Trouble

Using the Mayfly Technique to sneak all the way home, Kanna sat in silence before the "Only in the Center" calligraphy scroll in the main hall. He sat like that for half a day, until the sun dipped below the horizon and Morishita Mai and Tokiomi returned home.

Morishita Mai caught sight of Kanna's back, paused for a moment, and then looked toward Tokiomi.

"Go prepare dinner first," Tokiomi said calmly, then turned to Kanna: "Kanna, come to my study."

Kanna rose in silence and followed Tokiomi into the study.

"What happened?" Tokiomi asked, getting straight to the point.

Kanna replied: "I finished the exam early, so I was granted permission to leave. I have to return in seven days to await further orders."

Tokiomi nodded: "And?"

"And..." Kanna gave a bitter smile, "I think I've caused you some trouble."

"Hmm?" Tokiomi furrowed his brows, his expression shifting slightly as he blurted out: "Did you kill someone? Did you kill many people?"

Regarding this exam, what Tokiomi feared most was Kanna being killed, followed by him killing too many other examinees.

During this period, the Third Hokage and he, as the Mizukage Aide, were both pushing for reforms. The first shot in this reform was the ninja exam. In the past, the Kirigakure exams never prohibited slaughter; life or death was irrelevant. While this system was cruel, everyone had grown accustomed to it and believed it was the best way to cultivate elites for Kirigakure.

Recently, however, there had been many complaints in the village regarding the reforms. Kirigakure's national strength was already inferior to villages like Konohagakure and Kumogakure. If they blindly followed the "general education" and "humanitarian" path of Konohagakure to train ninjas, they might end up neither fish nor fowl, losing their only advantage—that their mid- and low-level ninjas were stronger than those of other villages.

Tokiomi had confidence in his son. After that great upheaval, he seemed like a different person. Not only had he become more diligent than before, but he also seemed to have had a breakthrough in his talent, with his cultivation speed advancing by leaps and bounds, which brought him great relief.

General matters, such as fighting or causing trouble, were of no consequence; they could only be considered childish mischief. The only thing that could be called "trouble" was if Kanna had gone on a killing spree during the exam, slaughtering other candidates.

The Mizukage and his aide were pushing for a new system, and yet the aide's own son was the first to break it, killing defenseless candidates just as before. Did this not imply that even the Mizukage Aide's son did not respect his own father's governing policy?

If the Mizukage Aide's son took the lead in violating the new system, what would others think?

Although the new regulations did not explicitly forbid killing, public opinion was a fearful thing. Once the first example was set, everyone would follow suit, and this reform would likely end in failure.

"Yes, I killed many people," Kanna said helplessly. "I think I'm too strong; I couldn't control my power, and by accident..."

Tokiomi interrupted: "How many did you kill? What exactly happened?"

Kanna dared not hide anything and answered honestly: "The enemy had twelve candidates, and I was alone. After I broke through their defensive perimeter, I was surrounded. I intended to end the fight quickly, but the power of the ninjutsu was too great, so..."

Tokiomi's brows knitted into a knot as he asked: "One-hit kills?"

"Yes," Kanna lowered his head and whispered, "one hit."

Tokiomi fell silent, staring at Kanna with complex eyes.

That Kanna could crush twelve peers undoubtedly made him proud; his son had finally reached the realm that Zabuza had once attained, completely surpassing his peers. However, just as Kanna had said, this had indeed caused him a massive headache!

"What exactly was that ninjutsu? I don't recall teaching you any such high-level techniques. Who taught you!" Tokiomi asked the critical question.

Fortunately, Kanna had anticipated this situation the day he obtained the Highland. He apologized in his heart and replied: "To be honest, I don't know where that power comes from, but I think it should be considered a Kekkei Genkai."

Tokiomi mused: "A Kekkei Genkai? No, neither your mother nor I possess one. If it is a special power, it should be a unique ability based on genetics."

At this point, one must mention the composition of Kekkei Genkai in Kirigakure. This village was unique; because it had long avoided contact with outsiders, marriages often occurred within the village. There were no clan prohibitions—meaning they did not forbid members from marrying outsiders. This led to many cases where parents had no Kekkei Genkai, yet their children inexplicably awakened one. This awakened power could not be called a traditional Kekkei Genkai, yet it was no different. This was completely different from Konohagakure, where Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques were concentrated within specific clans and intermarriage with outsiders was strictly forbidden.

The most representative example of this in Kirigakure was the Hozuki Clan. The powers awakened by members of this clan were fundamentally different, not conforming to the ninja world's definition of a Kekkei Genkai—a specific ability generally inherited through bloodline and genetics. Kirigakure's research explained these abilities as products of cross-inheritance or genetic mutation.

In Tokiomi's view, Kanna was just such a case: his parents had no Kekkei Genkai or special abilities, yet he had awakened one, and this awakened power seemed terrifying.

"What is that power? Show me. Just use it on me," Tokiomi said.

"Ah?" Kanna was stunned.

"It's fine, just control your strength," Tokiomi pulled out a chair and said, "What type of ability is your technique?"

"This..." Kanna hesitated, then said: "Father, please keep this a secret. My ability is repulsion."

"Repulsion?" Tokiomi muttered in surprise, then crossed his arms to protect himself: "Alright, that should be fine. Begin."

"I'll be gentle."

With that, Kanna unleashed a Shinra Tensei at Tokiomi.

With a bang, Tokiomi was forced back three steps, his arms pushed aside by the force. Seeing this, Kanna quickly withdrew his power.

"Impressive!" Tokiomi steadied himself and praised. He pulled back his sleeve to see an unhealthy, blood-red flush across the skin of his arms.

"A lot of capillaries have ruptured," Tokiomi said slowly, feeling his injuries.

Having been exposed to this repulsive force for less than a second, it had already invaded his body. One could imagine that if this state were maintained, a human body would be crushed from the inside out into a pulp.

No matter how much one trained, a flesh-and-blood body remained just that. Facing the attack of Shinra Tensei, once the chakra defense system covering the body was breached, the repulsive force would drive straight in, instantly crushing the internal organs. Such injuries could not be healed even by Tsunade, unless Jugo were to graft his own flesh onto the victim.

Tokiomi sat back down, rubbing his arms, and frowned: "I will keep your ability a secret, but you should use this power sparingly."

"I've caused you trouble," Kanna sighed.

"Since it has already happened, there is no use in regretting it now." Tokiomi regained his calm expression and mused: "I will handle this matter. Now, go eat."

That night, after dinner, Kanna began to contemplate which ninjutsu he should choose for the final exam.

The effect of Shinra Tensei had completely exceeded his expectations. Genin and Chunin who had not yet completed their chakra qualitative transformation would die just by being grazed. Unless necessary, Kanna did not intend to use it on his own people. Just as Long and Yetsuki and the others were people who should have been his future comrades—the Third Great Ninja War would break out next year, and the more ferocious he was then, the better; that would be the time for Shinra Tensei to truly show its might.

As for whether Madara Uchiha would see through Shinra Tensei, Kanna no longer cared. He didn't believe that the lingering, dying Madara could crawl out to kill him. Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, Obito, Nagato—Kanna didn't care about them either. If he couldn't beat them, couldn't he just run?

Give him ten or twenty years, and he would kill gods for them to see!

Kanna was certain he would load an S-rank skill on the Highland initially, so his current choices were as follows.

Flying Thunder God Technique, Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique, Double Lariat, Sage Art: Rasengan.

Among these, Kanna's Flying Thunder God Technique lacks the Flying Thunder God: Second Stage (the high-speed combat maneuver Minato used to slay fifty Iwagakure Ninja in one go), the Space-Time Barrier (also known as Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, the move Minato used to redirect the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb), Flying Thunder God Slash, Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, and the Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three. How to utilize it is entirely up to Kanna's own ingenuity. Of course, it is already sufficient for the time being; dealing with the Chunin Exams is no problem at all, and the risk of being exposed is minimal, as it has been a long time since the death of the Flying Thunder God's creator, Tobirama.

However, given Kanna's neural reaction speed, it remains to be seen whether he can actually apply the Flying Thunder God Technique in real combat.

The formula for the Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique is complete and has no other variations. Its only drawback is that its power depends entirely on the caster's chakra reserves. Kanna estimates that if he went all out, defeating those two guys instantly shouldn't be a problem, but if he did that, he would exhaust all his chakra—winning in such a pathetic state seems a bit embarrassing, doesn't it?

The Double Lariat lacks the foundation of the Lariat, as its essence is merely a combined technique of the Lariat. Therefore, lacking the core ninjutsu, Kanna is temporarily unable to learn it on his own. Of course, he could choose to force an analysis through Highland, but Kanna pursues knowledge, not just a specific ninjutsu, so this move can only be used against enemies and cannot help him progress.

The Sage Art: Rasengan is missing even more absurd components; he possesses neither Sage Mode nor the Rasengan. Just like when he tried to learn the Water Body Flicker, he cannot analyze it on his own and must rely on Highland. Moreover, Kanna does not believe he would be favored by those toads from Mount Myoboku to be taught Sage Mode, so this technique is destined to be used, but never learned.

In summary, Kanna discovered that among the S-rank ninjutsu he drew, only the Great Shark Bullet Technique is complete and learnable. The others either require bloodlines or lack the necessary components. He didn't think much of it when he drew them, but thinking about it now, his luck really wasn't that great.

"If I use Sage Art: Rasengan and Double Lariat, those two guys will be killed outright. I really am too strong," Kanna rubbed his nose and gave a dry laugh. "And since the Shinra Tensei I use isn't powered by my own strength, I can't control it at all. So, I guess it has to be the Flying Thunder God Technique?"