Potions

Sarutobi Toru closed the scroll, thoroughly satisfied. Though he had modern medical knowledge as a foundation, he still had major gaps in his understanding of Chakra application in the Shinobi World. These research materials undoubtedly made up for much of that deficiency.

Beside him, Little Tsunade, who had been helping him organize the materials, had already fallen asleep on the table. Her golden hair spilled across her fair little face, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

Only then did Sarutobi Toru realize it was already late at night. He returned the scroll to its place and reactivated the seal to protect these precious materials.

After finishing everything, Sarutobi Toru walked over to Little Tsunade. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and lifted her in a princess carry.

The instant Sarutobi Toru touched Little Tsunade, he sensed her breathing falter before quickly returning to normal.

Sarutobi Toru understood. Although Little Tsunade was only six years old, she was still a ninja trainee. She had surely woken up already; she was merely too embarrassed to admit it and continued pretending to sleep.

While marveling at how mature children in the Shinobi World could be, he carried Little Tsunade out of the room. Then he ran into a problem: who knew where Tsunade's room was?

Fortunately, Tsunade seemed to have thought of that too. Her cheeks flushed as she opened her eyes and stood up from Sarutobi Toru's arms.

"I'll walk by myself, Toru. It's late, so hurry home."

With that, Little Tsunade lowered her head and ran off in a flash.

Sarutobi Toru smiled. He was not some lolicon, but raising a character in a game did not sound too bad, did it?

At the Sarutobi Residence, the main house was still brightly lit.

"It's already one in the morning, isn't it? Uncle Hiruzen is still handling documents? I remember he gets off work after ten every day. Being Hokage is even harsher than a 996 job!"

Sarutobi Toru clicked his tongue. He truly did not understand why so many people desperately wanted to become Village Chief. There were not many benefits, but responsibilities piled high, and in the end, none of them died well.

Among the Hokage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, how many actually died of old age?

Ninjas were a high-risk profession, and the leader of a village was the highest-risk profession among high-risk professions!

"Well, whatever. I should first figure out how to squeeze some benefits out of Uncle Hiruzen!"

Sarutobi Toru's research into Medical Ninjutsu had reached a bottleneck. His next stage of research would no longer be small-scale tinkering; he needed professional equipment.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was processing Konoha's documents. Although the War Council had already offered handling suggestions for most of them, the final decision still had to be made by him.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock sounded at the door. Sarutobi Hiruzen closed the document and said, "Come in!"

The moment Sarutobi Toru entered, the smoke choked him. The entire room was hazy with it, and he hurriedly waved the smoke away before feeling a little better.

Looking up, he saw a towering stack of documents on the desk. Sarutobi Toru frowned. "Uncle Hiruzen, can't you make a few Shadow Clones to handle documents with you? That would save you quite a bit of time for resting and training."

"Huh? Well..." Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was leaning back in his chair and packing tobacco into his pipe, blinked with an expression that plainly said, "So I could do that? Why hadn't I thought of it?"

Sarutobi Toru lowered his head, dark lines appearing across his face. So he really had never thought of it!

Still, before Uzumaki Naruto turned Shadow Clones into a whole new art form, there truly were not many people who used them to slack off. Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen knew his nephew used Shadow Clones for classes every day, he had never considered using them for work.

Seeing Sarutobi Toru looking at him as if he were an idiot, Sarutobi Hiruzen casually tapped out his pipe and changed the subject. "Toru, did you come to see me about something today?"

"My Medical Ninjutsu has reached a bottleneck. I want a laboratory and some medical equipment. Also, it would be best if I could get some volunteers!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened. "You make it sound easy! Do you know how much funding that would take? And volunteers? Who would trust the skills of a six-year-old brat like you?"

Sarutobi Toru fell silent for a moment before speaking. "So, the laboratory requires money, and volunteers require me to have a reputation, right?"

"Yes, that's right. You're still young. In a few more years..."

"If I can get the money and become famous, then it'll be fine, right?"

"Huh? That is indeed correct..." Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his nephew uncertainly. He knew his nephew was a precocious genius, but this was not the sort of problem a genius should be able to solve, was it?

"Then please, Lord Hokage, take a look at my work."

With a smile at the corner of his lips, Sarutobi Toru took a box from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

Sarutobi Hiruzen opened it curiously. Inside was a syringe filled with red liquid and a small blue pill.

"What is this?"

"The red one is Super Adrenaline. It can greatly increase a ninja's strength for a short time. Strength and speed can nearly double, Chakra increases by fifty percent, and the effects last ten minutes. During those ten minutes, pain is greatly reduced and Chakra recovery becomes almost unlimited. Afterward, the user enters a weakened state and needs roughly three days to recover. If the body is severely overdrawn, the recovery period will be longer."

Sarutobi Toru had reverse-engineered this formula from his Hormone ability. The original ability had even more astonishing effects and fewer side effects. Compared to the Okama King's development of the Hormone Fruit, Sarutobi Toru's new Excited Hormone was undoubtedly superior.

Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a shocked expression. The Akimichi Clan had medicines like the Three Colored Pills, whose effects were no worse than Super Adrenaline, but those had to be used alongside the clan's unique Secret Technique. Otherwise, even the mildest Vegetable Pill would be fatal to an ordinary ninja.

Picking up the syringe, Sarutobi Hiruzen clapped his hands. An Anbu instantly appeared in the center of the room.

"Yan Xiao, test this medicine."

"Yes."

Without hesitation, the Anbu named Yan Xiao immediately picked up the syringe and injected the medicine into his body.

"How are the effects?"

Yan Xiao's pupils abruptly contracted. He casually threw a punch, producing a sonic boom, then formed a hand seal. The color of his skin immediately darkened considerably, clearly indicating that he had used a ninjutsu like the Hardening Jutsu.

"Strength and speed doubled. Reaction speed increased by roughly thirty percent. Chakra increased by roughly sixty percent. Expended Chakra instantly replenished. Concentration greatly improved. Stamina is nearly unlimited. In addition, there are no abnormalities after taking it, such as agitation, anger, or pain."

Yan Xiao spoke calmly, providing even more detail than Sarutobi Toru had.

Sarutobi Hiruzen drew in a sharp breath, delight spreading across his face. Though they had not yet tested the pain reduction, he already believed his nephew's words.

Moreover, this Burst Potion could even improve concentration. It was far better than he had expected.

Burst Potions and ninjutsu like the Akimichi Clan's Three Colored Pills often came with side effects such as pain and berserk rage while greatly boosting one's attributes. Even in the best-case scenario, control would be severely reduced.

Yet Yan Xiao had not only remained calm and shown no abnormalities, but he had also performed ninjutsu with remarkable steadiness. His Chakra had increased by sixty percent, yet his control had not declined in the slightest. It was no different from strength gained through personal training. This truly delighted him beyond measure.

Now, all that remained was to see the side effects.