Testing Ninjutsu

Hiroki finished his discharge procedures and walked out of Konoha Hospital.

The air outside smelled much better than in the ward, carrying the scent of soil and plants.

The words of the Third Hokage were still in his mind, but he knew that just sitting around thinking was useless; he had to take action.

Whether the Brain Overload Script he developed would actually work and what its effects would be—all of this required a test subject.

Others in the village wouldn't do; the risk was too high.

After much thought, there was only one candidate who was truly suitable.

Hiroki wandered the streets and finally found Uzumaki Kushina at a dango shop. She was sitting there alone, eating one skewer after another, moving quickly, but there was no happy expression on her face, as if she were venting about something.

"Ah! Hiroki!?"

When Kushina saw him, her eyes lit up. She swallowed the dango in her mouth before saying, "You're out of the hospital? Why didn't you rest for another day?"

"Because I've recovered quite well." Hiroki walked over and sat down opposite her. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Of course! After all, Hiroki, you're my savior~!" Kushina patted her chest and gave Hiroki a thumbs-up!

"You know about the graduation exam, right!? The Third Hokage said we have to graduate early and prepare for the graduation assessment." Hiroki ordered some tea. "Just staying in the hospital, I couldn't think of any good way to show what I'm capable of."

"Hmph! I'm going to be the first female Hokage of Konoha! I won't be troubled by such small things!" Kushina lifted her little head proudly, but soon lowered it again, took a bite of dango, and looked at Hiroki curiously: "What way did you think of to show off?"

"Don't mind telling me about it?" Stars were shining in Kushina's eyes.

Hiroki laughed.

This saved him quite a bit of effort in trying to steer the conversation toward the graduation assessment.

"The method I prepared for the graduation assessment is a new jutsu." Hiroki looked at her. "You know, I just awakened my Kekkei Genkai, so I developed a new jutsu based on it. I need someone I can trust to help me test it."

Hearing "new jutsu" and "someone I can trust," Kushina immediately puffed out her chest, finished the last skewer of dango, clapped her hands, and said, "Leave it to me! What do you need me to do?"

Her reaction was exactly as Hiroki had expected—direct and straightforward.

This was also the main reason Hiroki sought her out! After all, Kushina was such a forthright person~!

The two found an empty Training Ground No. 3.

"This jutsu of mine is a bit special," Hiroki explained. "It requires physical contact with the target to activate. Also, it might make your brain... a little chaotic. But don't worry, it's temporary and there won't be any danger."

"Got it, got it, don't be such a nag!" Kushina waved her hand impatiently and directly extended her wrist. "Come on! Let me see what kind of trick you've come up with!"

Hiroki nodded, reached out, and grasped her warm wrist.

The moment he held it, a pop-up window appeared in his consciousness: [Other computer "Uzumaki Kushina" detected. Connect?]

He chose [Yes].

The connection was established.

Hiroki took a deep breath and, like double-clicking a mouse, used his mind to launch the [Brain Overload Script.bat] written in Chinese logic.

In an instant, Kushina's body stiffened violently.

The expression of curiosity and anticipation that had been on her face froze, and the light in her eyes quickly vanished, becoming hollow and unfocused, like a doll that had lost its power.

In Kushina's own perception, it felt even more terrifying.

A second ago, she was still thinking, "Hiroki's hand is actually quite strong."

The next second, this thought began to repeat frantically in her mind, beyond her control.

"Hand... strong... hand strong hand strong hand strong hand strong..."

Immediately after, more chaotic fragments of thoughts were forcibly shoved in, like the static noise on a television screen, instantly occupying all of her consciousness.

She wanted to think, but couldn't grasp any complete thought; she wanted to move, but her body wouldn't listen to her.

Her brain was a blank... no, it shouldn't be called a blank; it was more like a pot of boiling porridge, with countless tiny bubbles of steam and various ingredients tumbling inside, desperate to blow the lid off!

"Kushina?"

Hiroki's voice came through like a thunderclap, splitting the chaos in her brain.

He had only let the program run for three seconds before manually stopping it.

Kushina gasped sharply, her body went limp, and she nearly fell before Hiroki caught her. She panted heavily, her eyes refocusing, her face full of shock and admiration!

So, so powerful of a ninjutsu!!

"Th... that just now... what did you do to me?" She grabbed Hiroki's arm, her voice trembling. "My brain... my brain just stopped working! Did you see it!? Did you see it!"

"I saw it!" Hiroki looked at her reaction, let out a sigh of relief, and nodded, feeling confident. The effect of this jutsu was even better than he had anticipated.

If he hadn't interrupted it in time, the target might have continued to be distracted, remaining in a state of brain crash!

"What on earth is this?" Massive shock and curiosity were written all over Kushina's face. She circled Hiroki twice, as if looking at a monster. "You just touched me, and you could make me unable to think? What kind of Kekkei Genkai is this? It's too amazing!"

She couldn't understand the principle at all, but that didn't stop her from realizing the value of this jutsu in combat. As long as she could touch the enemy once, she could turn them into a wooden stake to be slaughtered at will.

It was practically cheating!

"Teach me, teach me, please!?"

Teach it to her? That seemed a bit troublesome, but it didn't seem impossible. In theory, he could assign this program to others, but if he copied it to Kushina, she didn't have a computer, she didn't have a Windows window—how would she launch the program, and how would she use it?

Watching the look of shock and admiration on Kushina's face, Hiroki was just about to offer an explanation when an anxious voice called out from the distance, drawing nearer.

"Hiroki! Kushina! I finally found you!"

The two turned around to see Namikaze Minato. He was jogging toward them, his face wearing a rare expression of panic, his breathing somewhat ragged.

"What's wrong, Minato?" Kushina asked.

Minato ran up to them, braced his hands on his knees to catch his breath, and then spoke urgently: "The exam! The Hokage just sent word—our graduation exam... it starts the day after tomorrow!"

"They say, they say the ninja conducting the exam is the Hokage's own disciple, Jiraiya!!"