Chapter 32: Kakashi, Your Way of Thinking Is Dangerous

Chapter 32: Kakashi, Your Thinking Is Dangerous

"Mr. Kakashi, please forgive my earlier impertinence." The voice of Sadataki Sakuraba drifted from inside the carriage.

Kakashi smiled and replied, "It is quite alright. While they may have just graduated, Chiba's strength is such that even a Chunin would find it hard to compare to him. He only lacks experience, which is why he needs my guidance."

"I see. That puts my mind at ease."

"Please, you have nothing to worry about. The other two are also disciples I hold in high regard. They will surely become remarkable kunoichi in the future; serving as your guards is more than enough for them."

As members of the Kyoto nobility, the Sakuraba family was not entirely ignorant of ninjas.

Initially, Sadataki Sakuraba had been rather dissatisfied, feeling that Konoha had sent a team of novices. Had it not been for Kakashi leading them, she certainly would not have been pleased.

But now... it seemed she had been overthinking things.

Before long, Chiba finished tidying up and returned. There were no bloodstains on him, only some dirt on his clothes; otherwise, he looked unchanged. This was the first time he had used his chakra needles in actual combat.

"A fine technique. It is even more suitable for combat than the chakra blade," Kakashi remarked, pushing his forehead protector up to cover his eye while speaking in a soft, appreciative tone.

"Hmm, the chakra consumption is a bit high. It might be better if I could perfectly control the density of the chakra needles and their transition between tangible and intangible states. Also, in a real fight, making them thicker would be more practical," Chiba said, sharing his thoughts.

"Indeed," Kakashi nodded. "But the difficulty of that would be S-rank. I fear only you could pull it off."

"Actually, I'm also considering incorporating a chakra-absorption effect. If that can be done, I could absorb the opponent's elemental chakra to strengthen myself," Chiba proposed.

Kakashi fell into deep thought, then... he found himself at a loss for words.

A "chakra blade" as dense and solidified as Chiba's was already incredibly difficult to master. Adding a chakra-absorption effect would likely push the learning curve to the absolute limit.

Who else in the world could learn such a thing besides Chiba?

"Having high talent really allows one to do whatever they please," he sighed to himself.

Chiba took out a book and resumed reading.

This time... the samurai of the Sakuraba family did not dare to underestimate the three children.

Before, who could have guessed that the quiet, seemingly naive boy was the most terrifying of the three? There were not many samurai who dared to target a ninja squad. Among these attackers, several were clearly retainers of certain noble families; their strength was not comparable to that of ordinary wandering ronin, yet even they could not claim a guaranteed victory.

But Chiba had moved through the blades of dozens of men with ease, cutting in and out, not a drop of blood touching his clothes, while the enemies lay on the ground groaning in agony. To the samurai, such methods were no less than sorcery.

"Chiba, that technique..."

During the midday shift change, Tenten hesitated for a moment before gritting her teeth and asking, "Can I trade for it with ninja tools or explosive tags? Or, just name your price."

"No need. This technique isn't suited for you. If you want to learn something, you should try strengthening your chakra threads until they are sharp enough to cut," Chiba suggested.

"Chakra threads... cutting?" Tenten was slightly taken aback. This was possible?

Wait! Chiba had used them before. In the bell test, Kakashi's final bell had been cut down by Chiba using chakra threads, though she hadn't thought much of it at the time. How was that done?

"It was a byproduct of my creating the chakra needles. It possesses cutting capabilities, of course, though the effect isn't quite ideal yet." Chiba released a chakra thread and flicked it gently; a nearby branch was sliced clean through.

"Can its lethality be increased further?"

"That would be quite difficult," Chiba shook his head.

"In that case... I see. If I attach them to steel wires, both the chakra efficiency and the power might increase, right?" Tenten mused.

If the chakra threads alone had limited lethality, attaching them to steel wires would surely yield better results.

"Hmm? That is an interesting approach." Chiba's eyes brightened. "You could also replace the kunai at the tips of the steel wires with heavier weapons. That way, the kinetic energy from swinging them increases, which will also boost the power of the wires."

"Let me see!" Inspiration struck Tenten like a fountain, and she quickly flipped through her notebook. On the fourth page, she found a design for a ninja tool—a device that encased shuriken and kunai inside a mechanism that looked like a spiked iron ball.

Tenten patted Chiba's shoulder excitedly. "As expected of you, Chiba-kun! To think you could come up with this—I'll start testing it the moment we get back!"

"It's nothing. If you could pat a little lighter, I would sincerely thank you," Chiba said, calmly returning to his book.

Tenten giggled and ran off to ponder her new weapon.

Sadataki Sakuraba remained in the carriage. Chiba still didn't know exactly what she looked like, though he wasn't particularly eager to see her; he was merely a little curious.

Chiba had taken this mission not because of Sadataki Sakuraba, but for Chiriku—the head monk of the Fire Temple, the man worth 30 million ryo. He was very interested in the "Talent of the Sage Clan."

"Kakashi-sensei."

"Hmm?"

"I heard there is a monk at the Fire Temple who was once one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Do you know him?" Chiba stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

Kakashi paused in his reading, thought for a moment, and replied, "Chiriku? I believe that's his name. As for being close, I wouldn't say that; we've only heard of each other."

"What a pity," Chiba sighed.

He suspected that the Talent of the Sage Clan, much like the techniques of the three great sage lands, involved the unique application of natural energy, which was why he was so keen to get his hands on it.

However, without any connection, it would be very difficult to obtain.

"Are you looking to learn their techniques?" Kakashi tilted his head, looking at Chiba with his single visible eye.

"I hear they possess a very special 'Sage Clan Talent' chakra, which makes their ninjutsu, barrier techniques, and sealing arts unique. If I could learn them, I might be able to create an entirely new category of techniques," Chiba explained.

Kakashi pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "It's difficult. I've heard of the Sage Clan Talent; it's their temple's secret art. Not even every monk has access to it, let alone outsiders like us."

"That's fine. I'll start by getting to know him. I recall that Asuma-senpai was also one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. I'll see if I can find a way to work around it later," Chiba said naturally.

Kakashi chuckled. "Asuma did serve as a Guardian Ninja for a time, but I think it will be quite difficult to learn the Sage Clan Talent through him. You'll ultimately have to find a way at the Fire Temple itself."

"Kakashi-sensei, your thinking is dangerous. I meant having Asuma-senpai introduce me so that Chiriku-senpai can see my talent for development, and then I can trade by offering techniques I've developed."

"What exactly were you thinking?"