"Every job you do is a form of training. Split the trees with your axes—this works the core muscles in your back and effectively combines the strength of your lower body with that of your upper back. Put all your strength into it, and pay attention to driving from your waist." One of Oguri Hayashi's Shadow Clones loudly instructed the group. Most of them were Genin, averaging no more than seventeen years old—several years older than Oguri Hayashi—but when it came to physical training, Oguri Hayashi was undoubtedly qualified to be their teacher.
Under the Shadow Clone's shouted scolding, the shirtless youths bared their sturdy backs and gritted their teeth as they swung their axes, felling trees that took three people to encircle.
Afterward, they still had to use their axes to trim away the branches. Only after the logs had been stripped smooth would three or four other ninja carry them to the other side.
"Carrying heavy objects mainly trains the muscles in your shoulders and waist. Only by using both muscle groups together can you transport things properly. Of course, if you lack teamwork and coordination, you won't be able to carry them at all." Oguri Hayashi's training methods were highly distinctive and personal. Tsunade had joined the logging crew directly; as a taijutsu-focused ninja, she naturally wanted to see how Oguri Hayashi trained his ninja.
Meanwhile, Oguri Hayashi's real body personally led the Jonin in changing the river's course.
Whether it was Earth Style, Fire Style, Lightning Style, or anything else, all of them were extremely useful.
Under Oguri Hayashi's leadership, the ninja proficient in Earth Style Jutsu began redirecting the water. The channels excavated with Earth Style were baked by Fire Style ninja using the Great Fireball Technique. Once the Great Fireball Technique had burned away the moisture from the soil, it quickly became sturdy embankments.
"Control your Chakra and make it more precise. Earth Style ninja, control the shape of the earth—make the walls on both sides smooth and the bottom into a smooth groove. Fire Style ninja, control the intensity of your flames. If the fire is too strong, it will burn the earth into sand. If it is too weak, the soil will be washed away by the water."
They would first dig out the river channel, then divert the waterfall and lake into it. If ordinary people of this era had done it, they would probably have needed half a year to a full year to complete such a massive project. But with these seven Jonin and Genin doing it, it would take only a single day.
This was the result of the difference in productivity between the two sides.
Oguri Hayashi taught the Genin taijutsu and taught the Jonin ninjutsu.
He was only twelve years old, yet already stronger than most ninja. As the saying went, the accomplished were teachers. Oguri Hayashi had none of that Japanese mindset of revering elders and never defying superiors. In his view, whether they were ninja or Reincarnators, they could fight their own battles while Oguri Hayashi lived his own life.
He would not change his rhythm because of their arrival or their wars.
Oguri Hayashi becoming the leader of Takigakure was a decision he had made back when he was still a Genin. He was not some genius whose wisdom bordered on the monstrous, but he still knew that once he had gained enough strength, he should leave Konoha and avoid the troublesome currents and whirlpools that would sweep through the ninja world over the next ten or twenty years.
Of course, that was only because he was poor in ability and could only keep himself virtuous. If Oguri Hayashi ever reached the point where he could help the world as well, he would never shrink from his responsibilities.
It was merely a distant and ambitious goal, but after the Reincarnators joined in, Oguri Hayashi's life seemed to have gained an accelerator and began charging forward at full speed.
At only twelve years old, he had already reached the goal he had set for himself at thirty. He was the strong one, the one who ruled this ninja village, so he naturally guided these Jonin and Genin with knowledge that no one in this world understood.
Tsunade also discovered that Oguri Hayashi's instruction was very unusual. Ordinary ninjutsu instructors only told people what to do, but Oguri Hayashi's guidance explained what effects those actions would have on them.
As a result, his instruction was extremely effective. At the very least, these ninja understood what kind of training results they would gain. For instance, logging strengthened their back and leg muscles, while using ninjutsu improved their control over it.
For Takigakure, whose ninja legacy had already been severed, his guidance was like that of a renowned teacher, leaving them with no choice but to be convinced.
Even Tsunade was the same. After watching from the side for quite some time, she had secretly picked up quite a few techniques for exerting force. More importantly, his way of teaching was completely different from that of Konoha's instructors.
It was not only Takigakure's ninja who admired him wholeheartedly; even Tsunade felt a measure of respect for his teaching ability.
Teaching ability was an extremely important talent. Tsunade had only seen such talent in her teacher, the Third Hokage. What she did not know was that in the future, the only people truly good at teaching disciples would be those from the Hokage's lineage.
Teaching was an exceedingly rare talent. People who could truly express their ideas clearly enough for all their disciples to fully understand them were few in this world.
Most people in this world merely repeated the knowledge they had read and understood from books. A small number could explain their own understanding, but because their language skills were limited, when they wanted to convey one hundred percent of something, they might only express fifty or sixty percent. Their students might then grasp only twenty or thirty percent, creating a major gap in the transmission of knowledge.
That was why, in ancient times, knowledge passed from master to disciple often grew weaker with each generation. Some people might have been extremely strong in ninjutsu, but they were not good teachers.
But Oguri Hayashi was different. He used the simplest and most straightforward language to clearly describe the thoughts in his heart and make everyone understand him—whether it was reclaiming farmland and building lakes, using ninjutsu, or instructing taijutsu.
That was Oguri Hayashi's true talent.
That night, as usual, Oguri Hayashi hung a lamp from the beam, then spread out Konoha's sealing scrolls and began studying the ninjutsu he liked.
Tsunade had actually misunderstood. Oguri Hayashi did not study those ninjutsu because he liked them. He studied them because they could make him more complete, without weaknesses.
At ten-thirty, Oguri Hayashi put away the scrolls on schedule and used Sealing Jutsu to seal them inside a smaller scroll. Tsunade remained silent at his side, never expecting Oguri Hayashi to turn and ask, "Lady Tsunade, do you know senjutsu?"
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