Two weeks passed, and Tobirama Senju finished dealing with all the important documents that had piled up over the past year and more. He could take his time with the less important ones; there was no hurry.
Tobirama Senju stretched and let out a long yawn. Time to get some proper rest first!
He remembered that two weeks ago, he had promised Itō Yuying he would visit and test the results of his training over the past year and more.
Itō Yuying was still steadfastly training, training, and training some more. A pile of discarded stones and ruined thick wooden stakes lay beside him.
Watching from a distance, Tobirama Senju felt very pleased to see Itō Yuying training so hard. Obedient children really were likable.
Just as Tobirama Senju was silently praising Itō Yuying...
He heard Itō Yuying's voice carry over from afar. "Teacher, you're here."
Tobirama Senju felt a little awkward. He could sense my presence from this far away? No wonder Yuying is a sensory ninja prodigy.
That was because Tobirama Senju was confident that, as long as he did not deliberately reveal his presence, no more than five people in the Shinobi World could sense him.
Yet Itō Yuying could sense him. For an instant, Tobirama Senju even wondered whether his own strength had declined.
What a genius!
Tobirama Senju leaped over from the distance, came up to Itō Yuying, and said with a smile, "Yuying!"
"You really have gotten stronger!"
Itō Yuying scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "It's nothing. I still need to work harder."
Looking at Itō Yuying's young face, Tobirama Senju patted his shoulder. "You have impressive perseverance. Yuying, you're the hardest-working genius I've ever met."
"By the way, Yuying, when did you sense me?" Tobirama Senju asked.
Itō Yuying scratched his head. "I knew you were there as soon as you left the Hokage's office building."
Hearing Itō Yuying's answer, Tobirama Senju stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. "How is that possible? Yuying, don't lie to your teacher. That's not what a good boy does."
"I'm not," Itō Yuying said. "After you left the Hokage's office building, you went to the Fujino Family's Tool Shop. Then, on your way here, you peed under a tree. Then..." Before Itō Yuying could finish...
Tobirama Senju cut him off, his face bright red. "Enough, Yuying. I believe you. Stop talking." Seeing Tobirama Senju's crimson face, Itō Yuying closed his mouth, though he had been about to continue.
Tobirama Senju gave a dry cough to ease the awkward atmosphere. "Yuying, could you tell me how you managed to sense me from so far away?" Itō Yuying said, "That's an application of 'ki.' The stronger someone is, the more clearly I can sense them." "Oh... how clearly?" Tobirama Senju asked. "For example, the villagers of Konoha feel like stars in the sky, while you're as clear as the moon," Itō Yuying replied.
Tobirama Senju froze. "Is it really that extreme? But I was suppressing my presence."
"That doesn't help, because you don't actually know how to suppress your own 'ki,'" Itō Yuying said. "Simply put, I can sense anything that breathes." Tobirama Senju asked again, "Then how do you suppress your own 'ki'?" "Your presence has to blend with the presence of nature. Even the rhythm of your breathing and your heartbeat have to become one with nature. When you stand on a tree, your presence has to be like the tree's. When you're in water, your presence has to be as natural as the water. Only then can you avoid being detected."
Tobirama Senju was astonished after hearing this. What an incredible genius.
Once Itō Yuying saw that Tobirama Senju had more or less digested this, he said, "I taught you a method for cultivating ki last time. If you can cultivate it, you can learn how to sense presences."
"Really?" Tobirama Senju said when he heard that. "Wonderful! Looks like I'll have to work hard at my training too. I'm not called the Shinobi World's master of forbidden techniques for nothing."
Then he looked at Itō Yuying with an intense possessiveness in his eyes. Under that gaze, Itō Yuying involuntarily backed away, covering his backside with both hands as he stammered, "I... I'm still little."
Seeing Itō Yuying's gestures, Tobirama Senju instantly flew into an embarrassed rage. Several minutes later, Tobirama Senju said calmly, "Come here tomorrow. We'll train together." Then he left without looking back, leaving Itō Yuying lying on the grass, his head covered in lumps, looking as though he had nothing left to live for and was at anyone's mercy.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Itō Yuying arrived at the training ground from the night before. Tobirama Senju had already been there for a while. Seeing Itō Yuying's swollen cheeks, he smiled. "Yuying, did you rest well yesterday?" Itō Yuying rolled his eyes at Tobirama Senju. "Thanks to you, Teacher, I slept very well last night. I would've slept even better if you hadn't beaten me up."
Tobirama Senju laughed awkwardly. "Haha, all right, all right. Let's train instead. Come on, let me see the results of your recent training."
"Again?" Itō Yuying said, speechless. "My face still hurts." "I'll go easy on you this time. I won't be so violent again," Tobirama Senju said.
Itō Yuying thought it over. "All right, then!"
The two took their positions. "I'm starting, Teacher." "All right, come on, Yuying!" Tobirama Senju said excitedly.
With that, Itō Yuying swiftly charged at Tobirama Senju, and the two tangled together, trading punches and kicks in a back-and-forth fight. Itō Yuying suddenly unleashed his ki and vanished from the spot. Tobirama Senju paused, then smiled slightly and swung a fist behind himself. Itō Yuying appeared behind Tobirama Senju at that very moment, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Is this battlefield experience? That anticipation and muscle memory are terrifying! Looks like I still need to work harder!
As Tobirama Senju's fist reached Itō Yuying, Itō Yuying reacted swiftly and growled, "Afterimage Technique!" Tobirama Senju's fist instantly passed through Itō Yuying's body. "Oh..." Tobirama Senju was briefly surprised. Is it that technique? His reactions are pretty quick! He was just about to offer some praise when he found himself lying face down on the ground with a mouthful of grass.
Tobirama Senju lay there in a daze, his face blank with confusion. Did I get hit? Before he could recover, he felt pain in his abdomen, and his body slid forward involuntarily.
Itō Yuying was puzzled too. Why isn't Teacher reacting? Then he saw Tobirama Senju slowly climb to his feet. Smiling, Tobirama Senju said to Itō Yuying, "Yuying! You've gotten so strong, so str-" Before he could finish saying "strong," he was sent flying again. Itō Yuying unleashed his ki, charged at Tobirama Senju, and kicked him into the sky, watching as he flew upward.
Itō Yuying shouted, "Teacher, look at the new technique I developed!" He bent his knees slightly, taking the same pose as Goku in Dragon Ball, and shouted, "Kamehameha!" A blue-white wave of ki shot toward Tobirama Senju in the sky. Tobirama Senju felt a chill all over, cold sweat pouring from him. If that hits me, even if I don't die, I'll be half crippled. That damned brat! Then he vanished with Flying Thunder God. An enormous explosion thundered through the sky, and even Konoha's barrier broke.
Did he dodge it? Itō Yuying thought. As expected of Teacher. He really is strong!
"Thank you for the compliment, my dear student." Itō Yuying felt a chill behind him.
Then came cries of "Ah... ah!" interspersed with, "That's for not letting me finish talking! That's for kicking me in the stomach! That's for using such a powerful technique!"
Two hours later, a refreshed Tobirama Senju walked out of the training ground, patting his slightly reddened hands together. He told the Anbu who had hurried over, "Take him to the hospital. And request leave from school for him while you're at it. Yuying probably won't be able to attend school for the next month."
"Yes!" The two Anbu hurried over to a child whose face was battered beyond recognition, then ran toward the hospital.
Watching the Anbu recede into the distance, Tobirama Senju thought that quite a lot of work seemed to have piled up again lately. He would ask Yuying about the method for cultivating "ki" once his injuries healed.
Mm, back to work.
Before you continue