the truth before... I was just an ordinary member, not the captain."
"So the Eleventh Squad's actual performance on the Land of Rivers battlefield didn't exactly exceed expectations. After all, our squad had only just been formed, so there weren't any expectations to speak of."
"Oh, our squad captain did perform more or less as expected... Uh, as expected."
When the ninja across from him began asking how the Eleventh Squad had managed to survive from start to finish, Yuzuru explained the situation in a strictly factual manner.
"A squad made up only of Genin and Chunin displayed Jonin-level combat strength. We deeply respect your contributions, but... it seems rather unfair to regard ninja like you as Genin."
That was one of those statements that had to be taken in reverse. The other party was clearly suspicious that something was wrong with the Eleventh Squad.
"Is that so? Every Jonin grew from being a Genin, didn't they?"
"..."
All right, the other party couldn't keep up the act any longer.
"During the previous battle, Genin Shinnosuke Kohinata used moves similar to the Gentle Fist, while Genin Might Duy used a secret Taijutsu technique. Though their performances were extraordinary, there were clear reasons behind them..."
"Then, Chunin Yuzuru, could you tell me about your own situation?"
Shinnosuke Kohinata came from the Hyuga Clan, and the Eight Gates were likely already recorded in Konoha's Taijutsu system. So there were clear reasons behind those two's sudden bursts of strength.
Yuzuru, however, was just an ordinary ninja. His strength didn't match his background.
"Me? Setting aside my strength, I think I'm a fairly creative ninja."
Don't worry about why he was "setting aside his strength." For now, let's talk about the academic side of things.
"Creative?"
"Have you heard of the Tailed Beast Ball? For example, I invented a ninjutsu based on it. The technique is nearly complete and ready for actual combat."
"Later, by chance, I witnessed the battle between Iwagakure's Jinchuriki and Hanzō of Amegakure with my own eyes. I saw the Tailed Beast Ball erupt, and that allowed me to perfect the technique..."
"Could you demonstrate it?"
"Of course. If anyone's willing to learn, I can teach them the technique... It's called Rasengan."
The Rasengan alone was enough to demonstrate its creator's talent as a ninja. There was nothing wrong with that statement. The only problem was that Yuzuru, who was confidently discussing the "creative inspiration behind his invention," wasn't actually the technique's true inventor.
His explanation was even rather well thought out, since the birth of the Tailed Beast Ball was indeed inseparable from the activities of Iwagakure's Jinchuriki.
Yuzuru raised his left hand, palm up, and a brilliant blue sphere of chakra appeared in it.
"This... This is... chakra at such a high density?"
"And a hand-seal-free technique?"
The Konoha ninja across from Yuzuru shot to his feet. At last, his true feelings—hidden until now—were exposed... He knew his stuff, and immediately realized how unusual this technique was.
Though it wasn't on the same level as the Rasenshuriken, the Rasengan still counted as high-density chakra.
"To be precise, this isn't a ninjutsu. It's merely a certain physical transformation of chakra. So compared to a technique, it would be more accurate to classify it as a chakra manipulation method." Yuzuru gave a brief explanation.
The Rasengan was extremely difficult to learn. This so-called physical transformation of chakra was easier to understand than Chakra Nature Transformation, but in actual practice, it was even more abstract.
Before Naruto came up with the "Shadow Clone cheating method," the Rasengan was beyond the reach of most ninja. Naruto made it easier to learn by sacrificing the speed with which it could be deployed—he changed a technique that used one hand into one that used three.
You had to use the Shadow Clone Technique before using the Rasengan, which put the cart before the horse.
Used this way, the technique was left with nothing but its power.
In short, the Rasengan—and Konoha ninja's understanding of it—didn't belong to this version of events.
"I need to confirm something. Did you really develop this technique yourself?"
"There's no need to explain that."
There was, of course, no need to explain this "authorship." Who else besides Yuzuru could be using the Rasengan at this point?
Even if Namikaze Minato later invented the Rasengan, his invention could only be considered a knockoff.
"Understood. Have you developed any other techniques besides this one?"
He was plainly treating Yuzuru like a fool, but it didn't matter. The things he was handing over didn't really belong to him anyway.
"There's one technique I've been working on, but I lack the conditions to experiment with it, so I've effectively given up..."
As he spoke, Yuzuru pulled a scroll from the Ninja Tool Pouch behind him, then handed it to the other man.
"Soft... Soft Body Modification?"
Soft Body Modification was Orochimaru's work. It could only belong to Orochimaru; no other ninja would dare to go that far.
The moment the scroll appeared, cold sweat ran down the Konoha ninja's face... The degree of bodily modification involved was simply beyond imagination.
The Rasengan was the pinnacle of physical chakra transformation, and naturally inspired admiration. Soft Body Modification was different. Its approach to bodily modification was far too extreme.
"You were planning to experiment with this technique?"
"No, I gave up on it... If the village thinks it has value, I can hand it over free of charge."
After all, to Yuzuru at this point, Soft Body Modification was worth even less than the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique. So he didn't mind offering it up... If one technique wasn't enough to prove he was a genius, then two should do the trick, right?
"Hand it over?"
Though the other man thought the technique was a little disturbing, he still couldn't bring himself to say, "We don't need it."
Their conversation had just proved that Yuzuru was a talented ninja, and the mark of a talented ninja was possessing extraordinary combat strength.
So Yuzuru's performance in the Land of Rivers made sense.
He had more or less passed this conversation.
After Yuzuru left, a ninja wearing an Anbu mask entered the tent. He had listened to the entire conversation.
"Squad leader."
"Mm. You got one thing wrong. This ninja isn't without a background. He came from Konoha's Orphanage... And the person in charge of the Orphanage now is that Medical Ninja."
"...I suddenly think it makes sense that he could produce a technique like Soft Body Modification."
"Regardless, we can at least be sure of one thing: there's basically nothing wrong with the Eleventh Squad... But don't jump to conclusions. We should keep an eye on them for a while."
Before you continue