Chapter 179: Naruto's Book-Stealing Plan
Spectator Stands.
"What terrifying chakra," Kabuto thought, adjusting his glasses as he watched the group depart. A colossus of that scale—even if it didn't fight back and I just stood there hacking at it with Chakra Scalpels, it wouldn't be easy to kill. What a monstrous individual.
I must tell Lord Orochimaru that the man he's tracking has grown stronger again. The plan needs adjustment. If we don't lure this person out of Konoha, we'll be facing an enemy on par with the Hokage.
Kabuto's mind raced with calculations. No wonder he didn't get the results he wanted the last time he met Lord Orochimaru.
"Aaah!" Konohamaru sat on the ground, scuttling backward while pointing at the sky. His missing front teeth were visible as he gasped in shock. "That... that... what a huge bird!"
"Haha, when you grow up, I'll teach you a summoning jutsu as well," Hiruzen Sarutobi encouraged his grandson. "It's the strongest summoning in the shinobi world."
Konohamaru's eyes sparkled. "Really? Even more powerful than that big bird?" If he had a bird like that, he could definitely beat Tianyu. Wait... no, that was Tianyu's dad; he'd need a summon even stronger than the bird.
"Of course. That would be the strongest creature on earth: Enma, the Monkey King."
"Awesome!"
The Chunin Exams concluded.
The sixth-year students were buzzing, their horizons vastly expanded. "Captain Tonbo" had once again become the central topic of discussion.
Badass.
Incredibly badass.
I want to be that strong.
Those who were already hardworking became even more determined in their path as shinobi. Take a certain blonde, for instance: "If Captain Tonbo is already that strong, the Hokage must be even crazier!" Naruto thought. Since he was going to be the Hokage, he would have to be even stronger than Captain Tonbo.
Then there was Kiba: "As expected of Sensei! Akamaru, you better grow that big one day!" After seeing his teacher's grand display, he said this to Akamaru constantly.
Akamaru's only response was a helpless, "Woof, woof!" He was trying to tell Kiba that he simply wasn't that breed of dog.
And then there was a certain avenger: I must at least surpass him if I'm to have any hope of killing that man, Sasuke thought. In his mind, since Tonbo was the leader of the pursuit squad and hadn't brought Itachi back—nor had he been killed—it meant they were roughly equal. If Tonbo couldn't take Itachi down, then Itachi wasn't strong enough to kill Tonbo either.
Time flew by.
Nine months had passed since Tonbo Tobitake collected physical data from the Chunin Exams. Fuma Shikun and Iduno Saizai had both successfully become Chunin. Their limit would likely be Special Jonin, which was a fair return for their clans' investment.
Meanwhile, Kurenai Yuhi had officially been promoted to Jonin during this period. She was slated to be a lead teacher for the upcoming graduating class.
Tonbo continued his research into ninjutsu and human biology. His intelligence gathering never stopped. The politics of the Land of Lightning remained as stable as ever. Technology there was advancing rapidly; Tonbo could see the early shadows of Scientific Ninja Tools in the reports.
The Land of Earth was also stable, though the Hidden Stone had its own rogue ninjas—not quite as few as the Land of Lightning, but manageable. Deidara, an S-rank fugitive, had already fled the Land of Earth, his name spreading across nations. Whatever Deidara did from now on was no longer their concern, much like how Konoha handled Itachi and Orochimaru.
As for the Hidden Mist in the Land of Water, due to their isolationist policy, spies only gathered fragments of news. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, seemed to have gone missing, with Elder Genji—who held status equal to the Mizukage—taking the reins, assisted by other Jonin.
The Hidden Sand, however, was in dire straits. The Land of Wind had slashed their military budget and mission resources, making the already poor village even more desperate. No wonder they would soon choose to cooperate with Orochimaru.
"Damn, which idiot in my past life said the Third was a brilliant politician?" Tonbo thought. "He doesn't have a single hair's worth of the Raikage's or Tsuchikage's political savvy."
After experiencing it firsthand, Tonbo realized that among the Five Great Villages, Hiruzen's political ability was only slightly better than the Sand or the Mist. Look at the Cloud—aside from the Kinkaku and Ginkaku era, they didn't have a single S-rank traitor, and ninjas who deserted were rare as phoenix feathers. Look at the Stone—they only had Deidara, and he didn't even betray the village for power; he just wanted to study explosions.
He used to think the "Will of Fire" was useful, but now he felt the "Will of Lightning" was far more practical.
Putting down his pen, Tonbo swallowed a custom-made food pill and focused his senses inward. After a long period of "Contact Evolution" and collecting data from various ninjas, his body had changed significantly.
Taijutsu Training: His progress was accelerating; his body could withstand much higher intensities. The first to experience this was his wife, Ayame. Even with Tonbo using Contact Evolution to help her conditioning, she struggled to keep up, forcing him to find other ways to satisfy his vitality.Chakra: It was now more than double what it had been a year ago. His margin for error had increased exponentially. Now, he even used Shadow Clones to pick up the kids; he was too lazy to go in person. He no longer had to micro-manage every bit of chakra like he did when he first arrived.Genjutsu: "Memory Insertion," an old concept of his, was finally complete. However, Tonbo felt it was somewhat useless to him now and would just pass it on to his descendants. It didn't work on the truly strong. It wasn't a "Rule-based" jutsu; it was only effective against those weaker than him. However, for low-level ninjas, it was perfect for developing spies. It used chakra to insert memories that couldn't be dispelled immediately, eventually integrating into the victim's real identity.
He had also integrated his "Five Senses Genjutsu." He had moved from single-sense illusions to total control over taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell. Form, shape, and mass were all within his control. As long as the illusion wasn't broken, he was practically invincible. His early goals—Memory Insertion, Five Senses Control, and Celestial Deception—were complete.
Enough. It's enough for now.
Whiz! Whiz!
"Master Tonbo, Naruto Uzumaki has stolen the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's restricted area," a ninja appeared and reported.
"I see. Go and assist," Tonbo replied.
"Yes!"
Watching the ninja vanish, Tonbo stroked his chin. "The Third... if he wanted to give Naruto a profound lesson on what to do and what not to do, he didn't need this much drama. Why not just give him the scroll?"
Hiruzen had talked to him about this recently. Because Naruto was a Jinchuriki, he needed to feel a higher sense of belonging to the village. Since he also needed to graduate, the old man set a trap. Clearly, unlike Tonbo—who had nothing and only needed basic care—Naruto required more "curated" bonds to keep him tied to Konoha.
Tonbo hesitated for a moment, then stepped out the door.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!