"Summoning Formation?"
The Third Hokage held the scroll in his hands, unsure what to do with it for a moment.
A very specialized Summoning Technique.
But realistically, the only ones who would need it…
Were the Aburame.
He thought it over again and again, but aside from the Aburame, he couldn't think of anyone else who'd need it.
"Souma asked you to give this to me?" the Third asked, looking at Aburame Shibi.
"Yes," Shibi replied. "He said it might have some research value. Used in the normal way, it's only really practical for our clan. But used in reverse… that's another story."
The Third blinked.
Then he understood what Souma actually meant.
Reverse Summoning.
This technique used the Summoning formula and the contract to build a more stable, simpler spatial channel, then linked it to the Flying Thunder Formation for transport. If you flipped that logic around and reversed the Summoning…
Wouldn't that just be a more elaborate version of Flying Thunder Formation?
But—
Compared to the current Flying Thunder Formation, which required three people working together, this new Reverse Summoning Formation was clearly superior.
At the very least, it could be used by a single user.
The Third sat in silence for a while.
"I understand Souma's intention," he said finally.
"Yes," Shibi nodded, quietly relieved.
If the Hokage had asked him to explain what "Reverse Summoning" or "Flying Thunder Formation" meant, he really wouldn't know where to start.
"I'll think of a way to handle the Reverse Summoning side," the Third went on. "But I'm quite busy these days. I don't have much time for deep research…"
He paused, old face reddening slightly.
"Once I've gathered enough reference material, I'll have someone send it to the institute. He can figure it out himself. If he runs into something he doesn't understand, he can come ask me."
"Understood. I'll relay your words to him," Shibi said.
He didn't linger.
After another bow, he took his leave.
The Third sat alone with the scroll, lost in thought.
How long has it been?
Other people created jutsu in units of years. This brat did it by the month…
No.
Souma had been dragged into all sorts of other matters lately. He'd barely had time for research.
So strictly speaking…
He was doing it in days.
Completely absurd.
The Third stared at the scroll, his expression a bit twisted.
He really was jealous.
If he'd possessed this level of talent, would Konoha have struggled so much in the Third Great Ninja War? Even putting everything else aside, a Reverse Summoning Formation alone could've changed the entire battlefield.
He sighed.
"A genius like this only shows up once in several hundred years…"
Then there was Minato.
The Third's expression softened and dimmed.
Such a young Hokage, dying in the Nine-Tails' attack… What a waste.
If he were still alive, Konoha would be far stronger than it is now.
The Third sighed again, then glanced toward the door.
"Come in," he called.
"Yes."
Tenzo pushed the door open.
He'd already taken off his ANBU mask and returned to living as a village shinobi. Only one thing was missing.
His name.
"Lord Hokage," he greeted.
"From today onward, you are no longer an ANBU captain," the Third said. "You are a Konoha jōnin. It's about time you had a name of your own."
He studied the young man before him.
"What would you like to be called?"
"Please name me," Tenzo said, bowing his head.
The Third thought for a moment.
"Then… you shall be Yamato."
"Yes."
Tenzo—no, Yamato—bowed his head again, accepting his new name.
Yamato.
He rolled the name around silently in his mind, feeling a strange mix of emotions.
One life had ended.
But thinking that he'd finally left the ANBU behind, he felt a quiet, guilty relief.
No one liked living in the dark forever.
He was no different.
Yamato looked toward the window, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Yamato, what are your plans now?" the Third asked. "Do you want to conduct a squad test?"
"Uh, n-no. I… think I'll pass on that," Yamato said quickly, waving his hands.
His face went a bit pale.
A test?
You've got to be kidding.
Let's not even talk about Souma for a second—
Tenten and Kasa alone were scary enough.
He'd seen Tenten at the forge over the last few days, swinging a hammer bigger than her torso to shape chakra metal. That scene had burned itself into his memory.
It was hard to believe those thin arms could generate that kind of power.
As for Moonlight Kasa—
He knew the least about her. But in their brief mission together, he'd discovered one thing:
The girl loved to disappear.
Especially in big groups.
Her hiding techniques were practically perfect. Her Transformation Technique was just as terrifying.
With a squad like that—
And then adding Yagyū Souma on top of it.
A "test"?
Who would be testing who, exactly?
Yamato kept his complaints in his heart.
"Souma and the others?" the Third asked.
"I'll call them myself," Yamato said quickly. "No need to trouble you. And they might not be free right now."
"Very well."
Souma indeed didn't have much free time.
Research on the new medical Parasitic Rot Bugs required constant monitoring in the early stages. On top of that—
The institute's opening ceremony would be in two days.
He hadn't been involved in any of the preparation work.
But the actual ceremony…
There was no skipping that.
And—
He was worried Orochimaru might slip in.
That guy didn't have the dignity or restraint expected of a Legendary Sannin. If there was benefit, and if it interested him, he absolutely wouldn't hesitate to take action against someone younger.
If Yamato wanted to do "team training" in the middle of all that—
Souma really wouldn't hold back just to save time.
This wasn't a good time for anyone to drag him into trivial nonsense.
Yamato relayed his intentions to Tenten.
Tenten, in turn, informed Souma and Kasa.
In the end, the four agreed: once the opening ceremony was over, they'd formally reform their old squad and start taking missions again.
That settled that.
Souma returned to his lab.
The Sage-mode-enhanced medical bugs were a success. They were still in their growth phase, so he had to periodically feed them Sage Chakra.
Thankfully, he had enough shadow clones to keep up.
Anyone else would've collapsed under the cost.
But while they evolved, Souma took the opportunity to test the new enhancements to his mental control using Aburame Muta as his partner.
First: simple mental attacks.
The most basic usage was a raw psychic shove—pure spiritual force. It wasn't that strong, only enough to leave the target's mind dazed and their head throbbing for a few seconds.
And even that depended on the opponent.
If they had very strong mental defenses, even getting a few seconds of daze would be hard.
Still—
It was a decent tool to have. In the right moment, it could be lethal.
Souma noted it in his notebook for later refinement. If inspiration struck later, he might be able to turn it into something more refined and controllable.
Second—
Mental Synchronization.
Previously he couldn't manage it because he didn't have the necessary spiritual offense techniques. But now, just by control alone, he could force a degree of sync.
Of course, the biggest gain wasn't just mental power.
It was Sage Mode.
His previous limit had been just over thirty seconds.
Now it has doubled.
He could hold it for a full minute.
That was a huge difference.
And that wasn't all. There were still many subtle boosts he hadn't fully grasped yet.
To be honest—
Souma was very satisfied.
The Bodhi Seed's first metamorphosis had tuned his body to be more compatible with natural energy.
The second had boosted his spirit.
The actual changes that came with each metamorphosis were massive.
He couldn't help wondering what feedback he'd get from spreading Flying Thunder God. When that pattern activated…
What would it enhance?
Souma was still mulling it over when Nara Shikaku arrived.
He was mostly here for the opening ceremony.
Souma was the institute's figurehead, after all. On the day, he'd have to give a speech about its goals and future direction.
And besides—
"Souma, there's someone you should probably meet," Shikaku said.
"Who? Don't tell me it's him," Souma said, pointing downward.
He didn't say the name.
But the implication was clear.
Danzo.
He assumed Shikaku was coming on Danzo's behalf.
But—
Shikaku shook his head.
"You've had contact with pretty much all the major clans in Konoha," he said. "But there's one you seem to have missed."
"Oh. You mean Inuzuka?"
Souma had a feeling he knew who.
"Do you and the Inuzuka have some kind of grudge?" Shikaku asked. "If there's bad blood, I can mediate, or find an excuse to refuse them. I won't put you in a tough spot."
"Nothing like that," Souma said, laughing wryly. "I'm just a commoner. How would I end up with a feud against the Inuzuka? Their clan is just… a bit special. And I personally don't have any particular desire for ninja hounds. That's the only reason I haven't proactively approached them."
"…"
Shikaku had thought about this for quite a while.
He'd been worried it might be something big, like the Aburame being jealous, or other political friction.
He had absolutely not expected the reason to be so simple and straightforward—
Souma just had no use for them.
Thinking about it carefully…
That tracked.
Souma always approached people with a clear purpose.
The Ino–Shika–Chō trio, the Aburame, the Hyūga, the Moonlight clan—every one of them had something he specifically needed.
Only the Inuzuka…
If you didn't want to raise ninja hounds, there really wasn't anything he urgently needed from them.
Beast Imitation Technique?
He didn't need that either.
Shikaku stifled a laugh.
"Inuzuka Tsume was worried her clan might've offended you somehow," he said. "She thought that was why you never reached out. If that's not the case… what do you want to do?"
"If she's free, we can talk," Souma said after a brief pause. "We can discuss what each side actually needs. But the terms won't be the same as with the previous clans. Back then, I was the one who needed them. I hope she can understand that."
"Alright. I'll pass that along," Shikaku said.
Once the words were out in the open, even if the Inuzuka weren't thrilled, there wouldn't be much they could complain about.
"We'll set it for this afternoon," Souma added. "The opening is the day after tomorrow."
"Got it."
Shikaku didn't push back.
The Inuzuka might not be a giant like the Hyūga, but in raw scale and contribution… they were still more than worth talking to.
That afternoon, Souma finished a book on the Four Symbols Seal and stretched lazily when—
"Souma-kun, Inuzuka clan head Inuzuka Tsume is here to see you," a staff member called.
"Got it. I'll be right there."
Souma stepped out of his lab.
He immediately spotted a tall kunoichi, taller than him by a good margin. At her side stood a rough-and-tumble looking ninken with an eyepatch.
Inuzuka Tsume.
He bowed lightly.
"Good to meet you, Inuzuka-senpai."
"We're both Special Jōnin. No need for 'senpai,'" Tsume waved it off. "I'm here today to talk about cooperation."
She didn't bother with small talk.
After that, she chuckled at herself.
"Honestly, I've been wondering when you'd come to Inuzuka. Didn't expect reality to be so cruel."
"Your clan's techniques are very strong," Souma said seriously. "I just don't personally need them."
He had to explain.
Reputation couldn't be left to rumor.
"Haha, I get it. Just teasing," Tsume said. "Then…"
"Please, come inside," Souma said, gesturing.
He led her and Kuromaru into his lab.
With only the three of them there, Souma took a quick look around, then pulled a sheet of paper off the desk.
"I really don't have much use for Inuzuka techniques," he said. "But since you want to cooperate, I should at least show some sincerity. This is a small technique I just modified. Take a look."
"???"
Tsume accepted the page, confused, then looked up—
And then stared.
The title at the top read:
Chakra Claw – Revised
The name was casual.
The content…
Was absolutely not.
Since Shikaku had told him Tsume was coming, Souma had taken Chakra Scalpel as a base and modified it into a claw-type technique.
Once the user completed a short string of hand seals, they could form small "chakra blades" along their fingers, like claws.
In other words—
It was practically made for the Inuzuka.
If this had been delivered a week or a month earlier, Tsume wouldn't have been nearly as shaken.
But she knew she'd only talked to Shikaku that morning.
It hadn't even been half a day.
And yet Souma had already created a new jutsu tailor-made for her clan—with full hand-seal instructions included.
This was…
Insane.
She fell quiet for a long time.
"This jutsu is very important to us," Tsume said, voice low.
And then she got stuck.
Very important… Then what?
She remembered—
He'd already said he didn't particularly need their secret techniques. But the idea of just handing those over made her chest tighten.
After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I've heard about your deal with the Moonlight clan. How about this—we'll share some of our knowledge with the institute."
She paused.
"That would count as the 'payment' in this exchange, right?"
"Oh, right," she added quickly. "We are willing to trade. I don't know what you and the institute have in mind though."
"Then let's skip phase one and go straight to what knowledge you're willing to share," Souma said with a small smile.
The Inuzuka were surprisingly easy to work with.
The "buy the horse's bones to get the thousand-gold steed" tactic really did work.
And that jutsu…
It had been worth the hours he'd poured into it.
"Our clan doesn't have that much variety in techniques, honestly," Tsume said. "I'm sure you already know that. Aside from the Beast Imitation Techniques, everything else is negotiable."
"What about your ninja beast husbandry methods?" Souma asked. "That's the area I'm most interested in."
Beast raising.
It was one of Inuzuka's biggest weapons.
"That, we can do," Tsume said. "But I have conditions."
Her expression went serious.
"I won't hand over everything. And anyone who studies it has to be contributing something of their own. No unauthorized spreading. In return, aside from beast husbandry, we'll also share other information to balance things out—like sensory training for smell, advanced Four Legs Technique principles, that sort of thing."
"Of course," Souma nodded. "All research institute results follow those same conditions."
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