Flying Thunder God

Yumi's Wood Release was so powerful that she simply could not control it in the short term. That was perfectly normal. She had never received sufficient ninja training and had little understanding of ninjutsu itself. Directly mastering a Kekkei Genkai like Wood Release was indeed somewhat difficult.

Still, Aoba was a little jealous in private. Though he claimed on the surface that he did not care about Wood Release, he had been talking about the kind Yamato used for landscaping.

Look at Yumi's. The effect she had produced unintentionally was already on par with Yamato's. If it were developed further, it might not reach the First Hokage's level, but it probably would not fall far short either.

It would be a lie to say he did not want that kind of Wood Release!!! Unfortunately, he simply was not lucky enough.

The laboratory was gone, and there was no hope of rebuilding it anytime soon. Aoba's laboratory might not have been large, but everything inside had been top-quality equipment supplied by Orochimaru.

If those experimental instruments had been bought on the market, they would have cost at least two to three hundred million ryo. Yet Aoba's entire fortune was now less than ten million ryo.

His ninja tool shop had been doing somewhat better lately. But relying on that to rebuild the laboratory within two or three years was out of the question.

So Aoba could only set aside the idea of rebuilding the laboratory for the time being and devote his limited energy to Yumi and Karin.

After Karin woke from her coma, she had not changed much. Her chakra reserves had increased once again, but no matter what she did, she could no longer actively use Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Kakashi and Aoba spent quite some time researching the matter. In the end, however, they got nowhere. They could only conclude that Karin was too young, and using Adamantine Sealing Chains placed too heavy a burden on her body.

Last time, she had used only one chain, yet after just a few minutes, she had been exhausted enough to fall unconscious for an entire day. As a result, her body might have developed a self-protective instinct that restricted her from using that power for now.

With this experience, once she grew a little older, she should naturally be able to use Adamantine Sealing Chains again.

Then there was Yumi.

Having obtained such powerful Wood Release, Yumi naturally needed to master that power as soon as possible. In reality, though, that was somewhat difficult.

Because of Wood Release's special nature and Yumi's weak control, there was no suitable training ground anywhere in Konoha.

The forests and riverbanks within the Konoha Barrier were all under the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique. Aoba could not take the risk of letting Yumi train under their very noses.

If they went outside, they would need to register it. That was not impossible, but if they did it too often, it would still draw attention.

After the three discussed it for a while, Kakashi finally offered a suggestion.

"Actually, I think your previous suggestion was quite good: Medical Ninjutsu. It is one of the few types of ninjutsu in Konoha that anyone can learn as long as they want to. Even the simplest Medical Ninjutsu demands extremely high chakra control.

"If Yumi learns Medical Ninjutsu and uses it to train her chakra control, that will be enough. As time passes, she will eventually adapt to her own power."

"For now, it seems there is no better solution." Wood Release, especially Wood Release at this level, would become a huge problem the moment Konoha discovered it.

Aoba had no plans to destroy Konoha, nor did he want to defect for the time being. He still had things to do here. So it was better to be careful.

But Medical Ninjutsu alone could not possibly bring out the full potential of Yumi's new body.

The body she had gained through this fusion was countless times more effective than Aoba's.

To put it simply, Aoba had obtained a body close to that of an elite Uzumaki clan ninja. Its chakra reserves, physical strength, and recovery ability were all similar. It could be considered one of the finest bodies in the Shinobi World.

But Yumi's body was comparable to Hashirama Senju's. At the time, Hashirama Senju's cells had proliferated wildly, nearly covering most of Yumi's cells.

In the end, Yumi had relied on her spirit and willpower to forcibly master that power. Even if the proliferated cells might ultimately be inferior to the original Hashirama Cells,

Aoba estimated that if the strength of Yumi's current body were fully unleashed, it should reach fifty to seventy percent of Hashirama Senju's level back then.

It was no exaggeration to say that seventy percent of Hashirama Senju could practically flatten the current Shinobi World as long as Madara Uchiha did not return to life. Even Nagato with the Rinnegan would dare to confront him head-on.

However, bringing Yumi to that level would still require a great deal of time and training.

At this stage, the first goal was for her to gain an initial grasp of the Wood Release within her body.

At the same time, Aoba began giving her all kinds of basic ninja training: tree climbing, water walking, taijutsu, and so on. But before she mastered Wood Release, he did not dare let Yumi learn ninjutsu.

He was mainly afraid that she might accidentally unleash a Deep Forest Emergence and drown Konoha beneath it.

Only after Yumi could initially control her power would they begin truly advanced training and have her learn the First Hokage's Wood Release ninjutsu.

But there was one small problem: neither Aoba nor Kakashi knew any Wood Release ninjutsu.

"The Book of Seals should contain every Wood Release ninjutsu. We can exchange points for them."

"We do not need to consider that option. It is too conspicuous. The moment we choose it, it will definitely attract attention. Hiruzen Sarutobi still cares somewhat about saving face, but if Shimura Danzō finds out, I will have no choice but to kill him."

"...I was just about to say that Shimura Danzō also has information on Wood Release. But you are right. That man cannot be trusted."

"We can discuss that problem later. If it comes down to it, I will trade with Orochimaru."

Aoba's choice struck Kakashi as strange. He had realized that, to Aoba, Orochimaru actually took priority over Shimura Danzō. Yet Orochimaru was clearly the rogue ninja, the one who was wanted.

"Heh, how should I put it? Orochimaru is dangerous, extremely dangerous. But at the same time, he is also a very pure person.

"He has his own pursuits and is willing to pay the price for them. So when dealing with him, as long as you can ensure you have something worth trading, everyone can walk away satisfied.

"But Shimura Danzō is different. He is the kind of person who wants everything yet is unwilling to give anything. When dealing with someone like him, the best approach is to kill him the moment he reveals his bargaining chip, then take it from him. Because he would do exactly the same thing."

"All right, I cannot help with that." Kakashi admitted he was powerless and told Aoba to handle it himself.

At that moment, Aoba thought of something. He had been a Jonin for more than a year now. He had completed quite a few missions and accumulated a considerable number of points.

In theory, those points could be exchanged for ninjutsu from Konoha's upper ranks. Yet Aoba had never used them.

"Kakashi, can the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God be exchanged for points?"

"..." Kakashi gave Aoba a strange look.

"You want to learn Flying Thunder God?"

"That's right."

"Then you do not need to exchange for it. I know it."

"You know it?" Aoba was doubtful. Since when did Kakashi know Flying Thunder God?

"Uh, all right. I do not know Flying Thunder God, but I know how to train in it. After all, the Fourth Hokage was once my teacher."