Can Geniuses Do Whatever They Want?

Tobirama Senju's eyes widened in surprise. There were few things left in this world that could surprise him, yet the boy before him had once again overturned his understanding.

That Taijutsu clearly did not belong to any school he had ever seen!

It was an entirely new school!

"He's already capable of creating his own Taijutsu school at his age?" Tobirama Senju murmured, his gaze toward Chu Yang visibly changing.

This kid had tremendous potential!

Still, appreciation was appreciation. Tobirama Senju would never allow Chu Yang to become arrogant. He walked over to Chu Yang and said evenly, "Your Taijutsu is passable. You'll need to keep improving it in the future."

Chu Yang let out a long breath. Passable was good enough. At least the strict Second Hokage had not scolded him. He asked happily, "Then can I learn Ninjutsu from you from now on?"

Tobirama Senju gave a slight nod and said softly, "Before that, I need to go over the Ninjutsu you learned before. A skyscraper rises from the ground up; you still need to lay a solid foundation."

Then, Tobirama Senju began explaining the most basic Three Body Technique to Chu Yang all over again.

He also included some knowledge about Shadow Clones.

With his threefold talent, Chu Yang reviewed this knowledge extremely quickly. He could often draw inferences from one example, earning satisfied looks from Tobirama Senju.

What kind of student did teachers like teaching most?

The kind who understood at the slightest hint and could easily grasp key concepts without requiring too much explanation.

And Chu Yang possessed more than just exceptional learning ability. His practical ability was equally astonishing.

As long as he "knew" something, he could usually "do" it.

The further Tobirama Senju taught, the more he realized that Chu Yang's learning speed was growing faster and faster.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Yang had finished grasping all the foundational material Tobirama Senju had intended to review.

Even though Tobirama Senju had added plenty of personal insights and practical knowledge, Chu Yang had no trouble understanding any of it.

"He seems to have talent in more than just Wood Release..." Tobirama Senju's palms began to sweat. He was somewhat nervous, but also somewhat excited.

He had the urge to teach Chu Yang every Ninjutsu he knew!

He wanted to see just how far the boy could learn!

But after the excitement subsided, Tobirama Senju dismissed the idea. Chu Yang was still only a boy. Before his temperament had fully matured, rashly exposing him to a large number of Ninjutsu would be extremely detrimental to his growth.

As a Ninjutsu researcher, Tobirama Senju knew all too well how terrifying it was when someone had nothing but Ninjutsu in their eyes.

With that in mind, Tobirama Senju slowed the pace of his teaching. Even so, in just one day, Chu Yang learned a great deal from him.

Tobirama Senju felt both gratified and fearful.

As the sky gradually darkened, Chu Yang, who had mooched a dinner, was chased away by Tobirama Senju. Without stopping, Tobirama Senju went to find Hashirama Senju and told him about Chu Yang.

Hashirama Senju put down the intelligence report that had just arrived, his expression grave. According to Tobirama, Chu Yang was a peerless genius the Senju clan saw only once in a hundred years.

He had thought he already valued Chu Yang's talent highly enough, but it turned out he had underestimated it.

Hashirama Senju gave a bitter smile. "How did we never notice before?"

"He's an orphan." Tobirama Senju pondered. "Everything he learned was the most basic stuff. No one would pay attention to him. He had no access to advanced Ninjutsu and lacked the resources for it."

Hashirama Senju looked toward his younger brother, Tobirama, and asked, "Will he be the future of the Senju clan?"

Tobirama Senju shook his head. "We still don't know. A dead genius has no value. Only a genius who survives can be called a genius."

Hashirama Senju immediately felt an immense headache, as though he were holding a priceless yet incredibly fragile work of art in his arms. He muttered, "Should we temper him, or protect him?"

"Of course we temper him!"

A fierce glint flashed through Tobirama Senju's eyes as he said coldly, "If he breaks during the process of tempering, then it proves that this is all he amounts to. He isn't worth entrusting with the future of the Senju clan!"

"That's true, but..." Hashirama Senju scratched his head. "If something really happens, are you sure you won't be heartbroken?"

Heartbroken?

Of course he would be!

Tobirama Senju had never seen a child with such extraordinary talent. If he lost such an heir to his legacy, he would wake up crying in the middle of the night, all right?

Yet he still shook his head firmly. Jade could not become a fine vessel without carving. If Chu Yang remained under the clan's protection and never even went to the battlefield, how could he shoulder great responsibility alone in the future?

"Then keep him by your side and give him an appropriate amount of tempering." Hashirama Senju emphasized it again and again, afraid his younger brother would go too far. "Remember, I said 'appropriate'!"

The two brothers once again launched into an intense discussion over Chu Yang's upbringing.

Meanwhile, after returning home, Chu Yang began studying Haki. Personally, he felt that Haki was highly compatible with Wood Release.

Even merely coating it with Armament Haki could raise the power of Wood Release by an entire level.

The current problem was...

Chu Yang simply had too little Haki. Even covering his entire body was difficult, let alone covering any Wood Release Ninjutsu.

How could he rapidly improve his Haki?

As long as one kept studying hand seals and Chakra flow, the power of Ninjutsu could clearly improve. But what about Haki?

Haki had none of those flashy complications. At its core, it was a manifestation of spiritual power.

As long as ordinary people could sense the existence of Haki, they could use it. The only difference was their proficiency.

Studying Haki through the methods used for Ninjutsu would yield no results. The two were fundamentally not on the same path.

If he had to be precise, Haki might be more closely related to Genjutsu. Both belonged to the realm of the spirit.

At that thought, Chu Yang suddenly came up with a new line of thinking.

"Could using Genjutsu to stimulate the spiritual level achieve the effect of tempering Haki?"

Chu Yang could not wait to test this idea. Thus, early the next morning, he began asking around for the clan's greatest Genjutsu expert.

"Hardly anyone in the entire Senju clan is good at Genjutsu. It's the Uchiha who love researching that kind of thing."

"Many people in the clan have fallen to Uchiha Genjutsu."

"If you're really curious, go take a look in the dungeon. There are quite a few Uchiha prisoners there."

The moment Chu Yang heard that, he was instantly energized and headed straight for the dungeon.

Elsewhere, Tobirama Senju was equally confused when he received the news... This little brat was neglecting perfectly good Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, so why was he suddenly going to study Genjutsu?

Could geniuses really do whatever they wanted?

"Learning is one thing, but why is he going to the dungeon?" Tobirama Senju hurriedly got up and headed out. The Uchiha clan members imprisoned in the dungeon were all capable and valuable. As for those without value, they had long since died on the battlefield.

(Please keep reading, please vote with recommendation tickets, don't stockpile chapters, brothers!!!)