Soon everyone had arrived, and Kakashi had joined them too.
They soaked in the same pool, chatting casually.
Shita Genichi sat with Uchiha Namiichi on his left and Kakashi on his right.
Squinting contentedly, Shita Genichi asked Kakashi, "Kakashi, you'll be taking the Chunin Exams this year, right?"
Kakashi gave a slight nod. "Yes."
"You've decided too?"
Shita Genichi hummed, then smiled. "Maybe we'll end up facing each other!"
Kakashi glanced at Shita Genichi and said seriously, "I won't hold back."
"Neither will I."
"By the way, how about we spar tomorrow?"
Kakashi agreed at once. "If I don't have a mission, sure."
It had been a long time since they'd trained together, and he wanted to see how much Shita Genichi had improved.
After making their plans, Shita Genichi turned to Uchiha Namiichi and talked about Genjutsu.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Once they were done soaking, everyone left the Hot Spring House together and headed home.
Shita Genichi took a special look at the rooftops of the row of hot spring houses, but unfortunately, he didn't see Jiraiya.
He was probably off having fun again.
After leaving Hot Spring Street, Shita Genichi hurried home, quickly drew up a design, then rushed back out.
Before long, Shita Genichi found a shop that made carriages and paid a hundred ryo to have a bicycle custom-built for himself.
It was a business venture.
It would be great if it made money.
After taking care of that, Shita Genichi went to the river to try practicing Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death.
Now that he had the Yin Seal, he felt that his Water Release Ninjutsu could become much more varied.
Once he mastered Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death and learned Water Severing Wave, he could develop Senju Tobirama's Heavenly Weeping himself. He might not need to get the technique from the village after all.
Steadying his mind and clearing away distractions, Shita Genichi stood on the river's surface and formed Hand Seals.
He moved slowly, forming Hand Seals while drawing out the chakra within his body and changing its nature. Then he channeled it through the soles of his feet into the river, blending it with the water before controlling it and changing its form.
In other words, he shaped a stream of water into a thousand needles.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One needle after another shot out of the water.
But Shita Genichi looked at them and gave a slight shake of his head.
They were too thick and not condensed enough.
They also weren't fast enough.
Again.
Shita Genichi formed Hand Seals once more, repeating the process and refining his control over the shape transformation, making the needles more and more condensed so they wouldn't fall apart at the slightest touch.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have much offensive power.
They needed to be as hard as steel.
Besides hardness, the speed at which they shot out also affected their power.
There was also the speed of performing the technique. That meant more than just how quickly he formed Hand Seals; it included how quickly he condensed the needles, too.
But Shita Genichi left the technique's speed for last.
First, he would learn it. Then he could work on making it faster.
And so, Shita Genichi spent the entire afternoon training on the river. He didn't return home until dusk, where he ate heartily to replenish his strength.
During his afternoon training, he had released the Yin Seal and used Shadow Clones, so he needed to make up for it by eating a lot.
After dinner, Shita Genichi went for a walk with his parents, enjoying Konoha's lively streets.
Eight in the evening.
Shita Genichi brought the Sealing Scroll and headed over to Tsunade's house.
Shizune was there, just as he'd expected, busy clearing away the leftovers from their meal.
Tsunade wasn't drinking, but she sat on the veranda, lost in thought. When Shita Genichi arrived, she merely glanced at him.
Shita Genichi bowed, but didn't try to strike up a conversation.
Tsunade was in her thirties, at the height of her allure, her figure full and mature, but Shita Genichi had no intention of trying to win her over.
Even if a seven-year-old acted older than his age, no woman would give him a second glance.
Besides.
He was at the age when he should be working hard. What was the point of dating?
After helping Shizune clean up, he greeted Tsunade, then left with Shizune.
"Huh?"
"Lady Tsunade?"
Once they were outside, Shita Genichi stopped when he realized Tsunade had followed them.
Tsunade folded her arms across her chest and said coolly, "What, am I not allowed to go out?"
Shita Genichi swallowed almost imperceptibly and quickly looked away. He smiled. "Of course you are."
"Shizune and I are going to Konoha Hospital. Would you like to come, Lady Tsunade?"
"I captured an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja during my last mission. I was just thinking of studying his cells."
Tsunade looked surprised. "Ice Release?"
"The Yuki Clan of Kirigakure?"
Shita Genichi nodded.
Tsunade gave Shita Genichi a once-over, then started walking. "Why do you want to study Ice Release?"
Shita Genichi saw no reason to hide it and nodded. "It's such a good opportunity. I want to see what makes Kekkei Genkai ninjas different from ordinary ninjas."
Tsunade said lazily, "Don't waste your time. If research like this could produce Kekkei Genkai, there wouldn't be so few of them in the Ninja World."
Shizune said, "Genichi, Kekkei Genkai can only be inherited through blood. There's no way to learn them."
Shita Genichi smiled and asked, "Then here's the question."
"Where did Kekkei Genkai come from in the first place?"
Shizune froze, then looked to Tsunade.
Tsunade furrowed her brow slightly. "Shizune, it would be more accurate to say that Kekkei Genkai techniques can't be learned. You can only learn them if you already possess the corresponding Kekkei Genkai, which is why they're said to be inherited through blood."
"But Kekkei Genkai..."
As she spoke, Tsunade shook her head. "You could also say they can't be learned."
"The village has the Sharingan and Byakugan, among other Kekkei Genkai, but no outsider has ever developed them."
Shizune exclaimed, "So Kekkei Genkai can be developed too!"
Shita Genichi nodded. "Of course."
Although a large portion of Kekkei Genkai could be traced back to Kaguya Otsutsuki, many of the bloodline abilities passed down through the Ninja World must have been developed independently.
For example, Ōnoki, the Third of Iwagakure, hadn't inherited his Kekkei Tōta through blood. He had learned it from Mu, the Second Tsuchikage.
Whether Mu had developed Dust Release himself or inherited it through blood didn't matter.
Besides, Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, had most likely developed her Kekkei Genkai herself.
Then there was Pakura of Sunagakure, with her Scorch Release.
There were quite a few examples like these.
Developing Water Release into Ocean Release would be impressive too.
But Shita Genichi was also interested in Ice Release.
Even though he wasn't very talented at Wind Release,
he had at least mastered its nature transformation, even if all he could do with it for now was cut leaves.
The three of them chatted as they made their way to Konoha Hospital.
Shizune went off to take care of her work, while Shita Genichi headed to a laboratory filled with equipment.
Tsunade followed him and leaned against the doorway, watching as Shita Genichi opened the scroll and got to work.
Shita Genichi wasn't distracted by Tsunade. He followed the plan he had already worked out in his head.
He had two goals today.
First, he wanted to sequence the genes of the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja.
Second, he wanted to try matching their bone marrow.
If the match was successful, he could go straight to a bone marrow transplant and perhaps acquire Ice Release that way.
Tsunade noticed what he was doing and frowned. "Are you trying to transplant this Kekkei Genkai ninja's cells?"
Before you continue