Little Yellow Hair Saves Little Chili Pepper

Touma arrived at the Geng-Character Training Ground, located not far from the Senju clan compound.

Although its scale could not compare to the Senju family's private training grounds, it was still spacious enough to accommodate a hundred people for ninjutsu practice.

However, it was clear that the bustling training ground before him was currently holding far more than a hundred people.

The reason it was so popular was precisely because the Geng-Character Training Ground was situated near the Senju clan compound.

Most of the ninjas who trained here did so with the goal of receiving guidance from experts of the Senju clan.

Even though most of the Senju branch families had been dispersed among the commoners following the era of the Second Hokage, the number of elites remaining in the Senju main family was still quite significant.

Touma had previously come here to train with Aburame Shibi.

However, given his slacker attitude toward training, let alone catching the eye of a Senju expert and receiving personal instruction, he was lucky enough just to avoid being kicked out of the Geng-Character Training Ground.

Coming here this time, Touma did not start training immediately; instead, he began to warm up his body by circling the training ground.

As he opened his system vision, he didn't even notice that his expression had become like Gollum from the world of The Lord of the Rings, with drool already streaming down the corner of his mouth.

The dense array of entries before his eyes truly gave him a case of decision 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 of the white and green entries were concentrated on C-rank and below ninjutsu, the sheer scale of their quantity was quite impressive.

And these were not just ninjutsu entries; the number of other attribute and descriptive entries was also substantial.

[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 entries could be used repeatedly, and the effects of identical entries would stack.

Of course, Touma kept his wits about him this time; he did not absorb these entries directly, but instead stored them in the system's favorites folder, waiting until he found a secluded spot to load and absorb them.

It was only when most people had finished their training one after another and left the grounds that Touma reappeared in the southeast corner of the Geng-Character Training Ground.

The southeast corner was relatively far from the Senju compound, so he didn't have to worry about causing a stir and attracting the attention of the Senju clan.

Naturally, considering the existence of a Jinchuriki within the Senju clan, Touma did not absorb the bloodline-type entries first.

After organizing all the ninjutsu entries, he began by gradually loading and absorbing the E-rank and D-rank ninjutsu.

One should never assume that E-rank and D-rank ninjutsu are beneath notice; the majority of Chunin and Genin fight using these very "unrefined" techniques.

And those in the training ground seeking guidance from Senju experts were mostly those same Chunin and Genin, so naturally, they had quite a bit of insight into the application of E-rank and D-rank ninjutsu.

However, absorbing the stacked entries of the basic Three Body Techniques from hundreds of people still caused Touma's brain to crash for a split second.

In truth, after the system merged and streamlined them, the content contained within was quite extensive.

Take the Substitution Technique, for example; everyone's casting style and choice of substitute object were different, as were the tactical strategies they paired with them.

Some people use ordinary wooden stakes as their Substitution Technique objects, while others use living creatures like sparrows or wild hares.

Some can even perform the Substitution Technique using explosive tags, flash grenades, smoke bombs, and other ninja tools as their substitutes.

It was truly an eye-opener, even for Touma, who had already read the original work.

There was also plenty of content regarding the Transformation Technique; how to refine it to the point of partial transformation or disguising oneself as inanimate objects were key areas of research for genin and chunin.

Looking at it now, one could not underestimate the genin and chunin of the ninja world; as the backbone of the hidden villages, they possessed astonishing intelligence, perhaps only lacking the innate talent required to reach the absolute pinnacle of the ninja world.

After calming his thoughts, Touma suddenly opened his eyes, and a puff of white smoke rose from his body.

As the smoke cleared, a palm-sized kestrel appeared in his place, flapping its wings twice before flying out toward the training ground.

Under normal circumstances, a standard Transformation Technique cannot turn a person into an animal, and even if one successfully transformed, they would be unable to move like one and would quickly revert to their original form.

The reason Touma could transform into a kestrel was not only due to the massive amount of proficiency points he had accumulated, but also because one of his traits had provided him with a clear direction for development.

He chose to transform into a kestrel because he was extremely familiar with them from his past life, as a family of kestrels had nested on his balcony.

Long-term observation had made Touma exceptionally familiar with the flight patterns and physical structure of such birds.

He had even dreamt of flying as a kestrel during deep sleep, so naturally, he could simulate it with ease.

Maintaining the kestrel form was entirely dependent on the initial nature transformation of Yang release he had just completed with the help of Wood Release Creation (White).

Using Yang release chakra made it quite easy to sustain the transformed state.

Just after flying over the woods of the training ground, several figures moving rapidly toward the outskirts appeared in the kestrel's field of vision.

Touma tucked his wings and dove downward at high speed.

As he drew closer, he saw several dark-skinned individuals wearing Kumogakure flak jackets, escorting a little red-haired girl as they moved quickly.

No matter how much of a loner Touma was, he could not fail to recognize that hair color.

After all, there were only two red-haired members of the Uzumaki clan in all of Konoha: one was the big boss currently residing in the Senju compound, Uzumaki Mito, and the other was the princess of the Land of Whirlpools right before his eyes, Kushina Uzumaki.

Suddenly, a flash of realization struck Touma's mind as he recognized the plot unfolding before him.

In his past life, he had seen countless clips of Minato saving Kushina on short-video platforms.

The videos were almost always set to sappy love songs, and their view counts were by no means inferior to the scene where Hinata saved Naruto.

Sure enough, just as Touma landed on a treetop to rest, a small blonde boy was approaching the area from not far behind with lightning speed.

The speed was so great that his small frame stirred up a roaring wind.

Touma was certain he heard the sound of the wind; on this summer night, it was exceptionally clear and distinct!