When in Doubt, Blame Orochimaru!

The mist in the forest gradually dispersed.

A pale sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon.

The escort team stopped atop the ridge.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

The massive Hokage Rock stood in the morning light, the statues of past Hokage overlooking all of Konohagakure.

They had finally arrived.

Several synchronized sighs of relief rose from the group.

The fat boy from the Akimichi clan plopped down on the ground and pulled out the last half-bag of chips from his pocket.

Just as he was about to stuff them into his mouth, he froze.

The fat boy looked at Qian Ye, who was walking at the very front of the group, then hurried over and offered him the chips.

"Brother Qian Ye, want some?"

Qian Ye waved a hand, indicating that he was not hungry.

Only then did the fat boy relax and retreat, crunching away at the chips.

It was only a minor interlude.

But the atmosphere within the team had completely changed.

When they had set out, Qian Ye had been an ostracized civilian Genin, forced to walk at the back and eat everyone's dust.

Now, he walked at the very front of the team.

Hyuga Tianfeng dragged his injured leg as he followed half a step behind on Qian Ye's right.

The Nara boy was in charge of watching the left flank, his gaze drifting toward Qian Ye from time to time.

Even Uchiha Yan, who had always looked down on everyone, had gone mute along the way. He shrank into the middle of the group without uttering so much as a peep.

In the ninja world, strength was the only hard truth.

With the feat of shattering a combined ninjutsu with one kick, Qian Ye had ground the pride of these clan heirs straight into the mud.

He was now the backbone of this team.

Pakura walked behind Qian Ye, dragging her chains.

She had seen the change in these Hidden Leaf ninjas' attitudes with perfect clarity.

This twelve-year-old brat was ruthless, powerful, and exceptionally good at reading the situation.

Konohagakure truly was a place that produced monsters.

"Rest here for ten minutes."

Qian Ye gave the order.

No one objected. Even Hyuga Tianfeng, the team's nominal captain, silently accepted the decision.

Everyone found tree trunks to lean against and rest.

Qian Ye found a clean stone to sit on and rubbed his sore, swollen right calf.

The ten jin of Sea King meat he had gotten from Old Zhao last night had mostly been digested.

The torn muscle fibers had essentially healed under the nourishment of his blood and vitality.

But this bug-exploiting fighting style really could not be used too often. It put far too much strain on his legs.

Hyuga Tianfeng limped over.

He stopped beside Qian Ye and hesitated for quite a while.

This genius of the Hyuga Main House had been holding back a bellyful of questions throughout the journey.

The Byakugan he took such pride in had not been deactivated once since last night.

He had been observing Qian Ye the entire time.

"Qian Ye."

Tianfeng finally could not hold back any longer.

Qian Ye raised his head and looked at the Byakugan user with bulging veins around his eyes.

"Captain Tianfeng, what is it?"

"What taijutsu did you use yesterday?"

Tianfeng asked directly, unable to hide the curiosity in his voice.

The Hyuga clan was Konohagakure's undisputed taijutsu powerhouse.

The Gentle Fist, paired with the Byakugan's insight, made them nearly invincible in close combat.

Striking chakra points was their signature specialty.

But Qian Ye's performance yesterday had completely overturned Tianfeng's understanding of taijutsu.

No hand seals.

No chakra released externally.

Relying solely on physical strength, he had unleashed destructive power comparable to high-level Wind Release.

Qian Ye smiled.

"If I said I just practiced blindly, would you believe me?"

Tianfeng shook his head.

"Impossible."

"My Byakugan saw it clearly."

Tianfeng pointed at Qian Ye's right leg.

"When you exerted force, you forcibly injected chakra into several key acupoints, including Zusanli and Chengshan."

"According to Hyuga clan theory, that is an extremely dangerous practice."

"Acupoints are nodes in the chakra pathways, and their capacity is limited."

"Forcibly injecting chakra into them will not only obstruct the flow through the pathways, but can also rupture the acupoints. At best, it causes disability; at worst, death."

The more Tianfeng spoke, the more agitated he became, his voice rising several pitches.

"But you actually did it!"

"Not only did your acupoints not rupture, they acted like pressure pumps, amplifying your physical strength severalfold."

"How exactly did you do that?"

Tianfeng stared at Qian Ye, his eyes filled with thirst for knowledge.

It was like an expert who had studied gunpowder his whole life suddenly seeing someone eat gunpowder for dinner, then fart out a nuclear-level explosion afterward.

It defied all common sense.

The Ino–Shika–Cho trio, who had been secretly listening with their ears perked up, were stunned as well.

They might not understand acupoint strikes, but they knew that chakra running wild could kill a person.

Qian Ye rubbed his nose.

The Byakugan really was cheating.

His little bit of fine chakra manipulation was as clear to Tianfeng as an X-ray image.

But he had already prepared an excuse.

"Captain Tianfeng, have you forgotten who my teacher is?"

Qian Ye brought out the towering shield known as Orochimaru.

Tianfeng froze for a moment.

"Lord Orochimaru?"

"That's right."

Qian Ye began spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face.

"I don't need to tell you about Orochimaru-sensei's research into the human body, do I?"

"He discovered that while the Eight Gates are immensely powerful, they drain too much life force."

"So he took a different approach and developed a safe combat method that only stimulates localized acupoints without breaking through the limiters."

Qian Ye patted his thigh.

"It's called the 'Localized Chakra Pressurization Method.'"

"Combined with special muscle-force techniques, it can produce effects like yesterday's."

Tianfeng was left utterly bewildered.

Localized Chakra Pressurization Method?

Lord Orochimaru possessed such profound expertise in taijutsu as well?

"But..." Tianfeng frowned deeply. "How do you solve the issue of muscular endurance?"

"Ordinary muscle fibers simply cannot withstand that level of explosive power."

"That kick of yours yesterday generated enough recoil to shatter your leg bones."

Qian Ye silently gave Tianfeng a thumbs-up.

As expected of someone who specialized in taijutsu. His assessment was spot-on.

If not for Garp's brutal training regimen as a foundation, along with the physical enhancement from eating Sea King meat, Qian Ye's right leg would have been ruined the moment he used the Tempest Kick yesterday.

"That involves another field of knowledge."

Qian Ye lowered his voice and put on a mysterious air.

"High-intensity nutritional supplementation."

"What I eat is different from what you eat."

"It is a specially formulated, high-purity protein and blood-vitality concentrate."

"It can repair muscle damage in an extremely short amount of time and increase muscle density."

Qian Ye packaged the existence of Sea King meat as one of Orochimaru's scientific achievements.

After all, in Konohagakure, whenever something could not be explained by science, blaming it on Orochimaru was always the right move.

Orochimaru was Konohagakure's ultimate scapegoat and universal explanation machine.

Tianfeng suddenly understood.

The doubt in his eyes gradually turned into deep reverence.

"So that's how it is."

"Lord Orochimaru truly is an extraordinary man."

Tianfeng sighed, his tone filled with frustration.

"The Hyuga clan prides itself on being number one in taijutsu, yet we cling stubbornly to the traditions of the Gentle Fist."

"When it comes to developing the human body, we fall far too short."

Qian Ye patted Tianfeng's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Captain, times have changed."

"You can't keep gnawing on what your ancestors left behind."

"Believe in science."

Tianfeng nodded solemnly.

As he looked at Qian Ye, there was now a trace of genuine acknowledgment in his eyes.

"You are very strong."

"Not just in strength, but in your control over your body."

"That pressurization method may be theoretically feasible, but the precision of chakra control it requires is absurdly high."

"One small mistake, and your chakra pathways will be completely severed."

"The fact that you mastered it proves that you are a true genius."

Tianfeng meant every word.

As a member of the Hyuga Main House, he had received the strictest chakra-control training since childhood.

Yet he knew that he could never do what Qian Ye did—precisely compress chakra within acupoints and use it like a turbine.

Uchiha Yan rolled his eyes as he listened nearby.

Jealousy bubbled up inside him.

A genius?

Did a civilian Genin deserve to be called a genius?

But he did not dare say a word.

The beating he had received yesterday was still fresh in his mind.

Pakura leaned against a tree trunk, listening to Qian Ye's outrageous lies, yet for some reason, she felt a faint sense of secret delight.