The Journey Home on the Katsuyu Cart

The Journey Home on the Katsuyu Cart

On an official road running west to east through the Land of Fire, a "bullock cart" rattled along.

Calling it a bullock cart was inaccurate. It was really just a two-wheeled wooden flatbed, and the animal pulling it was neither a horse nor a donkey, but a slug the size of a water buffalo!

Hyuga Yuto lay flat on the cart, basking in the warm sunlight.

Tsunade crouched beside him, continuously fiddling with a battered greatsword.

"Explosive Blade: Splash. Quite an impressive weapon. I wonder if it can be repaired."

"It doesn't matter if it can't," Hyuga Yuto said lazily. "Sensei, I think this thing has more symbolic value than practical value. It'd be good for crushing Hidden Mist Village's morale, but its actual combat capability... is only so-so. It isn't even as useful as Chakra weapons, which are at least sharper."

To the branch family youth, Explosive Blade: Splash had not put much pressure on him. Put simply, it was a door panel covered in explosive tags. Its power looked terrifying, but it was actually cumbersome, with a limited range of attacks.

"My dear disciple, you're underestimating this explosive blade."

Tsunade sat up and held Explosive Blade: Splash before Hyuga Yuto's eyes.

It was not that the branch family youth insisted on lying down in front of his teacher. It was just that he was currently wrapped like a mummy and could barely move even a finger.

"Take a closer look at this blade."

Hyuga Yuto glanced it over a few times but found nothing worth noting.

Because Munashi Jinpachi had brazenly detonated the entire explosive scroll, over twenty thousand explosive tags had gone off at once. The greatsword could not withstand that level of destruction and had been blown apart completely.

The sturdy blade was pitted with dents and had separated from the explosive scroll on its spine. Only a strange silk cloth connected them now. The smell of scorching drifted from the scroll; clearly, neither the blade nor the explosive scroll could still be used.

"The explosion mechanism of this blade is very simple." Tsunade pulled open the explosive scroll and pointed at the charred inner cylinder. "The inner cylinder of the scroll is lined with circles of explosive tags. At the center is a drum, connected to the blade by silk cloth. When the drum turns, it moves the silk cloth, which picks up the explosive tags and feeds them onto the blade. The structure is simple, but actually making it is extremely difficult."

Hyuga Yuto understood what Tsunade was getting at and sighed. "Because it has to constantly endure the impact of explosions, the silk cloth serving as a [conveyor belt] must be incredibly durable. It also has to conduct Chakra, allowing a tiny amount of Chakra to activate the explosive tags." His eyes lit up. "This silk cloth..."

"Maybe it can be modified to protect your arm when you use Lion Fang Severance." Tsunade chuckled, but the next moment, her lovely brows furrowed. "But... just as I said, this silk cloth couldn't be torn apart by twenty thousand explosive tags. Its toughness and defensive power are far too high, making it difficult to process."

The blonde beauty clamped the blade and explosive scroll beneath her arms and pulled hard in opposite directions. As she used Monster Strength, several finger-sized dents appeared on the blade.

"No, it won't tear. Brute force can hardly damage this silk cloth, and even the Chakra Scalpel isn't sharp enough... Tch. I have no idea how those Hidden Mist Village bastards made it in the first place."

Hyuga Yuto smiled. "Why not let the village craftsmen try? Everyone has their specialty."

"They're fine at making kunai and shuriken, but when it comes to special weapons... I'd rather find someone else."

Tsunade scratched her chin, her tone certain.

"Leave it to me."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Sensei."

Just like that, master and disciple decided to "privately keep" the spoils of war.

In the world of ninja, unless a mission required otherwise, anything a ninja confiscated from an enemy was by default their own. Banknotes and weapons alike did not need to be handed over to the village.

For a life-risking profession that licked blood from the blade's edge, there were plenty of ways to make money. This unspoken rule applied in any world.

Of course, the weapons of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had immense propaganda value. Used properly, they could effectively undermine the enemy's morale.

Hyuga Yuto thought that if the village demanded it, he would keep the uniquely valuable silk cloth and hand over the rest. The iconic blade and explosive scroll alone would be more than enough to make an issue of.

Aside from Explosive Blade: Splash, the remaining spoils were several teeth. Tsunade had collected them in the rainforest while Hyuga Yuto was unconscious. The Hidden Leaf Village could examine the Chakra traces within to identify the dead ninja and use that to determine Hyuga Yuto's merits. Few dared fabricate such things. Experts in the ninja world all had names and reputations, and a little investigation would reveal the truth.

The Katsuyu cart rolled onward as master and disciple chatted atop it. At first, they discussed how to radically modify the spoils, then the conversation shifted to ninjutsu and the situation among the major ninja villages. By the end, it had become far more casual, and they talked about everything.

Hyuga Yuto discovered that Tsunade's relationship with Orochimaru and Jiraiya was genuinely very good at this point. She told him many embarrassing stories from their childhood, laughing freely and looking relaxed.

If nothing else, the Hidden Leaf Village's classic team arrangement of "two boys and one girl" truly did forge deep bonds during childhood.

Even in the forty-eighth year of the Hidden Leaf Village, when Orochimaru had already begun carrying out inhumane human experiments, he still reserved a patch of pure ground in his heart for Jiraiya and Tsunade. If either of them were in danger, Orochimaru truly would risk his life for them—at least, that was still the case now.

Although the Katsuyu cart was not particularly fast, it was, after all, a summoned creature. Its stamina far surpassed that of horses and mules. By the time the setting sun's glow mingled with Tsunade's golden hair, Hokage Rock was already visible in the distance.

"Ahem. Well then, Yuto, I'm leaving." Tsunade cleared her throat, sounding unnatural. "I still need to cook for Shizune."

What a lousy excuse. Hyuga Yuto laughed inwardly. Shizune was the one doing all the cooking and housework now.

Still, he knew why Tsunade chose to leave at this moment. The jonin promotion assessment had originally been a solo mission. Through Katsuyu, Tsunade had sensed that his life was in danger and had come specifically to look after him. She had neither interfered with the battle nor failed to protect one of the village's precious rising stars.

But this was the sort of thing that sounded bad no matter how it was explained. If others saw Tsunade returning to the village with Hyuga Yuto, gossip would be unavoidable. The Hidden Leaf Village's residents deeply respected the Senju Clan, but that did not mean they did not enjoy talking behind people's backs. People all had a somewhat dark side deep down.

"Alright, Sensei. Take care."

"Fine. I'll leave Katsuyu and the cart with you. You'll be there soon. I'll wait for you in the room where the jonin promotion assessment was held..." Tsunade suddenly leaned close and raised her fist. "If you dare let anything slip, you're dead." With a light swipe, the bandages wrapped around Hyuga Yuto's body fell away. A heavy medicinal odor spread through the air, sharp enough to sting his nose.

"Don't worry, Sensei." Hyuga Yuto flexed his wrist and felt that his condition had improved greatly.

Yet when he turned around, the woman had already vanished from the cart.

Beside the branch family youth, only lingering warmth carrying a faint fragrance and a strand of golden hair remained.