Konoha's lexicon of ninjas

Chapter 239 Is this even human? (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Dongmao is the only woman among the twelve. She looks a bit thin, has an afro, and looks like a tomboy.

Following Dongmao was a white-haired young man who looked to be about twenty years old: "Lord Shuichi, I am Kazuma, and I am skilled in Earth Release."

The next five were Daisuke, Fushu, Nakagami, Naoto, and Aozora.

Everyone has become proficient in using a property change.

After all twelve people had introduced themselves, Hoshino Shuichi said, "You already know who I am. As for my strengths..."

"I am proficient in seven nature transformations, sealing techniques, physical techniques, and swordsmanship."

"So, whatever you want to learn, it's all fine with me."

"However, I do not recommend that you practice new nature transformations until you meet my requirements."

Upon hearing this, Kazuma immediately asked with doubt, "Lord Shuichi, if one's nature transformation reaches a bottleneck, shouldn't learning other nature transformations to complement it increase combat power?"

Xingxia Xiu glanced at him and said indifferently, "If you have a bottleneck here, it means your talent has reached its limit."

Kazuma was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

Hoshino Hideichi stepped forward: "We'll talk about training later. Let's go inside and take a look first."

He and Yekura went first, followed by the twelve Asuma.

Jiraiya whispered to Asuma, "Shuichi looks completely different today than he always has!"

Asma wasn't surprised: "Because today he's not our friend, he's our trainer, our teacher!"

Di Lu nodded.

Hoshino Shuichi and Yekura inspected the classrooms, where classes were already in progress, taught by ninjas who had been eliminated from previous experiments.

These people are more than enough to teach students.

As for teaching materials, of course, they are only copied from the Konoha Ninja Academy to a limited extent.

However, Hoshino Shuichi has decided to add his own elements to the teaching materials on the Will of Fire, refining it and formulating a framework.

Without a clear objective, anyone can use the Will of Fire, and anyone can use it as a mere shell—that would be far too cheap!

After inspecting the area, Hoshino Shuichi led everyone to a training ground surrounded by trees.

His gaze swept over Asuma and the others, and Hoshishita Shuichi asked, "Do you know why you're here?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Dongmao was the first to speak: "Lord Xiuyi, isn't your goal to increase your strength, to become the strongest shield protecting the daimyo, and also the sharpest sword?"

Hoshita Hideichi smiled. "Is that all?"

Kazuma then said, "The daimyo's establishment of such a base to train ninjas must be an attempt to break free from Konoha, or even to completely seize control of it."

"After all, the Land of Fire doesn't need two voices. Although the Hokage is also subordinate to the Daimyo, that's not the case."

Hearing these words, Ye Cang was somewhat surprised by the boldness of the person in front of him.

Hoshishita Shuichi remained noncommittal, instead asking again, "Is there anything else?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Even Asuma was unaware of the promises Hoshino Shuichi had made to the Daimyo.

The motives he could think of for the daimyo were the same as those he had described.

But Asuma could also guess that there was more to the story. Hoshino was a double agent, and the current Fourth Hokage was his teacher. How could he possibly help the Daimyo destroy Konoha?

Wouldn't that be like shooting yourself in the foot?

He's not as naive as he used to be.

Seeing that no one answered, Hoshino looked at Higashimaru and said, "To increase strength and become the strongest shield protecting the daimyo, and also the sharpest sword for the daimyo, is absolutely the right thing to do."

"So, who is the most famous person? Who is the most famous person?"

"Is the daimyo himself, or the person who becomes the daimyo?"

Asma was immediately shaken upon hearing this, as this was the question that had puzzled him before.

However, what puzzled him was the relationship between the Daimyo and the Hokage.

Hoshino Hideichi's gaze shifted and landed on Kazuma: "If Konoha didn't have a Hokage and directly obeyed the Daimyo, and the Daimyo appointed you to manage it, then..."

"Do ninjas listen to you, or to the daimyo?"

"Is it just the daimyo's voice, or is your voice added?"

Kazuma frowned and said, "Lord Hideaki, I carry out the daimyo's orders. Ninjas who obey me obey the daimyo!"

Hoshinobi Hideichi smiled and asked, "So, if the Daimyo orders you to attack your ally, Sunagakure (Village Hidden in the Sand) in the Land of Wind, and at that time you are very likely to be besieged by several other major ninja villages, will you carry out the order?"

"If the daimyo issued an order that clearly defied common ninja knowledge, would you carry it out?"

Kazuma quickly replied, "I will advise the daimyo to provide the correct solution."

Hoshino Hideichi countered, "So, is that the Daimyo's voice, or your voice?"

He was stunned and unable to answer for a moment.

Hoshino Shuichi withdrew his gaze from him and said, "The daimyo may have entrusted you to me simply to make you the strongest shield and the sharpest sword, or perhaps to personally take control of the ninjas."

"But I have three purposes for being here."

"First, unify all ninjas and end the situation of one country having one ninja village."

"Second, unify all the countries and end the situation of multiple countries fighting each other."

"Third, based on the above, we will completely end the endless wars that have raged since the Warring States period, and create an unprecedented world of great peace, a world without war!"

At this moment, all twelve Asuma members were stunned.

Creating a peaceful world, a world without war, is nothing special.

There are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people who shout such slogans.

But unifying all ninjas and all countries is such a huge undertaking that it seems no one has ever considered it.

Or perhaps they simply dare not think about it.

After all, the world has always been a collection of countries.

Moreover, is it really possible to do this?

Can Konoha really eliminate the other ninja villages and unify all ninjas?

If that's achieved, then sweeping across all countries will indeed not be a problem.

"Shuichi-sama, is this really possible?"

Dongmao swallowed hard and said, "Although you defeated the Third Mizukage and the Fourth Raikage, even you probably couldn't withstand an attack from other ninja villages, right?"

"I heard that the Third Raikage was exhausted to death after facing an army of tens of thousands of ninja from Iwagakure."

"Konoha's forces definitely can't withstand the combined attack of other ninja villages, right?"

"Even if we train ninjas here, it's probably far from enough."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Hoshino Hideichi chuckled: "So I stand here, and you stand opposite me, to receive my instruction."

Everyone felt ashamed upon hearing this.

Kazuma looked at Hoshishita Shuichi, his eyes suddenly brightening, secretly marveling, "No wonder he was able to defeat the Third Mizukage and the Fourth Raikage; his magnanimity is completely beyond my reach!"

"With such magnanimity, the titles of Daimyo and Hokage seem unimportant, merely synonyms."

"Unifying all ninjas—that's what a true strongman should do!"

……

"With such lofty ideals and the ability to carry them out, it's no wonder that he has achieved extraordinary results at such a young age and even received a letter from a daimyo."

Di Lu thought to himself, "Following someone like that makes me feel hopeful no matter how difficult the goal is!"

Asuma, standing nearby, pondered to himself, "It seems the village has also agreed to Shuichi's plan. As for the daimyo... the daimyo isn't so easily deceived. Does that mean they don't completely trust Shuichi, but are temporarily turning a blind eye to certain things because of the goal of unifying all countries?"

"And this also means that both the daimyo prefecture and the village now share a common goal."

……

At this moment, each of the twelve people had a different expression.

After being shocked and then ashamed, everyone had different thoughts than before.

Compared to the two goals that Hoshino Shuichi mentioned, what they had been obsessed with before seemed too childish and laughable.

Hoshino Hideichi's gaze swept over everyone's expressions, then his smile faded, and he said, "Just keep those things in mind. To achieve a goal, you need the corresponding strength to support it."

"I only dare to say such things because I have the strength I have now, and the daimyo is willing to support me."

"A person's capacity may be limitless, but what he can truly possess depends on the power he wields."

"So in the training that follows, I hope you won't let yourselves down, or the Daimyo."

As soon as he finished speaking, five shadow clones appeared on either side of Hoshino Shizuka.

"Now just enjoy yourself!"

After saying that, Hoshino Shizuka disappeared with Yekura.

Kitako, Kazuma, and the others exchanged bewildered glances, while one of Hoshino Shuichi's shadow clones spoke up: "Lightning Release users, follow me!"

Kitako, Higashima, and the other three exchanged glances and immediately followed Hoshino Shizuka's shadow clone.

Following that, the other shadow clones of Hoshino also spoke one after another, using Water Release, Earth Release, Fire Release... In the end, only one shadow clone, Asuma and Jiraiya remained on the training ground.

Hoshinoichi looked at the two of them and said, "Chiriku, you come from the Temple of Fire and have a unique heritage. Although I can't directly guide you, some things are interconnected. You can ask me any questions you may have."

"Besides that, there's physical skill, and I'll be even stricter with you in that area."

Di Lu nodded quickly: "I understand."

Hoshino looked at Asuma and said, "Asuma, let me see your Wind Release nature transformation!"

Asma nodded, then took out his Flying Swallow Fist.

Immediately afterwards, accompanied by a buzzing sound, sharp blue chakra covered the blade.

Hoshino Shuichi looked on and said, "This level can already be considered Jonin level."

If we were to rate the difficulty level of a Jonin, it would be Rank B.

Watching Asuma's Flying Swallow punch, Hoshino Shuichi asked, "Asuma, have you ever seen a saw?"

Asma was taken aback: "I've seen it before. My fist dagger actually uses the blade of a saw."

Xingxia Xiu nodded: "Then do you know why?"

Asma fell into deep thought.

Hoshino Shuichi continued, "Training in Wind Release: Nature Transformation allows you to refine your chakra into a thinner, sharper form. A saw can cut through a tree much faster than a knife or an axe because it utilizes friction and shearing force."

"Asuma, you're just adding Wind Release chakra to your fist to increase its sharpness."

"Then we should start with shape change, making the wind chakra attached to your blade flow, flow at high speed, and further increase its cutting power."

Asma's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Hoshino Hideaki raised his hand, using his palm as a blade. First, he covered it with chakra, and then the outer layer of chakra underwent both wind and fire nature transformations, forming a flowing blue flame.

However, because the speed is too fast, the flow is actually imperceptible to the naked eye, but it gives people the feeling of extreme sharpness and terrifying high temperature.

"This is a technique I created by combining Wind Release and Fire Release, called Blue Flame Vacuum Slash. It utilizes the high-speed flow of Wind Release, combined with high temperature, to give it even stronger cutting and killing power."

"At the same time, Wind Release also increases the operability of Fire Release."

"Asuma, I remember you were also very good at using Fire Release besides Wind Release."

Asuma listened and laughed, "It's already difficult to control one type of change to change form. To be able to use two types of changes simultaneously without hand seals and combine them so perfectly, that's definitely A-level difficulty."

Hoshino Hideichi nodded: "It is indeed A-level, but it's not that great. With some effort, it's achievable."

"This next one depends on your talent..."

As he spoke, he opened his right palm upwards, condensed chakra, and a Rasengan quickly took shape, which he then infused with wind-style chakra.

Wind Release: Rasengan!

Asuma and Jiraiya both stared intently.

Another ninjutsu without hand seals, and it also combines form and nature transformation.

At least Grade A!

Hoshino Shuichi explained, "This is an A-rank, no-seal ninjutsu. It shouldn't be too difficult for you, Asuma."

Asuma's eyelids twitched violently: I don't recall saying anything like that...

Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, and a piercing buzzing sound rang in his ears. In his eyes, the chakra ball in Hoshino Shizuka's hand collided instantly, forming a giant shuriken that spun at high speed.

"So...so strong!"

Asuma and Jiraiya exclaimed in unison, as this was the first time they had ever seen this ninjutsu.

"This should be S-rank, right?"

Jiraiya was utterly shocked: "I could have blocked that one if I had gone all out, but this one is completely impossible to block. Even the host would probably be unable to withstand this ninjutsu..."

Hoshita Shuuichi said, "Asuma, this is an S-rank forbidden technique that perfectly combines the ultimate Wind Release nature transformation and the ultimate form transformation. It is called Wind Release: Rasengan."

"After you master Wind Release: Rasengan, you can try to learn this technique."

"Of course, these two techniques may not suit your fighting style. But training them will greatly help you improve your nature transformation, form transformation, and chakra control."

"Sometimes mastering a skill is not the goal."

Asma felt immense pressure listening to this.

Hoshino Shuichi, however, pressed on: "If you're good at close combat, you could try developing a Wind Release Chakra Mode."

Wind Release Chakra Mode?

Asuma immediately asked, "Is it similar to Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"

Hoshino nodded, and his body was immediately covered by a Fire Release chakra cloak: "This is the Fire Release chakra mode I developed."

"I haven't developed Wind Release Chakra Mode on my own, but..."

Hoshino Shuichi infused his Wind Release chakra, and the Fire Release chakra cloak immediately became more solid: "This is a form incorporating Wind Release."

"This is Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

As he spoke, Hoshino Shizuka deactivated his Fire Release Chakra Mode and switched to his regular Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Asuma and Jiraiya were so shocked they were speechless.

At the same age, is this even human?

(End of this chapter)