A Brutal Beating

On the training ground, Shiraishi Yoshijo was being beaten up by Takemoto Anna once again.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Shiraishi Yoshijo always felt that Takemoto Anna wasn't acting normal today.

Does she have a grudge against me?

I didn't provoke you, Shiraishi Yoshijo complained inwardly, blocking another one of Takemoto Anna's kicks to his groin.

Hey, that's the fifth time already!

Shiraishi Yoshijo's face flushed red; he wanted to jump out of the combat circle, but Takemoto Anna seized the opportunity.

With a shoulder throw, he was slammed to the ground by Takemoto Anna, who then climbed directly onto his back.

"Sister Anna, I surrender!"

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt that if he didn't surrender, he would be beaten to death by her.

"You are not allowed to surrender!"

Huh?

Shiraishi Yoshijo was completely dumbfounded. Seeing her raise her fist, he hurriedly looked around for help.

Takemoto Shuichi had gone back at some point.

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt despair.

Takemoto Anna began to unleash a flurry of attacks while straddling him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo could only protect his face with his arms and endure the beating.

"Sister Anna, what did I do wrong?"

"Sister Anna, please stop, I'm really going to be beaten to death by you!"

The more he spoke, the harder she hit. Shiraishi Yoshijo finally understood Anna's pattern.

If he could still talk, it meant he was still alive, so she would keep hitting him with all her might.

This one-sided beating lasted for twenty minutes.

Shiraishi Yoshijo lay on the ground, unable to even stand up.

Takemoto Anna stood to the side, panting heavily.

"Get up!"

After catching her breath, Takemoto Anna shouted at him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's mouth twitched. Seeing her raise her fist again, he climbed up, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"Sister Anna, are you unhappy today?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm hitting you."

Do you even know what tact is?

This damn woman, she's actually using me as a punching bag. Sooner or later, I'll make you pay!

Shiraishi Yoshijo roared frantically in his heart, but his face was plastered with a hypocritical smile.

"It's fine, I have thick skin. Are you done venting, Sister Anna? Do you want to hit me a couple more times?"

"Really?"

You actually want to hit me?

The smile froze on his face, and Shiraishi Yoshijo was baffled.

Isn't the usual script for a girl to feel bad and then start being gentle and considerate?

She's a psycho!

"Just kidding."

Shiraishi Yoshijo's smile vanished completely. He couldn't understand Takemoto Anna's thoughts, and he didn't dare to ask.

It wasn't that he was afraid of being beaten; it was mainly...

Fine, it was because he was afraid of being beaten.

He didn't know how much longer he had to train here, and if he offended this woman too deeply...

She could beat him up with full justification.

"Are you cursing me in your heart?"

Takemoto Anna suddenly leaned her head in front of him and stared into his eyes as she asked.

"No."

Shiraishi Yoshijo understood this routine very well; in any case, he couldn't show any guilt.

He stared back at her without flinching, not even blinking once.

In the end, it was Takemoto Anna who lost. Shiraishi Yoshijo laughed wildly in his heart—with just this level of skill, she wanted to fight me!

"Coward, you don't even dare to curse when you're being beaten."

Shiraishi Yoshijo was speechless; it seemed like you always had a justification for everything.

If I actually scolded you, I'd probably be pinned down and rubbed into the dirt again by now.

Since he couldn't win the argument, Shiraishi Yoshijo simply shut his mouth.

Seeing him stop talking, Takemoto Anna seemed to get even angrier.

"Keep training, otherwise Grandfather will be angry when he gets back later."

"Are you that afraid of your grandfather getting angry?"

"Have you forgotten what Grandfather looked like when he lost his temper the day before yesterday?"

""

Shiraishi Yoshijo recalled the fear of being dominated by Takemoto Shuichi.

It was just that he didn't have a masochistic streak, and he really didn't want to be someone's punching bag.

"Relax, I'll explain it to your grandfather. And stop using me as a punching bag; with that kind of violence, who would ever dare to marry you?"

Takemoto Anna glared at him. "That's none of your concern. In any case, I wouldn't marry a coward like you."

Heh, thanks a lot.

Seeing that she had no intention of attacking, Shiraishi Yoshijo simply lay down on the ground to rest.

Takemoto Anna sat on the ground and looked at him.

"Do you dislike our clan?"

"No."

"Then why are you unwilling to accept Grandfather's arrangements and insist on entering the hospital?"

"Personal reasons."

"Can't you say?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo glanced at her and ignored her.

"Are you dissatisfied with having your life arranged by others?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo still ignored her.

"Don't think that just because you don't speak, I don't know what you're thinking. Do you think I'm annoying?"

So you know you're annoying, then why do you keep talking non-stop?

"I'll probably be following you from now on, so you can't and aren't allowed to think I'm annoying, otherwise..."

Takemoto Anna waved her fist, signaling a threat at him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't listen anymore. "What do you mean by 'following me'? Is this your grandfather's idea?"

"Mm."

"You should have the status of a ninja, right? If I enter the hospital, will you follow me in there too?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo seemed to understand why Takemoto Anna had been beating him up.

"Mm."

"Always 'mm, mm, mm'—what exactly do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything."

Shiraishi Yoshijo: ""

What exactly is that old man Takemoto Shuichi thinking, having his own granddaughter monitor me?

Or should I say, protect me?

Shiraishi Yoshijo frowned, his expression turning ugly.

"You probably don't want to enter the hospital either. I'll persuade your grandfather to cancel this decision."

Takemoto Anna said with a strange expression, "You can't even beat me, yet you want to negotiate with Grandfather?"

"Do I have to beat you to negotiate with your grandfather?"

"No, you have to be able to beat my grandfather."

Lunatic. Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed, feeling that it was truly foolish to worry about such things.

He was too lazy to guess other people's intentions; the village, the clan, whatever—it was all the same.

In any case, he had a plan in his heart, and if nothing went wrong, he would leave this place sooner or later.

Whether he left actively or passively, he and the people in this village were destined to be from two different worlds.

At noon, Takemoto Shuichi brought them bento boxes.

After eating, Shiraishi Yoshijo demonstrated the nature transformation of Lightning to him.

Takemoto Shuichi was stunned.

"How did you do that?"

"It's just injecting chakra into a weapon and manipulating it; it turns into this."

Shiraishi Yoshijo said this while swinging his blade to hack at a tree.

After Takemoto Shuichi inspected the cut on the tree, his eyes were shining.

Takemoto Anna looked at him as if she were looking at a monster.

Even as slow as Shiraishi Yoshijo was, he now sensed something unusual.

He probed, "Is this difficult?"

"You really are a genius. Even a jonin would find it hard to achieve this level of chakra control."

"Isn't it because of the Butterfly Seed inside me?"

"The Butterfly Seed takes at least ten years to provide any real assistance, and you aren't even ten years old yet."

Shiraishi Yoshijo had a strange expression; if it wasn't the Butterfly Seed, could it really be because of his soul power?

But he clearly didn't have any talent before.

If his talent had been even slightly better, he wouldn't have failed to master water walking and tree climbing by the age of six.

There was something strange, but he didn't understand where it lay. This should be a good thing, right?

He didn't notice anything wrong with himself, so he simply put the question to the back of his mind.

"How can lightning have this kind of transformation? Grandpa Shuichi, how do you use your Lightning Release?"

"This transformation of yours should be considered a combination of shape and nature transformation. As for my Lightning Release..."

Takemoto Shuichi walked to the tree and began to weave hand seals.

"Lightning Release, Scorch Flow Kill!"

Dense plasma appeared all over his body and then gathered toward his right hand.

He blasted it toward the large tree.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had expected the tree to be blasted into at least two pieces, but miraculously, Takemoto Shuichi had punched a hole the size of a fist straight through it.

Shiraishi Yoshijo watched very carefully.

When Takemoto Shuichi's fist hit the tree, it didn't encounter the slightest resistance, just like a red-hot iron rod touching plastic.

It melted right in.

If this were to hit a person, Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't imagine the scene.

This old man was definitely not to be trifled with!

"I'm getting old. I didn't have to put in much effort to use this move before, but now, just controlling it is a bit of a struggle."

Takemoto Shuichi still looked somewhat dissatisfied.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyelids began to twitch. If he wasn't satisfied with this, he really didn't know what kind of monster this old guy was in his prime.

"Grandpa Shuichi, is this transformation of your lightning high temperature?"

"That's right. You condense chakra on the surface of your body and then use the conductivity of lightning to gather it together to form this high-temperature fist."

"Can I learn this move?"

"Not right now. This move requires a massive amount of chakra; I doubt you could even form plasma on your body."

Fine, another ninjutsu that was just for show.

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt a bit disappointed.

Takemoto Shuichi smiled and said, "This kind of ninjutsu actually doesn't suit you. Your chakra is relatively low, so you're better suited for compact types of ninjutsu. I suggest you utilize the conductivity of lightning to perform your techniques."

Conductivity?

Takemoto Shuichi took a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, tied it to a steel wire, and threw it on the ground.

"Since you can apply lightning transformation to a blade, this style of combat is quite suitable for you."

A flash of electricity surged, and the shuriken on the ground began to spark with electric light.

Shiraishi Yoshijo watched this scene, and his mind began to churn violently.

He felt like a fool. Why was he so obsessed with practicing the Lightning Release ninjutsu from the story?

Just this method of using a shuriken to apply the nature transformation of lightning opened a door for him.

Sasuke seemed to have used this combat style too, right?

Wait, the conductivity of lightning...

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and the smile on Shiraishi Yoshijo's face gradually became twisted.

"Grandpa, is he stupid?"

"He probably thought of something."

"That smile is really disgusting."

Takemoto Shuichi: "..."

Regaining his composure, Shiraishi Yoshijo didn't care what they had been plotting against him and bowed directly to offer his respects.

"Thank you very much for your guidance, Grandpa Shuichi. I have guests at home today, so I will be heading back now."

Without waiting for their reply, Shiraishi Yoshijo turned and ran.

He was feeling extremely urgent about getting home right now.

It wasn't just because Kawano was coming over today; more importantly, he had an idea he wanted to test out.