Touma had arrived at the Geng-Character Training Ground, which was located not far from the Senju Clan Compound.
Although it couldn't compare in size to the Senju Clan's private training grounds, it could still accommodate a hundred people practicing ninjutsu.
But clearly, the crowded training ground before him was already holding far more than a hundred people.
It was so popular because the Geng-Character Training Ground was close to the Senju Clan Compound.
Most of the ninja who trained here hoped to receive guidance from the Senju Clan's experts.
Though many Senju family members had been scattered among the civilians during the Second Hokage's era, plenty of elite members of the main Senju family still remained.
Touma had trained here with Aburame Shibi before.
But with his lazy attitude toward training, there was no chance the Senju Clan's experts would take an interest in him, let alone offer guidance.
He was lucky if they didn't kick him out of the Geng-Character Training Ground.
This time, Touma didn't start training right away. Instead, he began warming up as he circled the grounds.
As soon as he opened his system vision, he failed to notice that his expression had turned just like Gollum's from The Lord of the Rings, with drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The sheer number of densely packed traits before him was enough to give him a serious case of choice paralysis!
[E-rank Clone Technique (White)] [E-rank Substitution Technique (White)] [E-rank Transformation Technique (White)] [D-rank Body Flicker Technique (White)] [D-rank Invisibility Technique (White)] [D-rank Immobilization Technique (White)] [C-rank Fire Release: Flame Bullet (Green)] [C-rank Fire Release: Great Fireball (Green)] [C-rank Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire (Green)] [C-rank Water Release: Water Shockwave (Green)] [C-rank Water Release: Water Spirit Wave (Green)] ...
Although most were white and green traits for C-rank and lower ninjutsu, there were still an impressive number of them.
And these weren't the only traits available. There were plenty of traits related to other attributes and descriptions, too.
[Flame Control (Green)] [Water Flow Control (Green)] [Gale Control (Green)] [Strong Musculature (Blue)] [Agility (Blue)] [Ox-like Stamina (Blue)] [Abundant Energy (Purple)] [Gifted Intelligence (Purple)] [Inference Ability (Purple)] [Uzumaki Bloodline (Red)] [Senju Bloodline (Red)] [Hyuga Bloodline (Red)] ...
Most importantly, these traits could be used repeatedly, and their effects stacked.
This time, of course, Touma was more cautious. He didn't absorb the traits right away. Instead, he put them in the system's collection, planning to load and absorb them somewhere secluded.
Only after most people had gradually finished training and left the grounds did Touma reappear in the southeastern corner of the Geng-Character Training Ground.
The southeastern corner was relatively far from the Senju Clan Compound, so he didn't have to worry about attracting the Senju Clan's attention if he made a bit of a commotion.
Of course, considering the Jinchūriki who lived among the Senju, Touma didn't absorb any of the bloodline traits first.
After organizing all the ninjutsu traits, he began by gradually loading and absorbing the E-rank and D-rank techniques.
Don't assume that E-rank and D-rank ninjutsu were worthless. Most Chunin and Genin fought using these supposedly inferior techniques.
The people at the training ground seeking guidance from Senju experts were mostly Chunin and Genin, so they naturally had plenty of experience using E-rank and D-rank ninjutsu.
Still, absorbing traits for low-level Three Body Techniques from hundreds of people caused Touma's brain to freeze for a moment.
The amount of information was simply enormous, even after the system had merged and streamlined it.
Take the Substitution Technique, for example. Everyone had a different casting style and substitution object, as well as different tactical approaches to go with it.
Some people used ordinary wooden logs as substitutes, while others used living creatures such as sparrows and rabbits.
Some could even use Explosive Tags, flash bombs, smoke bombs, or ninja tools as substitutes.
It was enough to open the eyes of even Touma, who had read the original story.
There was plenty to learn about the Transformation Technique, too. Genin and Chunin focused on refining it until they could transform only part of their bodies or disguise themselves as inanimate objects.
It seemed he really couldn't underestimate the Genin and Chunin of the Shinobi World. As the backbone of the ninja forces, they possessed remarkable ingenuity. Perhaps it was only a slight lack of talent that kept them from reaching the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
Once Touma had calmed his thoughts, he suddenly opened his eyes, and a puff of white smoke rose from his body.
When the smoke cleared, a palm-sized kestrel stood in his place. It flapped its wings twice, then flew out of the training ground.
Normally, a by-the-book Transformation Technique couldn't turn someone into an animal. Even if the transformation succeeded, they couldn't move like one and would soon revert to their original form.
Touma could transform into a kestrel not only because of all the proficiency he had accumulated, but also because one of the traits had given him a clear direction for developing the technique.
He had chosen a kestrel because he had been familiar with them in his previous life. A kestrel family had even nested on his balcony.
Living alongside them for so long had made Touma exceptionally familiar with the way these birds flew and how their bodies were structured.
He had even dreamed of turning into a kestrel and flying while in a deep sleep, so naturally, he could imitate one with ease.
As for maintaining the kestrel form, that was entirely thanks to the preliminary nature transformation of Yang Release Chakra he had just achieved with [Wood Release Creation (White)].
Yang Release Chakra made it easy to maintain the transformed state.
Just after he flew over the trees surrounding the training ground, several figures rushing away appeared in the kestrel's vision.
Touma folded his wings and plunged downward at top speed.
As he drew closer, he saw several dark-skinned ninja wearing Kumogakure flak jackets, escorting a little red-haired girl at a rapid pace.
No matter how much of an outsider Touma was, he couldn't possibly fail to recognize that hair color.
After all, there were only two red-haired Uzumaki in all of Konoha. One was the big boss, Uzumaki Mito, who lived in the Senju Clan Compound; the other was the princess of the Land of Whirlpools before him, Kushina Uzumaki.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Touma. He realized he was very familiar with the scene unfolding before him.
In his previous life, he had watched countless short videos about Minato saving Kushina.
Most of them came with a syrupy love song, and their view counts were no less impressive than the scene where Hinata saved Naruto.
Sure enough, just as Touma landed on a treetop to rest, a little blond boy was already racing toward them from not far behind.
He was moving so fast that the wind howled around his small body.
Touma was sure he could hear the wind. On this summer night, the sound was unusually clear!
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