Was He Really Only Seven?

Kyohiko Yoshimine.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been thinking about that name often lately, and it had led him to pay even more attention to the boy.

A promising young man.

Talented, thoughtful, and mature in his thinking.

With the right guidance, he might become one of Konoha's future pillars, just like Minato.

However...

Tsunade had come by that morning...

"Has something happened?"

Hiruzen reached for his pipe, but stopped himself and set it down again.

Tsunade said, "Great-aunt Toka risked her life for my father back then, but she got nothing in return. I should look after her only descendant."

Hiruzen had no answer to that!

In fact...

He felt as though a crowd of people were pointing at him, saying he hadn't done enough.

Hiruzen fell silent for a while, then said, "I can still give him some Water Style and genjutsu techniques."

"No need!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and immediately refused.

Hiruzen was surprised.

"You don't want them?"

"He's only seven. What would he do with so many advanced techniques? Kyohiko is clever. If he builds a solid foundation, he'll naturally learn a lot of techniques. There's no need to teach them to him deliberately."

"Oh, right."

Hiruzen looked dazed.

That boy was only seven!

The way he acted was far too mature. Hiruzen kept unconsciously thinking he was older than he really was.

"Remember to send them over to my place."

As she spoke, Tsunade waved and closed the door behind her.

After leaving the office, Tsunade couldn't help sighing softly.

Kyohiko didn't need specific techniques at all. What he needed was foundational theory and knowledge.

"Kyohiko, you don't need to train in powerful techniques right now. Don't bother with the Rasengan for the time being."

"Teacher, I really need it!"

Kyohiko hurriedly grabbed Jiraiya's hand, not even bothering with manners.

This was the Rasengan!

Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"You dared to try Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred on your own. I don't dare teach you a technique like that yet. And don't secretly try to figure it out, either. Focus on mastering the basics. Once you've fully mastered that technique, the Rasengan will be useless to you."

"Fine."

Kyohiko sighed helplessly.

It seemed there was no way to talk him into it.

But...

No matter!

If Jiraiya wouldn't teach him, he'd train on his own.

That was what he'd been thinking, but the next moment, Jiraiya leaned close and whispered, "Tsunade went to the Third Hokage and got Second Hokage's notebook from back then."

"!!!"

Whoa!

Kyohiko instantly forgot all about the Rasengan.

He could make Rasengan whenever he wanted.

But...

He wouldn't get his hands on Second Hokage's notes just any day.

He suppressed his excitement with all his might.

"Really?"

"You managed to use a rudimentary version of Strength of a Hundred the first time, and your injuries weren't too serious. That means you basically meet the requirements. You're just lacking physical strength."

Jiraiya explained.

Then he took a bag from inside his robe.

"I bought this for you. I'll gradually take the cost out of your mission pay."

Jiraiya spoke casually.

Kyohiko looked closely.

It resembled a weighted leg wrap, except it was meant to be strapped to the hand to train the muscles and strength there.

"How much did this cost?"

"150,000."

Jiraiya answered.

He said helplessly, "I lent all my savings to Tsunade to pay off her debts. In the short term, I'm just as broke as you kids."

"Just how much does Lady Tsunade owe?"

Kurenai Yuhi couldn't help asking.

Jiraiya raised one finger.

"One million?"

Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya glanced at him, his voice tinged with sorrow.

"Ten million!"

It hadn't been that much to begin with.

The gambling debt at the Blue Flower Pavilion had only been around three or four million, but the Matsuyama Clan owned more than just that one business, and Tsunade had visited several of their other casinos.

On top of that, the other casinos had heard the news and come to collect, too.

After all the debts were tracked down, they'd reached ten million.

What a tragic story!

Everyone fell silent.

Kyohiko calculated to himself—

That was roughly a third of Chiriku.

And that was only part of Tsunade's gambling debts, accumulated over just over a year. If she had a few more years...

Who knew how much debt she'd rack up?

Fortunately, nobody in the Shinobi World dared lend Tsunade money at exorbitant interest rates. Otherwise, with interest compounding, she probably wouldn't be able to pay it back at all.

Of course...

If things ever got that bad, Tsunade might not be the one in danger. Those casinos could be, too.

Kyohiko silently grumbled to himself.

"We accepted a mission from the Matsuyama Clan. It'd be best not to leave the village before they arrive. We might as well train properly, too. Let's start with a D-rank mission today."

As he spoke, Jiraiya took out the mission scroll.

Same as usual.

Hauling water!

Kyohiko strapped on the hand weights.

Now he had weights on both his hands and feet, making it hard for him to move as nimbly as before. Even hauling water had become difficult.

He wasn't the only one.

Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi were the same.

They were all wearing weights of varying levels. Even a D-rank mission required them to use chakra to keep hauling water and moving forward.

It was a form of training.

If they kept at it and pushed through, their bodies would grow stronger faster.

By afternoon, the three were exhausted. They removed only some of their weights, then went running with the rest still on.

Two days passed.

On the morning of the third day, just after Kyohiko got up, someone knocked on his window.

"Who is it?"

With a toothbrush in his mouth, he asked indistinctly as he went to open the window.

Kyohiko froze for a moment, then quickly brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth.

"Lady Tsunade..."

"Get dressed quickly, then come downstairs."

After saying that, Tsunade leaped away and vanished.

A moment later, Kyohiko went downstairs. Tsunade was already waiting in the courtyard.

A pile of books lay in front of her.

"Are these all...?"

Kyohiko was stunned.

Tsunade nodded. "I didn't bring any complete techniques. These are all notes my Second Grandfather made while studying Water Style, genjutsu, and other techniques. There's a lot of foundational material, too. You can read them and learn the principles and knowledge behind them."

Kyohiko was almost petrified.

Tsunade and Jiraiya really were treating him like a top-tier genius.

But...

He knew his own limits. He wasn't some peerless genius; he'd merely been standing on the shoulders of giants.

Fortunately, these books really were exactly what he needed most.

He flipped through several of them and became increasingly aware of how valuable they were.

Some were diaries; others recorded derivations and reflections. They covered things like the relationship between Water Wave and Water Severing Wave. The ideas and thought process written there weren't much different from Kyohiko's own.

Compression, condensation.

By using highly condensed Water Style chakra, one could create a high-pressure blade of water capable of cutting through anything.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade!"

Kyohiko thanked her solemnly.

Unless someone was like Naruto, born with parents who could lay a foundation for him and an extraordinarily powerful special constitution, a strong foundation was essential.

Without a solid foundation, no technique would do any good.

Tsunade smiled. "As long as you don't think I'm stingy."

"Of course not."

Kyohiko shook his head.

He sighed, then asked, puzzled, "Ordinary people can't access the principles and methods in these books at all. Why not pass them on to everyone?"

"Actually, they have been."

Tsunade said, "During Second Hokage's time, he laid the groundwork for the Ninja Academy and helped the Third Hokage incorporate a lot of foundational knowledge into the curriculum. The textbooks you see are the result of generations of work."

"The knowledge at the Academy is good, but it's missing the steps that take you further. When we graduate, we're still a long way from being real Genin. That's why we need Jonin team leaders. But I don't think the Academy should be limited to that."

Kyohiko said.

Tsunade paused, then asked, "What do you think it should be like?"

"Students should be grouped by level and subject, then taught according to their strengths once they reach a certain stage. Take my classmate Might Guy, for example. He's terrible at ninjutsu, but he's strong in Taijutsu. If someone like him stays in the Academy without specializing, isn't he just wasting his time?"