Konoha-Style Nintaijutsu

"Wait, stand down. Takuya, you just used the Strength of a Hundred Fist, didn't you?"

"That's right."

Under Tsunade's astonished gaze, Kimura Takuya demonstrated and explained the Konoha-Style Nintaijutsu.

Tsunade stood up from her seat in shock.

She walked over to Kimura Takuya and looked him up and down.

"Are you a genius? A genius! Why was your performance at the Ninja Academy so unremarkable?"

"Heh, I had some trouble with my chakra refinement, but I've already solved it. I've always had a knack for developing ninjutsu, but there weren't many opportunities to show it off at school. I only revealed a bit during the graduation exam, but I narrowly lost to the top of the class, Hyuga Neji."

Kimura Takuya chuckled, putting on a smug expression as he gave Tsunade the answer he had prepared in advance.

Suddenly displaying talent would inevitably lead to such questioning, so he had been ready.

And look, it came in handy.

Better safe than sorry; the ancients never lied to me.

"I see, a Hyuga? Losing to him is nothing to be ashamed of. I've heard of Neji; he is a genius of the Hyuga clan."

"Yes."

Seeing that Kimura Takuya didn't seem resentful, Tsunade felt puzzled.

That shouldn't be right. Isn't this kid the type who refuses to admit defeat? He wouldn't even concede to my medical ninjutsu.

Now that he's lost to someone else, he's just accepting it like this?

Could that Hyuga Neji really be so formidable that he beat this kid into submission in one go?

Hmm, in that case, I might consider keeping an eye on this Hyuga Neji.

As I've just taken on the role of Hokage, I still need to cultivate my own Anbu team. Although I can trust the people left behind by Teacher Sarutobi, my own people are ultimately more reliable.

Because of Kimura Takuya's abnormal behavior, Tsunade thought of many things in an instant.

But the one thing she didn't consider was that this was simply because someone's acting was too poor, and he had forgotten to maintain his persona in front of her.

Due to his oversight, Neji's fate was changed from that moment on.

Kimura Takuya, however, remained completely oblivious to this.

He sat down to the side and began flipping through the Scroll of Seals.

The more he read, the more shocked he became; the vast majority of the ninjutsu recorded here were created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

This guy is a true genius!

It contained everything: Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang Release—all of them were there.

There was also the Space-Time Ninjutsu—the Flying Thunder God.

And the Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!

He hadn't expected Impure World Reincarnation to be classified as a Summoning Jutsu, falling under the same Space-Time Ninjutsu category as the Flying Thunder God.

Kimura Takuya was deeply shaken and committed all these techniques to memory.

The previous increase in his soul power had also greatly enhanced his memory.

His memory could now be described as photographic.

A large scroll contained hundreds of forbidden techniques, and he memorized every single one of them, regardless of whether they were useful or not.

"I'll be taking the small scroll. Is there anything else today? If not, I'm going back to practice."

"Nothing else, you can go. If you have any questions, you can go to Shizune; if there's something she doesn't know, then you can come to me. Got it?"

"Hai, understood."

Kimura Takuya took the small scroll and turned to leave, just as he stood up.

"Made, wait a second!"

"What is it?"

"You're on Kurenai Yuhi's team, right? A member of Root has recently joined your squad; be careful of this person. Also, there's nothing going on with your team, right?"

"That's right, because there is a special team member who hasn't become a ninja yet."

"Hmm, I know about Yakumo Kurama. How about this: you find that person from Root, and the two of you can take on a mission for me. Just this one."

After Tsunade finished speaking, she handed a D-rank mission file to Kimura Takuya.

D-rank mission: Search for and capture a merchant caravan.

Mission description: Search for and capture a five-person merchant caravan that entered Konoha the day before yesterday.

The caravan has no livestock and consists of backpacker merchants.

The list of personnel is unknown, and their appearances are unknown.

The known number of people is five, including one adult male and four minors.

Among the minors, three are male and one is female.

Mission clue: Before entering Konoha, they were eating barbecue by the river.

Kimura Takuya looked at the text of the mission file and didn't notice anything at first, but when he saw the photographic evidence, the corner of his mouth twitched.

These footprints, the bonfire by the river, and the discarded wooden skewers.

Aren't these the ones left behind by Team Guy and himself when they were eating barbecue by the river that night?

How did we become a merchant caravan?

"Uh, why are we looking for these people? What did they do?"

"They are guilty of heinous crimes! Find them and bring them here; I want to finish them off with my own hands!"

"Lady Tsunade, isn't that a bit much? Although they are indeed detestable, now that I've calmed down and thought about it, it's not worth killing them."

Shizune spoke up to mediate, and just when Kimura Takuya thought she was going to plead for mercy, she added, "I think we should just capture them and make them slaves in the black dungeons for the rest of their lives, the kind that never sees the light of day again."

"Nani? Why go that far? That's too cruel. What exactly did these people do?"

"It is absolutely unforgivable! They barbecued my pet pig!"

Tsunade's face was full of rage, declaring that she would never forgive these people and was determined to capture them all and tear them to pieces!

Upon hearing this, Kimura Takuya felt strange.

That's not right, is it? Is that Ninja Pig also raised by Tsunade?

Isn't the only one that little pig that wears red clothes and a pearl necklace?

He pondered for a moment and suddenly realized the truth.

Could this be a misunderstanding?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, so he decided to test the waters.

"Master, isn't it just a pet pig? I'll buy you another one?"

"No! I only want my Tonton. Do you know the feeling of raising a pet from a young age? Can you understand the heartbreak of having such a pet eaten by someone? They must be finished!"

Sure enough, it really was a misunderstanding.

Tonton was still at Kimura Takuya's house.

He had originally intended to use it to blackmail Tsunade.

But now that he had successfully become her apprentice, obtained his master's ninjutsu, and even gotten the Scroll of Seals for free, keeping Tonton and not returning it would be a bit inhumane.

"Master, my pet pig is very cute. I found it when I was out on a mission with Team Guy the day before yesterday."

"It was even wearing clothes and a necklace. I didn't know which wealthy family it belonged to, but it's been two days and I haven't seen anyone post a missing pet notice."

"Nani? Wearing clothes and a necklace? What color were the clothes, and what kind of necklace was it?"

"Red clothes, pearl necklace."

"Nani! Isn't that Tonton? So it was you, brat, who found it!"

Tsunade grabbed Kimura Takuya by the collar and pulled him toward her chest.

Once again, he was in that position where he could look down from the peak and see all the mountains.

Kimura Takuya kept his eyes straight, daring only to look at Tsunade's face and nowhere else, lest he be labeled a rebellious disciple who offended his master.

"What? Master, didn't you just say that Tonton was eaten by someone?"

"The little pig in red clothes with a pearl necklace is Tonton! Shizune, show him the photo of Tonton."

Shizune, who was excited on the side, immediately took out her bag and flipped through it to find a photo of Tonton to show Kimura Takuya.

After looking at it, Kimura Takuya pretended to be surprised and kept exclaiming about the coincidence.

Then, he explained the cause and effect of that night to Tsunade and Shizune.

Everyone understood now; the five of them were not a merchant caravan, but Kimura Takuya and Team Guy. They had indeed eaten barbecue, but it was not Tonton they had roasted.

On the contrary, they had fed Tonton quite a bit and even brought it back to Konoha, waiting for them to come looking for it.

Tsunade looked at the innocent-looking Kimura Takuya, finding herself unable to laugh or cry.

The very reason she had returned to the village in the first place was because of this brat.

And now, because of this same brat, she had been cornered by the old man and forced to become Hokage.

So infuriating!

Thwack!

Tsunade knocked Kimura Takuya on the head again.

"Still standing there? Go bring Tonton to me!"

"Oh, Shizune-nee, come with me. I still need to stop by the hospital, so I won't be coming back later."

Just like that, Shizune and Kimura Takuya headed off to his house together.