Konoha
Afternoon
At the Inuzuka Clan Head Residence
Inuzuka Hideo was the current head of the Inuzuka Clan. He was in his sixties, with a deeply wrinkled face and hair that had already turned gray.
Most people in their sixties wouldn't look so old, but he was a ninja. Years of missions had long since taken their toll on his life.
Naraku took a gentle sip of tea and let out a breath.
As expected, Might Duy was a strict Taijutsu instructor during the morning training. He might not have seemed reliable at first, but after getting to know him, Naraku found that Mr. Duy was a very dependable companion.
Might Duy had taught Naraku a recipe for a medicinal bath. Soaking in it after pushing his body to its limits could help him recover.
After a morning of Taijutsu training, Naraku's muscles were sore and aching all over. He didn't understand Might Duy's training methods very well. They differed greatly from the Uchiha's traditional Taijutsu training, and the intensity was high.
Under normal circumstances, training like this should put tremendous strain on the body and cause hidden injuries.
However, after seeing the medicinal bath recipe, Naraku understood how the Might family had managed to keep going.
The herbs were expensive. Almost all of Might Duy and his son's income went toward them.
Might Duy had passed such an important recipe directly to Naraku. Naraku didn't know whether Duy was simply trusting by nature or had some other reason.
Most ninjas focused on ninjutsu. Aside from civilian-born ninjas, who often specialized in Taijutsu because they lacked access to ninjutsu, few others made Taijutsu their main discipline.
Most ninjas relied on ninjutsu. After all, ninjutsu was the trade that put food on a ninja's table.
When it came to Taijutsu, samurai