Shinnō: Is That Polite?

Shinji stared in stunned disbelief. "My Genjutsu failed? That can't be. I could clearly feel that it worked."

"A successful Genjutsu doesn't necessarily mean it will take effect," Yulong said, as if she were used to it.

Ukyo, meanwhile, cried out exaggeratedly, "Shinji's talent for Genjutsu is incredible! I don't think even Kurenai Yuhi had this much talent. When Kurenai Yuhi first practiced Genjutsu, she didn't succeed even once. In the village, aside from us Uchiha, probably only Kurama Clan shinobi possess such talent."

"Really? I actually have talent for Genjutsu? I thought I was going to become a medical ninja in the future."

Shinji looked as though happiness had struck her head-on, but then Retsuo asked, "What about Tenma? I thought Tenma's talent was even greater."

"Tenma has quite a bit more Yin Release Chakra than children his age," Yulong said calmly, as though that degree of "quite a bit more" was nothing unusual.

Ukyo nodded. "When it comes to Yin Release Chakra, Tenma and Shinji are about the same. Both have relatively high talent. But Shinji has better intuition for Genjutsu. For Genjutsu, the amount of Chakra isn't decisive."

As he spoke, he tapped his own head with a finger.

Tenma showed a grateful expression. Only he knew that he was not the one with "relatively high talent."

It would be great if Shinji had Yin Release, Retsuo thought. No question about it, Shinnō would definitely love to see Shinji!

Before long, Retsuo led Shinji to Orochimaru's mansion. When Shinnō saw Retsuo arrive so suddenly, his expression shifted unpredictably. Especially when he saw Shinji, he quickly craned his neck to look around, only to find that Tenma was nowhere in sight...

His lips moved, but he said nothing.

Shinji had always been a girl who loved to laugh and chat, but after arriving here, she became extremely quiet, as though speaking would cost her life.

After leading the two of them into the courtyard, Shinnō told them to wait a moment before turning around and disappearing underground.

Shinji took one look around. What was this? Orochimaru wasn't home? The beautiful girl was instantly restored to full health.

Once Shinnō had left, Retsuo asked quietly, "Are you afraid of Lord Orochimaru?"

"It's not exactly fear. Lord Orochimaru is just the kind of person who can make your hair stand on end by silently looking at you. Why aren't you afraid of him at all, Retsuo?"

"I respect Lord Orochimaru, so I'm not afraid of him."

"Heh, as if we don't respect Lord Orochimaru." Shinji looked around curiously. "That uncle is Shinnō? Lord Orochimaru lets him stay alone in his house? And lets you come and go as you please?"

Retsuo nodded. You're overthinking this, aren't you? If there's something Orochimaru doesn't want people to see, even ten thousand Shinnōs wouldn't find it. He could hide it inside his own body, would you believe that?

Naturally, this house was completely open and aboveboard.

Retsuo stopped speaking. His Yin Release Barrier had begun sounding the alarm. Was Shinnō plotting some kind of conspiracy?

That guy had just told them to wait in the courtyard before burrowing underground himself. Who knew what he was tinkering with down there.

Soon, Shinnō returned, and Retsuo faintly heard a baby crying in the underground laboratory.

"That old bastard!" The old man might be about to unleash some huge move. Retsuo secretly went on guard.

Then Shinnō asked, "Little Retsuo, this is rare. I used to be the one inviting you over, so why did you come knocking this year? Luckily, I just finished revising my experimental design."

The implication was—something's wrong with you! Retsuo understood it and said mildly, "Because I'm graduating early, Uncle Shinnō. I'll soon be a Genin and will have to start taking missions, so I won't be able to keep accompanying you with this experiment. I wanted to see it through properly, so I came—"

"Wait a minute!" Shinnō's expression changed drastically. He rudely interrupted him. "Weren't you supposed to graduate early next March?"

"No. I'm planning to go ask Third Grandpa to let me graduate immediately in a while. I can't wait to become a Genin, get promoted into ANBU, become a captain, marry a rich, beautiful woman, and reach the pinnacle of life."

Shinnō looked as though he wanted to eat someone. Shinji jumped in fright, but Shinnō immediately composed his expression and said kindly, "But wasn't your dream to become Naruto?"

For an instant, Shinji thought she had imagined it. Then Shinnō continued, "Konoha has a complete system for training Genin: team leaders, missions, and so on. Naturally, it's easier to arrange everything if you graduate at the usual time. If you graduate so suddenly, the Jōnin may happen to be unavailable, and they might assign a Chūnin to lead you. There may not be suitable missions either. It could greatly affect your future development. Perhaps because of this tiny difference, you might fail to become Naruto years from now. Won't you consider it carefully?"

Huh? He's worrying about what worries me and thinking what I think, but that reasoning is so forced. And why does he care even more than I do about the timing?

Retsuo chuckled. "Ah, actually, it's because I saw that this semester's schedule is entirely math and physics classes. That won't do. If I have to study physics and math, then I can forget about becoming Naruto."

Shinnō's vision went dark. So math and physics screwed me over?

Oh no!

He suddenly leaped three feet into the air, as if his ass were on fire. "Wait for me a little longer!"

With that, he hurriedly burrowed back into the underground laboratory.

Retsuo really did wait above, with no intention of going down at all. Shinji, on the other hand, looked restless and fidgety. Shinnō had successfully piqued her curiosity.

"Don't move." Retsuo lightly waved a hand. At that moment, the stabbing pain from the Yin Release Barrier reached its peak, even surpassing what he had felt from Danzo's resentment. Who knew what that old man had done...

Before long, Shinnō led them into the underground laboratory, though he could not hide his bitter expression no matter how hard he tried.

We're only here to use Orochimaru's equipment. Why can't you just be a good little tool and leave it at that? You had to add your own drama, and look at you now—you got burned.

It was Shinji's first time on an experimental platform, and everything felt fresh to her. Looking at her collagen-filled cheeks, Shinnō's heart filled with bitterness.

That damned Uchiha Retsuo! Why did he switch people?

I had just finished adjusting the calibration equipment for Tenma. It could smooth out the data significantly. Then you switched him out for a girl. Is that polite?

Do you know how great the difference is between the Chakra fluctuations of men and women? Damn it, you should have been sent off to study math and physics!

Now it was back to a state where he could see it but not grasp it!

Shinnō's impatience was practically written across his face, but Retsuo pretended not to notice. He had also guessed that treasure was hidden beneath his own data—treasure that Shinnō himself probably did not know about.

Otherwise, Shinnō was one of the Shinobi World's foremost scientists and architects. It should not have taken him this long to test a Zero-Tails Seed. After all, he had possessed Yuliu as an experimental sample for a long time.

What could it be?

Forget it. Retsuo had his own "experimental objective" and decided not to consider Shinnō's feelings any further.

He skillfully connected Shinji's Chakra. This time, however, it differed from Tenma's: Shinji needed to supply Yin Release, while he himself provided Earth Release.